 |
| courtesy of last.fm |
In 2003, the Dixie Chicks were one of the top selling acts in mainstream country. When frontwoman Natalie Maines said on a British stage that the Dixie Chicks were "ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas," it caused a whirlwind of controversy in the mostly conservative country music world. The documentary, Shut Up and Sing, was released three years later, and tells the story of what happened then, and later as the Chicks tried to rebuild their career and move toward a more adult-contemporary sound.
I remember when this happened, and hadn't thought much about it in the intervening years. As someone who listens to a number of artists who thrive on controversy and being politically outspoken, I thought the whole thing was ludicrous. I didn't know about the threats, the banning, and the outright vitriol of the country music-listening public. That, sadly, doesn't surprise me, but I think it's important to look at the way women in the industry are treated when they make remarks deemed "controversial". It was hateful, mean, and downright sexist. They were called "twits,""dixie sluts," and "bimbos". I really recommend watching this, even if you aren't a country fan. As it stands, what happened to the Dixie Chicks is a pretty good example of the kind of misogyny that permeates popular music. God forbid you are woman with a thought in her head that wasn't put there by her handlers. I came away with a lot of respect for the Dixie Chicks, as artists and people.
I know this is slightly tangential to the post, but I think this points to the strange-ness of how politics have evolved in the USA. In the old days, the Democrats were the party of the South. Sure, it had its roots in 1860s racism, but it made more sense. The fact that the redneck South supports the party of Big Business, the party that does everything against their interests, just because of social issues is bonkers.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I wish we had more than just a two-party system in the USA - so you could have a party that was conservative socially, but liberal politically. I certainly think it's more Christian to care for the poor than to line the pockets of big business.
If I may make a second post that's more directly relevant, country music is just like every other non-Pop niche. There's the hard-core version:
ReplyDeleterap = gangs, mysogyny, bling
country = my wife left me, my pickup broke, my tractor don't work
metal = I love Satan!
rock = No one understands me or I hate myself
reggae = sex, but no one knows that because we speak in patua
and so on....
Then there are the crossover songs that everyone likes. If you asked me, I'd say that I don't like country. But, if I were accurate, there's a lot of country music I like because it's more mainstream. Like some of the Kenny Rogers stuff and all the songs that were covered in the Urban Chipmunk album. Same thing with my wife. She claims to hate country, but had me buy some Keith Urban songs.
Don't be ashamed to like country! Just find some more mainstream artists/songs to share with your friends to show them that not all country is redneck.
I honestly don't believe all country is "redneck," and I listen to quite a bit of non mainstream or (I hate this pigeonhole) "alt-country. And actually, I think the vast majority of country artists are pretty progressive, it's just hard to get past the dominant narrative that country music's fanbase is the far right.
ReplyDelete