JCHDixie Chicks: A Keen Rambling
January 1st 2008 13:45
From time to time, I find that I get into rambling conversations with people about music and I don't stop until I realise about five minutes in that I have made a segue from Middle Eastern Politics to Toby Keith's weird tendency to come off as a hardcore Republican even though he is a Democrat, which then turns into a comment on the Dixie Chicks which somehow leads to my views on the new Reba McEntire record. Yes, it is sad but true. I basically have an uncanny ability to bullshit. That is good for my Bachelor of Arts...but bad for my friends who have no interest in my views on the latest Shooter Jennings bootleg.
Now, because of that, I am going to ramble here about my subject of the day: the Dixie Chicks.
Why? Because for some reason I can't get that "Voice Inside My Head" song out of my bloody head. Ironic? Slightly.
I adore the Dixie Chicks for a number of reasons. One being that I love the camaraderie between the three women: Natalie, Emily and Martie...(if you don't get what I am saying, I urge you to check out the Shut Up And Sing documentary). Another reason being the fact that the group has continued to deliver solid record after solid record, year after year for close to a decade. In all honesty, I fell in love with the Dix' when I saw them live in late 2006 on the Accidents and Accusations tour, not after hearing one of their records and being suddenly inspired. Yes, I'll admit it; I was ignorant to the Dixie Chicks for close to eight years. I had always had their music playing in the background at home with one of their songs occasionally popping up on my iTunes when placed on shuffle However, until I heard the vocals of Natalie Maines and the harmonies of Martie and Emily in "Top Of The World" live, I was just another random appreciator of the girls, scratch that, chicks that knew the lyrics to "Wide Open Spaces".
Now, after catching them live, I invested a little too much time in absorbing every song I could find and every interview I could Google. I have no idea why, but I suddenly became invested in this band because I was so enchanted by this amazing set that impressed me more than the Eagles...(these boys are amazing, but for some reason, the show I went to I didn't take to, though I never get sick of the Hell Frozen Over DVD). Twelve months on, I have not taken "Home" (2002) or "Taking The Long Way" (2006) out of my car in twelve month or so, coupled with the fact that I am now pretty sure the next time my boyfriend gets into the car and hears the live version of "Cold Day In July", I will soon be sadly identifying with that song in an all too literal way.
The reality is that like most people, I go through cycles of, okay, obsessions with certain artists. The pattern normally follows this theorem: I discover a particular artist of group for the first time, I suddenly feel the need to get my hands on all of their material and then proceed play it to death until I am desensitised to the music. Well, that hasn't happened with the trio from Texas.
I don't know if it's due to the fact that I am weird. If it is due to the fact that a lot of the music to come out of Nashville in recent years hasn't exactly shaken me to my core or if it's simply due to the fact that this group is now joining the ranks of Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire and Patsy Cline who are all in my pseudo Hall Of Fame or defining artists of my own life.
Anyway, if you do not have a Dixie Chicks record, shame on you, but I'll pick some of my favourite tracks for my own amusement from each record:
Wide Open Spaces: Wide Open Spaces, Tonight The Heartache's On Me
Fly: Goodbye Earl, Without You, Hole In My Head
Home: Landslide, Travelling Soldier, Godspeed (Sweet Dreams), Top Of the World, Long Time Gone
Taking The Long Way: The Long Way Around, Lubbock Or Leave I, Voice Inside My Head
I can't express how beautiful the vocals are on each record or how dignified the musical compositions are and the harmonies of the trio, are, can I use the word euphoria?
Take away the Bush incidents, the blacklisting on country stations and the politics and what you have are not only the highest-selling female band in history, but a group of strong women with instrumental virtuosity, remarkable ballads, keen fashion sense and an uncanny ability to not shut up and sing apparently (yes, that was clichéd, but I will own it).
| 76 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
