These Ain’t My Chicks
Pardon me while I wander down memory lane.
Once upon a time, there was a little country band. They played some grand music in the old style of country and bluegrass. The band was 4 members strong, all girls, and friends to one another. They started off on a street corner of Dallas, Texas, but got gigs playing local bars and country joints, stretching between Houston and Dallas.
The name of the band?
The Dixie Chicks.
Hold on partner… Don’t go throwing things around the room and cussin’.
Before the days of Natalie Maines – the current loud mouth lead singer for the Chicks… [in the words of Yoda]… “there was another.”
In fact, two others.
Robin Lynn Macy, Emily Erwin, Laura Lynch, and Martie Erwin
These are the Dixie Chicks that I grew up with. I met them, years ago, when they played at my college. How could I forget these four girls playing a new single from their next album [at the time]. The single was “Pink Toenails.” (Trust me; no way to forget that one.)
But since those days, we’ve lost Robin, who decided to depart and head off in her own direction.
Then Emily and Martie decided that the band wasn’t hip enough, or maybe they just didn’t like the cowgirl clothes. They bought out Laura’s stake in the band, and basically kicked her out. After all, Laura was only the founding member of the band. If not for her – and her naming the band after a song from another country group called Little Feat – it’s unlikely the Chicks would have ever reached anything more than a local band that never made it out of Dallas.
Whatever your opinion, Laura was “released,” and then – almost immediately – Natalie Maines was hired.
One cannot deny the fact that they have made some number one songs in the country music industry.
I can, however, argue with the political overtones that Natalie spouted off. Saying that she was “embarrased” that President George W. Bush was from Texas drew a very clean line between where the band now stood, and where most conservatives – and fans such as myself – now viewed them: an unpatriotic bunch of rich girls that have forgotten their past and, in some cases, tried to erase it. Natalie and the band tried to backpedal their way out of the situation, explaining that they got caught up in the moment. ( See the Drudge Report regarding an interview in 2003 with Diane Sawyer.)
And now the Dixie Chicks are coming out with a new album, and they’ve returned back to their original attitude that they showed at that London show in ‘03.
The first song to be released off of that album is titled “Not Ready To Make Nice.” As if Natalie had alredy done so. But instead of making a decision to say something and stick to it – wrong as it may have been – now it’s just a matter of putting a finger in the air to see which way the political wind is blowing. It’s like watching Democrats during an election year.
Will I buy the Chicks’ newest album? Hard to say. Having been there from the first album, I’d hate to stop listening now. But at the same time, I’m not interested in being preached to by a group that hasn’t got a clue what the real issues are facing the world today. Certainly they’re welcome to say what they like; freedom of speech is a beautiful thing. Actions, however, speak louder than words. Or music. And their actions tell me that they don’t care about their past. They don’t care about their President. And while they get to enjoy the benefits of this country, they question those that are in the best position to make the best decisions, based on the current state of affairs of this troubled world.
They should enjoy the company of the left wing wackos, who seem to share their same attitudes. Martin Sheen. Tom Cruise. Cindy Sheehan. Richard Belzer. (In fact, anyone from the Hollywood left wing wacko moonbat party.)
For a view into the history that the Chicks would rather you not know about – or at least forget – check out this article from the Dallas Observer back in 1998.
RLR
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It’s a shame, but I used to like the Dixie Chicks and they had to go and screw up. Fortuntely, I never bought one of their CDs so I didn’t waste any money.
Did you ever get a chance to listen to their first 3 independent albums, though? Because listening to the albums with Natalie Maines is like listening to a different band entirely. In fact, I’d go as far as to say the only similarity [besides the Erwin sisters] would be the name of the band.
Now if you try and find a copy of those first three albums, you’ll be shelling out some serious cash. I understand that the first album was pressed only about 1,000 times.. perhaps less.. and is now valued at a couple hundred dollars. (Maybe less. Maybe more. But certainly more than the original $20 that it was selling for when first released.)
I felt cheated by the Chicks, because I felt like I was one of the people that was *there* to help them get their start. I took it personally when Laura was replaced. (I imagine Laura did too.)
At the same time, I try real hard to keep seperate the art from the person. I think Garth Brooks is a smart-butt [although I think he's toned down over the years], but I still enjoy some of his music. I don’t agree with the gay lifestyle, but I’ve enjoyed Elton John music for years. There is a whole slew of actors in Hollywood that I think are seriously out of touch with reality when it comes to the state of affairs in this country with other countries… but I enjoy watching movies where the actors highlight the only real talent that they have.
As Jerry Doyle says, I find it very interesting that the folks in Hollywood constantly put down the United States, and at the same enjoy the benefits of being told where to stand when the camera rolls, and being paid more in a single day than our boys and girls in the military make in a year, fighting and dying for the right of these actors to go and vomit unpatriotic rhetoric on talk shows. (Can you say, Richard Belzer?)
The point I’m trying to make, I think, is that these actors and musicians are fine at their craft. But because they’re so popular and in the public eye, they take it upon themselves to think that their opinion matters more than anyone elses. Instead, they need to stick to that which they know and understand, and leave politics to the rest of us that know what the devil we’re talking about, and understand the consequences and actions thereof.
RLR