Dixie Chicks vs. R. Kelly
 

Okay, so random thought I had this morning when that stupid R. Kelly song came on the radio.

All kinds of people are crazy over what the Dixie Chicks said, all these boycotts, etc.

R. Kelly is a friggin' child molester, kiddie porn freak, but his album is doing fantastic.

Just doesn't make sense.

I listen to both R. Kelly and the Dixie Chicks and if you can remember when the R.Kelly thing first went down, people were boycotting his cd, and banning his music from some radio stations. You have to keep in mind that the R.Kelly fan base and the Dixie Chicks fan base is pretty different and if the majority of people who listen to Dixie Chicks are conservatives, then of course they would be more offended by Natalie's comment. I personally did not stop listening to either R. Kelly or Dixie Chics throughout either of their fiascos. I like their music and I could care less about their political views or what they do in their spare time. Its entertainment so enjoy it. ;) If anything...I did go out and buy the Dixie Chics cd soon after I heard about the drama because I do believe people are blowing this whole thing WAY out of proportion . Its really not that big a deal. BTW, the new Dixie Chicks CD is great.

Well the Dixie Chick's market is a lot different than R. Kelly's. Country music listeners tend to be more conservative and have a very different idea of what being patriotic means. I think it's kind of frightening sometimes:D but that's what you have.

R. Kelly's fan base probably includes a lot of O.J. apologists...so there ya go:D

I was not going to respond initially, but the last part of your comment was UNNECESSARY!

I think comparing the Dixie Chicks to R. Kelly is offensive. The Dixie Chicks did not break any laws.

I do boycott R. Kelly's songs on the radio (and would NEVER buy his CD) because I think having repeated sex with minors is disgusting and he should be put into jail.

What the Dixie Chicks did was stupid but fell well within the US Consititution.

Yes, both parties have vastly different audiences and both audiences have a right to purchase, boycott, or anything else that they choose.

However, considering R. Kelly's audience also re-elected Marion Barry after he was found smoking crack with a prositutite in a hotel room that TAX PAYERS PAID FOR, I'm not surprised R. Kelly is still on the radio.

WTF is going on with some posters on this thread? :confused:

I was wondering the EXACT same thing.

These comments are wrong on so many different levels. (ZTAngel is shaking her head)

I was an R Kelly fan and I am certainly NOT an OJ apologist.

I don't know WHY you are surprised? History repeats itself on GC.

I second that :D

For REAL. I mean, reelected Marion Berry? OJ apologists? Why don't you just come out and say it?

It never ceases to amaze me, the mindset of some GCers.

What if someone had come on and said "Well what you do you expect? Dixie Chicks fans are the ones burning crosses, so there ya go"? Same thing. Y'all would be pissed.

For the record, OJ did it.

As for the topic, there WAS an initial backlash against R. Kelly. I think after a little while people will stop caring and go back to buying Dixie Chicks albums and playing their songs on the radio.

THESE people are also the same folks who PROBABLY:

the folks who want Al Sharpton to win in 2004

like Michael better as a Black man


**These are all barbs @ the original quotes, tongue in cheek comments, etc. etc.***

I've always liked the Dixie Chicks, and never particularly cared for R. Kelly. I mean, "I Believe I Can Fly"????! Gag me! I HATE THAT SONG!:rolleyes: :mad: So many other people do what he tries to do so much better. I definately wouldn't boycott the Dixie Chicks-they did not break the law. I wouldn't have bought R. Kelly's album anyway, so it's kinda hard for me to determine what I would do about that.

but have the Dixie Chicks ever rhymed "ignition" with "edition" and "kitchen"? I think not. Who's the real artist here?

How short memories are...

I wasn't even IN the US, and I remember the boycotts and the burning of R Kelly CDs were aired on CNNWorld. Like someone said, the Dixie Chicks thing will die down. Plus, the comparisons between an alleged rapist (of minors, no less!) and a woman who simply exercised her First Amendment right to free speech were not needed.

I love the way that some of you tried to pigeonhole R. Kelly's audience. If you are going to make such immature, uneducated, and RACIST comments as, "R. Kelly's fan base probably includes a lot of O.J. apologists," or "However, considering R. Kelly's audience also re-elected Marion Barry after he was found smoking crack with a prositutite in a hotel room that TAX PAYERS PAID FOR, I'm not surprised R. Kelly is still on the radio," please remove your letters from your signature. I don't think your respective organizations need that sort of publicity.

Sad, but true. Some folks just don't have a frigging clue about things.:( :mad: :(

I love the way that some of you tried to pigeonhole R. Kelly's audience. If you are going to make such immature, uneducated, and RACIST comments as, "R. Kelly's fan base probably includes a lot of O.J. apologists," or "However, considering R. Kelly's audience also re-elected Marion Barry after he was found smoking crack with a prositutite in a hotel room that TAX PAYERS PAID FOR, I'm not surprised R. Kelly is still on the radio," please remove your letters from your signature. I don't think your respective organizations need that sort of publicity.

Munckin03 I was thinking the same thing...But I was going to let it slide.;)......Greek Chat....I tell ya...... :rolleyes:

It's not racist to say that his audience doesn't give a rat's ass about his (R.Kelly's) morality. Perhaps it was a bad example which some folks seem to have blown out of proportion.

