They’re Back: The Dixie Chicks Announce New European Tour
Batten down the hatches, and brushen up on your freedom of expression barbs because the most controversial and successful female band in American music history is dusting off the cobwebs and getting ready for a European tour stint that could be the precursor to a re-invasion of the United States and a relauncing of their once high-flying country music career.
The Dixie Chicks are returning to the scene-of-the-crime if you will. It was in Europe in 2003—Shepherd’s Bush Empire Theatre in England specifically—when the country trio touched off a political shit storm after Natalie Maines said, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”
Next thing you knew, people who had never heard of The Dixie Chicks, let alone their music, were burning piles of their CD’s in parking lots, and radio DJ’s were getting fired for simply spinning their latest single. The Dixie Chicks became the anti-poster girls for the pro-American rallying cry amidst the breakout of the Iraq War, and the songstresses got shellacked right out of country music, going from one of the highest-grossing country acts in history and selling out arenas, to receiving sympathy votes from the Grammy Awards because they careers had been so destroyed.
Meanwhile amidst the political fracas, most lost sight of the fact that regardless of their political views, country music had lost one of its most commercially-successful franchises, and one fronted by females that wrote many of their own songs, played their own instruments, and helped ensure equality for quality, traditionalism, and female acts in the country music mainstream—something the mainstream continues to struggle with today.
On Tuesday, June 16th, The Dixie Chicks announced on their website:
Superstars, renegades, innovators, heroes, villains, and moms for over a decade, the Dixie Chicks have grown from a band into a phenomenon, with over 30 million albums sold, Dixie Chicks are the biggest female band of all time in the U.S.
The Dixie Chicks have announced that they will be returning to Europe to tour in 2016. Starting in Amsterdam, the tour will then head to the UK and Ireland to play arenas in Birmingham, Manchester, London, Glasgow and will culminate in Dublin.
After the trio got “Dixie Chick’d” in 2006 amidst the release of their album Taking the Long Way, and a fairly unsuccessful tour attempt, the group unofficially broke up, with sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison eventually forming the Court Yard Hounds, and Natalie Maines launching a solo career. In 2013, in a Rolling Stone article that represented Maines “declaring war on Nashville,” Natalie said of country, “I just didn’t like how blatant country music was. Nothing seemed poetic or subtle.” It seemed Maines ostensibly burned whatever bridge was left with the genre, but we’ll have to see how the European set lists materialize, and just how much non-poetic and unsubtle music is included.
READ: Destroying The Dixie Chicks Ten Years After
Meanwhile has 13 years in any way healed the wounds opened up by The Dixie Chicks in country music and beyond? In the politically diametric world we live in today, the issue may have never been more heated. Right now there is just six announced tour dates not transpiring until April of 2016. But you can all ready hear the “rip,” and I’m not talking a fiddle. That’s the sound of whatever scab material had formed over the Dixie Chicks issue getting removed.
Can’t we all just focus on the music?
June 16, 2015 @ 8:37 am
I hope they kick ass and take names. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
June 16, 2015 @ 8:51 am
It’s amazing just how big they were and how fast they dissapeared. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. I’m not a huge fan of theirs but I don’t dislike them either. I really enjoyed this article.
June 16, 2015 @ 9:02 am
I’m not a huge fan of the Dixie Chicks, but I always thought the whole “controversy” with them was blown out of proportion. And honestly, i believe it was because people felt threatened that one of the most successful groups in music was not only female, but had a different opinion than the majority of their fanbase.
I hope this tour brings them new success, if for no other reason than to piss off their detractors. However, i don’t think this will get them airplay on country radio, because God forbid a woman, much less three, with an opinion or somewhat traditional sound make it on country radio.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:46 am
I agree about the controversy being blown out of proportion. I mean, getting death threats? They were criticizing a politician, for pete’s sake. Everybody does that. I hold all politicians in contempt myself; one of my favorite movie lines was uttered by Rip Torn in Extreme Prejudice: “The only thing worse than a politician is a child molester.” And the notion that the Dixie Chicks were over the line criticizing the president because they happened to be in another country is just a pathetic grab at straws.
I like a lot of their music and would love to hear some new material from them.
June 16, 2015 @ 9:08 am
Even if it’s successful, there’s no room for Dixie Chicks on country radio anymore (as if). Miranda Lambert was nailed down that market. I heard the new Musgraves last night and at times thought I was listening to a Lambert album – right down to the over emphasized accent that many commenters on SCM critize Lambert for.
Do they even play old DC singles on country radio anywhere? Like in Texas?
June 16, 2015 @ 9:34 am
Believe it or not, 650-AM WSM in Nashville play old Dixie Chicks every now & then.
June 16, 2015 @ 12:03 pm
102.5 in Boston plays Landslide and Wide Open Spaces all the time.
June 16, 2015 @ 9:47 am
I listen to KOKE FM in Austin, and I haven’t heard them once.
June 16, 2015 @ 9:21 pm
I hear them on KOKE occasionally. Ironically enough, I’ve heard the song your username is taken from several times on there.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:27 am
WKYQ out of Paducah, Kentucky plays them every great once in a while.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:35 am
They don’t play any music that is 15-years-old on mainstream country radio, Dixie Chicks or otherwise.
June 17, 2015 @ 2:02 pm
Dixie Chicks is still played a ton on Y2Kountry, a new 2000-2010’s era country music station on Sirius XM. It’s actually extremely popular from what I’ve researched.
June 18, 2015 @ 6:34 pm
I like the Chicks and their music. The outrage would have blown over, but when you are selling one thing and you turn out to be something else being a fake is very, very hard to overcome.
Thanks
June 16, 2015 @ 9:41 am
I was never a fsn, but I thought it was cool that a country music artist spoke out against that stupid war. GEORGE BUSH. was trigger happy. I hated the country music got behind that war.
June 16, 2015 @ 6:37 pm
I am no fan of Bush or that war either… But 99 Senators backed it and the U.N. believed they had wmds as well. I could care less about them. Much better music around these days – not on radio but I would never listen to that anyway.
June 17, 2015 @ 11:03 am
In and around 9/11 emotions were high. Americans were angry. As a result, we went after the wrong man/country. The difference Between Bush and everybody else is that she has more information. He was told by the UN that their investigation did not come up with any weapons of mass destruction. His own intelligence confirm that the Iraqian government did not have anything to do with the World Trade Center. News report confirmed that the Iraqis celebrated our pain.. In my opinion, that’s why they were conquered.
