Dixie Chicks Unnecessarily Enter The Political Fray Again with Donald Trump Image
The Dixie Chicks are at it again, and not just by trekking across the country and playing sold-out shows to throngs of supporters in arenas and amphitheaters, but through getting political on our asses with recent imagery used in their shows as a world tour enters its United States leg. You would think (and maybe hope) they would leave well enough alone. But over the weekend the image of the female trio playing in front of a huge backdrop of Donald Trump sporting devil horns and an evil Spock goatee has ripped open scabs, and stirred the country music pot anew. Once again you can’t just have a conversation about the Dixie Chicks’ music and not have it turn into a political ruckus, and at the worst possible time since the United States Presidential election is entering the home stretch and folks are as politically geeked up as ever.
First off, a little context is needed for how the Donald Trump image was used in their presentation. The Dixie Chicks are not playing a 25-song concert set with Donald Trump’s mug altered with devils horns comprising the sole backdrop. The image only appears on the backdrop for a few seconds during the Dixie Chicks’ song “Goodbye Earl,” which is about a woman killing her abusive husband. This is a fact that has been glossed over by many outlets looking to make hay over the contentious image.
During the song, numerous images are displayed on the stage backdrop. It happened to be that a Getty Images photographer was in the right place at the right time to snap the perfect image that has now been shared across the internet thousands of times (and is copyrighted, which is the reason it doesn’t appear here), making it seem like the Dixie Chicks’ new show is nothing more than a political tirade instead of furtively slipping in a playful jab at a polarizing figure that only lasts for a few seconds.
In fairness, apparently other political images have been used on the overseas leg of the tour, showing all of the Republican Presidential nominees in a caricaturist rendition. There are also reports that the Chicks’ altered the other political image recently to include some Democrat Presidential candidates, but so far that image has yet to materialize or find viral legs like the Trump one.
“In a bit of non-partisan commentary, the Dixie Chicks accompanied ‘Ready to Run’ with a political cartoon that not too subtly panned candidates from both sides of the divide as clowns,” says Billboard, “while red, white and blue confetti filled the pavilion.”
So perhaps the Dixie Chicks’ commentary is just as much about the political process as it is zeroing in on any one personality.
But the underlying problem still remains that the Dixie Chicks have personally and purposefully decided to dip their toes once again into the political fray, as opposed to sticking to what people come to their concerts for and what they do best: music. When Natalie Maines made her now notorious comments about President Bush in 2003 that resulted in the biggest blackballing in the history of country music, the comment seemed almost inadvertent, was said in passing, and was unfairly blown out of proportion by overcharged patriots looking to burn a sacred cow to show their loyalty to God and country. It wasn’t the seriousness of what Maines said. It was how it was easy for the Dixie Chicks to become the symbolic poster girls for the anti-Iraq War movement.
It’s not hard to conclude that the Dixie Chicks were treated unfairly, or at least too harshly, but today even asserting this has become a political statement because of the politicization of the Dixie Chicks. The way musical pundits could justify any political concerns about the band and their new tour was to say that politics should have no involvement in music, and the two realms should be isolated. Music is supposed to be for everyone, and regardless of the Dixie Chicks’ political stripes, they were one of the most traditional, and most successful country bands of their time, and their music should be judged on its own merit. The Dixie Chicks wrote their own songs, played their own instruments, and were an important female outfit in country.
But however fleeting the image of Donald Trump is in the presentation, the Dixie Chicks have now opened themselves up to the old tired political arguments that precede and permeate their decidedly non political music. If you go to a concert for Michael Franti, Tom Morello, or even Todd Snider, you know what you’re getting involved in. You know these artists are going to indoctrinate the audience with their political ideologies, and the people who attend these concerts, or listen to the music are prepared for this. In the case of the Dixie Chicks, their music crosses the political divide. That is why it was so polarizing when the anti-Bush comments came to light, while outfits like Green Day could make entire rock operas upon their anti-Bush stance, and skate by with barely any criticism.
The question for the Dixie Chicks is, why? Here well-minded country music fans and critics have been pleading with folks to put their political differences aside and just listen to the music, and for some reason the Chicks’ decide to broach the topic themselves. This has nothing to do with Trump, aside from on the surface. It has to do with mixing politics and music unnecessarily. Obviously Trump supporters aren’t happy with the image, but you can be a staunch anti-Trump person, and still not see the value of using a stenciled-over image of Trump in a musical presentation.
Frankly, the Trump image shows the idiocy of today’s political environment. Has anyone ever changed their political opinions about President Obama just because someone drew him with a Hitler mustache or wearing a turban? No, it’s simply a childish way to vent anger. Flashing an unflattering image of Trump on a screen is not punditry, it’s immature baiting, and arguably unhelpful to your cause. If the Dixie Chicks want to champion certain political issues, that is their prerogative, and protected by the 1st Amendment (even if it offers no protection against public backlash). But their approach here plays right into the hands of their critics, while accomplishing nothing politically. Nobody is questioning the right of the Dixie Chicks to put whatever they want on the backdrop of the stage, but there seems to be little wisdom in giving into their anger with the Trump image.
The divisive, and disrespectful environment in American politics is the reason the two most unpopular candidates are the ones who won the two parties’ respective nominations, including Donald Trump. If the Dixie Chicks want to try and help end the anger and ignorance that pervades the American political system and that gave rise to a candidate like Donald Trump, instead of mocking him, they would use music as an opportunity to unite individuals of different ideologies. With the Trump image and other political images, they’re using their platform to divide individuals even further.
The people who just want to focus on the Dixie Chicks’ music will be the most fulfilled music fans facing this issue. But unfortunately, the Dixie Chicks, by their own hand, have just made that dramatically more difficult to do. And it’s a shame, because country music could use a band like the Dixie Chicks right now.
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Editors Note: Please keep comments on the subject of the Dixie Chicks, and please show respect to other commenters. Comments will be heavily moderated, and comments that only look to make political points, or attack other commenters will be deleted. Spirited dissent and discussion is encouraged, but respect to all parties is appreciated. This is a music website, not CNN.
June 6, 2016 @ 6:45 pm
Don’t like the Dixie Chics or their use of propaganda to draw attention to themselves. They should change their name to the Frisco Chicks.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:57 pm
…what about the fucking fantastic country music they make?
I noticed you didn’t mention that at all, so I was wondering.
June 6, 2016 @ 11:24 pm
What fantastic music would that be? The Dixie Chicks were a middle of the road semi successful group before they insulted President Bush and suddenly got a lot of publicity for it. They’ve since taken the exposure and run with it for more publicity. They have changed their appearance to match the far left crowd who now embraces them, and continue stunts like the Trump photo to keep themselves in the spotlight. They have sold themselves out in my opinion, and their musical output doesn’t stand up to the hype.
Plenty of musicians express their political beliefs in song, and to each his own. I won’t not listen to music I like just because I don’t always agree on the subject. But The Dixie Chicks are more about the message than the music. It pays their bills and good for them. I just won’t be the one buying it.
June 7, 2016 @ 8:27 am
Semi successful?? Wow, I’m a right wing Republican, and even I know they were a tad more successful than that! Also, enjoy their music, which like Cool said, is f-ing fantastic.
June 7, 2016 @ 9:34 am
I am probably miss-remembering their early success. I’ll concede that. From my memory of back then, they had some songs on the radio that were ok but nothing that made me want to go out and buy their albums. They really weren’t anybody I paid much attention to until they media storm around them. without that I seriously doubt they would still be relevant today. But hey, they have found a recipe for success, and more power to them. I’m sure my opinion means as little to them as theirs does to me.
June 7, 2016 @ 9:41 am
Yeah, they went Diamond before Bush was even elected, haha.
November 8, 2024 @ 10:35 pm
Thanks Scott. You said the magic words. Who gives one shit? Politics shouldn’t be the only thing we ever talk about. These gals are freakish musicians. As one of Toby’s fellow neighborhood Okies, I can guarantee you that he loved em too.
June 7, 2016 @ 9:42 am
What I’m getting from this is…you’ve never listened to Home.
June 7, 2016 @ 9:46 am
Scott S:
The Dixie Chicks were the biggest thing in country music for a number of years. They were hugely successful during their heyday, and are still hugely successful compared to 99% of professional musicians. That is not an issue.
