Chicks Not Ready To Make Nice

  Alas, the Dixie Chicks are back on the radio.  Well, sort of.  The controversy surrounding the new single, “Not Ready To Make Nice,” has sparked debate among radio folk and listeners alike.  Some suspect the Chicks are shutting the door on country music altogether, only to turn their attentions to top 40.  While that may be the case, choosing “Not Ready To Make Nice” as the first single from their highly-anticipated fourth album—instead of a less confrontational song—is clearly designed to drive a wedge right down the middle of country music.  It is a calculated attempt to rally support, pique interest, and sell records.

  And it will work.  The Dixie Chicks are the best-selling female group ever, with two albums certified Diamond (10 million sold).  In their eight-year career, they have earned nine Grammys and sold more than $100 million in concert tickets.  Simply put, they were country when country was cool.

  The Chicks were engulfed in controversy three years ago, when lead singer Natalie Maines, at a concert in London on the eve of the Iraq war, claimed that she was ashamed that President Bush was from her home state of Texas.  That remark sparked controversy so violent, it made the country music industry look like Watts in 1965.  Ex-fans built bonfires and burned the Chicks’ CD’s and merchandise.  Maines received death threats, and the group was forced to implement metal detectors at its concerts. 

  Because of Maines’ comments and the ensuing backlash, many country stations banned the Chicks altogether.  But that was three years ago, and whether the ban will hold remains to be seen.  Locally, K-Great 104 never banned the group, but hasn’t yet begun playing the new single “Not Ready To Make Nice.”  (K-Great is part of the Radio of Las Cruces cluster of stations, and is a sister-station to Hot 103.)  I asked my boss, Program Director Ernesto Garcia, if K-Great would play the song.  “Right now, we’re taking a wait-and-see approach.  If it begins to do well on the charts, or if our listeners start calling for it, we’ll consider it more seriously.  We haven’t banned them, but the song hasn’t yet proven itself.”

  Many programmers seem to be taking a similar “wait-and-see” approach.  It is the goal of any radio station to give the listeners what they want to hear, and the jury is still out in the court of public opinion. 

  The new CD, “Taking The Long Way,” will be released on May 23.  All 14 tracks are co-written by the Chicks and produced by Rick Rubin.  The backing band alone has many music fans talking.  With drumming from Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, guitar work from Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, and writing from Pete Yorn and Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, this album would seem to have the makings of their most creative effort to date.  “Not Ready To Make Nice” was co-written by Dan Wilson of Semisonic, and the album will feature a song co-written by Keb’ Mo and a guitar solo by John Mayer.

  Controversy notwithstanding, I predict that “Taking The Long Way” will debut at number one on the charts, and will go platinum soon after.  Mark my words.

-From Pulse
  March 30, 2006