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Dixie Chicks Reborn

If you listened to country music at all in the 90's, you've surely heard of The Dixie Chicks.

To be honest, I've never liked their music enough to call myself a fan. In fact, for the longest time I was actually sure that the only band member with any talent was the lead singer, Natalie Maines. I got that idea from watching their videos, where the only thing the other two Chicks ever seemed to do was sing backup. Later I learned that they write their own songs, and that all three of them actually play lots of different instruments. You've got to respect that. Musicians that play music are becoming a rare thing these days.

The Dixie Chicks' albums were also too twangy for me. I try not to judge music purely based on genre, but one thing I can't stand is the hokey, twangy slide guitar that you always hear in modern country music. It's too calculated and insincere. Even though I eventually admitted that the Dixie Chicks were talented, whenever I heard that slide guitar I still found something else to listen to.

But now the Dixie Chicks have released a new album, Taking the Long Way. And it's sort of a rebirth for the band, which in recent years has suffered significantly (and unfairly) at the hands of feverish American patriotism. Their controversy started in 2003, when everyone finally realized that the US really was going to invade Iraq. Natalie Maines (who is from Texas) publicly criticized President George Bush at a concert, saying:

Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas

Of course, it's nothing new for musicians to have political opinions. And what Maines actually said is not really that controversial, considering what a disaster Bush's presidency has been, or how many other musicians have been far more critical of him. (Kayne West, Pearl Jam, Eminem, and Green Day are just a few examples. Neil Young even released a song called Lets Impeach the President!)

But there was something different about The Dixie Chicks: their fan base was the largely conservative pro-Bush country music crowd. And that fan base went crazy. The band started receiving death threats, their homes were vandalized, their music was (and still is) banned by many American radio stations, and some ex-fans even held rallies where they crushed and burned piles of Dixie Chicks CDs. (Kind of like a book burning, 21st century-style...) They tried to donate one million dollars to the Red Cross, but it was refused, they were repeatedly booed at the annual Country Music Awards, and they were publicly attacked by other popular country artists like Toby Keith and Reba McEntire. They were also openly denounced by many country music fans. (If you want to read some of the really nasty stuff people are still saying, check out the comments on this blog.)

Throughout all this, the Dixie Chicks stood up for themselves. To make a point, they appeared (infamously) nude on the Cover of Entertainment Weekly Magazine, and they've continued to speak out against the policies of the Bush administration. They've also made their latest album, which sounds great. It has a more thoughtful, political tone than anything they've done before, and that old twang has mercifully receded into the background. The most popular song on the album, Not Ready to Make Nice (lyrics here), is about the backlash they experienced as a result of Maine's comment about George Bush:

It's clear that the Dixie Chicks are moving away from their country roots and into mainstream rock and roll. You can't really blame them. While the country music world continues to shun them for criticizing the wrong politician, mainstream rock artists like Bruce Springsteen and Madonna have come out in their defence. One member of the Dixie Chicks, Martie Maguire, was quoted as saying:

We don't feel a part of the country scene any longer, it can't be our home anymore...we won three Grammys against much stronger competition. So we now consider ourselves part of the big rock 'n' roll family.

I'm not the only one who likes their latest album. It debuted at number one on both the pop and country charts in the US (despite the fact that many radio stations still won't play their music) and it's gone 5 times platinum in Canada (where criticizing George Bush doesn't cost you fans.) The band even decided to rearrange their current touring schedule to include significantly more Canadian destinations than were originally planned, presumably because the Dixie Chicks are still so popular here.

To quote Natalie Maines again:

The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism. Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country ... I don't see why people care about patriotism.

With a track record of sentiments like that, and an album like Taking the Long Way, the Dixie Chicks can count me as their newest fan.