Cool Lester Smooth:
“…what about the fucking fantastic country music they make?
I noticed you didn’t mention that at all, so I was wondering. “
August 6, 2016 @ 10:37 pm
I’m not even a fan but they are still considered the most successful female group of all time as far as country music goes. Regardless if you agree with Bush’s so called “war on terror” you can’t say they were only semi successful. They were huge in the early 2000s.
December 2, 2024 @ 10:23 am
I was in England at Shepards Bush Empire Arena when they made the comment about President Bush. It didn’t sound awful, just that they didn’t agree with him. I want to know why everyone can say anything, but not them? Why? Comedians do it, late-night show hosts do it, why are the Chicks blacklisted and not others? Where are their 1st Amendment Rights?
January 1, 2025 @ 11:32 pm
What do American first amendment rights have to do with England, If i remember it was the fact they criticized the president on foreign soil. Just a tacky and unpatriotic thing to do. They are an amazing band to bad all this overshadoweds there music.
January 6, 2025 @ 1:14 pm
If you think your mission is “saving” country music, you need to let artists say or display whatever the hell they want without your prissy sermonizing. Like it or not, political conflict is part of our lives these days. No point pretending people aren’t choosing sides. The redneck reactionaries certainly send their signals.
June 7, 2016 @ 5:16 am
Cool Lester, I would love to talk politics and issues and stuff with you, you’re one of the more well informed people I know, even if we do disagree on stuff.
But I don’t want to pollute Trigger’s website with politics.
Are there any other comment sections you haunt?
and if we’re offering opinions on the Dixie Chicks… I don’t even care anymore… I’ve said everything I could come up with and complained every complaint in other Chicks articles… This doesn’t surprise me because Maines is kind of a controversial person who rarely exercises discretion when her opinions are involved, but the big question now is who is listening to her? I mean, come on, we get it, you hate Bush, you hate Country Music and don’t want to make Country Music anymore (I’m referring to that whole, “i hate my accent and how blatant Country was ordeal), but you want our money so you threw a big reunion tour…
I get the impression she thinks that lots of people care what she thinks. I dare bet most of us really don’t… at this point she’s a lot like Mr. Trump, always offering opinions but the rest of us have just gotten so used to it that we ignore it.
Nobody is paying attention
June 7, 2016 @ 9:45 am
Mainly the AV Club (for everything but music) and then a bunch of sports blogs.
There’s enough politics in everyday life that I don’t really seek it out on the Internet, haha.
With regards to this crap, I think this is just them being dicks because they think it’s funny, and they didn’t really expect anyone who still listened to them to care all that much.
June 7, 2016 @ 11:51 am
Great way to put it, Fuzzy. Maines seems to have interpreted the storm that erupted as a result of her comments on Bush to mean that she has a pedestal when in reality she just had gasoline at the time. Now she doesn’t even really have a spark: notice how most of the articles concerning themselves with this nonsense are piggybacking on the PREVIOUS issue to drum up a story? Sort of like “the Dixie Chicks strike again” or some other garbage. If they had not pulled this type of stunt before I have a feeling that far fewer people would be paying attention. Whether you like him or hate him, Trump is a joke in MANY circles, and if it weren’t for the firestorm with Bush this would just be one more name on the list.
June 7, 2016 @ 2:23 pm
as much as people think I’m obnoxious and opinionated, I do have some perspective on the world… even if people disagree.
Trump is scary because he has so normalized the political gaffe… By the time the general election rolls around, nothing he says will stop him because the public will have gotten so used to it that no matter what he says “it’s just Trump being Trump…”
The Dixie Chicks are commercially irrelevant… people still love them, and even though I don’t listen to their music, I understand why people like Cool Lester go to such great lengths defending their music. but the fact remains that their heyday has long since passed and it is only the strength of their past output that has kept people listening… I doubt any new music will be particularly well received, and at this point the Bush thing has become so much a part of the Chicks experience that it’s difficult to talk about the Chicks without returning to at least the Bush thing if not the constant little reminders that Maines thinks Country Music is for inbred hillbillies like Willie Nelson… She’s said about as much in different interviews… it’s hard to talk about the Chicks without getting off onto these things because it is so much a part of the Chicks experience… sort of like Hank Jr. and his opinions.
June 7, 2016 @ 8:36 pm
They obviously do not care about their own music of they would not be bringing it up politics again. Ignorant women !
March 9, 2017 @ 11:21 am
Never heard a single song of theirs. Without political controversy I wouldn’t know they existed.
February 27, 2017 @ 10:32 am
One of the most mature commentaries on the current need for political unity in America. I respect such self-control, as you almost masked your true political bent. Yet comments like, “…anger and ignorance that pervades the American political system and that gave rise to a candidate like Donald Trump” rip that mask right off, as well as the barely-formed scab over the wound of deep division in our already hurting country. Though I think you are above it, if you truly believe that is the only reason Trump gained political ascent, then you are uncharacteristically more naïve than the over-arching and respectable maturity your article conveys. (Be patient here with what I am about to say – please hear me out.) You talk like you really want to practice what you suggest to The Dixie Chicks about unity, so maybe you should start, for the sake of equilateral truth, by adding “AND Hillary Clinton” to the above quote, since only true ignorance could foment the candidacy for president of a woman with such well-documented unlikeability, political failures, greed, and DEEP corruption to her credit. Please don’t make a knee-jerk jump at censoring me just yet, for the above is not a political comment, merely an established truth that, once we and The Dixie Chicks accept, along with the fact that Trump’s personality is that of a horse’s rear, will help us all chuckle a little at the lunacy that we allow in our governmental processes. Then with cooler heads, we, along with The Dixie Chicks, Madonna, Ashley Judd, Nordstrom’s, and all of the like who’ve been going NUTS just because they lost an election to someone they don’t like, can finally stop hugging their “grief dogs” (good grief!), and join hands to begin a much more productive effort. We actually can begin to evaluate the value of the path we’ve been on as a nation – be honest about it! – in contrast to the value of the projected path of trying to simply right numerous problems that the preceding three decades of presidents have allowed to become public policy. (I respectfully won’t list them here, but e-mail me if you want to discuss those problems.) We don’t vote for the personality, we vote for the PLAN. The democratic candidate’s plan was “Stay the course”. Yes, I am a patriotic conservative, and I’ve watched, for 50 years – I’m 63 – some presidents getting it right and some getting it wrong, determined by how the country fared after each. And although I haven’t agreed with many liberal presidents’ decisions, I don’t agree with all of Trump’s decisions. But isn’t that the way we should all be. I mean, you didn’t see conservatives out there threatening to blow up the White House when Jimmy Carter gave away the Panama Canal, or rioting in the streets and beating up people when Obama announced his intention to remove your 2nd Amendment rights. And please notice the difference between me and the above list of ‘notables-gone-nuts’ as I make another very important point of distinction. My camp has noticed that when any of us attempt rational conversations on patriotism with those of opposing political views, it’s always the liberal that gets angry. Have you ever asked yourself, Why? Think back to the kid in your youth who when all the other kids were happily playing kickball, wanted to change the rules of the game just to give himself an unfair advantage. He claimed the right to do this because he had brought the ball. When he was unanimously voted down, he loudly and angrily proclaimed, “Then I’ll just take my ball and go home”. Sometimes the rules of the game were established by very wise designers, and are good for all because they are morally and ethically correct. It’s my well-considered opinion that life would be so much happier if We The People, including The Dixie Chicks, and all of the venom-slinging craze-oids out there, would just simmer down, stop considering blowing up the White House, and work TOGETHER TO return to what our forefathers knew would work best for U.S. all in the long run, and then just be happy living as ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE. I welcome your comment.
November 2, 2024 @ 9:51 am
I agree. They are a trio of talentless semi-musicians that have an elevated ego that makes them think people care what they have to say. We don’t. I hope they all get a terminal case of the drizzling shits & live forever with nothing but sandpaper to wipe their dirty asses.
June 6, 2016 @ 6:52 pm
Just curious,Trigger..how many top country artists do you think will come out and endorse Trump? seems like a risky move to offend the urban crowd they covet so much
June 6, 2016 @ 7:13 pm
Honestly, I’m not sure how many of them even support the man in the first place. Their writers certainly don’t. McAnally, Clark, Laird, Dillon, Veltz, Osborne, and Hemby have all made slight comments about how ridiculous the man is.
