Ellington

Anyone who can't admit that it took courage for Natalie Maines to say she was ashamed George W. Bush came from Texas, and for her band mates Martie Maguire and Emily Robison to back her up, should have to answer this question: Has your life ever been threatened for expressing a political opinion?

After Maines made her statement in March 2003 onstage at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, it became common—from the left as well as the right—to hear people claim that the Dixie Chicks were naive for being shocked at the reaction, as if death threats should be considered par for the course in a democracy.

Let's be clear: we're talking about one threat that was so specific as to the time, place and method of Maines' murder, the FBI considered it credible. We're talking about a DJ who claimed he knew Maines' address and suggested taking a "posse" to her house. We're talking about a newspaper that published that address. We're talking about a South Carolina politician who rose in the state legislature to announce that anyone who attended the Chicks' concert in his state ought to be "ready, ready, ready to run away from it."

The irony is that for a few months in the spring and summer of 2003, some Americans aped Islamic fundamentalists who believe that the proper punishment for defaming their godhead is death. Those people did so in the name of standing up for America.

Following the release of their new CD, "Taking the Long Way" (Sony), the claims by the Chicks' enemies that the Bush comment was a ploy to boost CD sales are dubious — as if the largest-selling female act in the history of popular music needed help moving units. The first single, "Not Ready To Make Nice," couldn't find enough stations to play it (even as it hit No. 1 on iTunes). And though the band debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200, it was a significant drop from their last album of new material, 2002's "Home." No, the band isn't going to the poorhouse anytime soon, but they are likely to be seeing much smaller sales than they once did.

"The incident," as they now call it, illustrates, as nothing else in pop culture has in decades, how much riskier it is to speak up in the midst of the mainstream than it is from the fringe. No other performer has been as vilified as the Dixie Chicks for speaking out—and they wouldn't have been if they hadn't made their name in the conservative space of mainstream country music.

They do not apologize on "Taking the Long Way." In a recent Time cover story, Maines even retracted her 2003 apology: "I don't feel he (Bush) is owed any respect whatsoever."

A grab at mainstream adult pop, the new album finds the Chicks experiencing the pleasure of speaking in their own voice, dropping all pretense as to who they are.

"Well, I fought with a stranger and I found myself," Maines sings on the opener, "The Long Way Around." It also finds them bristling at the #### they've taken for doing so. "I've paid a price, and I'll keep paying," Maines sings in a plaintive, breathy voice on "Not Ready to Make Nice."

That plaintiveness is part of what sometimes strands "Taking the Long Way" between adolescent bravado and adult angst. You can't blame the trio for feeling hurt and angry over the way they've been treated. But at times they come close to self-pity.

"Why isn't she (Maines) singing about Iraq?" Sasha Frere-Jones asked in his New Yorker review.

Thank God she isn't. That way lies didacticism. Throughout "Taking the Long Way," the Dixie Chicks try to use the price they paid for speaking out as a metaphor for the price people pay for not conforming. But instead of enlarging their focus, the specificity of the songwriting ("They form commissions trying to find/The next one they can crucify") narrows it to them. And the hurt that is palpable—as every other emotion she expresses is palpable—in Maines' voice sometimes feels as if she is unconsciously admitting just how much her enemies have gotten to her.

The album is much more effective when the band spits nails. The opening lines have a real charge: "My friends from high school/Married their high-school boyfriends/Moved into houses/In the same zip codes where their parents live." Those might not be the most compassionate lines—circumstance keeps some of us in our hometowns. But there's an impolite thrill in admitting you want nothing more than to get the hell out, and a shiver in realizing how close you came to the kind of stultified existence the song details. It can be even more of a thrill to admit that as an adult, to be thankful you haven't settled for what so many of your contemporaries have.

This is not an album ignorant of the occasional need for compromise. Despite the slick professionalism of Rick Rubin's production and songwriting aided by the likes of Linda Perry, Peter Yorn, Sheryl Crow and Semisonic's Dan Wilson, "Taking the Long Way" addresses some of the messier realities of married life without smoothing them out or providing melodramatic resolution. In the ballad "Voice Inside My Head," a married woman wonders what life would be like if she left her husband and child for a former lover. Right to the end, the song remains suspended between the choice of a comfortable, known present and an unknown, but possibly more passionate, future. And despite the one or two "isn't parenthood wonderful" lines, "So Hard"—which refers, subtly, to Robison and Maguire's need to undergo in vitro fertilization—addresses the strain children can put on a relationship.

