Dixie Chicks - Bush-whacked
CHICK FACTOR
American radio stations are reportedly boycotting country music stars THE DIXIE CHICKS even after lead singer NATALIE MAINES apologised for saying the band were "ashamed the President Of The UNITED STATES is from TEXAS".
While performing in London last week (March 10) at Shepherds Bush Empire, the Lubbock, Texas native is reported to have made these remarks.
In response to the furore, the singer then posted on the band's official website dixiechicks.com: "The group is witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war.
"While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost."
They added: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologise to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful.
"I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect."
The Jam Country.com website today (March 17) reported that protestors backing President Bush stood outside Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana destroying Dixie Chicks CDs on Saturday night.
nemnews.com
03/14/2003
(Source: DixieChicks.Com official website)
"As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American."
From the Dixie Chicks with respect to statements being reported in the British media
3/12/2003
(Source: DixieChicks.com official website)
From the Dixie Chicks
"We've been overseas for several weeks and have been reading and following the news accounts of our governments' position. The anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding. While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost."
Maines further stated, "I feel the President is ignoring the opinions of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view."
dixiechicks.com
The Dixie Chicks got a quick reminder that country music comes with an exacting set of expectations for performers. Fall short of those expectations and the reaction will be swift and harsh, as the Chicks are finding out.
When Natalie Maines told a London audience that the group was "ashamed" of President George Bush, she crossed over the old "outlaw country" edge the Chicks have gleefully balanced themselves on to great popularity. Tunes about "mattress dancing" and homicide were just naughty enough to stand them in opposition to the "mainstream country" of the Nashville music machine.
This stance is decades old and has proven to be a sure way to win country fans who like the idea of an underdog giving the Man the business. But the outlaw has to be a country outlaw, part of the same side, just a little bit bad.
Criticizing the commander-in-chief puts you on the other, non-country side of the fence. Do it in front of a foreign audience and your country credentials will be badly tarnished.
Never mind that Maines was engaging in another long-standing country tradition: telling her audience exactly what it wanted to hear. Face it, the Brits hate Bush. Good country stars have to be earnest in their apparent desire to please the fans, no matter how insincere they must be to do that. So while Maines has already apologized, she can never say she just got carried away and told the fans what she thought they wanted to hear. That wouldn't be country.
So it'll be interesting to see how U.S. fans react when the Chicks return home from their European swing. Ironically, the best cover they might have for their return is a full-blown war that focuses attention on the Iraqi desert and away from the casual comments of pop entertainers.
reason.com
Entertainment Weekly
The Dixie Chicks, Emily Robison, left, Natalie Maines, center, and Martie Maguire, say they are posing nude to make a point.
Reuters
Apr. 24, 2003 09:41 AM
NEW YORK - The Dixie Chicks appear nude on the cover of a weekly showbiz magazine in a defiant answer to a backlash over their opposition to the war in Iraq.
Thursday's New York Post newspaper carried a reproduction of the Entertainment Weekly magazine picture in which the Grammy-award winning women wore only contradictory slogans painted on their bodies, including ''Opinionated,'' ''Traitors,'' ''Saddam's Angels,'' ''Dixie Sluts,'' and ''Proud Americans.''
''It's not about the nakedness,'' the Post quotes band member Martie Maguire as saying. ''It's about clothes getting in the way of labels.''
Related story
• Chicks say reaction to Bush remark is "overboard"
POLL: Did people overreact to Maines' anti-war remark?
Maguire and fellow musicians Emily Robison and Natalie Maines said they posed nude for next week's issue of the magazine in response to the recent flap over Maines' remark at a London concert that they were ''ashamed'' President Bush was from their home state of Texas.
The trio, who saw sales of their latest release plummet and fans smash their CDs after Maines' comment protesting the U.S.-led war on Iraq, said in a separate ABC TV ''Primetime'' interview to air on Thursday night that they fear for their lives amid criticism they say is ''out of control.''
Maines told ABC's Diane Sawyer she criticized Bush out of frustration and remains ''passionate'' in her anti-war views, even if she now regrets the remark. ABC released a transcript of the interview on Wednesday.
WAR QUESTIONS
''At that moment, on the eve of war, I had a lot of questions that I felt were unanswered,'' Maines said. ''I think the way I said it was disrespectful. The wording I used, the way I said it, that was disrespectful. I feel regret for, you know, the choice of words. Am I sorry that I asked questions and that I don't just follow? No.''
Maines, who was interviewed with Maguire and Robison, said despite telling the London audience she was ''ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas,'' she does not feel that way.
''No, I'm not truly embarrassed that, you know, President Bush is from my state, that's not really what I care about,'' she said. ''I felt like there was a lack of compassion every time I saw Bush talking about this. I honestly felt a lack of compassion for people that are questioning this (war), for the people that are about to die for this on both sides.''
Bandmate Maguire said she understood why some fans would be upset by the remark but found much of the reaction to be disproportionate.
axcentral.com
By John Gerome
ASSOCIATED PRESS
11:08 p.m., April 23, 2003
Entertainment Weekly
The Dixie Chicks, Emily Robison, left, Natalie Maines, center, and Martie Maguire, are featured in this undated handout of the cover of the May 2 issue of Entertainment Weekly.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Dixie Chicks' lead singer Natalie Maines says she spoke against President Bush and war with Iraq last month out of frustration and regrets her choice of words, but she makes no apologies for thinking critically.
"I'm not truly embarrassed that, you know, President Bush is from my state, that's not really what I care about," Maines says in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer for "Primetime Thursday," airing 10 p.m. EDT Thursday. "It was the wrong wording with genuine emotion and questions and concern behind it. ... Am I sorry that I asked questions and that I just don't follow? No."
At a March 10 concert in London, Maines told the audience in reference to Bush's push for military action against Iraq: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
Maines and the Texas-based trio's other members – Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, who are sisters – also tell Sawyer the fallout was too harsh for the offense and they've always supported U.S. troops even though they questioned the war.
Some Iraqi ministries soon to reopen
"We know some of our fans were shocked and ... and upset, and we are compassionate to that," Maguire said. "My problem is, when does it cross the line? ... When is writing a threatening letter OK?"
The interview airs a week before they begin their U.S. tour May 1 in Greenville, S.C., and they appear nude on the May 2 issue of Entertainment Weekly, with epithets such as "Traitors" written on their bodies.
The band is scheduled to perform at Cox Arena in San Diego on July 23.
The Dixie Chicks declined a request to be interviewed by The Associated Press.
After Maines' remarks, radio stations began boycotting the Dixie Chicks, even though she publicly apologized for her statement in London.
The song "Travelin' Soldier," which was No. 1 on Billboard's country charts around the time Maines made the remark, tumbled completely off the charts afterward. And sales of the group's latest CD, "Home," plummeted, although sales have rebounded slightly, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales.
Even with the slide, however, "Home" remains the top-selling album on the Billboard country chart – 19 weeks at No. 1 – and No. 30 on the pop chart.
Most of the shows on their tour had already sold out before Maines' comments. Their agent, Rob Light, was unavailable for comment Wednesday but told Billboard this week that of the 59 shows, only six have seats left and those are all 85 percent to 90 percent sold.
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