June 17, 2015 @ 11:38 am
99 senators? More like 77. Republican support was virtually unanimous, while 21 out of 50 Democratic senators voted against it. In the House, 60% of Democrats voted AGAINST the Iraq War resolution, while only a handful of Republicans did. And what should never be forgotten is that the Bush Administration worked with Republican leaders to force a vote on the resolution in October 16, 2002, which was just a few weeks before the mid term election. Any Democrat running for re-election in a competitive district or state who voted against the resolution could look forward to being branded as being “with the terrorists” by the Republicans. And so many predictably cowered. I remember reading an account somewhere in which Democratic Senator Tom Daschle asked the president why the vote had to be in October. Bush smiled (or maybe smirked) and said it just had to. And so we went to war. Well, “we” didn’t. The all volunteer Armed Forces did. “We” were advised to go shopping.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Resolution
June 17, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
I stand corrected. But point being it wasn’t just his war. His reasoning behind it, the same reasoning that 77 senators voted for it, was backed by the beliefs of the United Nations. It was a mistake to be sure. I thought it was just at the time and feel completely opposite today. Nation building won’t ever work unless the people themselves want it and will fight for their own liberty. This doesn’t make Maines a hero for bashing Bush on foreign ground. And the Dixie Chicks are still half-assed.
June 18, 2015 @ 6:59 am
I wonder how the vote would have went if it took place AFTER the mid term election. As it was, a clear majority of Democrats on the hill voted against it, while the Republican support was virtually unanimous. The Bush Administration played rank hardball partisan politics in an effort to get meaningful bipartisan support for the resolution. They probably wouldn’t have had that level of support otherwise. Then, they sent members of our all volunteer Armed Forces into harm’s way.
June 18, 2015 @ 4:14 pm
Another correction – the United Nations nuclear inspection team was in Iraq just prior to the war and being given complete access. The inspectors team leader was insisting that there were no WMDs. The UN most certainly did not support the war.
June 18, 2015 @ 7:57 pm
The U.N. Didnt support the war and I don’t claim that they did. They believed Saddam was trying to manufacture wmds. And who cares when the vote was. Elect more scrupulous politicians if they won’t vote their conscience over something that important.
June 17, 2015 @ 12:18 pm
UN & Senate backed threat of force based on the word of Bush & Cheney and trumped-up evidence given to the CIA by a whackjob named “curveball”. Nobody is responsible for that war except the Bush Administration. Who, incidentally, are also responsible for violation of the Geneva Convention to the extent a Republican Senate just passed anti-torture laws. Can’t believe anybody still defends these war criminals. Go Natalie!
June 16, 2015 @ 9:52 am
One of my local (independently owned) stations still plays the Dixie Chicks every now and then. Even if I wasn’t always the biggest fan at their peak, it certainly sounds refreshing nowadays. And I think most of us can agree that those “They sound tired but they don’t sound Haggard . . ” lines in “Long Time Gone” are as relevant as ever.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:28 am
They got money but they don’t have Cash
June 16, 2015 @ 10:50 am
“They got Junior but they don’t have Hank.”
June 18, 2015 @ 7:14 am
There are III, but they ain’t no Hank.
June 16, 2015 @ 9:54 am
Best news I’ve seen in a while!
June 16, 2015 @ 10:05 am
I wish they would do a proper tour of the United States. I would go see them. They’re one of the only groups/artists who I like but have never seen live in concert.
June 16, 2015 @ 11:45 am
They’re too timid to do a US tour right now. They’ll use Europe as a test market and if all goes well I would expect to see some US shows pop-up. But doubtful they’ll ever do a full-blown US tour.
June 16, 2015 @ 12:41 pm
Euros will like them and are pretty left of center people as it is. Even if they do well in Europe, American audiences might be more lukewarm to them.
In Birmingham, England they will be popular. In Birmingham, Alabama…. maybe not so much.
June 16, 2015 @ 6:22 pm
But they’ll sell out across the Northeast.
Ironically, the manufactured controversy turned the Chicks into a gateway drug that allowed people who thought that all country music was “I broke my woman’s jaw, so she broke my heart and took my dog” to experience the very best of what the genre had to offer.
June 17, 2015 @ 6:34 pm
You have it out of order: she breaks your heart, THEN you break her jaw…
June 18, 2015 @ 9:45 am
I’m British, so a ‘Euro’ if you must.
I have always enjoyed the Chicks. I don’t go to a gig/enjoy certain types of music because of political leanings.
I go because I enjoy the bands music.
I saw them three times including the infamous Shepherd’s Bush night. Great musicians. Great live act.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:07 am
You speak your mind and come off all mad and sassy and really accomplish nothing with your sentiment and people don’t bat an eye.
You speak your mind by calling a spade a spade and saying something that needs to be said and the un-informed, under-educated, gullible American destroys your career.
We are short-sighted, incomprehensibly stupid, and as gullible as the society depicted in 1984. We are fucked.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:41 am
Natalie Maines is a fucking moron. She got what she got, not for being brave and correct, but for being an ignorant, loudmouth C. Any person that doesn’t understand the duopoly, the welfare/warfare state, and the fact that there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the parties, shouldn’t have a microphone, and should keep their piehole shut.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:45 am
You go ahead and keep telling yourself that. I’ve always wondered if heads in the sand eventually get comfortable.
June 16, 2015 @ 11:14 am
There is too much truth to that, I’m afraid.
Performers should be contractually barred from speaking about anything but their music. No–better . . .modify Autotune so that it cancels out any spoken words. Make yap-happy performers wear portable ones around their necks, like a house arrest necklace!
Just needs a catchy name–Opinionater? Egotuner?? Smug-mugger???
June 16, 2015 @ 11:42 am
She spoke the truth, that is a lot more than can be said for a lot of brain washed douche bags. The Chicks are a talented bunch, hope they get a chance to play for some people that appreciate talent.
June 16, 2015 @ 3:30 pm
Oh come off it. She didn’t speak the truth, she voiced an opinion you agree with. That’s all there is to it. My only problem is she didn’t have the stones to do it in Texas, but chose to wait until she was on foreign soil.
June 16, 2015 @ 3:51 pm
My apologies, I forgot what a great idea that war was but that’s beside the point. These are some great musicians and just because they had a different opinion than others they were treated completely unfair.
June 17, 2015 @ 1:21 am
She probably should have chosen a different venue to vent her opinion, but I have no problem with her stance on war. Hell, every sane person should be against war, even just wars. Sometimes war is necessary, but always should be protested against. I am retired military.
