Dixie Chic

This is the latest cover of Time, which sports the Dixie Chicks. To be honest, the title of the cover story pissed me off and will prompt me to write a letter to the editors. These three women are radical because they dared stand up to a president who rushed us to war on faulty, cooked intelligence? Yea, right.

Anyway, I heard the Dixie Chicks on Howard Stern this morning (another shameless plug for Sirus Satellite Radio - I LOVE it) and they had some very interesting things to say. Among them, how they received death threats because they told an audience during a concert in London that they were ashamed to be from Texas because President Bush is from Texas. Christ, get the nooses ready! I'll say right now that sometimes (and with increasing frequency, lately) that I'm ashamed to be an American when I hear some of the sewage that comes out of the president's mouth. What do I mean by that? Not that I don't love my country. Far from it. I feel this shame because I love my country. I can't believe we've had to endure him for eight years. He's a disgrace.

Following their comments, the Dixie Chicks were forced to apologize and had to endure all sorts of negative publicity along with Clear Channel banning them from its radio stations. First off, Clear Channel can go screw themselves; terrestrial radio is so last century, anyway. This is a company that has completely buckled to the FCC; this administration is pretty much out to ban any language it finds the least bit offensive, as well as in opposition to its policies. Look no further than Howard for evidence of that. Bush and the Republicans didn't touch Howard until he turned on Bush for the war in Iraq. All of a sudden, the FCC was on the attack, and Clear Channel fired him.

The big problem I have with what happened to the Dixies is not people disagreeing with them; people who came out against the group have as much of a right to their opinions as the group does. But death threats? Banning them from radio stations? What's next? Book burnings, Nazi Germany style?

Bottom line - on Howard today, someone from the group (I'm not sure who - couldn't tell) said it best in explaining the group's negative statements about the president:

"I don't want people to die for a reason that has not been proven to us." It doesn't get much more sage than that.

Anyway, I think this group has a lot of moxie, and some of their tunes aren't bad, either. Their remake of Fleetwood's timeless classic Landslide is one of the best remakes I've heard in years.

The group has since retracted their apology to the president, and they are as feisty as ever. Bravo. Their new album, Taking the Long Way, has a great tune on it entitled Not Ready to Make Nice, and it alludes to the whole controversy. Take a read of these lyrics:

Not Ready to Make Nice

Forgive, sounds good

Forget, I’m not sure I could

They say time heals everything

But I’m still waiting

^

I’m through with doubt

There’s nothing left for me to figure out

I’ve paid a price

And I’ll keep paying

^

I’m not ready to make nice

I’m not ready to back down

I’m still mad as hell and

I don’t have time to go round and round and round

It’s too late to make it right

I probably wouldn’t if I could

‘Cause I’m mad as hell

Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

^

I know you said

Can’t you just get over it

It turned my whole world around

And I kind of like it

^

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby

With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’

It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her

Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger

And how in the world can the words that I said

Send somebody so over the edge

That they’d write me a letter

Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing

Or my life will be over

^

I’m not ready to make nice

I’m not ready to back down

I’m still mad as hell and

I don’t have time to go round and round and round

It’s too late to make it right

I probably wouldn’t if I could

‘Cause I’m mad as hell

Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

^

I’m not ready to make nice

I’m not ready to back down

I’m still mad as hell and

I don’t have time to go round and round and round

It’s too late to make it rightI probably wouldn’t if I could

‘Cause I’m mad as hell

Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

^

Forgive, sounds good

Forget, I’m not sure I could

They say time heals everything

But I’m still waiting

**

Damn right! America needs a much bigger fix of what the Chicks are offering though their inspirational, and, dare I say it, patriotic, lyrics.