The Dixie Chicks, "Shut Up and Sing" and the Cost of Dissent
It’s my father’s birthday, and he would have been 90 years old. This article is dedicated to him. He’s been gone for enough time that he never saw me with my activism hat on. But, I think he would have been pleased. He was always awed – and sometimes annoyed, when it personally affected him – by my persistence. He thought I was a pit-bull. Most of the time, I consider that a compliment.
Right now, I’m at the tail end (my mother would call it endless) of a month of Jewish holidays. It’s been nonstop cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and more cooking, interspersed by festive meals shared with family and friends. In between runs to the airport, there’s always the mini-family crisis, homework, carpool, emergency visits to the vet, and let’s not forget my day job to keep me on my toes. It’s increasingly hard to find those precious moments to organize my thoughts. But here goes.
Infamous Dixie Chicks IncidentI want to talk about the Dixie Chicks. While I am truly a fan of their latest CD, Taking the Long Way, I especially like the trajectory their career has taken lately. To recap, the Dixie Chicks were already a very successful country band in 2003. In fact, Wikipedia states that they are the most popular female band of all time, having sold over thirty million albums. Then their lead singer, Natalie Maines, made an offhand remark that made history. An April 2006 Time magazine article sums it up well:
When the Dixie Chicks played London in 2003, 10 days before the Iraq invasion, and Maines said, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas," the tremors in the conservative country music scene were seismic.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187173,00.html >>>cont
LinkHere
Right now, I’m at the tail end (my mother would call it endless) of a month of Jewish holidays. It’s been nonstop cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and more cooking, interspersed by festive meals shared with family and friends. In between runs to the airport, there’s always the mini-family crisis, homework, carpool, emergency visits to the vet, and let’s not forget my day job to keep me on my toes. It’s increasingly hard to find those precious moments to organize my thoughts. But here goes.
Infamous Dixie Chicks IncidentI want to talk about the Dixie Chicks. While I am truly a fan of their latest CD, Taking the Long Way, I especially like the trajectory their career has taken lately. To recap, the Dixie Chicks were already a very successful country band in 2003. In fact, Wikipedia states that they are the most popular female band of all time, having sold over thirty million albums. Then their lead singer, Natalie Maines, made an offhand remark that made history. An April 2006 Time magazine article sums it up well:
When the Dixie Chicks played London in 2003, 10 days before the Iraq invasion, and Maines said, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas," the tremors in the conservative country music scene were seismic.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187173,00.html >>>cont
LinkHere
Dixie Chicks not ready to make nice
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 1:24 PM
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