June 16, 2015 @ 12:06 pm
Says you.
She spoke out against the upcoming Iraq War when a majority of Americans supported it. Turns out that war was clearly unjustified and a debacle. So, yes, she WAS correct. And I think she “got what she got” because she was a young woman with anti-war views who happened to be working in the mainstream country genre. If she was in any other genre in American popular music, I think she would have survived.
A loudmouth “C”, huh? Weasel move.
June 16, 2015 @ 12:09 pm
Maybe he meant “conscientious American”!
Otherwise, well, otherwise he’s just a prick.
June 16, 2015 @ 12:18 pm
And then she supported and wrote checks to Obama, as if he was going to stop the American war machine, which has been rolling non-stop since before I was born. Are there really Americans with an IQ over 80 that think that an elected, stuffed-suit of either party is going to stop American aggression abroad? I openly support criticism and mockery of our illegitimate rulers. But, for Pete’s sake, please have a valid opinion, if you are going to pipe up. Especially, if you have a microphone and a million people listening.
She got exactly what she deserved for being a fucking, loudmouth moron.
Remember the great “peace dividend” we were all going to get at the end of the Cold War? I’m still waiting for my check…
June 16, 2015 @ 12:35 pm
I think Obama or even Al Gore never would never have guided (or I should say, purposely misguided) the nation toward such a foolhardy, hubristic enterprise such as the Iraq War. They are more conventional in that respect. So I think the effort that went into pivoting this country toward war in Iraq after 9/11 was special. And Natalie Maines spoke out against that, however impulsively.
With respect to your general thoughts on the American war machine, I largely agree with you there.
June 16, 2015 @ 2:23 pm
While Obama certainly did not stop the US war machine, he hasn’t done anything remotely as poor-thought, badly-executed and just plain dumb as the Iraq War.
June 16, 2015 @ 2:35 pm
I would say that provoking the Russians and pushing them into a corner is “poor-thought, badly-executed and just plain dumb.” This act hasn’t yet resulted in the same consequences, but they are on the horizon, for the next Warmonger-in-Chief to exploit…
June 16, 2015 @ 4:06 pm
Honestly, at least you’re criticizing her from the left. That’s refreshing, and way more interesting than the normal Republican (not conservative, those are two completely different things) nonsense that gets said about them.
June 17, 2015 @ 6:06 am
She got exactly what she deserved for being a fucking, loudmouth moron.
Somehow I missed that you doubled down on that particular sentiment.
So according to you, even though Natalie Maines spoke out against what clearly ended up being an unjust war, she deserved to have her career ruined not for any unpatriotic/foreign soil/whatever the fuck reason, but because she didn’t meet your lofty rhetorical standards? Or is it just that you can’t stand her and “her kind” and any way that she got taken down is just fine by you?
June 17, 2015 @ 6:25 am
Stupid people, acting punitively, against a stupid person for her stupid comments. They all got what they deserved. The misguided, flag-waving “patriots” got to think that they scored a victory, while not realizing how dumb they look for supporting an unjust war, and the illegitimate regime that hasn’t been worthy of a decent person’s loyalty for 150 years. The chubby little singer turned activist got to air her uninformed grievances, and show the whole world how ignorant she is. Then, she got to play the role of martyr among the types of people who read Salon Magazine and live in the illusion that as soon as we get a “progressive” president in the White House, all the wars are going to stop, we’ll all join hands and the warm and fuzzy feelings will be all we need to light our homes…
June 17, 2015 @ 3:09 pm
Excellent analysis RD, as usual.
I hate Bush, but found it hilarious to see that loudmouth little dumpling get her career destroyed by people just as uninformed as she is.
June 16, 2015 @ 12:43 pm
I agree. There’s not any difference between the mainstream repubs and the mainstream dems. They are all big government socialists to varying degrees.
June 16, 2015 @ 4:26 pm
It all depends on your perspective. To a far lefty, they are both in corporate America’s back pocket.
June 16, 2015 @ 3:37 pm
Would you say the same about Hank Williams Jr, Charlie Daniels, and other Republican-leaning stars?
June 16, 2015 @ 4:07 pm
It sounds like it, dude’s a crazy socialist, not a crazy Republican.
June 16, 2015 @ 7:10 pm
Of course. I always do. Hank, Jr. has asinine political opinions and his political songs are some of the worst garbage ever recorded. I tend to hate Republicans more than Democrats, because at least Democrats are generally honest about their hatred of America and its traditional citizenry and culture.
“In America, we have a two-party system. There is the stupid party. And there is the evil party. Periodically, the two parties get together and do something that is both stupid and evil. This is called””bipartisanship.”
– Sam Francis
June 16, 2015 @ 7:32 pm
And right now, I tend to hate Democrats more than Republicans, because at least Republicans are generally honest about their hatred of the American working-class and poor, while today’s Democratic politicians are two-faced (witness the TPP debate, for example).
June 17, 2015 @ 12:09 pm
One of my favorite bits from The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the long rant he goes on about how the liberal is the fox.
Republicans are openly anti-black, anti-poor, anti-gay, and anti-woman. Democrats, meanwhile, use populist rhetoric to appeal to those groups, while nonetheless maintaining the status quo.
June 17, 2015 @ 3:17 pm
Other than him being opposed to Obama, which I agree with, I’m not too familiar with Hank Jr’s politics. What are some of his opinions you consider asinine?
June 17, 2015 @ 3:29 pm
He seems to be a dyed-in-the-wool Republican true believer. He generally supports any person with an “R” next to their name, including John “wayward daughter” Boehner, John “declare simultaneous war on every country in the world” McCain, Little Lindsay “the girl next door” Graham, etc. For a guy that is rooted in the South, and seemingly committed to Southern causes, you’d think he would realize that the Republican Party, from its founding has been anti-Southern, and, although the candidates lie to Southerners to win elections, the Republican establishment continues to hate traditional American culture, especially as it is expressed in the South, which is probably the last place it exists.
June 17, 2015 @ 3:53 pm
….”And right now, I tend to hate Democrats more than Republicans, because at least Republicans are generally honest about their hatred of the American working-class and poor”….
I have a few questions Eric.
When you say, “Republicans”, are you referring only to politicians, or to politicians and voters. Furthermore, do you lump unregistered constitutionalists in with Republicans?
Also, do have an example of a “Republican” who has openly espoused hatred for “the American working-class and poor”?
