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June 27, 2006
Singing with the Chicks
My Fathers Day present from my daughter-in-law Melissa was the new Dixie Chicks album, Taking the Long Way. She’s a big fan. I’ll bet she and Grace, my 5-year-old granddaughter, can already sing along with the new songs.
I first heard the Chicks a few years ago while riding shotgun in their family SUV. I’m long past the age when I pay much attention to popular music, but I liked what I heard. For one thing, I’m a sucker for Vietnam War songs (Billy Joel’s “Goodnight Saigon,” for example) and the Dixie Chicks’ sentimental ballad “Travelin’ Soldier” stuck in my mind.
That Christmas, Melissa gave my wife and me Home, an earlier Chicks album. It mixed well with other folk-country music we sometimes play: the Subdudes, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, the Traveling Wilburys, Greg Brown. The Chicks struck me as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in skirts.
But of course, since those days, the Dixie Chicks have transcended the pop music world. In March 2003, just before the invasion of Iraq, the Chicks’ lead singer, Natalie Maines, a Texan, said at a London concert: “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”
This created a firestorm. People smashed their Chicks’ CDs. Red-state country stations banned their music. People wrote them threatening letters. On the Comedy channel one night, I saw a redneck comic do a truly nasty routine trashing Maines and the Chicks. It was red meat to the crowd.
From a marketing standpoint, going political was a dumb move for Natalie (may I call her Natalie?). And she wasn’t exactly a profile in courage when she realized the consequences of her words. A few days after the blowback began, she said: “I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful, and whoever holds that office should be treated with respect.”
The anti-Chick crusade rolled right over this non-apology apology.
Three years later, the controversy is background buzz to the new album. It was the story line in the reviews, and it landed the Chicks a gig on Terry Gross’s Fresh Air. There they got to talk about how the reaction to Natalie’s remarks turned their world upside down. This was great marketing. Fresh Air is an NPR show whose audience is likely to be sympathetic to Natalie’s original statement, supportive or her First Amendment rights and susceptible to buying the Chicks’ new album just to spite the evil Red Staters.
But for me, it’s all about the music. Truth be told, in the slivers I had heard, the music sounded over-produced and over-orchestrated – not raw enough for my tastes. After my Fathers Day present arrived in the mail, I slipped Taking the Long Way into my car stereo with some trepidation.
I’ll tell you what: I’m liking several cuts, none more than “Not Ready to Make Nice,” in which Natalie and the Chicks answer their critics. It’s rare that a pop song rises above sentiment to convey emotion, but this one seethes with defiance and resolve. Already I find myself singing along to its slow opening and listening closely to make sure I’m catching all the lyrics when they get fast and angry. It’s a song that forces you to listen actively, and it isn’t the only one on the album I’d say that about.
I haven’t sent my daughter-in-law a thank you card for the Fathers Day gift yet. I guess I’m hoping this blog entry will do the trick.
Posted by Mike Pride at June 27, 2006 07:32 PM