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Hmmm...So they're ashamed to be Texans, or they think Texas sucks, or a little of both...?  ???
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They're ashamed to share a home state with Bush.

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They're ashamed to share a home state with Bush.
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Correct.

Quoting:
Maines told the audience earlier this week, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

What she probably meant by that was that Bush, in her opinion, wrongly represents Texas.
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Fine with me...she is certainly entitled to her opinion.  But like some others said, the buyers of the records have opinions too and as an artist, she has to be mindful of those opinions.  Kinda like how waaaaaaay back in the day Lennon said that the Beatles were bigger than God... :P

As for representing Texas, a majority of the state voted for Bush.  I guess she was in the minority there then :-/

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I guess you should know your audience though.
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Perhaps she felt it was more important to stand-up for your views than to sell records? ? ?

Could it be?

Quoting:


They're ashamed to share a home state with Bush.
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The sarcasm is getting really bad in the political threads today, isn't it TB?
Rice, go clean your microscope!
;D

Quoting:
...she is certainly entitled to her opinion. End Quote

What's more, she stood by her opinion and I respect her for that.

Quoting:

The sarcasm is getting really bad in the political threads today...
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I didn't read sarcasm into MNIK's post. It was just a clarification of what she meant.

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I am certainly NOT going to "throw out" my Dixie Chicks CD's just because Natalie Maines voiced her opinion.  She has a right to & I don't see anything wrong with it. I think it's funny that people get so dam up in arms about such petty stuff!  Get a friggin reality check....welcome to the USA.  >:(
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Nothing wrong with it, really.  She said what she thought and that's what America allows you to do.  Just some people are more uppity than others.  

Like I said, she had a right to say what she thought, and unfortunately, the listening public has a right to boycott the Dixie Chicks for what she said.  Kinda like how Jesse Jackson and Rosa Parks boycotted Barbershop.

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Nothing wrong with it, really.  She said what she thought and that's what America allows you to do.  Just some people are more uppity than others.  

Like I said, she had a right to say what she thought, and unfortunately, the listening public has a right to boycott the Dixie Chicks for what she said.  Kinda like how Jesse Jackson and Rosa Parks boycotted Barbershop.
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Yeah, that's pretty much the same thing...  personally, both boycotts bothered the hell out of me, they both strike me as fairly narrow-minded ways to look at things.

Quoting:


Yeah, that's pretty much the same thing...  personally, both boycotts bothered the hell out of me, they both strike me as fairly narrow-minded ways to look at things.
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Perhaps if everyone had an anal-stick-ectomy, they could be rid of all this crap.  Boycott-this, protest-that, BAH!

At the very least, this procedure would decrease the number of gang wars, random bar fights over whose hair was cuter, and nerds posting back and forth saying either Lord of the Rings or Star Wars was better ::)

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.....nerds posting back and forth saying either Lord of the Rings or Star Wars was better ::)
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LMAO!  :D

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And now, the apology ::)

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/14/dixie.chicks.apology/index.html
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It didn't help.  Newslink:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81241,00.html

KD Lang's career went a similar road when she spoke out against cattlemen who supply beef to the food industry.

You can be as sincere as you want with your opinions and beliefs.  But be prepared to face a backlash and stalled career when you fly those beliefs in the faces of your fan base.

MCSEGuy

Quoting:


That in itself is admirable, and I salute her.  I don't listen to country music though so I guess it doesn't matter what I think ;)

Btw, cs, my microscope broke again, and the crazy Japanese engineer is fixing it as we speak ;)
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Rice,
See my PM to you re: your microscope "and the crazy Japanese engineer".

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Perhaps she felt it was more important to stand-up for your views than to sell records? ? ?

Could it be?
End Quote

Good point.  

But I can't help but wonder if she just didn't get caught up in the moment too, even if she doesn't agree with GWB or the pending war.  I dunno.  I guess she is aware of her fans' demographics and she's certainly entitled to voice her own opinion.  She has chosen her public life profession and should realize that she'd come under fire for anything she says.

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Hard core country fans build allegiances stronger than any other demographic.  Guns, God, and Mom rank at the top,  not necessarily in that order.  So if cw fans are your demo keep beef on the plate, flag on the pole, and "support our troops" on your bumper.  
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Bingo.

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Perhaps she felt it was more important to stand-up for your views than to sell records? ? ?

Could it be?
End Quote

I have to disagree on two points here... First)  The European audience was purportedly seething with "Anti-American sentiment"' and her response was to placate, or bring herself to the same level of the audience.  Superficial familiarity.  Secondly)  Apparently it IS important for her to sell records because she didn't issue the apology until AFTER radio stations started pulling their music.  

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I have to disagree on two points here... First)  The European audience was purportedly seething with "Anti-American sentiment"' and her response was to placate, or bring herself to the same level of the audience.  Superficial familiarity.  End Quote

I agree.