June 17, 2015 @ 4:50 pm
Conservatives are a completely different breed from Republicans. You can be a conservative without being a hypocrite.
June 17, 2015 @ 7:48 pm
Yes, Cool Lester Smooth you nailed it. Republicans aren’t generally conservative on lots of issues. It’s just that their big government programs and hatred of the bill of rights vary from the Dems. They are all mostly scumbags.
June 18, 2015 @ 6:25 am
Come on now, Clint. Openly espousing hatred is so mid 20th Century. For example, as the late Republican strategist Lee Atwater once said, gone are the days when you could just throw the n-word around to get votes. Passive aggressive subtlety is now the name of the game. Plausible Deniability. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
As for a Republican showing contempt for the working poor, look no further to Mitt Romney’s thoughts on the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income tax. You know, the moochers. If you do the math, that’s about 150 million people. Never mind that of that total, about 60% pay federal payroll taxes and 20% are elderly.
June 18, 2015 @ 10:05 am
The GOP: Demanding the government get out of our boardrooms and into our bedrooms since 1964.
June 18, 2015 @ 1:49 pm
Well, it looks like the commenters above have already made my point 😉
Basically it comes down to this:
Today’s Democratic elite, while not really giving two hoots about the jobs, wages, and bargaining rights of American workers, are at least okay with giving those who fall into poverty enough crumbs to survive (through food, health care, and housing benefits). Today’s Republican elite, on the other hand, want to destroy even that basic safety net just so that their rich supporters can avoid paying taxes.
June 18, 2015 @ 6:24 am
It would be interesting to see if some entertainer went overseas and ripped on Obama;) She peed in her Cheerios and paid the price. You want to rip on a president, do it in your own country. And by the way, Obama has done some major damage to this country. Or has anyone noticed? We have serious problems. He hates whitey. Again I realize we aren’t supposed to disagree on here, but I am. And let’s be real, 99% of politicians need to go. Both sides. I trust none of them.
June 18, 2015 @ 6:38 am
If some mainstream country star was to say in Israel something like “I don’t want this treaty with Iran and I’m embarrassed that Obama is the president of my country” you know what would happen to them? Next to nothing. Oh sure, some of the liberal media would up in arms, but would any meaningful percentage of mainstream country fans be outraged? Of course not. Would Clear Channel pull their music from all of their stations? Of course, they wouldn’t.
June 18, 2015 @ 6:31 pm
“He hates whitey.”
LOL!
Seriously, though, this type of obsessive identity politics is just sad.
June 16, 2015 @ 1:33 pm
Todd Snider says it best and starts every show of with this…
“I might share some of my opinions with you over the course of the evening. I”™m not gonna share them with you ”™cause I think they”™re smart, or ”™cause I think you need to know ”™em; I”™m gonna share ”™em with you because they rhyme. I didn”™t come down here to change any of y”™all”™s minds about anything; I come down here to ease my own mind about everything … If all goes well this evening, we can all expect a 90-minute distraction from our impending doom.”
If only more musician would take this approach.
June 17, 2015 @ 12:07 pm
God, I love Todd Snider.
June 17, 2015 @ 6:20 pm
A couple years ago at the Iowa state fair Hank jr said” Obama hates farmers and he hates the military “.
I’m a farmer and former military and I have to wonder what makes jr. such an expert. Before his accident
he was eligible to join the military but chose not to.
June 17, 2015 @ 6:31 pm
Yep, I remember that. Cowboys and cowgirls too, I think. Also, according to Bocephus, Obama is a “Muslim” who “loves gays.”
June 18, 2015 @ 3:16 am
It is much easier to talk tough then to step up and sign up. Jr. Took the talk tough route.
And still does.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:11 am
Well, I definitely saw a “reunion tour” coming, but honestly it surprises me that it’s happening so soon. I have wondered how different today’s country music would be if the industry hadn’t run the Dixie Chicks out of town.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:20 am
I don’t understand the Miranda hate on this site. Her music is often witty, backward looking (in a good way), and when it’s not backward looking it’s interesting and honest. Yeah, I don’t know what Little Red Wagon is about, and it’s more late 70’s Van Halen than country, but it’s fun, and that one tune isn’t representative of her catalog. And complaining about her accent? My God, if everyone on earth acquired her accent I’d finally live in a world where people talked right.
My wife remains a Dixie Chicks fan but I never really thought that Natalie Maines could sing. Although Maines did forever win my admiration at the ACM’s when she wore that F-U-T-K t-shirt.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:48 am
People hate on Miranda because she constantly rehashes Gunpowder and Lead and nobody buys her bullshit faux-sass. She’s just a big ball of wasted potential.
June 16, 2015 @ 1:26 pm
I don’t understand why people keep making blanket statements about all the commenters around here. I think there’s quite a few Miranda supporters here. If you think an opinion is being under-represented, pipe up.
June 16, 2015 @ 2:22 pm
Yeah I’m a Miranda Lambert fan I don’t really care for her past 2 poor choice released singles anyway she is a great singer. I’m her supporter I would like to thank you Trigger.
June 17, 2015 @ 9:06 am
Wasn’t a blanket statement. I said that I didn’t understand the Miranda hate on the site. not that everyone on the site hated Miranda. I guess what I should have written was, ‘I don’t understand how commenters on a site about saving country music – whether 50 of them or 5 – could hate so hard on someone who is on average more representative of creativity in modern country music than mediocrity.
June 16, 2015 @ 4:10 pm
Not a huge Miranda fan (other than House that Built Me), but I gotta say that the only feud that I’m not 100% on Maines’ side is the one with Keith.
Seriously, it started because she said an in-character song he wrote was embarrassing and ignorant, and he responded by telling her she needs to write her own music if she wants to call out other artists’ songwriting.
I’m really not sure it’s all that ambiguous.
June 16, 2015 @ 4:12 pm
I’m a Miranda fan myself. I think her singles are pretty weak usually, but I enjoy listening to her full albums all the way through.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:21 am
If they can focus on the music I certainly can. If they decide their politics are more important than performing their music, which is what people are paying for, then they’ll probably continue to languish in obscurity.
The original controversy always amused me. All the defenders of the DC seemed to only believe that the band’s speech was protected and not that of all those who were protesting against them. You’re allowed to say whatever you want in this country but you can’t demand that everyone else responds in a way that you approve of.
If their music is the most important thing to them then they need to just shut up and sing.