Perhaps it was a poor choice of words. If that offended anyone I apologize.

Anyhow.. to reword it and not be called a racist.. R.Kelly's fan base doesn't give a crap about his sick decisions (most probably aren't even aware of his moral transgressions). They just like the music.

You're taking the thread-starter's position out of context. They compared the respective reactions, not the level of moral transgression. I don't think you'll get much argument there.

ummm.... i in absolutely NO WAY likened one incident to the other. R. Kelly disgusts me, and I think the Dixie Chicks had every right to say that.

I had no intention of this turning into a racial based threat.

I was talking about the respective reactions. R. Kelly committed a horrendous crime, and the Dixie Chicks committed absolutely no crime what so ever and something that they had every right to say.

I just thought it strange that the reactions were so different. I personally don't remember a whole lot on when the R. Kelly thing initially happened.... but it continues to happen, he keeps on getting caught with stuff. No one seems to care now.

Sheesh people, chill out :D

Dunno dude, I bet they all have personal trainers, and are pretty jacked and all - but three on one? I'd take the Dixie Chicks in a fair fight any day, they have the option of nails too, that could turn the tide.

Oh yeah, and Dixie Chicks fans drive like *this* while R. Kelly fans drive like *this* . . . wow


-RC
--Paging Rudey to this trainwreck of a thread . . . now paging Rudey

Who doesnt?

I am responding to the first few posts, where someone said it wasn't a big deal....I think it is on both parts. I am an R Kelly fan and I hate country music period but I think what both artists were wrong. Even though one broke a law and one didn't but the important thing is the image they put out. Do we really want to support an artist who turns their back on their country...I am a military brat and I find it very insulting when people bash anything about America especially when Americans are dying for their right to say S*** like that.
As for the R.kelly thing- its really hard to compare that situation to the dixie chicks because one appears to be about patriotism and one is straight up child abuse. However, I didn't stop listening to rkelly but i did stop buying his cds, instead I burn. My philosophy is if I don't respect you I am going to burn your cd versus buying it. I love hard core rap that is repetitive and full of swearing but I don't respect what some artists stand for so I don't buy, I burn.
Sorry so long but I get opinionated.

And why are people still supporting Whitney...she smokes CRACKROCK.

huh. :eek: huh? :confused: huh! :mad:

Though I'm not a Dixie Chick fan, i like to know how they turn their back on their country? By criticising the President during conflict? If that is the case, I guess there is abundatn of citizens in this country arwho turned their back. Remmember, many were against vietnam, did they turned their back? The Bosnian conflict saw many people critising the president. Did they also turned their back against American. No, it means they disagree with the policy and maybe even the man who implemented the policy.

Turning your back on your country is fine.. Hopefully the country will turn its back on you for it though.

And comparing a 3-week conflict to a war that lasted several years and ended up with around 5000X more American casualties is like comparing apples to oranges.

I'm surprised no one mentioned Roman Polanski - he slept with a 14 year old (maybe 13, i forgot), had to leave the US to avoid prosecution, and won an Oscar.

Now how about that?

Someone paged me
 

Anyway, I just want you all to know that Michael Jackson is probably the best singer out there. Crimson Tide had to just throw his name into this thread and trivialize his work, but Mikey is the most innovative singer of the last 20-30 years in my book. Crimson Tide, shame on you.

-Rudey
--The age of 18 is so relative anyway. Tom told me that if they can crawl, they're in the right position. I have no idea what that means but he also listens to R Kelly.

Damn Rudey, you crack me up! I thought that the expression was if there is grass on the field, they're old enough to play ball or something like that.

I like Michael Jackson.

I could care less about R. Kelly or the Dixie Chicks.

Now why did someone have to throw OJ out there?

I recently read that Sinead O'Connor is retiring from music this year. I thought that she retired when she tore up the photo of the Pope on SNL a decade ago. I think that her big mistake (aside from ripping up the picture of the Pope) was that she didn't apologize and continued in her tirade against the Catholic Church. The Dixie Chicks could learn a lesson here. They should just apologize and remove themselves from the political dialogue or they could wind up just like Sinead O'Connor, a very talented outcast who could never recapture her previous success.

r. kelly should be in jail. no questions asked. parents who let their kids listen to his music need their heads examined. but then again, most music nowadays shouldn't be listened to by kids because of the lyrics

Did you forget? Crack is cheap. Whitney makes TOO MUCH MONEY to ever smoke crack. :p

I don't think you can even COMPARE the two... R. Kelly did something illegal. The Dixie Chicks expressed their opinion about the government... which as far as I know, is still legal, since we do live in America. Now, if whoever disagrees with the Dixie Chicks wants to boycott them, they can go right ahead and do that. But to me, their political views have nothing to do with whether or not I enjoy their music.

R. Kelly on the other hand... I would not support him by purchasing his CD or claiming to be his fan after all of this. Doesn't mean I don't KINDA like "Remix to Ignition" though...

Cosigning all of the above.