June 6, 2016 @ 7:16 pm
I hope no top country artists endorse anybody, or at least I hope I don’t hear about it. Because I don’t care and I don’t think it’s any of our business who they vote for. If you’re basing who you vote for off of who your favorite music artists votes for, especially if they’re a mainstream country artist, you should willfully relinquish your voter card in my opinion.
June 6, 2016 @ 9:04 pm
Amen!
And why are you listed as the Boomswagglers drummer?
June 7, 2016 @ 12:42 pm
A friend of mine made this. You can thank me (or curse me) later: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/OhJohnNo/musicians_who_have_endorsed_or_expressed_admiration_for_donald_trump/
So far, amongst the top tier, we have both Kenny Rogers and Loretta Lynn having endorsed him, though I guess we can take that information with a grain of salt since neither are relevant to the mainstream anymore. Brad Paisley might also be in there, and so was John Rich (but he’s not anywhere near the top, at least by my own approximation and certainly not as a solo act).
June 7, 2016 @ 12:25 pm
Justin Moore endorsed him months ago and received a lot of backlash over it. He eventually bad to make another statement explaining his reasoning and basically ask his fans to respect that everyone is allowed an opinion. Yea, I’m pretty sure he won’t be talking politics again.
June 6, 2016 @ 6:53 pm
Natalie Maines is like that girl that complains about her horrible boyfriend and how bad he is yet keeps going back to him for more. Maybe she has a thing for loud tough guys?
June 7, 2016 @ 9:50 am
More like a girl who keeps getting stalked by an ex, but keeps wearing those short skirts he loves so much!
Obviously, it’s totally her fault.
(/sarc)
June 7, 2016 @ 1:25 pm
You sound like the guy friend that keeps taking her side hoping she’ll hook up with you someday…
June 7, 2016 @ 1:30 pm
I sound like a guy who takes girls’ sides against exes who stalk them?
Oh, snap!!!! I’m gonna need some ice for that sick burn, broseph!
June 6, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
This is the first I’ve heard about this. The last time I remember the Dixie Chicks coming up on SCM, there was a lot of political hate thrown their way.
What bothers me is that if they had a picture of Obama with devil-horns, they’d get nothing but love and support from today’s country fans. On the other hand, if say Sturgill Simpson or Jason Isbell made the anti-Trump picture no one would bat an eye. Hell, it would almost be expected.
It’s a foolish mistake on the part of the Dixie Chicks, but that doesn’t make the double-standard acceptable. I guess the media just needs a villain.
June 6, 2016 @ 7:01 pm
The Chicks love the praise from the left wing entertainment elite but again will discover, to their dismay, that they aren’t the ones who buy their music or attend their concerts.
June 6, 2016 @ 7:10 pm
Seeing as how the Chicks are playing to a sold-out tour (as they did three years after the Bush comments), I think they’re very well aware that the people attending their concerts this year largely aren’t Trump supporters.
June 6, 2016 @ 7:21 pm
I think that’s being presumptuous. I think the Dixie Chicks crowd is a lot more mixed than people think, and I think this Trump image puts some of those people in a difficult position.
June 6, 2016 @ 11:00 pm
I just don’t think anyone who minds them making fun of a guy famous for being a misogynistic reality TV star in a song about an abusive husband hasn’t already burned their Dixie Chicks-related possessions (along with anything else related to an opinion they don’t like to hear).
June 6, 2016 @ 7:14 pm
Given how openly misogynistic Trump is, I can well understand why The Dixie Chicks would want to do a lot more than simply “shut up and sing”. How about we respect their right to do their art in the way they choose? The world is big enough for people to sing country and be political, as Willie Nelson, shows time and again without suffering the same unfair punishment dished out to The Dixie Chicks.
http://www.salon.com/2016/05/09/trumps_misogynist_campaign_hes_succesfully_alienating_every_female_voter_he_can_and_jan_brewers_helping/
June 6, 2016 @ 7:30 pm
Nobody is saying the Dixie Chicks shouldn’t do their art the way they choose, and I’m certainly not advocating they just “shut up and sing.”
The reason Willie Nelson can say what he wants and doesn’t receive any backlash is because he’s got more skins on the wall than anyone, and when he does lend his voice to a political cause, he’s patient, articulate, respectful, and teacher-like. The Trump image from the Dixie Chicks is not figuratively like the scribbles of a petulant 3rd grader, it literally IS the scribbles of a petulant 3rd grader. You think anyone is going to change their vote for President after seeing that image? If anything it steels the resolve of Trump voters as feeling like a marginalized and lampooned voting bloc that deserves to be heard.
Keep flipping over police cars and looting store fronts to try and get Trump to lose the election. Or you could be like Willie Nelson, and talk, and listen.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:47 pm
Damn Trigger. Bravo.
June 7, 2016 @ 7:15 am
….. and remember Natalie ended up right in her comments about Bush. It WAS a disastrous war based on lies, and she had every right to feel embarrassed to be a Texan. History proved her correct. As for the Trump image, she again has every right to do it for her convictions. If you don’t like it….don’t pay your hard earned cash to see the talented trio play…
June 7, 2016 @ 9:55 am
4/5ths of the Dixie Chicks current tour was sold before the news of the Donald Trump image ever came to light. And though a lot of people keep saying Trump people would never show up to a Dixie Chicks concert, I respectfully disagree. And you don’t have to be a Trump supporter or a Republican to be offended. I’m offended by it because I’m a music fan, and don’t want to see political stuff intermixed with my music.
This reminds me of an issue with the punk band Guttermouth a few years back. They were on the Warped Tour, and Warped was actively campaigning for John Kerry through the tour. So Guttermouth got up on stage and started stumping for Bush. They eventually got kicked off the tour for it. Was Guttermouth Bush supporters? Of course not, but they were making a point. The Warped Tour was not the time or place to push a political agenda. If you go to see Ani DiFranco, perhaps you can expect politics to be involved. But the Dixie Chicks’ music appeals to a more conservatively-oriented crowd. Broaching politics is opening up a can of worms that is unnecessary.
June 6, 2016 @ 7:31 pm
Instead of Why, Why Not? The Dixie Chicks are american citizens, they are entitled to express their opinion. They’re also entitled to use their platform to support their opinion. And others are free to act based on the Dixie Chick’s actions They are free to not buy their music, or go to the show. The same would be true for any artists supporting Trump. Artists are also entitled to do nothing, and have it be all about their music. That’s te nice thing about this country, we’re all free to mke different choices.
June 7, 2016 @ 10:28 pm
Except for Ted Nugent what artists are supporting Trump? It’s like trying to find a funny right wing comedian. Authoritarianism is a major problem (espas it’s a precursor toFascism) To not allow artists to comment on it seems peculiar. For someone who seems upset at country artists airing their political beliefs where was he when Hank Jr & Toby Keith et were waving the flag and denigrating progressives.
August 14, 2021 @ 6:48 am
I know this is an old post, is just funny reading comments lol trump isn’t in office and buden is president and he has more fuck ups and gaffes since his inauguration than trump had in 4 yrs. Lol and he was touted as being the savior of America, and they are leading us towards socialism. Samrnplaybook, same dumbassery
June 6, 2016 @ 7:36 pm
Dixie Chicks needs to be on the country music maps again; enough with the politics. I don’t think they will get that high on the charts like they used to anymore but country music needs the Dixie Chicks now.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:48 pm
No, Country music needs actual talent, not more pop country hyper-repetitive garbage.
June 7, 2016 @ 7:26 am
That is where you are wrong BwH. The Dixie Chicks made it the old fashion way: by touring and getting a backing from word of mouth. They had no corporate backing. The new model is to get to Nashville (if you are young and good looking), try to get a job somewhere in the industry, and hope to be ‘found’. You don’t need to write….Sony has banks of writers that know the ‘formula’ to sell units. BTW, this happened 20 years ago. Very, very few true artists can make it anymore. How isn’t Darrell Scott a huge star? Because he is a middle aged paunchy man, not a blond twenty something looker. The old song “They’re going to burn down the Grand Old Opry” really hits home these days
June 7, 2016 @ 2:19 pm
While I’ll give you that many of their singles could be seen as ‘hyper-repetitive’ the Chicks do have actual talent. Martie and Emily can play with the best of them, in my opinion (while I’ll admit I know nothing about playing any sort of instrument). And to me, Natalie has one of the top female country voices of my time. (Born in the early 90’s) Country music needs actual talent, yes, and I believe country music needs the Chicks.
