If the Dixie Chicks seemed a bit unprepared for their multiple acceptance speeches at the Grammys (unlike Mary J. Blige, who had a list of more than 50 people to read off), that wasn’t feigned humility. "We were like deer in the headlights!" said fiddler Martie Maguire when PopWatch caught up with her after the show. "I know when we watch it back, the camera will show how shocked we were. I thought maybe we would get country album, but the others, no way." (For the record, they swept the multi-genre categories of best record, song, and album, as well as winning in two country categories.)
"How do you get record of the year, without airplay?" Maguire asked, possibly not even rhetorically. PopWatch opined that their triumphant "Not Ready to Make Nice" was the first true Internet hit — a song that everyone read about or heard about on the news, but couldn’t find on the radio, and thus had to stream. "I’d agree with that," said Dan Wilson, the ex-Semisonic leader who cowrote the tune, sitting nearby. "But VH1 helped a lot," added Maguire, "making us cool with that audience."
Earlier in the wee hours, they’d been joined in their cabana at the record company’s Beverly Hills Hotel post-Grammy party by Don Henley — who, as presenter of the climactic award, made it clear that his loyalties lay with his fellow Texans. They’d performed "Desperado" at a MusiCares benefit dinner honoring Henley two nights earlier, but seemed unaware of the full level of the Eagle’s support until now. "That meant a lot, to get that from Don Henley," said Maguire. "We didn’t know he was that into what we’re doing. Starting off, they were one of the references we would use, when we were wrapping our heads around how we were gonna make this Rick Rubin record that would stay a little bit country but move us forward. That was what the Eagles did, so we would say ‘Oh, like when they did these harmonies this way…’"
Also traveling in the Chicks’ camp Sunday night was Cecilia Peck, producer and co-director of their documentary Shut Up and Sing, just out on DVD. Peck says there’s a two-disc special edition due to hit stores this summer that includes not only outtakes from the doc footage but the entirety of the first night of the band’s most recent arena tour. In other words: Even more singing! Even less shutting up!
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How a group that finished outside of the top 25 in the COUNTRY charts on Billboard managed to take not only the country album of the year, but also the song and album of the year as well is beyond me.
It just goes to show you that noone in LA bothers to listen to country music, just the politics of the people singing.
The CHICKS had to win over all voters in the industry to get these awards.
It says something HUGE about how artists feel about free speech and the responsibility to use that speech to effect change in society as a whole!
The awards given to the Dixie Chicks were simply one thing….sending a message.
As you know, these awards were not given by the people. This was not the People’s Music Awards, rather less than 11,000 members of professionals in the music industry. One writer brought up the idea that the vote for the various catagories was so split, that the largest chunk of votes left were the politically active members who had the opportunity to “make a statement” with what amounts to a lackluster album and a really boring song.
First of all, there’s no way a song like that would take song of the year at the Grammys unless it had help, through collusion or other means, or jury nullification, just like the O.J. trial. And for them to win 5 awards if just not only improbable, but impossible! It looks like the Grammys jumped the shark last night, allowing politics to influence the outcome of not one but 5 awards and I personally could never look at them in any kind of positive light again.
This is some pure BS. Just Hollywood’s way of awarding something based more on personal views versus actual artistic quality. There are at least 25 COuntry albums better than the Dixie Chicks album. That is without even considering other genre’s. I for one am boycotting any future Hollywood awards shows until they award artisic excellence instead of political views.
Dixie Chicks deserved it all. I’m sick of you Americans who always blah-blah everytime you get the chance. Now if you really wanna do something for your country — do it. Do something positive, do not contradict what is otherwise correct. The Grammys is still the best!!!!! and Entertainment Weekly too!
Guess what, kids? It was the best album of the year. (Even EW said so in their year-end issue.) I haven’t stopped listening to it since May. For once, the Grammys got it right.
I tried to turn on the Grammy Awards but my television could not penetrate the DRM stuff. Steve Jobs and I cried in each others arms the rest of the night.
They are brilliant musicians who made a brilliant album. They deserved their victories…end of story.
I’m actually grateful to the country music industry who shunned them and gave them so much publicity. Otherwise, I would not have been exposed to and discovered their music. I love love loooove the Dixie Chicks!!!
The Dixie Chicks won their grammy awards because people think they were unjustly ridiculed and banned from radio. People have a right to say what they feel and I think alot of people forgot that. Last night was vindication from peers in and out of their genre. It is time to let it go and go on with life.
By the way the album is great!!!
Nic Cage hates EW, and with good reason:
http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=5208
I agree that the Dixie Chicks have a right to freedom of speech. That comment is old by now. I just don’t get the appeal of their music. I don’t think they deserved to win Record or Song of the year, because, quite frankly, I think that song sucks. I can’t believe it beat out the likes of Mary J. Blige or James Blunt. And Album of the year? Ahead of the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Stadium Arcadium, which I think is one of the best albums in the last five years and easily the Chili Pepper’s best album. But, that’s just my opinion, which everyone is entitled to. I just wonder how well reviewed/awarded this album would be without all the hype or political controversy.
I’m with Sean when he says that the Dixie Chicks won out of pure personal views.
When the D.C spoke out about the president it was the country listening folks that boycotted them, not the general public. We all know how the country fans vote, so why are we surpised.
The album sucked and I’m going to call this one…I think the Dixie Chicks will break up after this album. Natilie Maines is too big for her own britches.
