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Post by divasahm on Feb 13, 2010 19:17:22 GMT -4
Most of my favorite country artists are/were the ones who didn't kowtow to the Nashville crowd--Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn (whose last album almost didn't get released because nobody in Nashville was interested), Patsy Cline, and most of all, Willie Nelson. Willie had success as a songwriter for Patsy and for Ray Price, among others, but the harder Nashville tried to "groom" him into the accepted male singer mold, the worse he looked and sounded. Not until he got fed up, came back to Texas, and fell back into his unique way of phrasing a lyric did he find real success--and I'd bet he'd have never found the level of success he has if he'd stayed in Nashville and done everything they told him to do.
Nashville kind of reminds me of the old Hollywood studio system, or the current Disney star machine for young artists--rigid, formulaic, and devoid of originality or charm. Carrie Underwood is a perfect example of all that is wrong with the system.
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Post by angelaudie on Feb 13, 2010 19:56:38 GMT -4
Yep. Like I said that was made Rascal Flatts, "At least we love country music!" comment so hysterical since they were suggesting their album should have won the Best Country Album grammy and that they were better than the Chicks because of their love. The Dixie Chicks actually make country music. Rascal Flatts is a pop group that occasionally plays a fiddle (and again their lead singer better be paying auto-tune people well since he sucks live). The Chicks love country music. It's the industry they hate. Big difference.
Pretty good parallel and yeah Carrie Underwood is definitely an example of what is wrong with country music industry. Carrie really can sing but she's clearly been molded to the point cardboard seems more exciting. Whenever she shows any hint of a personality (Telling Matthew Mchoweveryouspellhisname she would have loved to have seen the boots he wore when he scored one hot summer night) she's apologizing within hours! Years from now country artists are going to be citing The Dixie Chicks as musical inspirations but not Carrie. Nothing about her stands out.
On a less deep note, am I the only one who thinks Home is a better album than Taking The Long Way?
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Post by kostgard on Feb 13, 2010 20:06:26 GMT -4
I love Home too because I love bluegrass (and yeah, Rascal Flatts - when the Chicks finally got more control and their own little sub-label, Wide Open, and produced an album by themselves along with Natalie's dad, they go bluegrass. Yeah. They hate country).
I love "Long Time Gone" and "Truth No. 2." I think they are my favorite Chicks songs. But God, I hate that "Travelin' Soldier" song. It's too maudlin for me, and it got played to death during the early days of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But my favorite album is really their live album from the Top of the World tour. They sound fantastic live, and they proudly stated in the liner notes of the album that it is 100% live with no studio overdubs. Because they can actually sing (Looking at you again, Rascal Flatts).
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Post by Sunnyhorse on Feb 13, 2010 20:18:42 GMT -4
Another great live performance is their Crossroads concert with James Taylor -- he's a bit weak, but the Chicks are just incredible.
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Post by carrier76 on Feb 13, 2010 20:47:14 GMT -4
Indeed. Which makes me go on to say that American Idull (and its offspring) is a perfect example of what's wrong with the music industry in general these days.
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litzikohanovich
Guest
Nov 28, 2024 18:25:35 GMT -4
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Post by litzikohanovich on Feb 14, 2010 17:39:29 GMT -4
I saw them in Melbourne (they were amazing) and it was fairly soon after the Comment. There were a few signs in the crowd poking fun at Toby Keith's comments in particular and signs just generally supporting the Chicks. Natalie singled out one of the signs and the man shouted some words of encouragement to her (I cannot remember exactly what it was --something along the lines that the Chicks would always be welcome in Australia) and she got really choked up. You could just see how difficult everything had been for them and for her, in particular. On a different note, I had brought some friends who had never heard the Chicks' music and they just loved it! Their playing was incredible.
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Post by kostgard on Feb 14, 2010 17:52:24 GMT -4
For anyone who is curious about what they were going through during that time, I highly recommend renting "Shut Up and Sing." Good behind-the-scenes look at what was going on and who was doing what (even a scene where their publicist wanted to completely disown them when they did this cover of Entertainment Weekly - you see her walking around in the background during the photoshoot going on about how she wanted nothing to do with it - trying to save her own ass). And you see how at times they were really conflicted about a lot of it and how while Natalie was stubbornly standing her ground, a lot of it really hurt her.
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Post by PearlySweetcake on Feb 15, 2010 17:08:23 GMT -4
I was working for a public radio station back in the early 90s when the Dixie Chicks were just getting started, and we had promo Dixie Chick photos like this all over the station walls. So my impression of the Chicks as a frilly-skirted, curly brunette, county-fair-playing quartet got jolted when they hiked up the skirts and peroxided their hair. It felt like Natalie brought that image shift with her when she joined the group. And when she departs, the sisters will probably move in another direction, in both presentation and genre.
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Post by divasahm on Feb 15, 2010 17:17:00 GMT -4
Yeah, this is what I was talking about in one of my last posts, except that Emily and Martie made the decision to change the direction of the band well before Natalie came along. The other two girls decided not to go along for personal reasons, and Emily and Martie were having a hard time finding someone else until Natalie's dad told them to give her a call.
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Post by kostgard on Feb 15, 2010 17:18:32 GMT -4
They probably will to some extent (though their music they're working on now isn't that different from stuff on "Taking the Long Way"). But while I think Natalie helped them move in a different direction, Emily and Martie already started it. They were the ones who fired their lead singer (and the fourth member quit) because they knew that they couldn't really make it big with their frilly "Thank heavens for Dale Evans" cowgirl look and the sound that they had back then. I think Natalie helped crystalize some things, but Martie and Emily were already moving in that direction.
ETA: divasahm beat me to it.
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