March 17, 2018 @ 1:10 pm
Amen to that, Country isn’t country anymore…I for one love the Dixie Chicks and glad they are back in the music Mainstream, you don’t find any of the other bands that have great Harmony like they do, and yes they have their own Opinions, I for one love Bluegrass Music, no one has to agree with me!
June 6, 2016 @ 7:59 pm
Ugh.
“But the underlying problem still remains that the Dixie Chicks have personally and purposefully decided to dip their toes once again into the political fray, as opposed to sticking to what people come to their concerts for and what they do best: music.”
I HATE this kind of thing, my brother Trigger. They don’t owe you or anyone else a duty to act under your narrow view of them. They’re full, rich humans with a right to say or state or do whatever they like with their art and their public lives. They are not your personal radio for entertainment.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:32 pm
They Dixie Chicks can do whatever they want. I’m not demanding they act in any way in accordance with my wishes or beliefs. I’m just pointing out that with this particular move, they shot themselves in the foot, and whatever they’re attempting to express will be ineffective, if not backfire. But hey, that’s just my opinion.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:40 pm
Yeah I just don’t get that. They didn’t shoot themselves in the foot last time, and thinking they will this time is just odd. They’ve remained hugely popular through it all. And in any case they’re the ones who get to judge if what they’re doing is working or not.
And I also don’t get the “ineffective” and “childish” thing. According to what standards? If that image is childish, then so is most poster art. And sometimes the most plainly childish political expressions can be the most effective, while the most *serious* can be the deadest and least effective.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:41 pm
The image they’re showing of Trump is childish by definition. It is purposly childish. It is the picture of a person with scribbled devils horns and a goatee, like Little Johnny would draw in his trapper keeper mocking his least favorite teacher.
But who knows if it will be effective marketing, detrimental, or a non-issue. I guess we’ll have to see. Ultimately the thing is probably one big marketing ploy, and those tend to do well in America. But it smacks of bitterness. What to they have left to prove to anyone? Be the bigger person. Champion political causes if you choose, even from the stage. But don’t so slumming in the gutter and give into political rancor by posting propaganda. That makes them no better than Trump or anyone else. In my opinion.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:54 pm
I don’t think they’ve shot themselves in the foot at all.
A) The people who let this crap affect their ability to enjoy good music were in charge of the bonfires last time.
B) They drastically expanded their international audience the last time they got in “trouble” with the right wing’s version of the PC Police. They’ve written the Moral Outrage squadron off as a sunk cost, while possibly resparking their international profile immediately before a world tour.
C) They’ve got more money than God, and really don’t have to give a shit about any of this stuff anymore. They can do or say whatever they like, and if that results in some close-minded dumbass missing out on good music, it’s not their problem, any more than it is for Hank Jr.
June 8, 2016 @ 8:54 pm
I agree 100%. They have a huge international following now, so what do they care? They’re exercising their free speech, which is way more country than most singers on country radio today. They never should have been kicked out of country radio in the first place, and if all they do is put up a 3 second slide of Trump, who cares? They’re doing their own thing now, and I think it’s great.
June 8, 2016 @ 9:40 pm
I agree 100%. They have a huge international following now, so what do they care? They’re exercising their right to free speech. They also never should have been kicked out of country radio anyway. If all they do is put up a 3 second slide of Trump, big deal.
I think it’s great they’re doing their own thing now.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:07 pm
Because lords knows Hank Jr and Charlie Daniris or Ted Nugent don’t go on hate fueled Obama rants via their social media on the reg.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:28 pm
I find it just as off putting when Hank Jr., Charlie Daniels, and Ted Nugent go on political rants as well, and have said as much on this site, many, many times. You can add Aaron Lewis and others to that list as well. There’s no double standard being presented here.
For example, check this out:
“Talking down to the other side speaks to the mentality that if someone disagrees with you, they’re inherently stupid. This is exactly why the United States is wickedly polarized and in the midst of one of its biggest political stalemates in history: a fundamental lack of respect and simple-minded reactionary attitudes.
How about speaking to everyone? How about using subtly to talk about political struggles? How about trying to find common ground and understanding? How about simply telling a story that relates to the universal human condition and makes you feel something? This is beyond music. This isn’t Republican vs. Democrat, this is reactionary polarization against rationalization. And I know what side I want to be on.”
Where is this quote from? My review of Hank Williams Jr.’s ultra-politicized album “Old School, New Rules” from 2012.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/hank-williams-jr-s-old-school-new-rules-rank-political-rancor/
I have been preaching to folks to NOT judge the Dixie Chicks on their political beliefs or past actions, but to focus on their music, and what it means to country. The blackballing of The Dixie Chicks is a huge blemish on the history of country music, and one that needed to be righted. But by posting a childish, 3rd grade image of a Presidential candidate, all they did was play right into the hands of their detractors, and made people who told folks to give the Dixie Chicks a second chance and judge them on their music and not their politics look presumptive and foolish.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:08 pm
For me personally, it’s a huge turn off when I follow a particular artist on Facebook or simply just a fan of someone and I hear or read a post or see a story on their political views. I always wanna be like…… Hey pal, we’re here for your music, not your views on politics. Just stick to playing your guitar and singing your songs ha.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:11 pm
As a Non US citizen, what shocks me most is not what they do and say politically, but it is the fact that Natalie Maines did spit her hate for country music for many years, after leaving the ‘Chicks, she did a punk album (!) that went absolutely NOWHERE an any charts, and look where she is now…. Back doing …country music, the music that she claimed to never have liked at all, nor been a fan of…ever (??? ) . In this article, the very first sentence reads “Texan Natalie Maines reveals she’s never been a fan of country music ” . Some people are so very confusing with their actions at times,let me tell you . Sylvie from Québec. http://popcultureblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/natalie-maines-says-country-music-burned-my-ears-and-ponders-the-future-of-the-dixie-chicks.html/
June 6, 2016 @ 8:27 pm
She’s talking about older country music. Her music – much of which she creates and makes herself – is of a different style altogether.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:33 pm
Between Natalie Maines and her dislike of country music and Florida Georgia Line and their reported love and respect for the genre, who would you pick? Just kidding, but it’s something to think about.
And she didn’t record a punk album, but a rock one. And the word on the street is that rock is what you would call country these days.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:31 pm
Here’s my view on the Dixie Chicks and artists in general making political statements: stop.
Really, because I just don’t care what they think. I have my own opinions and certainly don’t look for entertainers for any guidance. And the media needs to stop giving them a platform.
I know a lot of artists I like have very different views than I do about many things. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy their music. Unless their music becomes too political, either way, then I’m probably out. Or I probably wasn’t in to begin with.
The way you describe it, this seems pretty innocuous, although juvenile.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:32 pm
“Really, because I just don’t care what they think.”
But they’re supposed to care what you think. Wokay.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:46 pm
Nope, not one bit should they care what I think, nor should they. It’s reciprocal. Why would they care what I think? Wokay?
June 6, 2016 @ 8:51 pm
You: “Here’s my view on the Dixie Chicks and artists in general making political statements: stop… I have my own opinions and certainly don’t look for entertainers for any guidance. And the media needs to stop giving them a platform.”
June 6, 2016 @ 11:02 pm
So, in that case, you’d be cool with them telling you to “stop” making political statements?
And you attribute it to their not caring what you think?
K.
June 8, 2016 @ 5:31 pm
Yep, totally cool with it. Nobody cares what I think politically, so therefore I don’t make political statements publicly with a platform. But if I did, someone please tell me to stop because nobody cares.
June 6, 2016 @ 9:02 pm
There’s a difference between supporting what you think is right, and… this nonsense.
I don’t like the government at all at this point, but I also don’t care to get into political discussion with people on either side. Wear a tshirt with the face of who you support (if you’re that into it), but don’t try and get everyone riled up about it. Hell, join a boxing class if you want to fight somebody.
June 6, 2016 @ 9:07 pm
They can do whatever they want, I don’t care. The entire system’s fundamentally flawed and all sides-and the system itself-are to blame.
This is why when Sturgill sang about “living high beats dying for lies in a politician’s war” (or something close to that), I didn’t get bent out of shape. I fucking loved that shit!
