XPost: alt.music.country, rec.music.country, rec.sport.football.college
From: jimbo@wells.net
"Charles Beauchamp" wrote in message
news:GN2dncK8dO1mXaPeRVn-rg@comcast.com...
> Jim Brown wrote:
> > "Bryan S. Slick" wrote in message
> > news:MPG.1da8195ae6ccc7d398a714@news-40.giganews.com...
> >> Yeah, I mean it.
> >>
> >> The song "Travelin' Soldier" just came on the radio station I'm
> >> listening to, and it got me to thinking on this tangent.
> >>
> >> It seems to me that a great many artists take advantage of the
> >> jingoism rampant in this nation to make a quick dime. Whether they
> >> agree with the sentiments in their music or not is fairly irrelevant
> >> in this context. World events beget wars beget patriotic fervor
> >> begets.. profit. On some level, this is fairly repugnant.
> >>
> >> Naturally, the argument can be made that most artist are simply
> >> expressing themselves on the issues of the day, and if they make
> >> money off of that whether the issue of the day involves American
> >> soldiers in combat or not, they're simply doing what they do and
> >> they have every right to make a living doing so. I have no quibble
> >> with said argument.
> >>
> >> In the case of the Dixie Chicks, however, we have an interesting
> >> example of artists that could have exploited world events to their
> >> own gain, and yet did the exact opposite. When "Travelin' Soldier"
> >> debuted on the radio, an outpouring of love and attention for the
> >> Dixie Chicks came down the Billboard charts as an avalanche down a
> >> Swiss Alp. The song is a poignant description of a snippet of the
> >> life of a young American soldier sent off to fight in Viet Nam, and
> >> his interaction with a young girl in her senior year of high school.
> >> Throughout the song, letters are exchanged, and Dixie Chicks' lead
> >> singer Natalie Maines busts out doleful and dulcet tones, pouring
> >> emotion into the lyrics. As the song reaches its conclusion, the
> >> "Travelin' Soldier" is killed, and the focus of the song switches to
> >> the impact of his death on the young girl to which he was writing.
> >> The song ends shortly thereafter.
> >>
> >> Shortly after the release of 'Travelin' Soldier', as mentioned
> >> previously, the Dixie Chicks were riding high, and seemed to be on
> >> the rebound after a brief drop in popularity after the impossibly
> >> high crescendo reached after the release of their debut, "Wide Open
> >> Spaces".
> >>
> >> And then one concert in Europe changed everything. While political
> >> fervor aimed in the main at President George W. Bush raged in the
> >> United States, Chicks' member Maines addressed the crowd. In
> >> remarks that were replayed ad infinitum on American talk radio and
> >> country stations, she told the crowd not to worry, that the Chicks
> >> were embarassed to be from the same state as the American President.
> >>
> >> The backlash back at home was immediate and severe. The Dixie Chicks
> >> and their music were cast down into the pit of No Play/No Mention.
> >> Requests for their music were rebuffed by DJs. CD-burning parties
> >> were held, and sales of the Dixie Chicks' music dropped to near-zero.
> >>
> >> While it can be said without question that Maines' comment was rather
> >> ridiculous, particularly in the context of a concert (people come to
> >> concerts to hear music, not the political views of the artists), on
> >> at least one level, to make the statement at all was courageous on
> >> the part of Maines. The women of the Dixie Chicks are not stupid,
> >> and Maines had to be aware of the fact that her comments would be
> >> replayed back in the United States, and yet she took the opportunity
> >> to express her dissent, regardless of the consequences. While
> >> stupendously foolish from a public relations standpoint, again, such
> >> a move was courageous from a personal standpoint. If Maines truly
> >> felt that it was important for her to express her opinion on the
> >> American President, and was willing to assume the PR penalties back
> >> home, then bravo to her. The right to express dissent with the
> >> ruling government is a fundamental right of all Americans, and
> >> there's no guarantee that the expression of same comes with the
> >> right to be considered popular. Knowing this, Maines chose to
> >> exercise her rights. Whether her message was pointless and foolish
> >> or not (in my opinion, it was).. the expression of same was uniquely
> >> American.
> >>
> >> This is assuming, of course, that she knew what she was doing and
> >> didn't care about the consequences. If she simply didn't think it
> >> through, well then shame on her for not thinking before she spoke.
> >
> >
> > alt.nail.head
> >
> > Plus the fact that they have put out little music since this.
> >
> >
>
> My deal is this. What she said was stupid. When she was pressed about it
> in interviews later...she demonstrated that she is a brainless twit...but
I
> do not care. I like the music. Lefties make most of the best movies and
> best music. I pay them to entertain me. I do not much give a spit what
> they think about the issues of the day. It has no effect on whether or
not
> I buy their music or watch their movies. I vote for politicians that
agree
> with me. I buy entertainment that I like. The two do not cross.
You were doing so well...then you said this.
Jane
> Fonda is one of the all time hawtest actresses in history and also one of
> the greatest. That is all.
Both points are so rong.
>
> --
> v/r Beau
>
>
>
>
>
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* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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