A Letter in this morning's Post-Gazette about the Dixie Chicks

[RT_Fanatic]

Feedback: 02/15/07

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Shut up and sing

Not everyone votes for Grammy Awards, therefore, any talk of the Dixie Chicks getting the last laugh should be tempered (Ladies' night: Dixie Chicks, Mary J. Blige hit the right notes at the Grammys), Feb. 12.

Not everyone is throwing their arms open. They can win a little trophy for writing meaningless country pop songs, but it doesn't mean Natalie Maines isn't an ignorant, unrefined moron that needs to learn how and where to express her displeasure with political events
...
John Juliano
Richland

More at:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07046/762081-42.stm

Let me begin by saying three things:

1. I wouldn't go across the street to watch the Dixie Chicks play for free.

2. I don't believe a Grammy Award says ANYTHING about whether or not the winner is any good at MUSIC.

3. Even vacuous pop stars have the right to say any stupid thing they want.

Now this letter-writer is still harping on something the Chicks' singer, Natalie Maines, said, what, a couple of years ago, during an appearance in London. He calls the Chicks uninformed, too rich, whatever, and that they aren't aware of the "war" that this country is engaged in. Now this "war" he mentions, would this be the "war" that was sold to Congress and the American People using manipulated and cherry-picked, not to mention downright deceitful intelligence? Would this be the "war" that was undertaken after misleading the American Sheeple into believing that Saddam Hussein had some connection to the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks? Would this be the "war" that has killed over 3000 American soldiers and countless Iraqi civilians, has bankrupted our treasury, and has engendered a deadly civil war in Iraq that shows no signs of abating while more and more people die every day? THAT war? OK, just checking.

But what really burns me up about this letter is the writer calling Natalie Maines an "ignorant, unrefined moron." Feel free to ridicule anyone's political views, but where does a person get off saying this? Just what type of behavior qualifies someone as an "ignorant, unrefined moron"? According to this Mr. Juliano, if you criticize George Bush, that's enough. It's not so easy to draw such conclusions if one actually THINKS first. Ignorant and unrefined? Let's see, could the following be categorized as such? During a meeting of international leaders, a male head of state approaches an unsuspecting female head of state, and gives that female head of state an unsolicited shoulder rub? Sounds pretty ignorant and unrefined to me!

And what exactly is a "moron"? This term is used often to describe a person of limited intelligence. It's more often used by angry letter writers to describe people they don't agree with. I'm not a skilled psychologist or anything, but if you ask me, a person with an Ivy League education who can't properly pronounce the word "nuclear" is a moron. Just sayin'.

Something tells me that if Mr. Juliano were parked in front of his TV watching, oh, say, Toby Keith, praise the job that the Bush misAdministration has done in Iraq, he wouldn't be bothering to express in writing his desire for the man to "shut up and sing."

Puh-leaze!

[kid a]

1. it is a great record! well written, great music, great production

rick rubin is my hero

[Meat Stew]

31. Rick Rubin

is my hero too. Johnny Cash is my God and what Rick did with Mr. Cash in his last few years was magic.

[mmonk]

2. I disagree with your take on their music but agree with

you overall. The really bad thing is that their craft and trade were actually attacked through restraint of trade by corporations and some other country artists (just for not worshipping bush). There are actually no more unAmerican or unintelligent people in the United States than these people and these businesses. They are very sick and very sorry human beings.

[RT_Fanatic]

3. Absolutely,

the Chicks got screwed by the corporate greed-weenies. I can appreciate the talent thereof, but I tend to ignore most of what is played on the radio and gushed about in the media, with very few exceptions. The "music industry," to me is a contradiction in terms. I mean, I used to like U2 a lot, for example. But since they became "superstars," I have difficulty caring AT ALL about them. So much of mainstream music (rock, pop, country, R & B, whatever) is nothing more than "product" meant to be sold in mass quantities.

