Dixie Chicks Alienate Country Fans Again

The Dixie Chicks just don't seem capable of keeping their shallow understanding of the universe under wraps. Having received a ration of flak in 2003 for dissing the U.S. and the President with reference to the Global War on Terror, the Chicks are doing it again, with predictable results. The country market, largely a group of raving patriots who "get it" more thoroughly than the hate-America-first lefties in Congress, academia, and the MSM, is up in arms once again:

Disappointing airplay for the first two singles from the new album by the Dixie Chicks exposes a deep -- and seemingly growing -- rift between the trio and the country radio market that helped turn the group into superstars.

"Taking the Long Way," due out May 23, is the band's first album since singer Natalie Maines sparked a major controversy in 2003 by declaring that she was ashamed to hail from the same state as fellow Texan President George W. Bush. Radio boycotts ensued, and many fans abandoned the band.

The first single, "Not Ready to Make Nice," peaked at No. 36 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, beginning its descent after just seven weeks.

From the beginning of the album rollout, the Dixie Chicks were eager that their songs be worked to radio formats beyond country. The album was produced by rock veteran Rick Rubin, whose credits include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of a Down and Johnny Cash. (Read Time magazine cover story.)

By picking the defiant "Not Ready" as the first single, they've reopened a wound that was particularly deep for country radio fans, and left many country programmers with the burning question: Why on earth would the band choose to do this?

Why? Because the Chicks, like most lefties and lefty wannabes, never learn. Observe, as in this comment by group lead Chick and blabbermouth, Natalie Maines:

Maines...said, "I don't want people to think that me not wanting to be part of country music is any sort of revenge. It is not. It is totally me being who I am, and not wanting to compromise myself and hate my life."

Note here the self-centeredness and extreme egoism, the same as we saw in the grandstanding "adjunct professor" at Boston College in our earlier story. It's all about Natalie. Devoid of any ideas at all, the left and leftist wannabes substitute self-centeredness for thought, and feelings for logic, resulting in a predictable muddle of intellectual mush that never parses.

Maybe the Chicks have figured this is a good way for them to position themselves as "artists" independent of country music. Fine. They've pretty much worn out their welcome with the patriots who listen to this kind of music. Read the rest here.