Shit, even Merle’s “what I hate” was transparently political. And awesome. And I loved every word and note of it.
And a couple seconds of a stupid photo hardly counts for even jackshit. People who get pissed about that are the kinda people who just want to be pissed. Can’t fix that.
June 6, 2016 @ 9:15 pm
I think we cannot forget that we’re talking about actual human beings and not only songbirds who were brought to this world to entertain. The same way we are here to express our deepest feelings and thoughts, they aren’t supposed to do so just because they’re public figures? They’re not only that.
If that’s the case, though, it’s fair to shut down all blogs and websites, including this one. I mean, if we only care about the music, just put the YouTube/Spotify/whatever link and that’s it. I don’t care who thinks country music is being ripped apart and going down in flames, I only come here for the music, right?
I believe that when you see something that you think is wrong and you do nothing about it, you’re just as wrong as who is actually doing it. So if you have a problem with the actual state of mainstream country music, you go and create a blog to talk about it. If you have a problem with a man who shows no respect for people whatsoever, you show it in your concert. Everyone uses the tools and platforms available to them.
If everyone is entitled to have an opinion and voice it, of course this will cause trouble. But I think that if the ones who really care ONLY about the music go to their concert, for example, they should be able to abstract the political content from it, shouldn’t they? I mean, you’re there for the music only. But if it somehow bothers you, it’s because of the message per se, not how it’s delivered. It’s because you don’t agree with that. Otherwise, you would be fine. So you’d rather not know about their view. And I don’t say that to accuse. I think we all carry a little bit of that within ourselves. We just have to be careful about the double standards that are constantly perpetuated by others and by ourselves. I’m not American, but I saw how people said things like “Bush is our president, they should defend him” and years later everybody was talking trash about Obama and no one was like “Obama is our president, WE should defend him”. So when we use double standards, it only shows how we are more of accomplices than righteous, how we only want to fight something back when it gets to us. Otherwise, we just let it go.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:35 pm
Hey Felipe,
Thanks you for you thoughtful response and perspective.
The only thing I would offer in dissent is that I’m seeing this idea floated out there that some are suggesting the Dixie Chicks have no right to an opinion, or to sharing it. That is certainly not what I’m suggesting here, and I’m seeing few, if any suggest it elsewhere. This is one of the modes of political discourse, to take an opposing viewpoint and paint it into the extreme to then refute that point. That, along with many other reasons, is why I personally hate politics, and would rather not interface with it in my musical world. I want to be a fan of a song like the Dixie Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces,” and not have to worry about being branded a Communist just because I like a song. But unfortunately, that “taken to extremes” perspective permeates their music because of the political quotient. And I’m afraid by promoting the Donald Trump images, they’re only exacerbating this.
I don;t expect everyone to know the in’s and out’s of this particular site, but you can find opinions on both sides of the spectrum where I’ve taken on the interjecting of politics in music, and been outspoken about right-leaning artists like Hank Williams Jr. My personal political feeling never interfere in this, it is a principled stance across the board: music and politics don’t mix—unless it is expressly political music.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:42 pm
The other option is for morons to get the fuck over themselves and not accuse people of being “Communists” for liking a song by an artists whose political beliefs defer from their own.
It’s just as dumb as calling someone a fascist for liking A Fistful of Dollars, because Clint Eastwood votes Republican.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:42 pm
Ugh, differ*, not defer.
June 6, 2016 @ 9:34 pm
“If the Dixie Chicks want to try and help end the anger and ignorance that pervades the American political system and that gave rise to a candidate like Donald Trump, instead of mocking him, they would use music as an opportunity to unite individuals of different ideologies. With the Trump image and other political images, they’re using their platform to divide individuals even further.”
This. A hundred times this.
June 6, 2016 @ 9:36 pm
I thought they died.
Oh well, another sad day for the music world I guess.
June 6, 2016 @ 9:52 pm
One of my other favorite reviewers, Mark Grondin of Spectrum Pulse, often evaluates political music and art along the metric of what he christens “The Three P’s”: Populism, Precision & Power. He insists that politically-themed art is only effective when it consists of at least two of these three ingredients.
While I like plenty of the Dixie Chicks’ music, I’ve found that whenever they try dipping into politically-leaning material, they stumble. “Lubbock or Leave It” may have power, but it is deficient of populism and nuance, for instance.
But what’s especially odd about this is that politically-influenced music only makes up a razor-thin fraction of their discography. Most of their songs circle decidedly around relationships. And especially seeing that they’re not promoting any new music at this time, I agree that this montage is bewilderingly out of place (though I also agree the hoopla surrounding the Trump image has been exaggerated).
I feel the Dixie Chicks fare best on the type of songs where they may nod to issues confronting us but focus primarily on how it influences relationships. “Easy Silence” is a good example. It has some choice lyrics obviously referring to “the incident”, but it works much better because it’s mostly about how all the noise and drama in the world is draining to our psyches and how being in close company to those we love is the most effective way of keeping such stresses at bay. It’s basically the song Kenny Chesney’s “Noise” wanted to be but failed to. And if they had focused the visual components of their tour along the lines of that, it would be a lot more effective and relevant to their music itself.
If the Dixie Chicks are purposefully trying to ruffle feathers merely by grandstanding, as opposed to writing new songs that attempt their brand of political art, then I fail to see the point of why they’re out performing all these older songs besides making money. And I know money is obviously the primary motivator for why most entertainers go well out of their way to perform all these dates, but it also isn’t like they were ever also-rans like Gloriana, The Henningsens or A Thousand Horses who scored only one or two decisive hits they either performed or wrote and then vanished off the edge of the map. We’re talking one of the five best-selling female groups in the history of music among all genres, alongside TLC, The Supremes and the Spice Girls………………who all but certainly have enough income and royalties to cover most of their bills for life.
So yeah, it does seem like all power and no purpose to my eyes. Whether it’s Ted Nugent suggesting Hillary Clinton be assassinated or the Dixie Chicks suggesting Trump is the devil incarnate, it’s all puerile and resembles the worst in political discourse. We deserve better than that.
June 7, 2016 @ 4:52 am
I don’t think they’re rich as you believe. Perhaps in the five to ten million range. If you remember Natalie did an interview with Barbara sawyer. She stated she had less than a million dollars in the bank at the time. This is after their first cd went diamond and second was on the way, plus touring etc. anyways they sued their label for a new contract. If they were not so powerful they would’ve probably got buried by them but it was settled out of court with no disclosed terms. Changing contracts for the future for other artists may be another part of the industry they never get credit for. That’s just my hunch though about their net worth. It may change now as they’re out on tour again and doing well.
I wish Natalie would sort of pipe down a little but it is her choice. She’s been outspoken a few times with tweets and one or two made some small headlines. I know she was maid of honor for Howard sterns wife in their wedding. It’s just who she is and the people she hangs around with. Not saying it’s correct or not.
June 7, 2016 @ 4:53 am
It was Barbara Walters she did the interview with. Apparently the edit function is no more?
June 7, 2016 @ 1:24 pm
…aww, flattered that my name showed up here. So let’s break this down, shall we?
Full disclosure: I’ve NEVER liked the Dixie Chicks. They’ve written more melodies I dislike than like, and as much as I appreciated ‘Not Ready To Make Nice’, that doesn’t redeem the pile of songs from them that just annoy the hell out of me. That said, when they got caught as being one of the first on the firing line against the Iraq War – especially when they turned out to be right – it was completely disgraceful that they got drummed out of country music, especially when other genres let their artists get far more political.
So with all of that in mind, am I remotely surprised that Natalie Maines opted for some cheap shots against Trump in her concert? Nope, not in the slightest (and really, if you’re a Dixie Chicks fan going to their concert you probably shouldn’t be surprised either), but it’s also very much reflective of the broadly sketched writing and presentation that has coloured most of the Dixie Chicks’ material. Again, completely lacking in nuance and populism, but I’d even argue it lacks power as well. So you called Trump the devil in your stage show (not even in the music) behind ‘Goodbye Earl’ – forget the artistic statement of it all, I’m fairly certain Trump gets worse on Twitter every day. More than ever this strikes me as a flailing cheap shot to reinsert the Dixie Chicks back into the politics side of the country music conversation and win easy publicity points – which yeah, they got, but they sure as hell don’t look good doing it. And then to make matters worse, they followed it with a ‘both sides do it’ argument done better on South Park, which completely undercuts any power they might have had in the first place and is all the more proof we’re not dealing with nuanced political points here.
