Dixie Chicks, Commentaries, and Bonus items in iTunes

Sorry, I know we got off topic with the DC comments, but I need to follow up myself...

Everyone is claiming that Natalie should shut up and stay out of the politics. They make her 2003 comment out to be some kind of profound political statement, and as such, we are allowed to condemn them in response to her opinions. It was not a political statement at all; it was obviously a stupid joke on her part. She was smiling the whole time she was speaking those words, and she even laughed after completing the sentence. She admitted after the concert that it was just a joke in response to the large attendance of war protesters in the audience, yet the media never reported that. They made it sound as if she had a look of passionate intensity and anger on her face while speaking those words. Now I admit the joke may have been in bad taste, but you don’t crucify someone for political treason after making an off the cuff jest at our president. If that were the case than more than half the comedians in our country would be out of work. Their British comedians make fun of the Prime Minister and the Royal Family all the time in our country. Why would it be a mistake to make a political joke about our President in England? And don’t bring up the stupid ‘on foreign soil’ crap. England is our closest ally in this confrontation, they are NOT the enemy! The safety and well being of their soldiers are equally affected by this conflict, as their troops put themselves into harm’s way for the sake of our freedoms as well as their own. Their soldiers fight, and die, right alongside of our own. Neither side wants to see their loved ones make the ultimate sacrifice, but by working together both countries benefit. So how does anyone in their right mind claim that making a faux political statement on allied territory gives aid and comfort to the enemy. That has to be the most ridiculous pile of narrow-minded political excrement that the DC haters have ever concocted.

k.d. lang is Canadian.

Clear Channel (Corus Entertainment) has ruined radio in North America.

Bush is an idiot, the most incompetent president America has ever had. (not to mention the fact that he can't even pronounce simple words without stumbling over them)

The Dixie Chicks got screwed by stupid people who think it's not patriotic to speak out against something you feel strongly about.

Dissent is patriotic. It shows you actually care, instead of blindly following along with whatever your media tells you.

Michael hit the nail on the head. We have to distinguish between unconstitutional censorship and market forces.

If there is a threat of violence or government action because of political statements, then that is censorship, and clearly unconstitutional. This protection only works because it essentially works for everyone.

If someone says something that offends a large number of their audience, then makes it worse, then goads their audience, I can't muster up any sympathy. If k.d. lang started supporting GW Bush, what would happen to her audience?

Country music, such as it is, is one of the few entertainment niches that is dominated by a conservative market. You don't have to like it, you just have to acknowledge the fact and decide if you want to cater to that market.

Back to the Ranch. I have to admit I bought "Toy Story" online because my son was sick and I was too lazy/tired to drive to the store. I wish we had the extras.

An even better idea than making people pay for extras like commentaries for Heroes, why not give them away free? Battlestar Gallactica's producers publish a free podcast commentary after each episode airs. Of course this is mostly for the people who DVR the show and watch it once with the commentary and once without.

I hate to get this far away from the original post, but I must respond.

People did stop buying the DC CDs and going to their concerts. A number of shows in major cities we cancelled because of poor ticket sales. And how can you say it's not fair? Their are always consequences to actions. People exercised their rights by not buying CDs, concert tickets and calling radio stations stating they didn't want to hear their music.

The DC have every right to criticize the president, but their fans also have every right to not to agree with them and boycott their music. Simple as that. I live in the south and their remarks did not go over very well here. It wasn't strictly a political move by Clear Channel to pull their music like Howard Jeffrey states above. There have been plenty of artists that have critized the president and their music wasn't pulled off the airways. It was regular people that happened to support the president and didn't like what they said. I know quite a few people that were fans before but felt they crossed the line when they went political.

It's the same with movie actors. Once they go political some people who were originally fans realize that they views are so different from their own that they no longer want to support them by buying movie tickets or whatever.

As I said they everybody is entitled to free speech. Let's not just say that it's okay for one group and not another.

As for threats, yes, I agree. That's taking it a little to serious. Those people who threaten them with violence should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Unfortunately there are a lot of wackos out there.

I'm sure the Dixie Chicks are overall nice people. But they have to realize once you get political things can change very quickly.

Now, back to the original post. I have yet to download a movie from iTunes. I just don’t think it’s worth it. I’d rather buy the DVD and get the extra features included on the DVD then rip it and put it on my MAC or iPod. I haven’t bought a CD in years. I use iTunes exclusively for music.

Nuff said. That's my $0.02 worth and I promise not to post anything else not related to the original post!

The Dixie Chicks embarass me.

Let the dixie chicks bashing start.

Jordan
http://www.allabouttheaccessories.com

so damn liberal is bad? Please pay attention to our German friend. Remember something else: when the Chicks' music was "pulled" from the airwaves it was NOT because their "fans" wanted it pulled, but because Clear Channel owns 30,000 stations and THEY (for political purposes) pulled the band. The Dixie Chicks still sell more records than ever -- many more than the country "artists" that condemn them. (Toby Keith -- now THERE's some talent.) Please, propaganda and rhetoric have nothing to do with the truth....

Michael, I agree with you on the importance of free speech - I think Erica had a right to express her opinion, and Jeff also had a right to express his.

I just wanted to point out that the Dixie Chicks were indeed threatened, they received death threats (after exercising their right to free speech!)

wait... michael,

are you serious in saying the chicks didn't get any threats? you do realize their dallas concert was covered in police officers because natalie recieved a death threat, yeah? the chicks were frightened for their lives. that' isn't free speech, and that isn't okay.

people didn't stop buying their cd's. they simply bitched to country radio & country radio stopped playing them.

what happened to the chicks wasn't fair. they're ana amazing group of girls. their comments were taken WAY out of proportion & i just wish everyone would get over it.

[sorry about any typo's in my post. there is an insanse lag between what i type and what shows up on the screen]