I think what occurred at the Grammy’s with the Dixie Chicks was unexpected by many due to the political controversey however well deserved if you have actually listened to the CD. Natalie, Emily and Marti are three incredibly strong women who speak what they believe in and don’t conform under the pressures of the media. Whether you support their political views or not, every American can learn a lession from what they have gone through.
The Dixie Chicks are the ones who injected politics into the way people view them. They are now going to have to live with the fact that people are going to judge them for those politics as much as for their music.
So, the point of those who are outraged by the DC wins is that their music should be judged totally upon its quality and not politics? Perhaps those people and radio stations who boycotted them just for their political views should have applied that rule. DC were one of the most popular acts in country until they said the “wrong thing.” These are not their first awards.
The DC’s deserved to win. Their album was the best one of the year. Their songs were not only popular on several country stations (in Canada anyway) but also the pop/rock stations. You couldn’t turn on any station that their music wasn’t being played on. In that fact they reached the masses, thus deserving the Grammy for their efforts and cross over success. Americans pride themselves on the constitution, however as soon as a person publicly voices their opinion, their freedom of speech, they are called traitors. I commend them for their stand and will continue to listen to “Taking the Long Way because each song is a gem. Canada will always love you chicks!
Everyone seems to recall what the DC said about GW, but Tim McGraw and Faith Hill both went off on him and his administration after the Katrina debacle and country radio never skipped a beat. They still play at LEAST 2 of their songs per hour. Who cares what the country music establishment thinks. Heck, their top act has turned into a Jimmy Buffett wannabe. All Chesney sings about is the dang beach and bars and sunshine. he needs to open himself up a chain of “no shoes, no shirts, no problems” resteraunts. Bottom line. most of the time, if you express an opinion that is opposite of the majority view of that establishment, you’re going to get blackballed. Now, if you want to beat your wife, take amphetamines, get some DUI’s, or get busted with shrooms and pot, now then your an OK dude.
Ugh, how many times do we have to go through this with all the DC haters? Did they win because of political views? Most likely. But hey, at least they win with an AWESOME album at the same time. I fully support the girls in all their veiws (as a servicemember AND as a fellow Texan), but when it comes to music, I hold a different standard. If the music sucked, I wouldn’t have rooted for them at the Grammys to win all their deserved awards (not even for the sake of making a statement). But as it were, this album is one of the most beautiful and well-thought out albums I’ve heard in a long time. They took a bleak situation and channeled it into their music and the result was nothing less than breathtaking. I applaud them for not continuing to speak out through their words, but rather, through their music.
Matt (the first commenter) – let me take a moment to respond to you ignorant comment as well…winning a Grammy, has NOTHING TO DO WITH CHART PERFORMANCE. It’s a JUDGING on the quality of your music. This is accentuated by Bob Dylan’s win for Album of the Year a few years ago. When was the last time you heard Bob Dylan on the radio? And besides, not all 11,000 people vote in the country categories. the general fields (album, song, record, and new artist) are the only ones where everyone votes, while each person votes in their respective genre. So what does that mean, Matt? It means COUNTRY PEOPLE VOTED IN THE COUNTRY CATEGORIES. So if you’re in any way unsatisfied with the results of DC’s wins, you only have your own industry to blame. End of story.
Dixie Chicks, I still think you suck.
I say good for the Dixie Chick. For all who said they were going down, how does the crow taste. Good for them, good for the Grammys and good for music in general.
The DC’s sucked long before they made their political views known…This was nothing more than the liberal hollywood elite putting their stamp of approval on bashing this administration. What a farce! If you listen to that song without considering the politics behind it, it’s totally stupid–song of the year? what a joke…
I am a DC fan, and I think NTTMN deserved its wins. The album, however, while good, was not as cohesive an album as some of the other nominees. I’m still happy they won though because in the end, they still make great music – politics or no politics.
People’s Choice Awards and end of the year charts only reflect popularity, not quality. The Dixie Chicks’s album was the best of the year. NRTMN was a great song, and without the political context, it still resonates. Why do people expect artists and celebrities to NOT engage in public discourse when it’s everyone’s right in this country to think critically about the state of our nation and the performance of our elected officials? I was more upset about John Mayer winning over Christina.
Why is it okay for Bruce Springsteen to speak out on politics and win awards? No one mentions his political views when looking at his award-quality work, so what’s the big for the DC?
sgmash74 … right on the money!
The reason the DC had so much publicity for their political views and speaking out was b/c their “genre” holds a deep-seeded, conservative, down home, good ol’ boy mentality … and W is a conservative, down home, good ol’ Southern boy. You can bet that if they had made big comments like they did–but about Clinton when he was in office–country music wouldn’t have even blinked.
I agree with the post earlier that I’m glad country music shunned the Chicks and made such a big deal … they were given great publicity–and a chick like me wouldn’t have otherwise been aware of them … and I would have been missing out!
To the poster (CLS) who commented about taking the political message away from the Song of the Year “Not Ready to Make Nice”. Well consider this, artists craft songs to have a message. Be it political in nature, or about love, or hate, or anger, or being high. This song happened to have a message about the politics that struck a chord with the voters in the Recording Academy. The point is you can’t listen to this song without considering it’s political message any more than you can listen to, say Celine Dion’s song “My Heart Will Go On” (just as an example!) without considering the message of love it has and the movie for which it was derived. I believe you are the joke for not taking that into consideration.
what’s oj doing in this? I see some serious problems with you dude.
People actually listen to this crappy music? The Grammys have no credibility. They haven’t awarded a real musician since the last time Bela Fleck won.