In short, if the Dixie Chicks wanted to do anything beyond getting headlines like these to bait controversy and draw buzz for their tour, they failed. Hell, if something like this HADN’T happened I’d probably be more surprised, especially given Maines’ history. They’ll get their cheap headline, probably piss off some Trump supporters and lose some fans, and that’ll be it, and unless they drop a politically loaded record or song that has something to say, I’m not going to care one way or the other.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:06 pm
The Chicks are awesome. It’s a damn shame they will always be tarnished over all the political BS.
June 6, 2016 @ 10:37 pm
I mean, anyone who minds them making fun of Donald Trump already burned their records in the name of “freedom” 13 years ago, and should probably burn their copy of Sirens of the Ditch (Fight somebody’s Hollywood War,” anybody?), too.
They really don’t give a shit anymore. That flew out the window when they mistakenly thought that American citizens should be able to engage freely in political speech without receiving death threats on their home phones.
June 7, 2016 @ 9:58 am
I totally disagree. This isn’t just about Trump. There are many who will show up to a Dixie Chicks concert hoping to be in a political free zone, and all of a sudden they’re going to be branded a Commie for even going by co-workers after the Trump image has been circulated throughout the media.
June 7, 2016 @ 10:14 am
A) That should never be an assumption at a Dixie Chicks concert, haha.
B) It’s not their fault if people’s coworkers are morons who probably shouldn’t procreate.
C) Hating Trump isn’t even a partisan opinion, haha. Romney and the Koch brothers may well hate him more than the Clintons do, and are still publicly trashing him.
Like I’ve said, I think the Chicks made a conscious decision to do whatever the hell they want on this tour, because they’ve already been through the absolute worst case scenario…and they’re still here.
June 7, 2016 @ 2:02 am
They used the same images on the UK and Europe tour back in March (both the Trump/horns one, and the political montages during Ready to Run), and I’m a little surprised they’re doing the same in the US. The Trump one in particular got a huge cheer in London, but that’s a very ‘safe’ audience for it – hardly anyone here supports Trump and his politics – whereas I’m sure any audience in the US would be more fixed, at least politically.
June 7, 2016 @ 2:44 am
It’s their tour, their show, they have every right to present it and do whatever the hell they want to do. You don’t like it? Don’t buy a ticket. There are plenty others that will and don’t care what the hell is on a backdrop. Now in my opinion they are one of the only truly talented acts in country music. To my knowledge they don’t need autotune on their vocals, can actually play music, write songs and one of the rare acts that really don’t need a friggin backdrop or flashing lights and smoke to present their music. Those three gals could play in a barn by themselves without a sound system, lights or any bullshit and completely blow an audience and most other modern country acts away. That’s real authentic talent, not computer fixed smoke and mirror talent.
June 7, 2016 @ 5:00 am
My 3 yr old granddaughter loves ‘Wide Open Spaces’.
Every time I see a picture of the cross-eyed Chick it makes me laugh!
June 7, 2016 @ 7:30 am
So the North Korea endorsed candidate got his picture defaced along with other candidates as well, is that something new that no one has ever seen before? Can we not just take Todd Snider’s advice and go to a concert, and for 90 minutes just enjoy the songs, the rhymes, and a tasty beverage before our impending doom?
June 7, 2016 @ 10:05 am
Nobody said it was something “no one has ever seen before,” or anything even similar. This drawing of extremes is why politics sucks, and should be kept out of music.
June 7, 2016 @ 11:38 am
I agree completely, the first part was poorly worded sarcasm.
June 7, 2016 @ 7:48 am
As someone who has been a victim of, and a witness to, bullying of various kinds, I suppose I take a very hardline view on this in my support of the Dixie Chicks’ mocking of a billionaire who is a Bully Incarnate and far worse. To me, this isn’t just about the Chicks exercising their First Amendment rights. I don’t even believe that they’re worried about whether there is going to be backlash, because they know there will be. And I’m pretty sure they don’t give a damn about what Donald Trump and his supporters think
To them, this is about standing up against arguably the most morally unfit, racist, and bigoted individual ever to run for this most important elected office in the country, if not the world. This is about standing up for what they feel is right. Whether you are or are not a celebrity, whether you are rich, poor, or in the middle, it is never an unnecessary or a wrong time to stand up against wrong, and stand up for right.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” The Chicks are showing that this is as pivotal a time to put that to the test. Their brave and unyielding stand, and all of those in America, regardless of their standing in life, against Trump and his bigotry is something I support, without apology, without shame, and without regret.
June 7, 2016 @ 4:31 pm
If you think Trump is the most bigoted person, or biggest bully to ever run for president, you need to brush up on your history a bit.
June 7, 2016 @ 5:34 pm
First of all, if you had carefully read what I wrote, you would have noticed I had written that Trump is ARGUABLY the most bigoted. Yes I am aware of others before him (George Wallace, for example); but in this time and place Trump is #1. I stand firmly by what I said about him being the biggest bully ever to run for the presidency. It is MY opinion alone, and I make it without any apology to anyone here. I also do not need any lectures on the subject of bullying from anyone. I hate it wherever I see it, especially when the bully in question is someone running for the presidency of the United States like Donald Trump.
June 7, 2016 @ 8:55 am
Meh, I don’t see the big deal. If you’re a Trump supporter and are offended by someone who dislikes Trump, you just haven’t been paying attention. Especially if you’re attending a Dixie Chicks concert and are surprised by an anti-Republican rhetoric, then you really are a special kind of idiot. I have many friends who consistently post anti-Hillary or anti-Trump or anti-Obama memes to Facebook, but I just ignore them. A lot of times I’ll laugh even if I disagree with them because some of them are actually pretty funny. It’s important to remember that musicians are people too. They have opinions just like the rest of us. We spew them on Facebook, they spew them at their concerts. It’s the same principle. I’m still friends with all the people who post memes I disagree with, so similarly it’s not hard to still be a fan of the band playing good music even if you disagree with their political values.
June 7, 2016 @ 10:06 am
What if you’re a music supporter, and are offended by anyone broaching politics in a musical forum, even if you agree with them?
June 7, 2016 @ 10:36 am
Politics and music have been intertwined for over fifty years when you had people like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and John Lennon protesting the Vietnam War. I just don’t see how this is any different.
June 7, 2016 @ 10:51 am
You are absolutely right Nate, it isn’t. Politics and some artists and their music have been intertwined for much longer than 50 years. I am not a fan of the Dixie Chicks music but anybody who goes to a Dixie Chicks concert and is surpirsed by their political statements is likey uniformed, stupid or both.
June 7, 2016 @ 11:02 am
The difference is Dylan, Lennon, and others broached politics in their music. It was part of the landscape. The Dixie Chicks do not broach it in their music. You’re at a country show, and all of a sudden there’s an image of Donald Trump. THAT is the reason the backlash against the Dixie Chicks was so strident for a simple, one sentence comment, and nobody gave a shit when Green Day put out an entire album protesting the Iraq War. Dylan and Lennon broached the political subjects of the day with sane and articulate insight. The Dixie Chicks flash an immature, 3rd Grade image. Apples and bowling balls if you ask me.
Look, I’m not trying to tell the Dixie Chicks what they can and can’t do. I have defended the Dixie Chicks time and time again from reactionary political haters in print. The question I keep asking is what is the point of using this image in their presentation? What does it accomplish? In my opinion, they would be better off, and we all would be better off, if they left well enough alone, or like Dylan and Lennon, champion specific causes, attempt to inform the public, not stoop down in the gutter like many Trump supporters by giving into hate imagery.
June 7, 2016 @ 9:59 pm
I think the lack of intelligent expression is the big difference. Dylan didn’t draw devil horns and call it art. There was a level of thinking to his expression. Maines’ is just “I hate…”
It’s not even smart enough to be mockery. It’s like a bad political SNL skit vs a good one. A bad one is hate and stereotypes, a good one thoughtfully skewers a person or position.
June 7, 2016 @ 10:43 am
Then you should grow some balls.
