Andy Griffith made a great movie once called "A face in the crowd", where he played a country guitar picking wise man with a TV show who secretly despised his audience. He was brought down at the end when his girlfriend left a live camera on him so his hillbilly fans could hear what he really thought of them.
Twice this week I've thought about that movie. There is no doubt in my mind that Natalie Maines meant what she said about Dubya, but I don't think she's been honest since. (I know good people on both sides of the war and Dubya issue, so I'm not going to take sides this time on the Prez.) She didn't think for a second what she said in England was going to make it back here to the U.S., and it wouldn't have if not for Matt Drudge. I have few tears to shed for millionaires be they left or right wing, so I don't give a rats ass---but I do see this as a pure "face in the crowd" moment.
If Natalie were to continue to be honest she would tell her country audience that she thinks they are all brain dead redneck retards who can go screw themselves cause she's already got plenty of their money. The Chicks are a crossover act, and they would much rather sell records to the James Taylor "wine and cheese' crowd that we all know and love in Chapel Hill. It's hard to get a boner over someone who thinks you're a retard no matter how wonderful their last album was---and "Home" is a very good recording full of acoustic bluegrass soul. (Allison Kraus has ten times as much of it though).
To me, it's a no-brainer that Joan Osborne and Michelle Branch are the openers for these ladies this U.S. tour instead of good country or bluegrass bands.
Here we have a preview of the next Dixie Chicks CD called "Scud Muffins", featuring the new hit singles: "Screw You, Redneck", "Your Money, Our Bank", and "You Can't Have Your Bush If You Want Mine".
Maines is married to a Hollywood actor and would feel more at ease with him and Michael Moore in a hot-tub in L.A. than she would drinking beers with Toby Keith---but her country fans didn't know that 'til now. Does it really matter if the Chicks are laughing or crying all the way to the bank? Even people who want to burn their records have to buy 'em first. This was not a misunderstanding and I don't feel sorry for them---dobro or not.
The other "face in the crowd" moment was when the BBC "accidentally" left a camera on Dubya when he didn't know it was on, sending live feed of him fussing with his hair etc. Cameras hate Dubya, and he always looks bad when he's giving one of those speeches anyway. As in "A face in the crowd", the public got to see the "real man" behind the image, but also as in the film, I doubt it was an accident. ---Robin