...at the Grammy's tonight. Not just because I totally agree with the ladies' opinions on our "President," but because I really, really like their album and the lead song, "Not Ready to Make Nice."And before I get tossed on the liberal bandwagon as a Chelsea queen who'd never heard of country music before the Chicks, I want to say that I love country music. From Conway Twitty to Loretta Lynn to Dolly Parton and Hank Williams, I have loved country music since my uncle, who moved to Birmingham, Alabma in 1960 from Puerto Rico, introduced me to it as a kid during my summer vacations on the island.
So good luck to them tonight, and to my girl Mary J. Blige, who definitely made '06 her year.
6 comments:
The Dixie Chicks deserve their awards. They definitely produced one of the finest, most interesting and diverse albums with "Taking the Long Way Home."
Just to be clear, Taking the Long Way Home is not a country album. It's a wee bit blue grass at times, but it is a rock / pop album.
But their star is fading. Ticket sales for the Chix, though impressive by any measure, have not come close to their previous tours. Cancelled concerts and angry listeners illustrate their dwindling fan base.
Country music has definitely suffered with the loss of the Chix. Overall country CD sales are down, way down, and the country music establishment is scrambling to replace them. We, country music fans, have been subjected to the horrors of Carrie Underwood and the Wreckers, and now they are trying to cram such posers as Nora Jones, Joan Osborn and even Harry Connick Jr. up our asses.
For now, the Chix can enjoy one more night at the top of the world. But it will be short lived. They still need a hit sometime soon, or they will continue to fade. Eventually, they will be replaced.
Given the quality of their latest work, calling the Chix success temporary is a bit on the myopic side. You are assuming that they currently depend solely on country fans and that is obviously not the case. The Dixie Chicks are being embraced by a different public and will continue to be embraced by that public as long as their work remains attractive. Every long lasting artist knows that they need to change with the times and with this album the Chix have proven that they are willing and able to change.
I am not a big country music fan but last night introduced me to these ladies and I will be downloading them from iTunes soon. First convert right here! :)
I never said they were temporary. They have been around for a long time, making great country and bluegrass music. They have always had a large cross-over appeal. It is not only their country fans that abandoned them. They had to cancel shows because of dismal ticket sales.
Madonna is the only pop artist that has the mass appeal to outsell Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Tony Keith or Faith Hill. The loss of the country audience represents a HUGE drop in fan base that will never be regained.
That being said, I am sure they will adjust to their new second tier status and have comfortable careers.
My point was merely that last night represented merely a symbolic acceptance for them. If "the people" really exercised their freedom of speech, they would have done so with their purchasing power and their concerts would have continued to sell out.
The Chix are a wonderful talent and they will always have a special place in my heart (Cowboy Take Me Away was the song my husband and I danced to at our wedding). But rest assured that the Grammys NEVER award talent. They reward the left.
AMEN. They ARE very talented. They would do well, however, to keep their politics out of it since they know virtually nothing of what they speak of and alienate many of their fans. Being a country music singing trio, (I know this is odd) doesn't make you a strategic political operative who should use a concert stage as a political podium. Just a thought.
Agreed!!
Nobody wants to hear Hillary Clinton sing!! Why would we want to hear the Dixie Chicks pontificate about politics?
I'd agree with the distinction James makes -- definitely not country, but a good album nonetheless.
But I don't know, hopefully they're around for a little longer. They definitely have room to improve (I would've been happy to see a few of those trophies go to other artists) and it'll be fun to see them happy.
Still, congrats to them. I kinda like it when musicians wear their politics on their sleeves. I mean, if Britney Spears'd done it, I'd totally agree with you, berdo and James. But it's the Chicks, we're talking about -- I can tolerate that. =)
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