Adventures in My Mind
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Aug 31, 2006
Quippy Chick
I don't know if any of my tens of readers out there are big Dixie Chicks fans, but I'm not. Not even after the infamous incident when lead singer Natalie Maines said that she was ashamed that she and W. were both from Texas. Well, Natalie, I'm ashamed that W. and I are from the same country. No, make that species. But I digress ...
Not being much of fan, I was not interested in much of the hype over "The Incident", as it has become known, or Natalie's previous go rounds with Hyper-American Toby Keith. Even so, I kept an ear open to see how this would affect the group's sales.
As it turns out, the best selling female vocal group of all time - country or otherwise - all but disappeared from the charts for the last 3 years. It seems that country music fans, many of whom pride themselves on their love of god, country, and freedom, were really pissed that Natalie would take a shot at their beloved W. Most responded by simply not buying the Chick's CDs. Some went a step farther and called their local radio stations and asked the programmers to stop playing their music. Some did the truly American thing and wrote and called the ladies and threaten them with death for their so-called unpatriotic statements.
Hopefully, these affronted fans took a moment to put their teeth in before leaving any voicemails. If they didn't, I'm sure the smacking of wet lips and gums really interfered with the tone of the message.
In May of 2006, The Dixie Chicks released their first album since the controversy and it appears that Natalie has not forgotten the love shown by her fans. The song "Not Ready to Make Nice" is a retort to all of those fans and the country music establishment that abandoned the Chicks because of a single statement. See the lyrics below:
Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I'm not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I'm still waiting
I'm through with doubt
There's nothing left for me to figure out
I've paid a price
And I'll keep paying
I'm not ready to make nice
I'm not ready to back down
I'm still mad as hell and
I don't have time to go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
'Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should
I know you said
Can't you just get over it
It turned my whole world around
And I kind of like it
I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don't mind sayin'
It's a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Sayin' that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over
I'm not ready to make nice
I'm not ready to back down
I'm still mad as hell and
I don't have time to go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
'Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should
I'm not ready to make nice
I'm not ready to back down
I'm still mad as hell and
I don't have time to go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
'Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should
Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I'm not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I'm still waitingFor more listen to NPR's Craig Havighurst's "Dixie Chicks Summer Tour Not All Smooth Sailing." Pay particularly close attention to the Clear Channels program director's comments about how The Dixie Chicks are guilty of over generalizing the country music audience. Talk about unintentional irony. Bonehead!
More power to them. Their response to what happened is classy and intelligent.
Oh, BTW, Happy Birthday to me!
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 9:52 AM