Years ago, praising '70s teen-poppers The Raspberries, a critic said the band wasn't going to revolutionize rock music, but they were going to democratize it, so maybe a teenager could turn on the radio and hear a song about his concerns instead of his older brother's. In my mid 40s, I'm not ready to give up on rock or hip-hop. I think you'd have to be near dead not to respond to the urgency in Ghostface Killah's "Fishscale" or Rainer Maria's "Catastrophe Keeps Us Together." But democracy cuts all ways, and if parts of "Taking the Long Way" are softer than you wish, there's still something satisfying about an adult pop album that addresses the contingencies of adult life without turning into mush.

I hope this doesn't mark the end of the glee that made the pre-"incident" Chicks so much fun. In the Time interview, the trio talk about how they didn't write their earlier hits, and you can understand not only why they want control of what's coming out of their mouths, but why they've swapped the trashy, flashy fashion sense they used to show for the sleek designer black of their new photos. They shouldn't underestimate the subversiveness of "Goodbye Earl," the way they got their audiences to sing along with its fantasy of murdering a wife beater who surely deserved it. Or the hell-raising horniness of the great "Sin Wagon," in which their wonderful harmonies quote the old negro spiritual "I'll Fly Away" only to banish all notions of holiness with the added "on a sin wagon"—which Maines sings as if, like Elvis in "Burning Love," she couldn't imagine anything more pleasurable than the flames now licking her body.

That feeling comes out best here on "Lubbock or Leave It," Maines' screw-you to her Texas hometown, in which, over Maguire's frantic fiddling, she paints the picture of a church-ridden burg where kids have nothing better to do than get blasted on the main drag, in which she envisions a statue of herself when she's safely dead, and includes the zinger "This is the only place/Where as you're getting on a plane/You see Buddy Holly's face." The mock-concern she and her mates put into the refrain, "How will I ever get to Heaven now?" tells the whole story. They sound as if there were no one there they'd want to meet anyhow.

This article originally appeared in the Boston Phoenix.

Previous Comments

ID

80072

Comment

i love, love, love the dixie chicks. though we disagree politically on some issues, there talent is unmistakable. their new single is one of the best songs of the year for me and I am glad they are back in full force.

Author

c a webb

Date

2006-06-21T21:39:13-06:00

ID

80073

Comment

I personally have no use for the chicks. I didn't like them before the "incident" and have no reason to change my mind now. They have every right to their opinions, I just don't care one way or the other.

Author

James Hester

Date

2006-06-21T22:02:36-06:00

ID

80074

Comment

I thought the response to the Dixie Chicks was warped and showed just how nasty and McCarthyesque U.S. culture had become in the wake of 9/11. I think things are better than that now (can anyone remember when a large chunk of the population actually thought the whole "freedom fries" thing was a good idea?), but grudge-holding country music DJs can still hurt an album's sales. Johnny Cash being one of the more famous victims of that. And anyone who says celebrities should shut up and just be entertainers is (a) being impractical, because people will always want to know what celebrities think and ergo the media will always have a reason to cover it, and (b) being hypocritical. After all, I didn't see any of the folks who got worked up over the Dixie Chicks gasp at Britney Spears*, and that's because they don't want all celebrities to shut up. Just celebrities who say things they disagree with. And non-celebrities they disagree with, for that matter. As for the Chicks themselves: I'm just not much of a country music fan. I liked "Goodbye Earl," but that's about as far as it got for me. I'm tempted to buy their new album just as a gesture of solidarity, but I doubt I'd listen to much of it. The single's pretty catchy. And I always thought Natalie Maines was cute. Cheers, TH * "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens." -- Britney Spears on the Iraq War, from a September 2003 interview. And I don't remember writing any letters to radio stations demanding that they stop playing her, uh, music in response.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-06-21T22:50:13-06:00

ID

80075

Comment

Speaking of Britney Spears, can you believe NBC wasted an hour of prime time TV the other night interviewing her? Good grief. What a waste.