June 16, 2015 @ 4:13 pm
The only people who have ever claimed that the Chicks’ politics were more important than their music are the ignorant assholes who freaked out, sent them death threats and blackballed them because of a couple innocuous statements at a concert.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:21 am
“Tomatoes” that played their own instruments.
You have to wonder “what might have been” had the Dixie Chicks not been banished from mainstream country radio.
Would there be a Taylor Swift? Would there be Bro Country?
June 16, 2015 @ 12:06 pm
There would absolutely be a Taylor Swift. The Dixie Chicks are great, but they don’t scratch the itch that Taylor does.
The woman is a force of nature at this point.
June 16, 2015 @ 11:00 am
Knowing what he knows now, would Jeb! still burn his Wide Open Spaces CD?
Riddle me that, oh great prognosticator. . .
June 16, 2015 @ 11:29 am
“Wide Open Spaces” is about as fine as a song you will find.
June 16, 2015 @ 11:55 am
This is great news! I hope the tour is a huge success and that it expands to the US.
June 16, 2015 @ 12:08 pm
Thank God! The Chicks are the best. I’m still angry about missing Courtyard Hounds a couple summers ago, so this would be a great way to make up for that.
Here’s hoping this is precursor to a new tour…and a new album!
June 16, 2015 @ 12:38 pm
“Can”™t we all just focus on the music?”
Heck yes! Hope this means there might be new music in the future too. I’ve really missed the Chicks.
June 16, 2015 @ 3:34 pm
Sure, no problem with that at all. The question is can they focus on the music?
June 16, 2015 @ 1:06 pm
Man, this is great news. 10 years away is too long. I’ve noticed that Sirius has been seriously spiking in Chicks songs the past 6 months (Y2C, Prime AND Highway), so I hoped this was a sign of a potential reunion. I’m looking forward to knowing if this will be a greatest hits run, or if new music is in the works. Do they remain on Columbia? Are they with Red Light?
To the haters: don’t buy tickets pal. Easy. And don’t preach about respecting the office until we see your emails to the Republican Congress demanding the same respect for our current President. Ta.
June 16, 2015 @ 2:17 pm
I would like to see the Dixie Chicks comeback to make a good country cd. People need to get over it about that incident back in 2003. They are good singers we need to take our country music back right now.
June 16, 2015 @ 3:28 pm
Its fine to have your political view and but when your on foreign soil and your dishonor our country you are dishonoring all our service men and women that have gone out to battle where it be what is right or we should or should not have been there. They have gone and proudly defended our country and your right to those liberties. I think that needs to be taken in to consideration. On stage at a concert to see you play music is not the place to air your political beliefs. Concert goers did not pay money to hear her get on her soap box they came to hear the Dixie Chicks sing!
Maybe she will remember that and apologize for belittling her country, service men and women and she will stick to singing when getting paid for that and being a politician on her own time. As far as I’m concerned she could just stay over there if she is so ashamed of her country!
Its such a shame for the other 2 that she ruined the whole great thing they had going on.
We have the Pistol Annies and many other great girl bands now!
June 16, 2015 @ 7:38 pm
She did not belittle the country, she expressed her opinion against the war. She had every right to do so no matter where she is or was. Personally I feel the Iraq war will go down in history as a blunder.
June 17, 2015 @ 7:05 am
I’m a veteran myself and the son of a veteran of WW2, but I don’t see how Maines’ remark in any way “dishonored” me. And I don’t understand the cultlike veneration that so many Americans have developed for the president. Whoever occupies that office is just a hack in an overpriced suit who managed to outmaneuver some other hacks to win an election. And what’s the big deal about being “on foreign soil”? Especially in an age of instant global communication?
Criticism that Maines’ remarks were ignorant are probably closer to the mark. I don’t know her so of course can’t say definitively, but I suspect that her remark was strongly colored by the fact that Bush belonged to the “wrong” party. I strongly opposed the Iraq war, but I winced when I heard Janeane Garofalo come out against the war; listening to her remarks I could tell that she plainly knew nothing except that she didn’t like Bush and the Republicans.
June 17, 2015 @ 8:01 am
I wonder if Natalie Maines and the Chicks would have survived had she limited her outburst to being against the upcoming war. I think her insulting of the president was impolitic and it even mildly annoyed me at the time, even though I was no fan of George W Bush. But the way some people reacted, you would think she had just blasphemed their Lord. And maybe she did in a way. I personally think that anyone that likes to show off their Christian faith and still espouses to views like Wanda’s all these years later might want to take some time to reflect on the first commandment.
June 16, 2015 @ 4:59 pm
I’m calling B.S. On the Dixie Chicks being the most successful U.S. female band. I don’t have the numbers but I know for a fact that Destiny’s Child has sold way more than them.
June 16, 2015 @ 6:31 pm
Destiny’s Child has sold ~14.5 million albums in the United States.
The Chicks have sold ~26 million. Their first two albums alone eclipse Destiny’s Child’s total.
I’m sure Destiny’s Child killed the Chicks in terms of airplay and single sales, but country records simply sell more than R&B records, because country fans still buy records. Enough so that it’s quite likely they made up the difference in single sales.
June 16, 2015 @ 9:26 pm
That’s actually, more than likely, a most accurate statement.
TLC is their only remote competition, with total sales in the United States basically neck-to-neck. But while other female groups like Destiny’s Child and the Spice Girls have sold more records internationally by wide margins, the Dixie Chicks have outsold both by significant margins domestically (The Spice Girls were a one-album wonder in the United States in that they were viewed as a novelty act, while they retained enormous popularity abroad).
June 16, 2015 @ 6:04 pm
So after Maines constantly blasted country fans,(even as late as last year) and admitted to never even being a fan of country music,and made a rock album..she’s back to the genre she’s never cared for with the fans she hates. Yay!
June 16, 2015 @ 6:17 pm
Isn’t it great! Despite subhuman assholes sending her death threats and idiots burning her albums, she’s still coming back and making music in the genre we all love!
I’m glad you’re as excited as I am! Any other response would just be silly.
June 16, 2015 @ 7:44 pm
I’m not so sure she is coming back to country. She made a rock album, and the Court Yard Hounds, consisting of a great fiddler and banjoist, made straight up elevator music. We’ll have to wait and see…
June 17, 2015 @ 5:28 am
But the electricity was always when the three of them got together. The pre-Natalie Maines albums weren’t any better than Courtyard Hounds.
I just hope the next one’s more in the tradition of Home than Taking the Long Way (an album which I do genuinely like).