She knew exactly who she was talking to and what response she would get out of it from the audience.

One thing I don't think she took into account is how much nack-lash she would gat back here at home.  

Quoting: Secondly)  Apparently it IS important for her to sell records because she didn't issue the apology until AFTER radio stations started pulling their music.  
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True.

I am proud to say severel country stations here in my city pulled the plug on their music immediately after hearing the news.

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\severel country stations here in my city pulled the plug on their music immediately after hearing the news.


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This is no offense to you.

But I find it disgusting.

Quoting:I am proud to say severel country stations here in my city pulled the plug on their music immediately after hearing the news.
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I'm also disgusted by this.

Whatever happened to Freedom of Speech?  Now, you can't say how you feel about something without being punished for it because it goes against what may be popular opinion?  Why don't we let the people decide this issue, by whether they continue to buy the records or not.  It shouldn't be up to the media to punish them for their opinion.  The media is supposed to be unbiased.

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I'm also disgusted by this.

Whatever happened to Freedom of Speech?  Now, you can't say how you feel about something without being punished for it because it goes against what may be popular opinion?  Why don't we let the people decide this issue, by whether they continue to buy the records or not.  It shouldn't be up to the media to punish them for their opinion.  The media is supposed to be unbiased.
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You're right.

But at the same time, I guess I could point out that people from both sides use boycotts.  It depends on whether you support that boycott or not.

Do I support the (well, I wasn't there, but bear with me) bus boycotts in Alabama in the 60s?  Sure, that helped bunches to bring about racial equality, methinks.

Do I support PETA tossing red paint on people wearing furs and boycotting milk and cheese?  Questionable methods, but more milk and cheese for me.

Do I support Jesse Jackson and Rosa Parks boycotting Barbershop?  While I haven't seen the movie, that was pretty f**king stupid of them.

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I hated it when people misunderstood John Lennon and I hate this now....I'm pro Bush and pro American...to me that means I support our president but also understand peoples rights to speak thier mind
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Even the Hollywood liberals?  ;)

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Even the Hollywood liberals?  ;)
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A relevant article to your statement...

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/17/giuliani.movie.ap/index.html

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I'm also disgusted by this.

Whatever happened to Freedom of Speech?  Now, you can't say how you feel about something without being punished for it because it goes against what may be popular opinion?  Why don't we let the people decide this issue, by whether they continue to buy the records or not.  It shouldn't be up to the media to punish them for their opinion.  The media is supposed to be unbiased.
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Unbiased media is, unfortunately, one of the great myths of our society. Commentary is no longer found only on the Op-Ed page. And while I agree that freedom of speech does indeed give Natalie Maines or anyone else the right to voice their opinion, that same right also entitles radio stations to boycott their music. Not saying a boycott is necessarily the right way to go, but I think it is certainly within the rights of radio stations to do it.

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You're right.

But at the same time, I guess I could point out that people from both sides use boycotts.  It depends on whether you support that boycott or not.

Do I support the (well, I wasn't there, but bear with me) bus boycotts in Alabama in the 60s?  Sure, that helped bunches to bring about racial equality, methinks.

Do I support PETA tossing red paint on people wearing furs and boycotting milk and cheese?  Questionable methods, but more milk and cheese for me.

Do I support Jesse Jackson and Rosa Parks boycotting Barbershop?  While I haven't seen the movie, that was pretty f**king stupid of them.
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But your examples don't show the media boycotting something, which is essentially what was done here.  That is what disgusts me.  To boycott their music because a comment they made goes against public consensus?  That's just going too far.  Let the public do the boycotting if it offends them.  Then their music drops off the charts and won't be heard again anyway.  It should NEVER be up to the stations to decide, however, that we shouldn't hear their music because they disagree with public opinion.

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Even the Hollywood liberals?  ;)
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Yes..even them ;)

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But your examples don't show the media boycotting something, which is essentially what was done here.  That is what disgusts me.  To boycott their music because a comment they made goes against public consensus?  That's just going too far.  Let the public do the boycotting if it offends them.  Then their music drops off the charts and won't be heard again anyway.  It should NEVER be up to the stations to decide, however, that we shouldn't hear their music because they disagree with public opinion.
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That's true.  I definitely agree with you there.  But at the same time, the boycott wouldn't work if the public weren't pushing it forth.  Now, if the peeps were against the boycott they'd speak up and the radio station would do an about-face and slap them Dixie Chicks back on the air...but it hasn't happened yet.

So the public does factor into it somehow.

BUT!  Still an extreme reaction.

