In 2003, Natalie Maines of the now-notorious band, The Dixie Chicks, said some pretty benign stuff about Bush, primarily that she and her bandmates were ashamed that the U.S. president was from their home state of Texas — on the eve of the Iraq invasion. Her remarks led to some heavy-handed response, including FBI-deemed credible death threats and a publicly-organized campaign to damn the band’s cd sales forever.

Maines’ comments rippled through the world of country music, one of the largest genres sold in the world — not just in the U.S. — in a telltale way. How could anyone in country music say something even remotely derogatory about any Republican, especially Bush? Mainstream country music is the popular culture flag for conservatives across the nation. All conservatives and even Democrats publicized their support for Bush when they signed an open-ended check for war that continues to draw on and deplete any future resources we stored up under Clinton’s rule. And so in the face of tremendous flak, the girls apologized and retreated and continue to be maligned.

Now there were all sorts of contradictions involved in this public fiasco, the least being that they were criticized for not supporting the troops in Iraq even while their song, “Travelin’ Soldier” (a romanticized account of serving one’s country in Vietnam and a woman’s recognition of such nobility), was the number one country song in the world at the time. Go figure. And the band’s message may not have been tremendously sophisticated or complex, but it was offered up in the face of huge public scrutiny and at a cost that the Chicks’ production company, I’m certain, abhorred. The song, by the way, dropped to number sixty nine within a week or two, due to patriotic fans calling their radio stations about these traitorous women. That’s the kind of energy that backs Bush.

Now how do we get that kind of immediate mainstream response to the loss of lives, Americans’ and Iraqis’, to date? How do we get people to demand an exit plan? It seems like it might be in all of our best interests, even if we’re “smarter” than mainstream America, to be concerned with public opinion, and even invested in it — especially during this time of war.

And so now, the prodigal daughters have returned after a long period (in the record industry) of downtime with a new album, “Taking the Long Way,” just out today. I have done all things wrong for a sophisticate: this southern girl bought the album online and is waiting to hear what news these Texans have opted for in their latest songs. Something tells me mainstream America may be catching up and the responses might not be so anti-Chick this time around.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Music, Politics. 

5 Responses to “Dirty Little Country Band”

1. shanna Says:
   May 23rd, 2006 at 10:14 pm eme too. love them & i am also ashamed the preznit hails from my home. though i do love to point out that gwb was born in CT, boarding schooled in MA, and universitied in NH. ain’t a lot truly texan about the man, including his ridiculous accent. all hat, no horse.
2. Amy King Says:
   May 24th, 2006 at 12:55 am eI love that: “all hat, no horse.” Very fitting!
3. François Luong Says:
   May 24th, 2006 at 1:23 am eSame here! I am ashamed that your president comes from the state I live in …
4. adt Says:
   May 24th, 2006 at 1:06 pm ealso of note: inasmuch as she can, maines has repealed her initial apology.

   what i’ve heard of the album–”the long way around”, “lullaby” and “not ready to make nice”–haven’t been bad at all.

   worth buying just for the mob sentiment if you ask me.

5. Lynn Says:
   April 7th, 2007 at 1:39 am eI think that they should be able to say how they feel about President Bush.

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