Author

James Hester

Date

2006-06-21T23:04:17-06:00

ID

80076

Comment

Yes, it was a very dark time. I remember people being so afraid to criticize the president, or our policies, or speak up about their own beliefs. It was the most "politically correct" period that I remember in my own lifetime. Very scary. Fortunately, now only the shrillest and least credible among us dare to try to squelch others right to dissent. At this point, those folks really, truly look like fools who don't get what America is about. What is it Fulbright said: "In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith." That's taped up over my desk. Of course, so is: "Doing my best to piss off the radical right." ;-D As for celebrities speaking out—I believe everyone should speak out. It's absurd to say that one shouldn't have an opinion, and express it, just because you've achieved a certain amount of fame. What kind of logic is that!? That is America, folks. Re the Chicks, I've never paid that much attention to their music. But I so appreciated Natalie's "courage" (not that it should have been called that), much in the same way that I appreciated Larry Flynt's fight for free expression. And I don't exactly indulge in his "art." ;-) Fighting for freedom is enough to make someone a hero in my eyes. I take it very seriously. Anyone who does knows that you have to fight for the right to dissent if you truly believe in freedom. If you just want it for yourself and your views, it doesn't count by the very definition of the idea. Voltaire, and all that.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-06-21T23:09:02-06:00

ID

80077

Comment

And, yes, the Chicks are tres chic and gorgeous these days. Pick up the paper to see some really great photos. The cover is hot.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-06-21T23:09:42-06:00

ID

80078

Comment

BTW, Jim, I like your post above (the one before Britney post). If everyone had that attitude, we wouldn't have so much to worry about. I'm glad you're posting here. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-06-21T23:11:36-06:00

ID

80079

Comment

All, I just noticed that the Web interns left off the first paragraph of this story earlier. It's been fixed. I apologize.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-06-21T23:16:25-06:00

ID

80080

Comment

Awww...thank you Donna. I'm a huge fan of freedom of speach. I think everyone has the right to an opinion. Which also means that others have the right to comment on your opinions or ignore them. But...that's what makes life interesting. Although I've never liked their music, I do agree about them being 3 "hot" chicks and I will very much enjoy looking at the pics. By the way, are you trying to make the JFP more like "Planet?" LOL Can we expect more cover girls?

Author

James Hester

Date

2006-06-21T23:27:56-06:00

ID

80081

Comment

I LOVE the cover. Is she supposed to look like Jane Fonda ;) Very pretty; love her. And I've always loved the music. I like the lullaby singing the boy to sleep. "Rocket racer's all tuckered out; superman's in pajamas on the couch; good night moon will find the mouse and I love you."

Author

emilyb

Date

2006-06-21T23:55:36-06:00

ID

80082

Comment

I not a DC fan, and never listen to their music. They and any other celeb have a right to their opinions, however uninformed or misguided they are, and a right to voice them. And the public has a right to make a judgment of their opinions and decide if they will continue to support them. Apparently the country music fanbase is pretty conservative, judging by reactions and condemnation of them and the drop in their record sales. Perhaps the Chicks believe the climate has changed enough for them to reemerge with a new album. Or perhaps they are targeting a slightly different demographic.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2006-06-22T06:51:07-06:00

ID

80083

Comment

The fanbase issue is less a concern to me than the radio stations' decision to make a political statement by taking the Chicks out of circulation. How can a single that was #1 on iTunes for the longest time get almost no radio airplay afterwards? It's unheard of. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-06-22T06:57:07-06:00

ID

80084

Comment

ejeff1970, i respect your thoughts on the chicks, but commercially the only thing that has happened to them is that they have become more of a crossover sensation. Remember that the new album debuted at number 1 with no play on county stations. People like what they have to say musically, at least, that is what the numbers show. I was curious how the announcement of their tour would go over, and though they have not gotten a good response in some areas, they have had to add venues and dates in others. Even Fox News' program "Your World" had to admit that the controversy surrounding their statements----now even against country music--- can't stop the chicks. They have let it be known that the country music scene is such that they don't want to be a part of it. And where they might have lost the respect of some, they have definitely gained the respect of others.

Author

c a webb

Date

2006-06-22T06:57:56-06:00

ID

80085

Comment

Censorship on the part of radio stations was probably an overreaction to some of the negative fan reaction, and it's not the first time that has happened. But I think it was disrepectful to country music fans who might have actually agreed with Maines and her statements. Webb, the popularity of their new album doesn't surprise me at all. It's not the first time that when something becomes "controversial", it actually increases its popularity because of the curiousity factor. I'm sure a lot of people were curious as to whether the album would have a political spin to it because of the earlier controversy. Others were just feeling the new rock feel to the music. Like I said, the Chicks seem to be targeting a different demographic than the hardcore country music genre.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2006-06-22T07:19:44-06:00

ID

80086

Comment

Censorship? I think that may be too strong a word. Radio stations have the right to play or not to play whatever music they want. They have a right to free speech as well. Sometimes when people exercise their right to free speech, there are consequences. That’s all part of the game. Just like when Donna has to ban someone like JSU from this blog.