I teach high school. One day my iPod was sitting on my desk (I had been listening to it during my "free" period), and one of my students picked it up and strated scrolling through the Artists display. "I never heard of most of THESE people," she snickered incredulously. And I'm like, (to myself) "Right. That's the idea."

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. Not so sure they really got screwed --

Isn't "Taking the Long Way" their first double platinum album?

[mmonk]

5. Well I had bought tickets to their Greensboro show

for my birthday celebration in a pre-sale, but they had to cancel the show because the radio stations wouldn't advertise it. Many of their tour dates had to be rearranged and they went to Canada for shows there. And yes, the haters couldn't stop "Taking the Long Way" from being a success, even though the stations wouldn't play it. I love that fact. As far as record sales before that, they were the leading all time female band in sales.

[LostinVA]

36. The same thing happened to me -- I was so disappointed

They're great in convert. I was so pissed at Greensboro! I went to college there, and lived there for quite a while. A town full of universities and colleges shouldn't have done that. *sigh*

I was told that they had sold ALOT of tickets pre-sale, but canceled it because of the local radio stations.

[mmonk]

46. I thought that might be the case, but you never know for sure.

When I did the pre-sale thing which was early on, my seats were already mid way back on the floor. So was the cancellation because none of them would advertise like other places or were they planning something to detract or cause trouble? I heard they wouldn't accept advertising.

[Tanuki]

7. No, their first album with Natalie as lead singer went 12X platinum

(Wide Open Spaces), and other albums have gone 10 x platinum and 6 x platinum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Chicks

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Thanks. I was unaware --

or shall I say, while I was aware of the Chicks I had no idea they were as big as that.

I'm anxious to see what their next album will be like.

And waiting for "Shut Up and Sing" to come out on DVD.

[hughee99]

9. That's what I was thinking

It seems tough to me to make the claim that corporations "destroyed their livelihood" for their political opinions, given their recent success.

[mmonk]

11. Death threats and concert cancellations come to mind.

No air play deprives one of increased sales as well (suppresses sales).

[hughee99]

17. So would you say that their livelihood

has been destroyed? Sure, lack of air play on many stations and appearance cancellations didn't help, but there's a great difference between depriving someone of INCREASED SALES and destroying their livelihood. The corporations certainly didn't make it easy for them, but it's not within their power to wholly prevent them from making a living (like the govt did with the Hollywood blacklists, for example).

IMHO, it's also probably not completely fair to blame the corporations for individual nut bags making death threats.

[mmonk]

20. I'm not sure I know where you're going with this

and no, I don't necessarily blame the corporations for the death threats but having the DJ's call them traitors over the air I'm quite sure doesn't increase their safety. If one depends on advertising to sell their product, no air play certainly has the potential to do them in.

[hughee99]

24. My issue is that there seems to be a perception

that the corporations are preventing them from making a living, and that simply isn't the case. Are the Dixie Chicks being treated unfairly because of their political statements? Sure they are. Do the corporations really have the power to prevent them from making a living as artists? It wouldn't seem so in this case.

My "beef", if you want to call it that, is that people seem to want to point to this as an example of how corporations can prevent artists from making a living if they don't agree with their politics. There album went double-platinum (so far) and they just won 5 grammys. If they hadn't made political statements, things certainly would have been easier for them, but I find it hard to make the case, from this example, that they can't make a living because of their political views. IMHO, a far better example of if this is the Hollywood writers blacklist where artists were actually prevented from making any kind of living in their artistic field because of their politics.

[mmonk]

25. They can damage and they can drive people out of business.

I'm not anti-business as I've been a businessperson most of my adult life. Let me put it another way. How much music do you buy that you never hear or don't know is out there?

