Congratulations to The Dixie Chicks on their 5 Grammy win!!!!
I've been a huge DC fan ever since I saw them in concert, and they totally blew me away. I've never listened to very much Country music, even being from the country. I always liked Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kenny Rogers, and Johnny Cash, and that was about it. And I liked Shania Twain and Faith Hill but they're more Pop than Country. When I worked at Wal Mart I remember The Chicks' first album being overplayed on the listening stations, which the whole department could hear.
So I didn't have any expectations about what they'd be in concert. I was there for Sarah Mac and Sheryl Crow. But out of everyone I heard at Lilith Fair, The Chicks were the most impressive. I'm always impressed by people who can master their instruments, and Emily and Martie are beyond talented. Emily is the guitar/mandolyn talent, and Martie is the violin talent. I never thought I'd be impressed by a violin player, but DAMN! That girl can PLAY. I mean really. And dear Natalie; well, she's the Spunky Voice of this trio, and God Bless her for saying what we all think. Bean and I can't believe that Madonna gets away with saying, on NBC (though it was bleeped), "Just go to Texas, where you can suck George Bush's d***!" while Natalie said, off the cuff, "We're ashamed that Bush is from Texas." (The Chicks hail from Texas)
The difference, though, is that The Chicks' audience were mostly conservative Republicans, whereas Madonna, well, no one expects her to remain free of controversy. And no one is shocked anymore by what she says and does. If they are, they must have not been alive for the last 20 years. Country music makes a great display of being very down to Earth, fan-friendly, and pretends to deal with issues that 'the common people' can relate to. But what they mean is, The Common Closed-Minded Republicans. Of course, not all Country fans are Republicans, and not all Republicans are completely off-base. I have relatives, some of my favorite people ever to live, who are Republicans. God Bless 'Em. But I am the product of my very liberal parents, who, thankfully, taught me to keep an open mind, about all things. And the rejection of The Dixie Chicks by the Country world makes me postively ill. I mean, angry ill. It's so backwards.
Religion and Politics are two things you should never talk about on blogs, or around groups, because these topics are so divisive, people say. So I normally won't mention politics here. But in this case, I have to bring it up somewhat. And religion; well, it's who I am and what makes me tick, so I'll always bring that up. Speaking of which: The hypocritical, judgmental world of Country Music who shunned The Chicks need to go re-read their Bibles. What a misunderstood and ignored book THAT is.
Anyway, it's nice to see that The Music Industry rewarded The Chicks with five Grammys. They deserved every one; their album was phenomenal, as all of their work has been. But you could tell that Natalie was personally in pain over the whole fiasco, and that never should have been. If you have any sense of common decency as a human being, you don't make others feel pain, regardless of their opinions. Of course none of us is perfect. And we've all been guilty of judgments. But for a whole group of people to band together against one woman, well, it reminds me of certain witch trials whose museum I just visited.
I guess my thing is, I can't stand to see people put down over nothing. But some might say, well, what about Bush? Shouldn't we feel bad for him since he was insulted? Well, no, because it was just one person's opinion. It's not like she said she wished him dead. THAT would have been offensive. But being ashamed of someone generally means you don't respect them, and I guess that's what offended people. The lack of respect. And we haven't heard thousands of disrespectful comments hurled at Bill Clinton?? Or any other president?
Ok, I'll play Devil's Advocate. It was a disrespectful comment, and ..so? Forgiveness seems to be an old myth these days. Does anyone really forgive anyone and move on? Hmm. Apparently not.
The bottom line for me is, I could care less what their politics are. I am all about the music. If she'd said, Clinton is an ass, I wouldn't have cared. Even though I was a huge Clinton supporter. It's her opinion! What the F do I really care? I don't! I can't seem to properly explain this, but with music, I get so far into the actual MUSIC that I don't often know or care about the personalities of the band. And the argument is, well, the music IS the personality of the band. In a way, that's true. But I can still listen to music by people I think are asses, because the music is the most important thing. It's like books: interpretation is up to the audience. Lyrics are more personal, and definitely tell us about the writer, but even with that, I can ignore lyrics.
Let's use Madonna for example. My favorite. Her lyrics are utter rubbish, mostly, and tell me very little about who she is. But her MUSIC, I can listen to non-stop. I don't care that the lyrics to 'New York' are on a third-grade level; I love the music to that song.
And likewise, some of the early lyrics for The Chicks is pure Generic Country Fluff. But the music, it gets me going. And their music, especially the album they just won 5 Grammys for, is tremendous.
So forget what you've heard. Forget what your political affiliation is. Just listen to the frickin' music. Cause that, my friends, is transcendent.
*Steps off of soap box*
Have a great day.
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