Shut up and sing

[nadinbrzezinski]

so we went to watch it last night

My hubby was deployed when all that went down in 2003 and no Email could convey the environment of fear at the time

He was to a point stunned... here they were fighting for freedom (as they were told) while people were silenced in the good ol' US of A.

He knew some of this, but the docu made it plain...

He also realized why some of the things I did back then took guts.

We left the theater talking about that, and Nixon and other things... and how people never seem to learn from history

We have bought ever chicks album and now they are after a new audience, and Maines is wrong, she is just as good as Dylan or the Boss, she will be the voice of HER generation. I realized that after realizing the chicks write their own material.

I am so proud of those gals, but they only got one thing wrong. Bush is not from texas, he is a carpet bagger from Connecticut, after that carry on gals,

[Printer70]

1. Maybe I don't understand the case

But it seemed to me that the DC's voiced their criticism of Bush. They were free to do so. They were then criticized by other people, who are free to do so. Then the Dixie Chicks went on a PR tour- and criticized their critics, and utilized their free speech. There were some radio stations who pulled the song but given the outrage amongst country music fans, this was a pretty plain-vanilla decision. In fact, the press including Entertainment Weekly, and other magazines gave them quite a forum to DC to voice their grievances.

There are plenty of cases where free speech is silenced- but I don't think this is one of them.

[SalviaBlue]

2. They were blacklisted by corporate radio

If my memory is correct, there may have been some radio sponsored record burning sessions for the super patriots who where so outraged that any American would say something negative about their dear beloved commander in chief.

The corporate entanglement is the issue to me. If someone choose not to buy DC because they disagreed - fine. But being shut out of the main venue for their music was WRONG... and, I believe, a deliberate silencing of free speech.

[Printer70]

8. One Radio Co.

Apparently, the radio company that banned the Dixie Chicks was Cumulus Media, not Clear Channel. That company also hosted the CD-smashing ceremony. Apparently, Clear Channel Radio played Dixie Chicks songs more often - 10,069 times - than any other major radio broadcaster in the two weeks following the statement by Natalie Maines. Cumulus is a relatively small radio station co., esp. when compared to Clear Channel. That there was only one jingoist executive at a radio station co. that refrained from playing their music across the entire country- thats bad, but pretty minimal.

[cascadiance]

25. I think you need to look at other sites besides Clear Channel's

for information on them in this:

http://www.clearchannel.com/Corporate/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=1167&p=hidden

There's other sides of the story besides what Clear Channel claims.

Though "technically" as acknowledge here, Cumulus might have done the Dixie Chicks CD smashing rally, Clear Channel has been more known for organizing pro-war rallies earlier on a massive scale earlier.

http://www.refuseandresist.org/war/art.php?aid=660

And Clear Channel doesn't just control a lot of the radio space, they also control a big chunk of the billboard advertising too. Note this article on how they reneged on a deal to put up a billboard in New York' Time Square with the peace sign in it.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/14/1410247

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

18. Yep

I know of one disc jockey who continued to play DC songs after his Clear Channel station manager told him to stop. He was fired. And this was when the Chicks were still very popular in my area. On edit: maybe not Clear Channel, but the station was part of a chain and not locally owned.

[Shakespeare]

19. I know for a fact that Clear Channel C&W stations in Texas refuse to play them.

I used to be a DJ at one many years ago, and still have friends who are. It's a multi-corporate campaign; notice they were snubbed at the CMA awards last month, too. It's partly thanks to that that the Houston Chicks concert was canceled.

[Printer70]

23. Can you say?

Sounds like you have some interesting information. Can you say whichever other corporations are involved? I'm willing to revise my opinion based on the facts.

[Libby2]

3. You're right, you don't understand the case.

They certainly were silenced.

eta: The "American" Red Cross would not accept a million dollar donation from them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. That really blew my mind about the Red Cross

and that move surely lost the Red Cross some donors.

[Printer70]

7. Thats what I get for humility

I was aware of the Red Cross incident. At the time, they said the controversy made it impossible to associate with the Dixie Chicks. And that's probably true. At the time, people went berzerk over these remarks. I don't agree with their decision, but I don't equate that with them being "silenced".

[Shakespeare]

10. "going berzerk" included trying to silence them and end their careers.

Yes, silenced.

The title of the documentary isn't for nothing, you know. Boycotts, a coordinated effort to stop airplay of their music, and death threats were just some of the fun they experienced for a one-sentence comment.

Freedom of speech does not mean trying to deprive somebody else of their right to free speech, and that's exactly what happened. The insaniacs didn't succeed in silencing them, but they damn sure tried. They did succeed in almost ending their music career, and it's only through the Chick's hard work and astonishing talent that they survived it.

You, perhaps more than anyone else on this thread, really should see the documentary.

[Printer70]

13. Please see my comments below

I described how these actions are unfortunate but do not amount to censorship or being silenced. Country music fans are rabidly conservative. DC said something that pissed them off. Country music fans stayed away in droves. They criticized her and had a CD-stomping party. Now DC is focused on rock music with a more progressive audience- more power to them. History is replete with groups/organizations alienating their fans and getting hammered for it.