[hughee99]

26. They sure can drive people out of business

but given the success of the Dixie Chicks, it's kind of hard to make the case that they've done that here, isn't it? Are any Dixie Chicks fans NOT aware that they put out a new album? Sure, some corporations set up some road blocks that made things more difficult in the short term with canceled concert dates and lack of radio play. How many progressives that are not normally country music fans started listening to their music BECAUSE of the controversy? On their latest tour, they were working with different corporations and radio stations that aren't trying to destroy their livelihood and if I recall correctly, they didn't have to cancel any concerts and sold out most (if not all) of their shows. Their music can certainly be found on the radio, though not necessarily on the same stations that used to play their music.

[mmonk]

28. I'm not aware of stations that play them now where I live though

some may. Anyway, yes, they have been selling less and they haven't been making as much on tours (where most the money is made). Usually, an artist releases an album and follows that release with a tour. That becomes very tough to next to impossible to do if an artist cannot get air play or advertise their concert. If you don't know someone's in town, you are not going to purchase a ticket. If you don't hear a new release, most do not go and buy the recording. Can they survive with just their core fans? Maybe. You are incorrect about cancellations unless you count replacing dates here in the US with dates in Canada or abroad. They have said themselves the crowds are smaller. Point is, the Industry trying to destroy their careers is not ok. If I determine it will not be ok for you not to make a living over something your said, but I can't quite do it, but I make you make only half of what you used to, is that A OK with you since you still are making some money ?

[hughee99]

41. I'm sorry, you are correct about the reconfigurations

on the last tour. The web site I checked this out on was sort of a fan page that was glossing over the troubles they had with scheduling. As far as their fan base goes, I don't know that it's really accurate to compare their "pre-comments" fan base with their current one and blame the difference on the fact that they're not getting airplay and promotion. There were a lot of fans who were turned off by the comments and won't buy their albums or see their shows anymore specifically because of the comments. That's why it was such a big story in the first place, because the comments ran contrary to what I guess is more or less "popular opinion" among the country music fan base.

Their biggest problem, IMHO, is not the corporations here because not ALL the companies in the record or radio industry are shutting them down, it's the fact that they lost a decent portion of their fan base with these comments. Now, they have to go to new markets and seek alternative methods of marketing and ways to appeal to fans who are not normally country music fans.

[mmonk]

45. Easily said. Without the hate campaign

and the literal blackball by the radio conglomerates, cd burning promotions from radio affiliates, country music industry bigwigs, sponsored events such as monster truck rallies to crush their cd's, free republic and collaborative efforts of some peers, would it really be this big? I doubt it.

[Bridget Burke]

34. I'm pissed at the corporations who run radio--because they've made radio suck.

I love many varieties of country music but can't listen to Corporate Country Radio. The great stars & influences of the past go unplayed; Johnny Cash's last records were produced outside Nashville because he was "too old." But real innovation is discouraged.

The Dixie Chicks have serious country roots (bluegrass) but have mastered "modern" styles, as well. Country Radio's refusal to play their music hurt the Chicks a bit. But it hurt Country Radio more.

[hughee99]

42. I agree with this...

I think another problem is that more and more often, the bands that are getting signed and promoted by record labels suck. They get promoted because they're "marketable" not necessarily because their music is any good.

[proud2BlibKansan]

37. Clear Channel directed its affiliate stations to not play their records and to

encourage a boycott by their listeners, as well as bonfires burning their CDs, etc. They launched a hate campaign against them and very well could have ruined their career. Some redneck freepers were inspired to send them death threats.

No they weren't successful but the fact that a corporation has this kind of power is scary.

So the freepers' argument that they are responsible for boycotting the Chicks is just downright ignorant, as they don't realize how they are being played by Clear Channel. And the Chicks overwhelming success in spite of the corporate hate campaign against them is inspirational.

See their movie, it tells the whole story. Yes they can still make a living but they came very close to being put out of business. When I learned about what Clear Channel had done, and the resulting death threats I was amazed. Death threats - that's what got me.

