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According to today's Charlotte Observer, two Charlotte radio stations don't play anything by the Dixie Chicks. They say that in a poll over 90% of listeners didn't care to hear their music.
In light of the recent pat on the back by other liberals in the music industry (hint: recent awards), do you think their career's are over?
I don't like any group of artists who make their art a political statement. I don't listen to the Dixie Chicks and don't really care what they do.
They certainly did well at the Grammys, so their music must be selling I'd imagine.
I didn't watch the Grammys because I don't recognize most of the people and it's boring to me. I don't care about people of the caliber of Federline and I for the life of me cannot see what people see in Justin Timberlake.
To me they're all zero talents and not worth my time.
How can their career be over when they just won five Grammies? The Dixie Chicks are no longer supported by country music fans, radio and retailers as a whole, so while their career as successful mainstream country musicians may be done, outside of that they are very successful. While their last album sold far less than previous efforts, it was critically-lauded landing on the year-end "best of 2006" lists in many publications, and the album went double platinum and was the ninth best-selling album of the year. They're in a transition period at the moment, as a band without a genre, as they themselves, who have never been strictly Reba McEntire-style country to begin with, have now said they do not consider themselves country artists. I can't blame them for distancing themselves from a genre that has treated them the way it has although I feel their distancing is less motivated by politics then it is general a musical evolution that would have happened regardless as has happened to countless acts whose audiences and style have shifted in the past (i.e. Linda Ronstadt, Pink, Nelly Furtado, etc.).
As far as my own opinion of them, I think they're exceptionally talented. Country music isn't my thing but they're one of the few "country" artists I like, though not to an extent where I can name many of their songs or would buy an album or attend a show, but more like I enjoy them whenever I happen to see or hear them on TV. I felt this way even before the controversy, and I definitely support them and was very happy that they won all the awards they won.
So to sum up, no, their career is hardly over. It's only just begun. Country music may have turned it's back on them but that's just one genre and subset of fans, and much of the rest of America and the music industry has embraced them as they continue to remain a well-respected and highly successful act.
I don't own any of the Dixie Chicks music, but I enjoy their music when it comes on the radio locally here in Boones Mill, VA. They still get airtime on country radio here on particular stations, albeit not as much. I never agreed with the mass market's treatment of the artists' after their lead singer spoke her mind. What she said and where she said it became a big issue for alot of folks. If I like an artists' work then I'll consume it whether or not I agree or disagree with their personal opinions, diplomatic ability or moral conduct outside of the music studio.
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).
I don't like being told what to think, and I suspect if I knew for certain that a country radio station was explicitly NOT playing the Dixie Chicks, then I'd just move on down the dial. Lots of country music stations to choose from down here, and given the choice I pick the one that plays it all.
Willie smokes more marijuana than half of Jamaica put together! Waylon died with a liver the size of kentucky! Do I stop listening to their music? Of course I flipping don't!
I don't care about people of the caliber of Federline and I for the life of me cannot see what people see in Justin Timberlake.
Although I agree about Federline, I have to refute your point on Justin Timberlake. I'll let ESPN.com sportswriter Bill Simmons explain:
"Hey, it's OK to think he's talented, right? Two hit albums AND he's one of the best SNL hosts ever AND he sold at the highest point possible on Britney's stock AND he wrote the best revenge song ever (the "Cry Me A River" song that pretty much murdered Britney's soul) AND he's plowing through every hot female in Hollywood right now. He's a hero, I say."
Although I agree about Federline, I have to refute your point on Justin Timberlake. I'll let ESPN.com sportswriter Bill Simmons explain:
"Hey, it's OK to think he's talented, right? Two hit albums AND he's one of the best SNL hosts ever AND he sold at the highest point possible on Britney's stock AND he wrote the best revenge song ever (the "Cry Me A River" song that pretty much murdered Britney's soul) AND he's plowing through every hot female in Hollywood right now. He's a hero, I say."
I have to agree.
Agreed. JT's all over it! He's young, hot and talented (according to 99% of the young ladies in my work place who are around 20-35 years old)
Most older men wouldn't agree with this, though...
The Dixie Chicks are good if you like your music served with a side of opinion.
At the time of the controversial comments made by the Dixie Chicks, I would say they were semi-heros in most of the world because the anti-Bush world agreed with them and so do I. Many Americans showed their ignorance by turning on the Chicks, who incidentally at the time were the best selling female group in history. I would have thought country music fans would be the loudest supporters of a person's right to free speech - but I forgot, they only support free speech if they AGREE with it. When I heard the statements made by the D.Chicks in London, I became an instant fan...I fell in love with them and support them wholeheartedly.
The negative attitudes seem to have died down, possibly because support for the war isn't what it was at that time. I'm not sure that a lot of country music fans will ever forgive them, because historically they are not a forgiving bunch of people when it comes to their politics (still hating on Jane Fonda). I'm hoping that the Dixie Chicks will move a little further toward the mainstream with their music and attempt appealing to an even larger audience. No matter if they never sell another cd or concert ticket, they've already been a huge success. How many total grammies over the years? As far as future success on par with what they've already accomplished, I think a move into an Indigo Girls type of genre would be good for them.
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Sorry this is off topic, but...