[Shakespeare]

16. If you think it was as simple as fans staying away in droves....

....then you don't even BEGIN to know the whole story.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. there was a dictat coming from high up in management

in country radio NOT to play them. To this day country radio will NOT play them, period

By the way, this was done at the behest of some fanatics at Freeperville, otherwise known as Freerebublic.oom. I'm sure Jim Rob is proud of that screen capture on the big screen though, and the power that this small, but very virulent minority has

You may want to GO watch the movie, it may clarify some issues for you.

And lord they have a hell of a manager

[Printer70]

9. Remark above

Please see my remark above. My understanding is that the only Radio co. that refrained from playing Dixie Chicks, was Cumulus, a relatively small radio station company. Based on this report in RollingStone it looks like the major players like CMT (Country Music Television) and ClearChannel are playing the DC's; only a few small holdouts (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/9166584/nashville_pines_for_dixie_chicks/).

[AX10]

21. When was this article written?

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. Watch the movie

it is far more than just Cumulus, though cumulus faced the music in front of Congress

Clear Media also refused to and refuses to.

hell, they will NOT play them to this day

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. There was a smear campaign against them

launched by corporate radio.

They also mention in the movie that Free Republic went after them.

Since their records were blacklisted on many radio stations and a national boycott was launched against them, encouraging people to stop buying their records, then yes, their free speech rights were violated.

Go see the movie and you will have a better understanding of what happened. They got death threats!

[Printer70]

11. OK- let me just say a few things

First, do I think people overreacted? Yes. Do I think the Dixie Chicks got a raw deal? Yes. Do I think they were singled out because they were women? Yes.

But you mentioned a few things which don't have to do with free speech:

1. Freepers went after them

The 1st amendment authorizes not merely the right to criticize but the right to be criticized as well.

2. National boycott launched against them

This is unfortunate, but it doesn't have to do with free speech. For example, as soon as Michasel Richards went off on his racist tirade, I resolved not to buy the Seinfield DVD and told other people not to buy it either. Michael Ricahrds can say what he wants, but I can choose not to buy his crap and tell others the same.

3. They got death threats

I once wrote a column on why Barney was great for children. I recieved death threats. And more than one. People on the radio and celebrities get death threats routinely. Not that its OK. But it doesn't add up to "censorship".

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Not playing their music is censorship.

Not buying their records is censorship.

Not buying tickets to their shows is censorship.

Why? Because corporate radio launched this campaign against them. This wasn't just a bunch of dumb country music fans deciding to boycott them. It was a massive, well organized, national campaign.

You haven't seen the movie, have you?

[Printer70]

14. Not to my understanding

First, I haven't seen the movie but nothing you said requires me to see the movie to dispute these points.

>Not buying their records is censorship. Not buying tickets to their shows is censorship.

No it's not; it's exercising freedom of choice. I don't listen to Rush Limbaugh and I sure as hell don't buy all the stuff he sells on his website, but that doesn't mean I'm censoring him.

>Why? Because corporate radio launched this campaign against them. This wasn't just a bunch of dumb country music fans deciding to boycott them. It was a massive, well organized, national campaign.

The only corp. that refused to play them was Cumulus; and they're apparently a pretty small fry in the radio business. Every other decision across the country was a station by station decision. Apparently, Clear Channel played them the most in the two weeks after her comments.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Go see the movie

Your facts are twisted, to put it kindly.

[rmgarrette64]

20. Just to note...

I'm a country music fan myself. Out here in L.A. we had two country radio stations at the time (one has since switched formats). Both continued playing Dixie Chicks after their incident, and up to the present - well, up to the present on the one station that still plays country, that is... The station that changed formats, KZLA, had an extremely funny ad on at the time about the whole controversy. I don't remember the exact words, but something about "we're staying on the fence, where it's safe."

As far as I saw, people talked about it a lot, and there was a fair amount of anger at the Chicks. But radio stations kept playing their music, and you could still buy all their albums. I imagine their concert revenue went way down, and it was quite a while until they cut a new album - probably not a coincidence. Still, tick off your fans, pay the price.

Sorry, not censorship.

Oh, and I did see Shut Up and Sing too. My opinion - now stop whining, and get back to singing.

R. Garrett

[Shakespeare]

22. They've never "whined" about anything.

And if you'd actually seen the documentary (sorry, I'm not buying that you've seen it), you'd know that.

They've been defiant, they've been frightened (and rightly so), but they've never whined.

[Libby2]

27. Yeah, California the bastion of country music.

I live in TN.....they were silenced!!

[Shakespeare]

17. Were your death threats serious enough that you required FBI protection?

Not even in the same universe of sameness.

[U4ikLefty]

26. Sounds like an argument right out of the Red-Scare. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. In some ways

it was.. the fact that we didn't have McCarthey holding hearings does not mean the effects were not similar