June 17, 2015 @ 7:19 pm
Way to deflect from seriously answering his post.
The death threats were completely stupid, but the rest of the people had every right to boycott her music. They were engaging in freedom of speech and purchasing.
June 18, 2015 @ 10:12 am
They weren’t “stupid,” they were death threats. Do you understand what that means?
Also, it’s hilarious that you consider burning art you disagree with “freedom of speech.”
Anyway, his post had nothing to do with the backlash. It was about him being bitter that Maines didn’t take getting death threats, and being blackballed by the powerful corporate interests that control the country music industry very well, and had the temerity to still be angry about getting death threats 10 years after the fact.
June 16, 2015 @ 6:11 pm
Meh.
June 16, 2015 @ 8:47 pm
^^ Exactly the way I feel.
Yeah they sold a lot of albums. So has Creed and Nickleback. DC had a few good songs, but for some reason they have taken on this mythic legacy with some people, like they were the Beatles or something.
June 17, 2015 @ 8:16 am
Although I sympathized with the Chicks dilemma at the time, I still ignored their music as I figured it was lightweight pop country fare. I had inadvertently heard a few of their hits and they didn’t do much for me at the time. Also, I knew that their roots were in bluegrass (I’m a bluegrass fan) and had seen them on the schedule of my favorite intimate music venue before they blew up after Maines joined the group, so my snap judgement on them was that they went “pop country commercial.” You know, sold out.
About a year ago, I commandeered my wife’s three Dixie Chicks albums and listened to them. Compared to today’s mainstream country, I think their music is out of this world. Even for rootsy Americana (i.e., not Genericana), it’s pretty damn good. I had no idea.
June 17, 2015 @ 7:21 pm
Because like the Beatles, they were broken up and disassembled before the inevitable decline. See John Kennedy for the same mythical thread.
June 18, 2015 @ 8:22 am
The Beatles break up was an organic one. The Dixie Chicks had their careers severely damaged by a controversy. They were at the top of their game when the shit hit the fan.
And please, let’s not compare musical careers to that of a politician. It’s a weak analogy.
June 16, 2015 @ 6:39 pm
I think the whole political angle was just part if a bigger plan that blossomed into perfection for their label. This all went down not long after a big contract dispute that landed the girls more power.
There is an artist out there at this moment saying something stupid and you will not hear about it.
June 16, 2015 @ 9:19 pm
Good for them.
A few thoughts. Firstly, I remained solidly in defense of the Dixie Chicks from the very beginning of “the incident”. It is utterly unpatriotic what happened to them regardless of personal political beliefs and ideology. In contrast, I found Darryl Worley ‘ s “Have You Forgotten?” to be one of the three most disgusting pieces of garbage ever released to country airwaves, but you’d bet if he was maligned and harassed just for speaking his mind in a hypothetical situation, I would equally defend to the death his right to voice such garbage.
Secondly, it makes perfect sense they’re testing the waters internationally first. Beyond the United States, “Taking The Long Way” marked commercial growth for them for obvious reasons. And on their accompanying tour, they drew huge crowds in Western Europe and Canada while suffering diminished crowds in the United States with a few exceptions.
Finally, ageism and the fact they’re a female group aside, don’t expect new Dixie Chicks music to find its way to your radio dial anytime soon. And it has very little to do with “the incident” at this point. While I completely agree with Maines on Bush and Iraq, the trio nonetheless lost me with subsequent comments talking down the country music listening demographic like we’re all ignorant types who only have Toby Keith on our five CD players……………and Maines further lashing out at the country community leading up to the release of her solo debut “Mother”.
Comments like those just smack as distasteful and arrogant. Strawman statements don’t sit right with me regardless of context, and so it should serve as no surprise to them why most of the mainstream country listening demographic still won’t want anything to do with them.
Which is a crying shame because Emily and Martie are exquisite musicians and Natalie ‘ s vocals, while admittedly too overbearing and shrill sometimes much like Carrie Underwood’s, are nonetheless strong and commanding and, when handed material that suits her lower registers like “Lullaby”, “Easy Silence” and their outstanding cover of “Top of the World”, Maines sounds beautiful and can most effectively elicit emotional ache.
June 16, 2015 @ 9:56 pm
YAY!!!!! I’ll take any glimmer of hope they’re coming back!!! Hearing Long Time Gone in the summer of ’02 is what brought me back to listening to Country radio, and I was an unflinching supporter of them when this happened (at the ripe old age of 13, lol). I agreed with their sentiments, but even more so I believed in their music & how it important they & it were to keeping REAL Country Music alive. When they were shunned by the “industry” I was disgusted, and even more so as I’ve seen what Nashville has been turning out in the ensuing years (the irony!). The only time my support has wavered was when Natalie put out Mother (which I knew was never going to be my cup of tea) and all the disheartening remarks she made about Country Music. Up until then I had agreed with all her slams of the genre thinking it was in regards to it’s current state, and not Country Music’s golden past. I truly hope she didn’t mean it in that way (like it or not her voice was made to sing Country), and that they go back to making fantastic Country Music in the vein of Home. They don’t have to play by Nashville rules to continue making real Country Music, & Lord knows there’s definitely a void for a mainstream TRADITIONAL Country Music force.
June 16, 2015 @ 10:39 pm
Last year I’ve seen them at the Country2Country festival il Dublin, Ireland, and it was a really soulless performance, no passion, no interaction with the public, nothing, so disappointing… And a lot of people was there only for them.
Actually I think they’re doing this whole reunion stuff only for the dime.
I hope I’m wrong.
P.S. I’m from Italy, so bad English writing skills, etc.
June 16, 2015 @ 11:53 pm
That honestly doesn’t surprise me, and here’s why.
Natalie Maines has admitted in numerous interviews over the last handful of years that she has felt uninspired to give another go recording new music and doing more extensive touring with the Dixie Chicks. Emily and Marti, in contrast, had been long adamant about returning to the crowds. So, given the impasse between the group’s members, Emily and Martie decided to move forward without using the Dixie Chicks moniker……………………as the Court Yard Hounds.
With Maines openly admitting how uninspired she has been since wrapping up the “Taking The Long Way” era, that’s going to reflect in your performance. Maines felt obligated to perform, while Robison and McGuire were more likely to feel genuinely in the mood. But you’re still left with an inconsistent final group effort that lacks the bite of their pre-2007 performances.
