April 25, 2003
On the eve of their U.S. tour, the Dixie Chicks -- who raised a ruckus last month with lead singer Natalie Maines' comments about President Bush and the war in Iraq -- have blasted back with both barrels, CNN reports.
I missed their interview with Diane Sawyer last night because I got a free last-minute $176 ticket to the Eton John-Billy Joel “Face to Face” concert. Couldn’t miss that and didn’t have time to set my VCR.
When you’re as comely as the Dixie Chicks are, it doesn’t take much guts to bare your body on the cover of Entertainment Weekly (as they are doing, with a variety of epithets stamped over unstrategic body parts.)
Given the conservative politics of the many of the country music fans who are their bread and butter, however, I give them credit for having the courage to publicly affirm their opposition to the war. (Bruce Springsteen said it right on his site.) Actually, doing so might even work to their career advantage, bringing what they offer the music world more into the awareness of those who don’t share the politics of their traditional fans. And exposing their only slightly compromised positions on a magazine cover can’t hurt either.
I was a big fan of country music in high school -- hung around with a bunch of friends who had a country-western band -- learned to play three cords on a guitar and loved Kitty Wells ("It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels"). Obviously, my taste in music had broadened considerably, but I still can't get into Rap. Maybe it's my age, but lyrical introspective story-teller/poets/musicians like Billy Joel remain my preference. As a side note, it was not surprising for me to note that 99% of the audience at the "Face to Face" concert was white, middle-aged, and very self-controlled.
Comments now powered by HaloScan. Click here to read this entry's comments (if any), or to post one of your own.
Old Comments (12)
mare on 25 Apr 2003
To each their own musical preference, it's all subjective regardless of what is popular or not.
"Lyrical introspective story-teller/poets/musicians like Tupac remain my preference."
See, it's all subjective.
Elaine on 25 Apr 2003
Indeed, it is all subjective. I guess I can't get into Rap because I'm a ballroom/swing/Latin/hustle dancer. I like music that lends itself to those kinds of moves -- more fluid and less staccato than hip-hop. And, while intellectually I understand the cultural origins of Rap lyrics, emotionally and psycholocially they just miss my mark.
jeneane on 25 Apr 2003
" As a side note, it was not surprising for me to note that 99% of the audience at the "Face to Face" concert was white, middle-aged, and very self-controlled."
HUH?
99-percent white well-behaved/self-controlled? what does that mean?
You should research your preferred artists to see who their influencers were--at least for Elton John. Go the source as they have and see if you can feel what the music is doing. I think your experience is a factor of the culturally-non-diverse area where you live, Elaine. (eeeks--Have you moved to Utica?)
Who wants to be self controlled (or well behaved as you first had) at a concert?
yikes!!!
Elaine on 26 Apr 2003
Of course I know who their influences are, but now they are the "oldies but goodies" and new musicians are taking over cutting the edges. My 99% was an observation (and I had a good vantage point from which to make it). Maybe it was the high cost of the tickets and only those financially comfortable were willing to pay. That would tend to leave out the younger, under-employed. I'm not sure that this area is any less racially diverse than any other area, but the nature of the audience was obvious. They were probably the teens and 20 somethings who were the fans of those guys when they started out, the ones who also freaked over the Beatles.
The nice thing about being in a box was that my friend and I were able to get up and move to the music -- even did a little swing, since I know how to lead. Around the rest of the arena people stood up and swayed and clapped etc. but all in a very "self-controlled" way. Just an observation.
Elaine on 26 Apr 2003
Oh, and the other thing I noticed was that there was only one non-white musician in the back up bands, and that was in Billy Joel's -- a gorgeously funky and multi-talented black woman who, I'm almost positive, was also with his band the last time I saw him perform. She stood out not only because of her color; she was outstanding at several different instruments and had a voice that brought down the house all by itself. The absence of much color in the back-up bands was also very obvious. .
Elayne Riggs on 27 Apr 2003
"When you’re as comely as the Dixie Chicks are, it doesn’t take much guts to bare your body on the cover of Entertainment Weekly..."
Yeah, no kidding! Blogged about this on Friday, and got a lot of disagreement for my view that it was a sort of self-objectification (and certainly not what one would term a feminist kind of move). Pretty interesting comment section!
Jeff on 27 Apr 2003
I just blogged on the Dixie Chicks yesterday.
I started to watch the Diane Sawyer interview but got too depressed. Freedom of expression seems to be moving only one direction these days. So I decided to take some action (small and personal, but action none-the-less): despite the fact I'm not a country music fan I went out and bought their latest CD. I've posted my receipt as a sort of "Freedom of Expression Proof of Purchase!"
Elaine on 27 Apr 2003
Well, I come down on the side of freedom of choice. The Chicks chose to use opportunities that were offered them to push the issue. There will be consequences to them for doing this, and I think they know this. If there's a time and place to bare it not-quite-all to make a political point, I think that this was it.
Elaine on 27 Apr 2003
Oh, and as far as raising money to help Shelley was concerned, it wasn't for her blog specifically; it was for server bandwith that could accommodate all that she does and wants to do. Free blogs are very limited, although they work find for people like me. I'm not sure I understand all that Shelley does -- lots of which is technical and experimental -- but her work feeds into taking this kind of communication to the next levels of interactivity. And she's looking for paid work.
Elaine on 27 Apr 2003
Oh, and as far as raising money to help Shelley was concerned, it wasn't for her blog specifically; it was for server bandwith that could accommodate all that she does and wants to do. Free blogs are very limited, although they work find for people like me. I'm not sure I understand all that Shelley does -- lots of which is technical and experimental -- but her work feeds into taking this kind of communication to the next levels of interactivity. And she's looking for paid work.
Tom Shugart on 27 Apr 2003
Elaine, if you haven't yet bought a Chicks album, I hope you will. Their latest, "Home," is absolutely gorgeous.
So you're a Kitty Wells fan! Well, well. In my Army days, I was a tireless listener to Ms. Wells, Miles Davis, and Chuck Berry. My barracks mates thought I was some kind of freak because they had no concept of eclecticism.
Elaine on 28 Apr 2003
Yup. Different music for different moods. As I was remembering Kitty Wells, the name Ferlin Husky came to mind. Now how many people remember Ferlin Husky?