Song 94: Not Ready To Make Nice, The Dixie Chicks

A lot of people wrote in to suggest this song to me. The video's great, and although I try to steer clear of TV and mainstream media, I recalled a little bit of the 'controversy' in Middle America around The Dixie Chicks. I'm not sure how well this song will hold up over time in terms of 'political music' though. Although it is a rockin' and righteous country song.

The short version of the controversy that led to the creation of Not Ready To Make Nice:

1. A woman in the band made a political statement at a concert.
2. Fans and Patriots took offense.
3. Fans and Patriots burned their albums (oh the fumes).
4. The woman received death threats.
5. Repeat.

It's a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Sayin' that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

Saturday Night Special: Box of Cedar, Marissa Nadler

Every once in a while, when researching the Top 100 Political Music Countdown, I'd be asked "What do you mean by political songs? You mean protest songs?" My standard answer was "It's whatever 'political' means to you... songs about war and peace, the rich and poor, power and the powerless. Lawyers, guns and money, whatever." There were usually a few follow up questions, as people seemed to look for permission to be political. They'd say "What about feminism?". I'd say "Sure!". They'd say "What about rap music?" I'd say "What century are you living in? How could there not be rap music?".

And every once in a while, around 2 AM, someone would say something like "Hey you know there's this great song I forget the name of, it's about this woman who loves this guy and no one knows she loves him and she waits 7 years for him to come home but he dies in the war and she's heartbroken and no one knows, but she's gonna tell them how glad she is he's coming home, even though he's coming home in a coffin and it's great and so sad I mean it's heartbreaking and you really need to put it on your list."

It's not on the list, because there's nothing in the lyrics to tell me that Box of Cedar carries a soldier. The line 'drone of doom' may hint at war. But it might not. Ask Marissa Nadler the next time you see her. She's incredible. Listen to this song late at night a couple times when no one is around.

And weep.

Song 95: 1999, Prince

“If I can't dance - I don't want to be part of your revolution."
- Emma Goldman


Do you know the story about Prince's damn fun Darling Nikki? That's a song about a girl the narrator meets in a hotel lobby and they end up having a really nice time together. Well, the real-life story goes that Tipper Gore caught her young daughter dancing to Darling Nikki and that was the impetus for Gore founding the Parents Resource Centre which led to those Parental Advisory stickers on album covers.

But Darling Nikki's not political, it just became part of a political debate. So I give you Prince's 1999. All the kids at school danced to this one too. But we didn't know it was about the bomb at the time.

Song 96: Christmas Time in Washington, Steve Earle

Steve Earle's 1996 post-election song 'Christmas Time in Washington' was written after Clinton had been elected for his second term, and suggested that while Earle was good with that outcome, he wondered if it mattered. He'd express regret for that sentiment at the end of the next election in 2000. But the song's plea for a progressive choice, a progressive voice, struck a chord with a lot of people.

So come back Woody Guthrie
Come back to us now
Tear your eyes from paradise
And rise again somehow

Here's a great feature on Steve Earle by the UK's Independent.