June 7, 2016 @ 1:20 pm
I would imagine a 2016 Dixie Chicks audience member knows their politics and what they might say in concert. But what of Republican Vince Gill, who several months ago on the Grand Ole Opry stage told a joke at Hillary Clinton’s expense and apparently neither he nor the Opry management seemed to care there might be Democrats in the audience offended by it. This was not a Vince Gill show, this was a general program with a variety of performers for a varied audience, I feel what he did was worse.
June 7, 2016 @ 1:33 pm
I’ll still go with a firm “Who gives a shit?”, haha.
June 7, 2016 @ 1:42 pm
A lot has changed since the Dixie Chicks last toured 10 years ago. For instance, the average IQ of people attending their shows has doubled.
June 7, 2016 @ 1:52 pm
Tricky because I have been to many concerts where people give political speeches on both sides. Peter Gabriel, Toby Keith, Paul Simon, Melloncamp but in some cases I guess you know what you are getting by the lyrics, so it seems to be pretty common to my ears…
However, I agree this specific act seems kind of childish. Yet some in poetry group did the same thing back when McCain was running. Put up his picture with devil horns and soon enough our group was evicted from the bar we performed at. Funny because in that incident people came in read all sort of political rants and ravings… So why that picture set the owner off is a mystery.
But I also believe as I did on the first round that the political acts and resulting backlash are largely smoke and mirrors to real issue being that successful females with strong opinions and loud voices get taken to task. It is just the way the music game is played. If you are a female musician with a point point of view you get shit. Madonna gets shit, Cher gets shit, Gaga, Beyonce, Grace Jones, Bette Midler they have gotten shit because they are vocal and opionated…
The best example of this for me is the super bowl when Janet got hell to pay while Justin Tiberfake got off scott free and he was the one who ripped off her top in the first place. It ruined her career but he went to bigger success somehow. And for I saw it as nothing to do with the nipple people saw a chance to tear down a successful woman and they did it.
Successful women just get taken to task more than men period and if they speak there mind even more so. Whether or not the reasons are valid.
June 7, 2016 @ 3:10 pm
Same old bullshit. Chicks trying to make a “statement.” Since they can’t seem to do it intelligently through lyrics and music, they flash an immature, scribbled-on photo of Trump. Who very well may be the Devil, who really knows? At the end of the day, the Chicks will never regain the popularity and momentum they once enjoyed, and it doesn’t matter. Because they don’t care. And because their political stance has given them a different audience to fill the void and buy their music and tickets. Again, not enough to propel them they to the sensation they once were, and probably because their music isn’t important enough to truly inspire that crowd the way Dylan or Springsteen can, but enough to make them happy. Who wins? Who loses? No one. Everyone. It’s 2016, who gives a shit?
June 7, 2016 @ 4:37 pm
Thankfully I don’t have to have any dilemma when someone like the Dixie Chicks makes a political statement, since music for 16 year old girls was never my thing anyway. I think endlessly railing for communism while calling yourself Rage Against the Machine is pretty pretentious, but I’ll still listen to them because they’re talented, original, and Tom Morello can do some things on the guitar that you won’t hear from most, but the Dixie Chicks are about on a level with Rascall Flatts. Not always completely terrible, but nothing I’d run out and buy.
June 7, 2016 @ 6:18 pm
…no.
Listen to Home.
June 7, 2016 @ 6:12 pm
I don’t like when entertainers do this. I’d rather just hear some good music. If they wanted to share their opinions, they could’ve done it through music. You can communicate a lot better with people through music than you can by making a scene. Seems to me like they just wanted free publicity.
June 7, 2016 @ 6:40 pm
The overrated Chicks make the news again. Country music didn’t lose anything again when they were boycotted.
Devil horns? Even second graders have more imagination.
June 7, 2016 @ 6:59 pm
To be honest, I don’t really think this is a good idea. Personally, I would rather do a poster of someone I like with angel wings than to do a poster of someone I dislike with devil horns. If the Dixie Chicks don’t like Donald Trump, then expressing that is fine with me, but it feels like they are taking it too far. To me, it comes as off more immature than truthful.
June 8, 2016 @ 12:16 pm
*off as, not as off. Sorry about that mistake.
June 7, 2016 @ 8:49 pm
I had no idea the Dixie Chicks were still anything and that their tour is so big.
I have no interest in them, but they should keep doing whatever they’re doing. Obviously, their current audience seems to like whatever it is they do.
June 8, 2016 @ 8:41 am
I’d largely agree with Trigger about mixing music and politics, but with the first go-round, I’ve always come back to the simple fact that The Dixie Chicks were right about the war in Iraq and most every US Senators and Congressmen, not to mention a good chunk of the country music audience, was wrong.
June 9, 2016 @ 12:45 am
OK Chicks, we get it, you’re card-carrying Democrats. Nobody ever cared, honestly. I mean, it wasn’t/isn’t like you’re going to change anyone’s mind about political issues just because of your opinions. Why couldn’t/can’t you just stick to music? Who knows how many #1 hits and millions of albums you could’ve sold in the past 10 years if you’d just stuck to the music like you started out with.
June 9, 2016 @ 6:41 am
Keep your opinions to yourself, unless you are being paid to support a truck brand.
The moral highground of this site is a swampy place.
June 9, 2016 @ 9:12 am
When did I ever defend artists for repping truck brands? Me and Toby Keith would like to know. Last time I remember talking about the subject, it was in the context of how it was creating conflict in fans for Chris Stapleton and Dave Cobb.
June 9, 2016 @ 10:27 am
Yes. I saw that. It read like “how taking the money shouldn’t create a conflict for those fans.” I still think a more interesting story is who chose not to take the money & why.
And now the Dixie Chicks are being small for taking a jab at Donald Trump?
Who cares? They made enough money, they don’t need bigoted, sexist fans & maybe this is their way of cutting them loose & setting them free. Bye Felicia.
Good for them. Artists don’t have to pander to a group they don’t self identify with to sell records. Didnt you just say that in another article?
What is it that you are exactly standing for here? Murky waters.
June 9, 2016 @ 1:28 pm
“What is it that you are exactly standing for here? Murky waters.”
My stance is very, very simple: I don’t like politics in music. And I don’t think I’m alone in that. And I’ve made that stance many, many times on this site. It doesn’t mean that artists can broach political subjects in their music, as long as they use subtlety, and don’t get too preachy about it. If you disagree, I can respect that. But there’s nothing murky about it whatsoever. I remember interviewing Whitey Morgan once about it. “You’re a fucking entertainer. Entertain me,” is what he said about mixing politics and music.
As far as celebrity endorsements of products, I have absolutely no idea how that fits into this subject. I’m guessing that’s why you feel things are murky. To me, they’re two completely different issues.
I also feel the need to point out that how this article starts is by attempting to clarify that this is NOT some huge deal, because the image only appears for a few seconds. That’s been glossed over my many (including myself) in this discussion. Nonetheless, you’re the Dixie Chicks and you broach politics, you have to know a backlash is coming. They are now purposefully trying to define themselves as a political band.
June 11, 2016 @ 6:03 am
Well…unless it’s Willy Nelson & as he can handle such issues with maturity. However Wheeler Walker JR. Is making fun of misogyny & homophobia with songs like Drop Em Out & Eating Pussy & Kicking Ass & immaturity isn’t a problem.
I’m just trying to understand your thread of logic & a basic set of principles that you judge music and artists by & in my opinion it’s pretty convoluted.
You are against the Dixie Chicks throwing up a flag that basically says “this guy is nuts” which is hardly political (even republicans hate him). Why? Because you hate politics in music. Ok. You don’t want people’s personal agendas in their songs. But you’re for commercial sponsorship & you don’t see the irony as basically artists are being paid to promote commercial agendas.
So with your last comment, I think I’m picking up a baseline. Artists should really consider themselves entertainers, to be consumed by the general public like products & they can align with other products but please don’t share any personal thoughts about what inspires you (especially if it’s polarizing) because you may lose some fans your obligated to entertain.
Dance monkey. We are paying you.
The biggest irony here is that formula makes for some boring, uninspired, unchallenging, culturally vapid, zero risk taking music that over years would boil down to what you started this site to vanquish.
June 11, 2016 @ 7:56 pm
Comparing Wheeler Walker Jr. to the Dixie Chicks is apples and bowling balls. He is a comedian with a persona purposefully trying to offend people.