I would hope, now that they’ve decided to return to the road, that Maines is going all-in. She’s not stupid, and she has to realize that if they don’t go hard, it’s not going to look good for them. They need to give their audiences reasons why we still need them around, badly. Whether it is because they actually feel like they have something to prove in the form of forthcoming new material, or whether they see the turning of a corner for the broader genre that suits their interests, or perhaps they’re inspired by the likes of fellow outspoken contributors to the community like Kacey Musgraves and Caitlin Rose……………….they can’t afford to approach this half-heartedly like they did last year.
June 17, 2015 @ 6:06 am
I chalk Natalie’s anti-Nashville comments during the promotion of Mother up to just being upset and somewhat bitter at what happened. Can’t say I blame her. We all say things we really don’t mean when we let emotions rule our tongue. I mean, she can’t help but be country at the end of the day. It’s literally in her blood. Her dad is one of the greatest steel players and producers in country music in the last 50 years.
Here’s hoping they come back strong. I fully support ’em and always have.
June 17, 2015 @ 6:43 am
The problem with her is that she commented, even before the controversy, that she wanted to be a rock singer her whole life. Her dad had to convince her to join the Dixie Chicks. While it might be in her dad’s blood and let’s be honest her voice is as good as it gets for country, I’m not certain she has ever had a real love for country music. I do think she appreciates it, but it is obviously not her first choice of genres.
June 17, 2015 @ 7:23 pm
And her comments about the fans of the genre prove that. I think she joined country music because her views stood out more compared to other genres.
June 17, 2015 @ 12:49 am
Ha! Looks like someone finally convinced Natalie to give it another go! I caught the Dixie Chicks when they toured Canada. Amazing show. Dixie Chicks are the reason I started listening to country in the first place. I was thinking it would take another ten years before the world sees them all together again. Hopefully Natalie is that much more closer and comfortable with the idea of recording another album, anything really (Steve Martin again, maybe?). As much as I liked Court Yard Hounds, neither Martie nor Emily have a strong enough voice to be lead singer.
June 17, 2015 @ 3:45 am
One of the huge reasons this group also went away is there has always been that fact that Natalie is not a true country fan. She may have made some great country and sang harmony on some great country songs, but she has stated numerous times that her love was rock. In their behind the scenes story, she talks about how her dad had to convince her to join the Dixie Chicks. I think this is a shame, because her voice was born to sing country music, even a style leaning slightly towards bluegrass. From a truly musical standpoint, I think Natalie should always listen to dad on styles of music, because this is truly an example of “father knows best”. I think some of the comments she made regarding country fans, which were highly inappropriate, due to lumping everybody in together, were easier for her to make because of the anger she had towards the backlash and the simple fact that she was never a big country music fan to start with.
June 17, 2015 @ 6:40 am
“Home” was a good album, and more importantly the DCs always had great taste in songwriters (Darrell Scott, Radney Foster, Patty Griffin, Bruce Robison, Jim Lauderdale, etc etc) – not sure if they can recapture past glories at this late date, but I’ll be interested in what they do next.
June 17, 2015 @ 7:42 am
I love them and cannot wait to be at one of their concerts.
June 17, 2015 @ 11:39 am
Being anti-war is not “controversial.” It shows how war-mongering America is by you saying as much.
Sincerely,
An anti-war, non-controversial American.
June 17, 2015 @ 12:23 pm
I LOVE the Dixie Chicks; hated what politics did to them! So glad they are back together. HOPE they kick butt in Europe and are accepted back in the country-music-world here! I’d love to be at one of their concerts; would go to Europe to see them if I could afford it!
June 17, 2015 @ 1:40 pm
Somehow “we’re ashamed that the President is from Illinois” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
But I am ashamed that WUSN-Chicago has too much control and manipulation of what becomes a #1 airplay hit in America. The amount of times they play that awful Kelsea Ballerni song (pushing it to #1) is appalling.
June 17, 2015 @ 4:50 pm
I was a fan back in the day when they sang at clubs along Greenville Avenue in Dallas before they hit it big, they are still loved here in Big D. Welcome Back Dixie Chicks!!!
June 17, 2015 @ 5:41 pm
Forgiven but not forgotten. There was much more Maines did than just make a comment about President Bush and her shame about being American. I’m sure Toby Keith could explain in detail. They want to try again 10 years later,go for it. You get NO support from me. By the way, I’m an American soldier. You need to sincerely apologize to the American people for being a complete and total idiot. After that keep your opinions private. You might ask Jane Fonda how she dealt with it.
June 18, 2015 @ 10:14 am
Preach! Nothing says “America” like keeping your personal views private for fear of a backlash from our corporate overlords!
June 18, 2015 @ 11:04 am
But Tammy, the war did turned out to be an unpopular one. At the time, I found it hard to believe that the majority of the country music artists truly in their hearts of hearts supported that ridiculous war. The Dixie Chicks expressed their opinion at a time when most country music artists wimped out because of fear of retaliation from their trigger happy fans.
June 17, 2015 @ 5:50 pm
Yay!! I loved them then and I still love them to this day! I am so stoked to hear they are getting back together. I have all of their cd’s and will likely own their new stuff, too! Screw politics, let’s keep it strictly about the music, shall we??
June 17, 2015 @ 5:58 pm
I was a fan and I wasn’t offended by Maine’s initial comment. But when I saw the prime time special a year or two later, I thought to myself “She just needs to shut up about this already”. It’s not that I disagreed with her. She just came across as narcissistic and prideful. She didn’t do herself or the band any favors and people get tired of hearing the same old rant. Move the fuck on and play music! Those of us that are on the left side of things have to remember that tolerance isn’t something we only give to those who agree with us. She is as narrow minded as those who condemn her.
June 17, 2015 @ 6:41 pm
She didn”™t do herself or the band any favors and people get tired of hearing the same old rant. Move the fuck on and play music! Those of us that are on the left side of things have to remember that tolerance isn”™t something we only give to those who agree with us.
You’re right. She could have handled things much better. She wasn’t equipped to handle the epic amount of hatred that came her way. Perhaps you would have done better.
She is as narrow minded as those who condemn her.
Maybe, but not as bloodthirsty.
June 17, 2015 @ 7:25 pm
I’m pretty sure the death threats came from a very vocal minority (nothing should justify a death threat.). Most viewers protested by simply not listening, which is a consumer’s right.