Author

James Hester

Date

2006-06-22T07:49:17-06:00

ID

80087

Comment

OK. Still wish we had an edit feature for that sort of thing. But I think you and I agree JimNWR, in spite of my poor choice of words. It is interesting that the Dixies were pulled from stations because of their political views rather than lyrical content as is the norm. But in a free market where ratings and advertising revenues dictate policy, it didn't surprise me that the Dixies were pulled due to negative listener reactions.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2006-06-22T08:15:16-06:00

ID

80088

Comment

I think we do agree ejeff. Country music stations have no problem at all playing those Toby Keith "let's drop bombs on everybody" songs. I can understand the chicks bad-mouthing the country music industry. I do think they should keep in mind, however, that it's that industry and the fan base that made them rich. A spellchecker would be really cool too. Are you listening Donna? LOL

Author

James Hester

Date

2006-06-22T08:38:14-06:00

ID

80089

Comment

No one has total freedom to do everything they want to do. Society has limits and there will be those who disagree with those limits. Right or wrong when someone pushes the limits of socities boundries there will be consequences. TV,Radio and newpapers are businesses pure and simple and in it to make money. If they believe putting something on the air or in print might damage their business they should not and most probably will not do it. The chicks can go to any corner of the world and say what they want to but the businesses do not have air it. Even the JFP which has an "Alternative" veiwpoint has to weith what it prints vs. advertising dollars.

Author

burton

Date

2006-06-22T09:20:13-06:00

ID

80090

Comment

I became an instant fan of the Chicks once they made the comments about Goerge. Haven't heard any of their music yet that I know of. Although I may have during my many years in Texas. Past fans and radio stations wronged them in my opinion.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2006-06-22T10:24:44-06:00

ID

80091

Comment

I've personally struggled with the consequences of pushing society's limits. I had worked in an environment where the boss really just did not like me as a person because of what he'd read about me or he had taken one thing I'd said over lunch and stretched it into, "she's one of those liberals." Yes, there were consequences. I was overlooked a lot, I was not taken very seriously as a viable employee, etc. Because his idea of the world was not my idea of the world. Was I walking around the office with a bullhorn? No. But I was true to my values. I've since moved on from that environment and I'm very happy that I did not compromise what I thought was right for the sake of not pushing societal norms. All that said to say, Natalie has been a great model, especially for women, for doing what you think is right and sticking to it. Sometimes principals just override "business."

Author

emilyb

Date

2006-06-22T10:36:31-06:00

ID

80092

Comment

emily, you said a mouthful with "principles just override business." how many times have we not done something that we wanted to just because of how others might view it or us? i am passionate about things/causes that i believe in, however, i have personally not always vocalized them because some people can't have decent conversations without going off on a rant. i have a great deal of respect for natalie and the other ladies of the group, however, i don't agree with the stand they took with bush. in my opinion one of the blessings we have in this country is being able to agree to disagree. my dislike for what she said, however, has nothing to do with how i feel about her as an entertainer. more people need to be able to make those differences.

Author

c a webb

Date

2006-06-22T11:03:38-06:00

ID

80093

Comment

Yeah. I thought her choice of words were way-off. Too much anger for that audience.

Author

emilyb

Date

2006-06-22T11:07:28-06:00

ID

80094

Comment

There are definetly business circles in town that make judgements on those associated with the JFP. I wait for the day when conservatives let those not like them to burn in hell, in peace.

Author

herman

Date

2006-06-22T11:23:17-06:00

ID

80095

Comment

I Salute the Dixie Chicks and all people, here and around the world, who had the courage to stand up for "Freedom of Speech." The gall of some to think that because you pay to see a performance or pay for a CD of their music, you have the right to control thoughts and political positions of others. CNN did a specail this week called, DEAD WRONG." The country has been like a delayed orgasm catching up with what has actually happened to America as it relates to the war. You can't silence everybody and some people are more than a pretty face and a great stage act.

Author

justjess

Date

2006-06-22T11:29:33-06:00

ID

80096

Comment

I think there has been way too much made of this. Some act as if the chicks were some heroic maytr's. The lead singer made what seems to have been a spur of the moment comment about being ashamed the President was from Texas and some people think she is the poster child for free speech. The real problem with enjoying what she said is that several days later she apologized for saying it so do you believe she was really trying to excerise her right to free speech and if so which statement do you believe.