I never said I was for commercial sponsorship. In fact I have dozens of instances where I have come out against it specifically on this site. The one article you are referencing I posed it as a question to my readers. I didn’t take a hardline stance either way. And I still have absolutely positively no clue what it has to do with this issue. No wonder you see the water as muddy.
June 12, 2016 @ 6:56 am
In your words the Dixie Chicks have made themselves a political band. WWJ is a living breathing political commentary. If you won’t see that, I can’t help you.
You just like WWJ, so he gets a separate set of standards. You like Stapleton & Cobb, so they get grouped with Waylon’s generation of truck commercials & not Toby Keith’s.
You like Whitey Morgan, so being an entertainer is valued over being an artist. This is the most surprising of your standards as entertainers cannot change the state of country music, which I thought was the point of this site.
I think I’m beginning to see how you come to your opinions. Thanks for clearing it up.
June 9, 2016 @ 7:35 am
I just don’t see this as an issue. If you know what was said and done in 2003, could this really be a surprise? I want to make a correlation here between Muhammed Ali and the Dixie Chicks. Both took unpopular stands in the political arena. Both paid the price for doing that and had prime years of their respective careers wiped out. Maybe not enough time has passed for the Chicks to be embraced again, I dunno. I do know I have missed the talent and voice of the Dixie Chicks in country music. Looking at the current landscape of female artists, their absence over the last decade looms large.
June 9, 2016 @ 7:56 am
I just prefer groups that focus on the music, period. I’d rather hear a tone-deaf octogenarian sing a few poorly-composed originals while accompanying himself on an out-of-tune Montgomery Ward acoustic guitar during open mic night at a local coffee house than attend a concert by a major artist that gives undue prominence to skinny jeans, pyrotechnics, images of any kind on a giant screen, or huge inflatable objects regardless of the music.
June 11, 2016 @ 6:35 pm
Art and political protest have always been intertwined.
I’m glad the Dixie Chicks leave no ambiguity on where they stand politically. Maybe they would prefer to weed out the kind of fan that supports Trump. I’m sure they can afford it, but more importantly it’s their right.
My favorite band, the Drive By Truckers, have caught a lot of shit this year for their new politically charged material, which is baffling to me because it’s been evident from their first album that they’re hardcore liberals. I like it when people on any side get called on their bullshit, although I concede DBT’s message is a lot more nuanced and thoughtful than a picture of Trump with devil horns.
June 11, 2016 @ 7:51 pm
There is no doubt that if you go to see the Drive By Truckers, Steve Earle, Todd Snider, and a host of other artists that clearly have political leanings, you are going to hear about those political leaning at the show. The reason that The Dixie Chicks became a flashpoint in 2003, and are still a flashpoint today is because it was completely unexpected, and was not referenced in their music whatsoever. The Drive By Truckers established that their music would be embedded with social causes from the beginning. The Dixie Chicks still have not established that. The Dixie Chicks have a right to do whatever they want. But that doesn’t make it smart, right, helpful, or productive. In some cases, it can do more hurt than harm to the cause you’re trying to champion.
June 12, 2016 @ 6:18 am
So they gave a three second video middle finger to Donald Trump (and maybe by extension those who burned them at the stake 13 years ago). Big deal. And anyone who might take offense can’t really hurt them anymore. Also, who cares about the tender feelings of such people, given how utterly vile Trump has been? I know I don’t.
June 12, 2016 @ 10:49 am
Wish they would keep their politics to them selves.
July 8, 2016 @ 8:28 pm
We just went to their concert last night (July 7/16) in Vancouver, BC. It was NOT ONLY TRUMP ~ the background screen showed caricatures of ALL who ran for GOP AND Democrats, including Hillary Clinton & Bernie Sanders… NOT just Trump & NOT just Republicans.
October 26, 2016 @ 2:42 am
You are an excellent writer who ever you are. I’m in a U.S. History college course and a singer song writer and this helped me with how to and not to present my music. I loved the Dixie chick and didn’t know about what they said until the leak and personally it doesn’t bother me. For school money I deliver pizza to places like Veteran’s Hospital and I have seen a lot of wounded warriors (missing limbs.. etc.). Some happy, some not so happy. Those are the ones I think about and their families when I hear, see or think about these kind of political issues. But ya, we certainly do need to pull together as a Nation.
January 13, 2017 @ 8:09 am
I guess if they are determined to express their political opinions on stage then I can be determined to not listen to or buy their music nor attend their concerts anymore.
February 11, 2017 @ 2:38 am
Lets see, you get political and lose pretty much everything, then you do the same thing again? I believe that’s called stupidity. I go to concerts to hear music, not to get someone’s political view. I am sure the Dixie Chicks will do fine without my money, that’s how I roll. I can’t control what they do, but I can control who get my money, and that’s how you hurt a business.
August 14, 2021 @ 11:17 am
Goes to prove that fortune and fame don’t make a person happy and grateful. People like this who spew hate, whatever their occupation, just are not happy. Happy people don’t act like this.
September 11, 2021 @ 5:37 pm
The Chicks hit the nail on the head when they took on Dumb George W.Bush who started a war with the wrong country. The Chicks have more class than any of the Bush’s. And they made more money overseas than in the USA. And W.Bush was stupid and so was Trump..Trump was the worst President ever. plus his IQ was under 50. Obama’s IQ was 148. Go, Obama!
I love their music and love the Chicks PERIOD !!!
March 20, 2022 @ 12:08 am
After reading about the Dixie Chicks I think I fell in love with all Three of them.
I will never understand why citizens can’t be honest about their feelings about the President without them being excoriated. No President I know of, auditioning to be an angel.
July 7, 2022 @ 6:47 am
You mean Trump ISN’T Satan ? Who knew ?
December 30, 2023 @ 6:28 am
the Dixie twits are at it again. didn’t learn the first time
September 20, 2024 @ 11:08 am
They get slammed because they’re women. Most of these comments are from men, and most of the other musicians that are mentioned as not receiving hate or being cancelled for their political views are also men. Y’all didn’t notice that? Of course you did. Women always take shit from men, throughout human history and can still do anything men do better, backwards, and in high heels.
October 24, 2024 @ 9:14 pm
Whether or not they should(‘ve) been ‘political’ in their stances, comments, stage presentations, or whether or not their music/lyrics ‘history’ give them the ‘right to be political commentators’, in hindsight it turns out that they were just as blatantly correct about the wannabe Hitlerian despot as they were about lil’ shrubbie (if not more!).
I agree with the posts above which state that (they) I will ‘speak/vote with my wallet’ and just not go to any shows, or buy any music from those who support overt fascists, or fascism pushers (i.e.; Hank Jr., Koby Teeth, Kid Rock, effing ‘Nuge’, et al, etc. ad nauseum).
I will buy from, and support by attending the shows of those who take a stance against fascism (i.e.; Son Volt, Steve Earle, Todd Snider, Slaid Cleaves, DBT, Jason Isbell, and many others most on this forum have never heard of in the modern folk/singer-songwriter realm).
MY right, in a country which is still free for the time being, and hopefully is still free from fascist tyranny after 1/20/25.
November 26, 2024 @ 10:26 am
Trigger, I’m sorry, but politics runs people’s lives; if the MAGA’s that comprise the majority of country music fans can’t stand that (especially after they gave Trump a second term in the White House which is going to-heck, has already resulted in-negative responses to Trump’s being elected POTUS again) then they need to rethink their lives and choices in life, and stop being the people that they are (beginning with not voting against theirs and other American’s best interests, none of which Trump & his cabinet cares about), or, they can keep their opinions to themselves while not going to any Dixie Chicks concerts. But to be pissy about what the DC’s are saying…well, they have a right to do so, even if the ‘majority’ of country music fans don’t like it.
I’ve agreed with you in the past, Trigger, but on this, I’m choosing to disagree.
November 26, 2024 @ 11:29 pm
They’re still around? Didn’t notice, tbh.
December 18, 2024 @ 11:10 am
Maines gave us aother reason to dislike her when she wore the FUTK “F___ You Toby Keith” shirt at the 2003 ACM Awards because she didnt like the “tone” of his hit “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”
She’s one of those performers who just cant help themselves.
January 25, 2025 @ 11:11 am
Thank Goodness the DCs are not like the shopping mall, fast food outlet American country singers are now. Most of the Trump supporting country music artists have never ridden a horse let alone worked on a farm.