Then again, I don't listen to country music or the Dixie Chicks, so I don't think I'd have any motivation to boycott them if I wanted to ;)  Along the same lines, I don't boycott Michael Jackson music because he's an insane pedophile...but maybe I should ::)

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I think the Dixie Chicks should have known better.  I agree with them that Bush is an idiot, but they should have known who their fanbase was.  Most of the people that listen to them are a bunch of gun tottin' dumb rednecks with rebel flags on their pickups.  Ofcourse yahoos like that would overreact and boycott them.
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Ah, class based prejudice.  You know I love it.

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Ah, class based prejudice.  You know I love it.
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class based prejudice= cultural demographics, at least when it comes to some groups.

I think it's damn silly that their fans are boycotting their music, I have always kept my politics and love for music seperate.  Sinead O'Conner put out some wonderful music but I sure as heck wouldn't want to hang out with that crazy pope-picture slashing loon.  Pearl Jam is the greatest rock-n-roll band of all time but I'm not going to attend one of their Nader rallies.  

Quoting:

But your examples don't show the media boycotting something, which is essentially what was done here.  That is what disgusts me.  To boycott their music because a comment they made goes against public consensus?  That's just going too far.  Let the public do the boycotting if it offends them.  Then their music drops off the charts and won't be heard again anyway.  It should NEVER be up to the stations to decide, however, that we shouldn't hear their music because they disagree with public opinion.
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When music is pulled from a playlist, the listener's sentiment is usually pretty darn high. The fact is, radio is a BUSINESS, and they have ALWAYS decided what you will or won't hear.  Contrary to popular belief, radio is NOT about music.  It's about ADVERTISING.  The music is just filler in between.  If listeners do not, for one reason or another, like the music, they will not listen.  If they do not listen, advertisers will not advertise.  If advertisers do not advertise, there IS no radio station.  

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When music is pulled from a playlist, the listener's sentiment is usually pretty darn high. The fact is, radio is a BUSINESS, and they have ALWAYS decided what you will or won't hear.  Contrary to popular belief, radio is NOT about music.  It's about ADVERTISING.  The music is just filler in between.  If listeners do not, for one reason or another, like the music, they will not listen.  If they do not listen, advertisers will not advertise.  If advertisers do not advertise, there IS no radio station.  
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And coming from a radio background myself, I can say that you don't seem to be taking into account the ratings which come out from both Billboard and Radio & Records.  These charts are based off of not only airplay, but also sales of singles and albums and radio station requests to a small degree.  This means the audience has no small amount of influence over what gets played.  Which means that if the public boycotts the band, then sales stop and the music drops off the charts.  End of story.  But the radio station should continue to play it until it drops off.  Because otherwise, if they perceive that it was offensive and boycott the music when the public is still buying it, then they have shot themselves in the foot.  People stop listening because the station has arbitrarily decided what they should or shouldn't hear.

Bottom line, stations need to conduct business as usual.  The public will speak with their wallets, not by turning the dial because a certain song comes on.  That happens all the time anyway.  If all the stations behaved the same, it wouldn't matter.  The public would be back a few minutes later.  But they should NOT take it upon themselves to arbitrarily decide we shouldn't hear a band's music anymore, especially when it's popular, just because the band made an offensive comment.

Radio is a business, and such censorship is bad business.  Radio doesn't decide what you will or won't hear.  The record labels do that.  They're the ones who send out the promo CD's for each single released.  Stations just decide if that single fits their particular format. If it does, they give it a shot, adding it to the playlist.  If it takes off, (people hear it, like it, buy it) it gets put in the hot rotation.  If not, it drops off the charts, and you don't hear it again.  They grab another single and try it again.  Keep the hot songs running, to keep the listeners tuned in, to make the money from the advertisers.

Quoting:

It does suck to boycott and sensor the Chicks, though.
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I agree with you, but what the hell...someone has to check your spelling ;)

"censor"

:D

Quoting:


I agree with you, but what the hell...someone has to check your spelling ;)

"censor"

:D
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"Sensor." Where the hell did I get that?! It sounds like one of those Gillette-Triple-Razor-Mach-whatchamacallits. Oh! There I go again endorsing French products. Naughty, naughty me ;) Too much Red wine on a Tuesday night :) :D ;D

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"Sensor." Where the hell did I get that?! It sounds like one of those Gillette-Triple-Razor-Mach-whatchamacallits. Oh! There I go again endorsing French products. Naughty, naughty me ;) Too much Red wine on a Tuesday night :) :D ;D
End Quote

HAHAHA!!!  ;D  

Quoting:
PETA may have done a lot of stupid things, but they have done at least one good thing:  They have taught women that they need to get naked to protest, and they have my blessing for it.
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"Agreed!" declares Race raising a beer in salute to PETA's one good work.

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"Agreed!" declares Race raising a beer in salute to PETA's one good work.
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Sounds like we need to give them more things to protest..
Any ideas?   ;D