Speaking of Progressive Music…

You don’t like the sound of the truth
Coming from my mouth

I’m thrilled to see that the Dixie Chicks have hit number one with their new album, despite a complete lack of airplay on country radio stations. I got the album last week and have been listening to it on my travels, and I wish I could say it was as good as 2002’s Home, but it’s not. I’m glad they’re writing their own songs (along with collaborators like Mike Campbell and Keb Mo’) but they are not yet writing at the level of Patty Griffin. But it’s still a damned good album, and I’m very happy to see that good music is overcoming bad politics.

The Chicks have been attacking country radio for years — their last album, a huge country radio hit, declared in its opening song “Now they sound tired but they don’t sound Haggard / They’ve got money but they don’t have Cash / They got Junior but they don’t have Hank,” so it’s their political position, not their feelings about commercial country radio, that’s resulted in their ostracism.

But who cares. Natalie Maines said in Time Magazine that the only thing she regrets is her apology. They said what they thought, they were right, and they’re succeeding despite the opposition. Buy this album. Buy two for your friends.