Author

burton

Date

2006-06-22T12:48:05-06:00

ID

80097

Comment

I believe she said something off-the-cuff and then was hated upon by other people, including other musicians. They said horrible things about her personally. If you'll read above burton, it says there was one death threat made against her that was so serious the fbi became involved. Martyr? I don't know. Someone who endured some really hateful things because of something she said? Yes. Whether or not she meant it, whether or not she apologized....neither justify death threats and slander.

Author

emilyb

Date

2006-06-22T13:00:06-06:00

ID

80098

Comment

Burton, I think you are right that too much was made from this, but I would argue that part of the problem came from the pro-Bush forces. There were some people at the time who were saying that because the Chicks spoke out against their President while on foreign soil that they were guilty of treason and should be brought up on charges for under the U.S. Alien and Sedition Act. They also received death threats, and were painted by others as the Jane Fondas of the 21st Century. Maines apologized in part because of the uproar, and probably under pressure from both the record label.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2006-06-22T13:06:26-06:00

ID

80099

Comment

I like Jane Fonda, too. Always have and always will.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2006-06-22T13:11:07-06:00

ID

80100

Comment

You cannot have it both ways. Maines can and did say anything she wants about Bush but those who excerise their free speech to condemn what she said are refered to as haters and slanders. I agree with the issue of death threats, no one deserves that but maybe she needs to take a page from the Hon. Frank Meltons book and just wear a pistol at all times.

Author

burton

Date

2006-06-22T13:58:51-06:00

ID

80101

Comment

I believe strongly that speech flows two ways, burton. And it flows back again. Natalie had a right to say what she did, folks had a right to criticize her, and others then have a right to criticize why they criticized her (including saying it was based on "hate" if that's what they believe). Ain't America grand? Of course, anyone who uses unfactual statements to support their opinion are "slandering," at least technically, so that one would depend on the case. However, the corporate efforts to quell their music due to their views were terrible--and need to be called out for what they were. Which wasn't censorship, but neither is any of this. Corporate media need to be called out on their inordinate power to shape public opinion (such as David Hampton equating Ann Coulter with Molly Ivins). That's just wrong. Compare Molly to a conservative columnist who doesn't make up facts or accuse dissenters as being traitors—but it's absurd to make those two equal. Reminds me of the time Jerry Mitchell found an old Klansman to quote to "balance" the NAACP.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-06-22T14:14:46-06:00

ID

80102

Comment

It seems to me that if you're a country singer, you have to toe the line with how everyone else thinks politically. Remember k.d. lang? She was pretty much blacklisted from country music because of her vegetarianism and lesbianism. Someone mentioned Johnny Cash earlier. You can also throw in Steve Earle. Name one other country music singer who's come out against the death penalty. As far celebrities speaking out, I definitely agree with Tom. The problem isn't whether or not they're speaking out; it's whether we agree with what they say. Laura Ingraham came out with a book a few years that criticized rock stars, like Bruce Springsteen, for their comments. But did anyone criticize Ted Nugent for his political comments? No one criticized Arnold Schwarzenegger or Bruce Willis for their comments. There is a double standard that those on the right can say what they want, but let Barbra Streisand say something, you'd think the sky was falling.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2006-06-22T15:15:42-06:00

ID

80103

Comment

I have always enjoyed the 'Chicks'. But when Natalie set if off with her comments and the backlash pursued, I gained a higher level of respect for them. Just because they are country musicians, does not mean that they harbor the 'stereo typed' good ole' mentality. They proved to be smart young women capable of recognizing bs who, unlike so many 'cool artists', possessed the courage to speak the truth ( and what so many others thought). Unfortunatley, the industry/collegues did not have their backs during the ordeal.

Author

Jackson Area NOW

Date

2006-06-23T18:35:43-06:00

ID

80104

Comment

They march to their own string......

Author

Jackson Area NOW

Date

2006-06-23T18:37:33-06:00

ID

80105

Comment

Or should I have said...fiddle....

Author

Jackson Area NOW

Date

2006-06-23T18:50:11-06:00

ID

80106

Comment

Kim Gandy-another rebel belle and president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) has been confirmed as a speaker at the Reproductive Freedom Summers kick-off rally on Saturday, July 15, 2006. REBEL BELLES UNITE!!!!

Author

Jackson Area NOW

Date

2006-06-29T12:10:56-06:00

ID

80107

Comment

Michelle, I think y'all need to make buttons that say "Rebel Belles Unite!" That's catchy. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-06-29T12:26:19-06:00

ID

80108

Comment

D- Iam on it!!!!

Author

Jackson Area NOW

Date

2006-06-29T18:17:55-06:00

ID

80109

Comment

Some one for me. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-06-29T20:25:08-06:00