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Songwriting is an art. At least, to me it is. The music, the lyrics, the whole presentation. Artists who have the best work have emotional work of some kind. To crank out all this junk dance music, and music just good enough to dance to or get one all sexed up is certainly not art to me.....and it takes zero talent, mostly just the ability to copy and mimic.
So, that being said, Dylan, Springsteen, Collins, Mitchell, B. Joel, E. John, Lennon & McCarney & Harrison......I could keep going on forever.....but, all the best artists have something to say, and that is usually something which revolves around the world's social and political issues if they have a half of a brain.
So, I say, sing it in your songs. Belt it out in harmony. Write it in your lyrics and get it off your chest. It will probably make better music for you if you can. But save the speeches, public statements, opinions, and grandstanding about politics and political positions for your friends and relatives like all the rest of us non-politicians do.
Won 5 Grammies? So what, does that makes them good artists.
I don't think so, Grammies are just like the Oscars, nowdays. They all want to make a political statment, and I am so sick of actors & singers that want to talk about politics.
I love music, but please leave politics to politicians........
Wow...no talking politics? You'll have to inform a few people if you want to stop political debate - like, EVERY ADULT ON EARTH. It's pretty obvious that most people are passionate about political views and social issues, such as war, abortion, civil rights, gun control, etc etc etc. Musicians are human and often use their art to express their views, just like any other artist...and they HAVE views, just like any other human being.
Personally, I've always enjoyed politically charged music. Over the years some of my favorite bands have been politically charged. Bands like The Clash, U2, and some lesser known punk bands of the 80's are/were very socially and politically charged, and it has never lessened the quality of their music one bit, in fact, that is what made them who they are, and the fact that they cared about the world beyond penning the vapid pop song is what drew me to them to begin with.
Heck, as long as we are talking country (which I know very little about), are you going to tell me that country music doesn't have a history of being politically charged? Of course it does, by artists both from the right and the left.
Heck, as long as we are talking country (which I know very little about), are you going to tell me that country music doesn't have a history of being politically charged? Of course it does, by artists both from the right and the left.
It certainly does, from Merle Haggard's Okie From Muskogee to Toby Keith and his Red White and Blue. Then there's Bobby Bare's Dropkick Me Jesus Through the GoalPosts of Life.
Not to mention Kinky Friedman's They Ain't Makin Jews Like Jesus Anymore, and Kill Two Birds And Get Stoned.
Exactly right...the difference is that the usual political views expressed by country musicians are supported by most country fans. When an opinion comes out that they don't agree with they start burning cds...
I know that the Chicks had a hard time in their tour this past year. Ticket sales were very slow and many venues had to cancel their shows. (They did well in Canada, but go figure!) Personally, if I'm going to pay $75 - $150 for a ticket to a concert I want to watch a concert, not a political rally. But I think the Chicks are doing okay and will continue to do so if Natalie Maines can keep her big mouth shut.
I know that the Chicks had a hard time in their tour this past year. Ticket sales were very slow and many venues had to cancel their shows. (They did well in Canada, but go figure!) Personally, if I'm going to pay $75 - $150 for a ticket to a concert I want to watch a concert, not a political rally. But I think the Chicks are doing okay and will continue to do so if Natalie Maines can keep her big mouth shut.
It's not only Natalie...the other two are totally in support of the things she said and share her views (according to what they said in an interview I happened to see). I don't really think that making a one line statement constitutes a political rally, does it? I have to doubt that they are the only country artists who have a negative opinion of Bush and the war. Surely there are at least some other female artists who share those views. Wynona? Garth Brooks/Trisha Yearwood? Y'all need to unite and come out to support the Chicks!
Their last tour wasn't a success...low ticket sales, not much interest in some cities but good crowds in others. It seems like it just wasn't the right time, and maybe a little longer 'forgetting' period for conservative country music fans will help their popularity. I hope the Chicks take my advice and head toward a different style of music...I think they have the ability to make and adjustment like that and already have a large fan base.
To do otherwise isn't sensible; after all, media attention on bad behavior is very selective. On one hand you have a band called the Dixie Chicks with a lead singer who says, in a foreign country, something to the effect of "President Bush is an Idiot". As a result, they're immediately blacklisted because their behavior is not in line with the ideology of the _presumed_ average country music fan. On the other, you have Keith Urban snorting lines of cocaine, drinking far beyond excess, smoking pot, having unprotected sex with a bimbo model in Nashville nary a month before he's set to be married to someone else. Does country radio abandon Keith Urban? No, they don't. They don't talk about it, other than to cheer him on for seeking help (never mind that this is his SECOND attempt at rehab).
That's a terrific point. Country music, and actually American society as a whole, seems to have a bit of selective moral outrage.
While this may open up a whole different can of worms, I can't help but think that there is an element of sexism to the whole thing. I don't think if Tim McGraw or Garth Brooks or Rascal Flatts or Willie Nelson were to say something similar, that there would have been such an outrage within the country music community. That's just a speculation on my part however.
It certainly does, from Merle Haggard's Okie From Muskogee to Toby Keith and his Red White and Blue. Then there's Bobby Bare's Dropkick Me Jesus Through the GoalPosts of Life.
Not to mention Kinky Friedman's They Ain't Makin Jews Like Jesus Anymore, and Kill Two Birds And Get Stoned.
The difference is that these artists spoke out in the U.S. using their music, not on a stage in a foreign country in front of the world press corps.
The first is the American Way - the second is borderline treason.
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