June 18, 2015 @ 8:22 am
She didn’t play it smart. She just kept on and on and on. As a liberal, I wouldn’t want Natalie Maines representing anything. She’s proven she’s just not that smart. She certainly didn’t win anyone over. She just looked like a spoiled brat who could dish it out but couldn’t take it. If you are a public figure and you put yourself out there, you’d better be prepared to get some shit. It goes with the territory. Think of all of the musicians that are liberal that handle issues or fallout in a more classy manner.
June 18, 2015 @ 8:47 am
Of course she didn’t play it smart. I don’t think playing it smart would have made any difference, though. She was a woman who was a mainstream country artist who made an anti-war statement and insulted the commander-in-chief when the vast majority of the mainstream country audience was all excited about putting a boot in Saddam’s ass. Also, let’s not forget the part played by the right wing infotainment complex in ginning up the outrage. The blood was in the water.
Think of all of the musicians that are liberal that handle issues or fallout in a more classy manner.
The only thing that I can think of that might be close to the DC controversy was John Lennon’s “The Beatles are more popular than Jesus” statement. If a country star had said that, their career would have been over.
June 17, 2015 @ 9:50 pm
The Spice Girls are the biggest selling female group of all time. After that I SWORE it was Destiny’s Child, at least in the US. But if The Dixie Chicks take that honor I’d be stoked. Mainly because mainstream acts no longer are rooted in craft, the instruments are props at best, it’s all theatrics and bad theatrics at that. Hell at least in the 90s the boy bands did choreography now they just walk aback and forth on stage.
I hope these girl kick ass and I’m sure there will be some initial wind at there backs but my hopes are not high. Three tomatoes in one band is WAY to much for the current Caesar salad in Nashville.
June 18, 2015 @ 11:46 am
you know a lot has changed since they were on the radio. Now, country radio plays no country. they play thug white guys that wear tight pants and cannot sing.
June 18, 2015 @ 11:53 am
I’m so excited!!! I think the past is the past and you should be able to voice your opinion!!! Please come to TEXAS!!!!!! Million of us have been waiting for this day to come!!!
June 18, 2015 @ 6:52 pm
“Can’t we just focus on the music?” It was at the bottom of article. Apparently Natalie Maines could NOT!!
Entertainers should be just that and keep their mouth shut. If they don’t like that idea, then go into politics.
I hate entertainers that use their stage as a platform for religion or politics. By the way, I am a progressive, an agnostic, but it trips my trigger that all or (some) of these stars that do it. ENTERTAIN, we don’t need their personal philosophy.
My best friend in college both know to keep our mouth shuts and never talk about it.
I’m out of here.
June 18, 2015 @ 11:12 pm
It may be unexpected, but, I have loved Dixie Chicks since “Wide Open Spaces”. They opened my eyes to country music at that time, and I have enjoyed every album. “Fly” holds a special place in my heart for that time period in my life, and “Home” and “Taking the long Way” are just stellar albums front to back.
I have never seen them live for some odd reason, and certainly hope we get them to the states next summer.
June 19, 2015 @ 6:12 am
Well, good for you. I blew them off back then because I knew they started out as bluegrassers and figured they “sold out ” to get on mainstream country radio. The few songs I heard did little to change my mind at the time (e.g., There’s Your Trouble), but I was hard sell when it came to anything on mainstream country radio back then.
My wife had the Wide Open Spaces, Fly and Home albums. Last year, I incorporated then into my collection, as she doesn’t much listen to her CDs anymore. Lots of great stuff. Was listening to Home yesterday morning. Fine album. Also, I now appreciate that they did a killer version of Patty Griffin’s Truth #2, which she recorded in 2000 for her unreleased Silver Bell album. It was finally released in 2013.
June 19, 2015 @ 11:41 pm
I believe people have actually forgotten the fact that there WERE WMDS found in Iraq; however, Hussein made sure they were shipped to Syria prior to the UN Inspection. That’s a true fact. I would like to know what people would have thought of President Bush had he done NOTHING (like the present commander in chief) after 3000 innocent U.S. citizens were killed for no reason. He wasn’t even in office a year when we got hit. What was he to do? Nothing but mouth like Obama & the Dixie Chicks?
June 20, 2015 @ 10:54 pm
There were absolutely no WMDs found in Iraq in 2002 or thereafter. According to all the evidence, the last remaining WMDs were destroyed in the late 1990s, during the sanctions-backed inspection regime of that period.
As for 9/11, Iraq did not attack us that day. Al-Qaeda did. In fact, the Iraq war badly hurt the fight against Al-Qaeda by diverting troops and resources to the wrong battleground.
June 21, 2015 @ 8:01 am
Well, for starters, not let Osama bin Laden get away when he was cornered at Tora Bora in December 2001, just three months after 9/11. Instead of using US ground forces, they let Northern Alliance forces take the lead and bin Laden got away.
Osama bin Laden was finally cornered and then killed by US Special Forces on 5/2/2011. The operation was authorized by someone named Barack Obama.
June 21, 2015 @ 12:31 am
Glad to hear it. Natalie’s infamous comment turned me off as much as it did Travis Tritt (mostly because it was uttered in an international forum, and that felt a little underhanded), but I’m willing to forgive and forget when I listen to their old albums and compare them to the trash that’s infiltrating contemporary country radio. Those girls were real artists. That becomes clearer with every listen. “Let Him Fly” is as real and raw a song, regardless of genre, as you could hope to hear. Hopefully they recapture some of their magic.
June 21, 2015 @ 11:12 am
Good one, JB! With every passing year, the ground does get colder.
June 21, 2015 @ 12:30 pm
Sounds good to me. As a Marine at the time I wasn’t a big fan of her comments, but I just kind of let them roll off my shoulders. Their music still sounds great, and has stood the test of time. I saw them in concert once back then and it was among the best live performances I have seen.
More disappointing are the comments on this thread.
June 21, 2015 @ 5:19 pm
I’ve always wondered something about Natalie Maines, and maybe the country fans and Trigger here can answer it for me: What on earth is it that makes her voice so special? I hear accolades about her voice, but I’ve never been able to handle it for more than a song at a time. It’s just so harsh and graceless. Am I missing something?
As far as the controversy, Natalie is her own worst enemy. Continuously ripping the scab when it could have been put past the Chicks, along with feuding with Toby Keith (the FUTK shirt, anyone?) and classifying country fans as ignorant did her no favors. It became a chore to want to root for her, whether or not I agreed with what she said. I wonder if Martie and Emily ever saw that coming when they parted ways with Laura Lynch to pursue to more contemporary pop country sound (i.e. selling out, if you want to consider it that).