Tag Archives: Taking the Long Way

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Song of the Day #5,237: ‘Baby Hold On’ – The Chicks

The 2006 album Taking the Long Way was The Chicks’ first following the fallout over lead singer Natalie Maines’ criticism over then-president George W. Bush. Though they had been blacklisted by country radio and received death threats from angry idiots, they ended up recording one of the best-received records of their career.

The album went double-platinum, a far cry from three previous albums that sold three to five times as many copies but still impressive. And it won five Grammys, including Album, Song and Record of the Year. They might have lost a ton of fans, but they gained a ton more.

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Song of the Day #3,641: ‘Takin’ My Time’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

It’s been almost nine months since Tom Petty died of cardiac arrest brought on by an accidental drug overdose.

One of the drugs, fentanyl, also contributed to the deaths of Prince and Lil Peep. This is certainly the only context in which Lil Peep’s name will ever be mentioned alongside those legends.

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Song of the Day #1,688: ‘Silent House’ – Dixie Chicks

dixieThe other day I was thinking about R.E.M. — that one could argue they called it quits about five albums too late. Certainly they released some worthy music in the post-Bill Berry years, but nothing that stands up to their best work.

I was reminded of that thought when this Dixie Chicks song popped up as today’s random selection. I don’t know if the Chicks have officially called it quits (Wikipedia suggests they haven’t) but their last album, Taking the Long Way, was released seven years ago and counting.

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Song of the Day #255: ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ – Dixie Chicks

dixieCan you believe there was a time not too long ago when saying something mean about George W. Bush could result in death threats (to the person who said it, that is, not to George W. Bush)?

I guess when you say it shortly after 9/11 on foreign soil and you’re a country singer, you should expect a bit of backlash. But the firestorm that erupted over Dixie Chick Natalie Maines’ comment that she was ashamed President Bush was from Texas was unreal. Death threats, CD burnings, radio bans… whoa. And it was all captured in the excellent documentary Shut Up and Sing.

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