[mmonk]

22. I'm going to presume your beef is with the concept of blaming

corporations. If so, maybe you should get a copy of this http://www.myspace.com/shutupandsing

[Yukari Yakumo]

27. Album sales are mostly meaningless.

Something around 5-10% of revenue from an album's sale actually goes to the musician's pocket. A huge chunk of the money from an album's sale goes straight to the studio.

An artist gets most of their money from touring.

[mmonk]

29. That's correct. And not being able to advertise

their tours to local populations is why they had to cancel shows and schedule shows out of the country.

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Actually I think it is more like 1%

but you are correct. Record sales benefit record companies, not musicians.

[mmonk]

6. I agree about commercialization of music and how it detracts.

[LisaM]

10. Your student picked up your iPod and started snooping?

Times have changed; not only can I not imagine doing that to a teacher's belongings at my high school - back then, the administration (and my parents) would have called me on it. Where are the little snark's parents?

[RT_Fanatic]

14. It's all good...

The student asked me for permission to look at it.

[LisaM]

15. Oh, okay!!! LOL.

I take it back.

[tulsakatz]

8. what Natalie said was that........

...she was ashamed, that's an opinion not a fact! So it really doesn't matter if she's informed or not, she was simply stating her opinion.

Personally, I think she is better informed than most people and that's merely my opinion.

Certainly the author is within his rights to disagree with her but the fact remains that receiving even one Grammy is a standard of excellence in music.

[zbdent]

12. It still boggles my mind how people like that LTTE writer can

e-mail in crayon ...

[mmonk]

13. .

[Warren DeMontague]

18. "how and where to express displeasure with political events" ...lemme guess.

Not at all, and nowhere. Right, dude?

[zbdent]

30. unless it's psychotically

Pro-Bush ...

[LaPera]

19. It gives these crackers an excuse to HATE! They are ignorant disgusting people

who can't mind their own fucking business and are always making judgments on other people lives...I would also bet 100% of them are full blown racist as well....These people are sheep and live to hate!

The greedy liar & killer George Bush fits their hateful lifestyle perfectly they all want to be just like the arrogant vindictive asshole Bush!

These people can NOT think for themselves...they all listen to Limbaugh and hate radio and are glued to Fox news to tell them new hateful bullshit and how to think and what to say and the idiots believe it's their own knuckle-dragging thoughts!

[magellan]

21. You do know it was the freepers who were behind the boycott, don't you?

Saw it on DN! this morning and was shocked (not). Read here:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/15/1528222

[mmonk]

23. They started it. The industry itself followed suit.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

32. SOUR GRAPES! "They can win a little trophy for writing meaningless country pop songs"

And the other contenders write what? The formula for curing cancer?

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. I am not a country fan but I love the Chicks

So can I have your free ticket? :)

As far as this letter, it's ignorant, but at least it isn't a death threat.

[POAS]

35. Another non-country fan who loves the chicks!

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. It's their musicianship I admire

A friend loaned me FLY and I fell in love. I have been a fan ever since.

[POAS]

40. The thing I like about the "Not Ready" CD

(besides the "musicianship") is how the songs all weave together to tell the story of their struggles and feelings during the period between their blacklisting and their decision to record "Not Ready".

Too many CD's are just collections of nice tunes without any theme. Here is a CD that not only has a theme but tells a personal and sometimes painful story about the artists!

[LostinVA]

44. Right -- it's a real "album" -- like they used to be

ie "Rumors," etc.

[izzybeans]

43. Is "ignorant, unrefined" southern speak for "how dare you question a powerful man!"?

Or Texas-speak more specifically.

[Bridget Burke]

47. The letter was printed in a Pittsburgh paper.

How Southern is Pennsylvania? Perhaps some with Old South pretensions would use words like "ignorant & unrefined."

But Texans tend to be more outspoken. Like Natalie Maines.

[izzybeans]

48. I just saw Richland

and thought Texas so her words sounded like the "Nice, nasties".