I guess my point wasn't that you HAD to write anyone, but if you were equally displeased with both sides.

Clearly, if you've chosen to stop listening, you have. I was just curious and not trying to be confrontational.

Any chance that I can talk you into buying 3?


PS-Are there any hardcore fans in Houston being vocal in defending the Chicks (or just asking to let their music be played) or is Houston pretty much like Nashville when it comes to closing ranks and picking one side and staying there?

Amen. I have always loved the Chicks and my CD is in the mail (I hope it is here tomorrow as I am very excited about it), but the comments towards the fans really were poorly advised. What, I can't listen to Reba and the Chicks? I have to have a devoted CD player to listen to them and only them? Is there a Dixie Chicks fandom purity test? Ummm... no. You got to pick your battles, and there is no reason to pick them with people who adore your music and didn't even blink over the whole "controversy." Honestly. They are doing a lot of things that aren't making a lot of sense and seem to be a bit bent on career destruction right now. The establishment doesn't have to do a thing at this point, they seem to be doing it for themselves. Hopefully, the CD will be good enough to stop all this nonsense. I love them and want them to do very well.

In other news, I was very sad my CD didn't get here today. I plan on listening to it in a devoted fashion before... possibly throwing it into my 5 disc changer with Jewel, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nina Simone, and yes, quite possibly Reba.

Ah, I was wondering how you felt about them.

I'm sorry that I didn't make it clearer then.

Anyone picked up the Best Buy bonus track version? Good song? I'm pretty sure I'll pick up the Target version today, to help out getting good (or at least better) seats. While I think the backlash against them is rediculous, I won't mind if it carries on for at least 30 minutes after tickets go on sale in Dallas.

I fell asleep early last night. How was it and how were the received?

They sounded fine...and the crowd was very receptive. Nobody booed if that's what you were looking for. I actually like the song a lot too. It's getting a cool reception from the bumpkins, but that's to be expected.

Dave messing with Martha Stewart was f'ing high-larious.

This is for kvrdave, you missed it:

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Dixie-Chicks-Let.wmv


I don't know why, but you cannot just click on the link, you must copy and paste it into your browser for it to play.

Does one have to own stock in the Dixie "Chicks" (what a progressive term for women) to post in this thread, or will any lukewarm or negative reaction to their music or political statements draw the ire of their 'tolerant' supporters? If the latter is the case, then posting anything short of adoration is a waste of time. (I like...not love...their earlier music and burned a CD from the one-third of the tracks on their first three CDs (picked up at garage sales and in bargain bins) that I thought actually met my criteria of good music. Actually, that is not a bad percentage for most mainstream country acts...usually I can only find a few tracks worth compiling (unlike the 'real' stuff such as Gillian Welch and David Rawlings). So I'm not a DC hater or supporter, although I find it laughable that they have retracted their former apology for the initial insult and have 're-insulted' not only the President but also their formerly adoring fans (not the ones who burned their CDs but the ones who also like Reba...what's up with that comment? Since when did Reba M diss the younguns?).

BTW, DolphinBoy...your comments that the war is "going bad" is not universally shared. From many perspectives the war is slowly but surely establishing a free government in Iraq and the "freedom fighters" who blow people up are becoming increasingly frustrated at their lack of progress. Of course, if you are judging the progress by the fact that we still have troops there...well, we still have troops along the 38th Parallel, too...and that "police action" ended fifty years ago and ended in a stalemate. Why don't we just bring home all the troops from around the world while we're at it?

And the Time magazine article was one of the most biased I have read recently...they were trying to show how persecuted the DC were due to their comments (compared to other "political" artists). The irony is that they chose rock and rap artists to demonstrate the fact that the DC are singled out for persecution (as if these artists have built their careers on a core base of conservative-leaning people). What a surprise! Eminem's and Green Day's fans haven't deserted them due to their politics! (One potent observation in the Time piece quoted the 'artists' as describing themselves as "lazy" when it comes to songwriting and revealed that Rick Rubin brought in a whole host of songwriters/performers to help them along...not exactly demonstrating the type of artistic growth I would expect from artists of whom the article said it would be the "musical crime of the century" if their latest work went unheard).

I haven't yet read the lyrics of the single, but if they insult their high school classmates (as indicated by one of these posts) for marrying their high school sweethearts and settling down in the same area where they were raised, that is the type of snobbish attitude typically displayed by Paris Hilton types. I imagine many of their fans are a bit bewildered by this attack on their values. It is always fashionable to attack conservative values as belonging to "inbred redneck bumpkins" and to decry those who boycott an artist whose public stance differs with their own as being censoring, intolerant, ignorant bigots. Just the sort of tolerant attitudes we need to see on display in a civil debate.
It's okay for the DC to be ashamed of the President...but not for former DC listeners to be ashamed of THEM??? Guess tolerance is a one-way street for some.

Personally, I couldn't care less how many millions of copies any of these musicians sell. I value them for their music...oftentimes DESPITE their personal views. My favorite popular musician is Richard Thompson...an avid Bush and Blair hater who doesn't hesitate to criticize them publically. I don't listen to those songs which insult my personal beliefs...and I wouldn't expect those who agree with the DC's politics to support Toby Keith (remember, the DC don't want to sell CDs to those people...they only want to preach to the choir). Unless, of course, they have a further change of heart and reverse their position once again.

Then we'll get the apology to their old fans with the new single, "We're Sorry and We're Ready To Make Nice...Again!).

creekdipper, you are entitled to your opinion, no matter how misinformed and biased you are.

Personally, though, I have always considered the music and tv threads a place to NOT overly criticize or debate.

I wouldn't go into a Madonna thread and make the kinds of comments you made about the Chicks. Of course, I love Madonna, so that might be a bad example.

I wouldn't go into a 24 thread unless I was a fan. If I thought the show was starting to suck or the episode was bad, I'd say so, but that's about it.

If you think the war is going well or was worth it, marvelous. But if you think that I brought it up to upset the war supporters or to start a debate, you're dead wrong. If you want to find a large number of people who agree with your view and are willing to write endlessly about it for 20 pages, try the political forum.

The only thing that I will comment on is Natalie's retracted apology and the comment about Reba and Toby. First, I think I've already stated that it was excessive to make the comments about not wanting to be in the same cd player as those artists. However, I don't know what it feels like to be angry and have other country artists put up pics of me with Saddam. I think the point of it being their music and their art, is that they have every right to feel the way that they do.

Today, the religious folks are coming out of the woodwork against Madonna for coming out on a cross in her show. Good grief, get a life.

Natalie has every right to retract her apology and many people in other walks of life have done this. Sometimes you say or do something and you feel bad about it at the time and you apologize because it seems like the "polite" thing to do. Later, maybe because the person you apologized to only makes you feel even stronger about what you originally said and you said, "I take it back and I wish I hadn't apologized." That's happened to me with someone at work, the President will live. Those who are seeking controversy will find it anywhere, so I don't really care any longer.

Again, you're more than welcome to listen to the cd and give a negative review or just say you don't like them, but this thread was created by a fan and for the purpose of keeping things lite, for informational purposes, and fan discussion.

I'm not going to do the whole politcal dance with you. Your opinion won't change and neither will mine. I love the Chicks, their album is brilliant, and anyone who doesn't like them certainly has every right to spend their money on Toby Keith records instead.

PS-BTW, the musical crime of the century was made by an executive over at CMT, not exactly a place you'd expect to see much support for the Chicks, since most other country stations have decided to bravely ban the record and the comment was basically made about how great he thought the album was and what a shame it would be if people didn't get to hear it over this ridiculous controversy. Amen.

Thanks

C'mon, it's New York. I didn't expect that.

The song is titled "Thin Line" and, yes, I've heard it and I think it's very good.

It wouldn't have been out of place had it made the cd.

Not sure if this was already asked earlier in this thread (I didnt see in my quick scan)... why is there such an uproar over the Dixie Chicks even after all this time and yet Neil Young seems to have gone unscathed with his latest CD?

Why the double-standard?

Some key differences: Mainstream. Country. Women.

I'm suprised this question hasn't come up before.

But you're totally right. Yes, country clearly has a lot to do with it. But if Tim McGraw had done the same thing, it would never have gotten as bad.

And if he came back with a "sort of" unapologetic, middle finger song to those who did make a big deal about it, the response would have been "he's a man, what else would you expect?"

I think that a lot of has to do with their success, and their crossover success in particular. You know how punk or metal fans will start screaming "sellout" the minute their favorite bands gets an increased amount of exposure or signs to a major label? I think that the same thing is sort of going on here.

And they are women, and they project a sort of feminist image that the conservative country base is likely uncomfortable with. You know, you look at them and they look like they might show up at Lilith Fair or a NARAL benefit.

The political angle was the catalyst for the backlash, but I have a feeling that a lot of fans and people in the industry have been quietly resenting their success until they pulled the Bush thing and gave them an excuse to throw a hissy fit.

Maybe. Actually, that is probably right. I would guess that country fans take a more "traditional" view of the role of women, and that has something to do with it. I'm making pretty wild guesses though, as it isn't something I listen to very much. I'm just guessing based on the stereotypes in my mind of NASCAR fans.

I think it may have a little to do with how Tim McGraw acted, as well. Natalie comes off as pretty ditzy, so even if she were a brain surgeon I think people might think she has no idea what she is talking about. She has never articulated very well her thoughts on the matter. Seems like the interview I saw didn't do her much good.

Neil Young obviously caters to a different crowd, and tends to sound like he knows what he is talking about.

None of that is probably fair to judge her on, but that's public life.

Did anyone get their CD from Target? I was just wondering cause I wanted the code for pre-ordering concert tix??

The single has been getting airplay on Lightening 100 here in Nashville (not a country station).

Picked my copy up at Target and used the code to get my tickets for the Houston show. Got pretty good seats on the floor. Looked like all but a few shows were up for pre-sale.

There is a small card in the CD that has the instructions for using your code (one use per code).

Well screw me. I didnt' realize the tickets were already on sale. I followed the instructions on the little card last night, and went to the MSN site. I couldn't find anything about actually purchasing the tickets yet. Oh well. Snagged some semi-decent seats through Ticketmaster this morning.

EDIT: Oh, and I'm pretty sure it's a unique code that can only be used once, so you'll have to find someone not wanting to use it.

With just over 50% of the numbers in, the Chicks look like they sold just about 600,000 units in their first week!

Early predictions were for half that and then, later, were adjusted to be 430k-450k. They will exceed both.

With practically no radio play yet, these are great numbers.

515,876 seems to be the total. Easily, number 1 for the week.

Short of what it seemed to be header for earlier today, but still much better than expected.

No BB or Target near me so I bought this & Def Lep's CDs at half.com Had to have the extra songs.