I could be wrong, but I don't think "edition" is anywhere in the song.....:rolleyes:

I do not (repeat DO NOT) condone or support him in his "extra curricular activities", but I am still a fan of R. Kelly's music and work as an artist. The man is talented and can be credited with writing/producing/collaborating on some of the hottest songs out now and ones that go back to the beginning of his career. I listen to the Dixie Chicks too, but not enough to comment on their music or artistry. The comments that they made were no different than those made by regular people on the street. Artists and those in the public eye do have to be aware of how people perceive them, but I think the DC thing was blown completely out of proportion. Now, what doesn't make sense to me is how no one is really "patriotic" until there's a national crisis.........

I think that most people on this board don't have RP as a frame of popular culture reference--hence the omission. He's been out of the country for what, 25 years? It's not as if he's fallen out of the public eye entirely (at least not in film circles), I read interviews with him discussing his life in Paris well before the success of The Pianist. I think he should be a man and come over here, he will probably receive a suspended sentence, and go back to Paris and continue his life.

kddani, you may not have intended to turn this into a racial incident, but some of the people who responded to the post made blanket statements that could have been construed as thinly veiled bigotry. Before I called said respondents to task, I mentioned the inherent differences between the R Kelly controversy and the Dixie chicks thing by discussing factors which impacted the way the public viewed each incident.

What aRHOgantdeuce22 said about how how no one is really "patriotic" until there's a national crisis is absolutely true. I also imagine that there are some people on this board, if this had happened three years ago, would have been agreeing with the Dixie Chicks if they said they had been ashamed to be from Arkansas. Consistency, people! :p

uh, i don't. i think the man did a horrendous act and last time i checked, we weren't questioning his manhood......we were protecting other 13 yr olds. since he's not a citizen of this country, we can ban him, thank GOD....unlike R. kelly who can apparently just go about his business (which is ridiculous, too, btw). but he is a really good example of this whole thing, i guess.......i was never a huge fan of the dixie chicks.....a lot of their stuff was over-played here, so it got old in a hurry. i never owned any of their cds in the first place, so i would be banning something i never intended to buy--pointless. i don't agree with them politically at all, and i choose to not see them as much as possible, so i'm ok with cmt not playing their stuff or whatever it is they're doing. however, if they chose to play their videos, i'm not gonna get pissie with cmt, i'm just gonna change the channel. as far as r. kelly....i dig the ignition song, but if radios banned it or whatever, and i wanna hear it that bad, i can buy it/burn it. i haven't bought his cd, i won't buy it, but i did burn the song and i'm ok with it. same thing goes for DC fans!! i think these r kelly types and polanski people are sick.....but that doesn't mean i don't enjoy their work. poe was a crack-head, too, and he wrote some amazing stuff! judge not lest ye be jugded, folks..........that's how i feel about this whole situation now, i guess. i don't have to agree with anyone, i don't have buy their shit, but i can enjoy their artistry if i want to. call it hypocritical, but i just think it all comes down with how much you are a)willing to put up from a public person in their private lives and b)how much you really like their work. if you liked the DC, but hated their statement, you are well within your own rights to not buy their music......if you were ok with their statement, cont buying and enjoying what you like. same for r kelly (the arguement can always be made that "i don't like so-and-so, i just like this song"--for example, i HATE britney spears, but i LOVE that "boys remix" song of her's)....i don't think ANYone is gonna agree with what he did, but if you just super-like his music, who's to say you're wrong for buying music you like. yes, you're supporting a "bad, bad man".....but we also just gave an oscar and a standing ovation to a man who got on a 13 yr old......they both broke the law in serious (!!) ways....how should one be celebrated and the other not?
i hope i'm not completely sounding random/contradicting....remember i am re-cooping from a serious night of drinking.......hopefully i make some sense. but i, for one, don't think ol' dude should "be a man and come over here"......he'd end up in prison within 2 minutes if he did, anyway. he's not being a coward by not showing his face here, munchkin...he's obeying his sentence.
and as for ppl not being "patriotic" until a national crisis....sometimes it takes something like 9/11 to make ppl sit up and realize what they have. i've always been a proud american, but no, i haven't always had a flag sticker on my car. you never know how ppl really are until you get them in a crisis....i'm glad to know america gets angry, gets proud, and gets to work.

This is a reply to Arya--I see a big difference in being opposed to a president's decision or a situation, but to go on another country's soil and diss your country by talking bad about the president to me is turning your back. Would you not be offended if one of your sorority sisters went somewhere and talk bad about the way your organization is run? I would at least and I think they are the same situation because you belong to each the sorority and the country and whether or not you agree with what is going on you shouldn't diss it there is a level of loyalty that has to be maintained. You can have your opinion but that was an inappropriate place to announce it.

I'm not trying to sound hateful to you or anything so don't take it that way.

Clarification...
 

Uhh, actually you're wrong. Polanski fled before any sentencing could be done--essentially, he jumped bail. He's not obeying his sentence, as there is no sentence to obey. His exile is a result of his avoiding the law, not to protect other 13 year olds. It also has nothing to do with being a non-citizen, although he will probably never be able to live in the United States as it will be next to impossible to get a visa.

Maybe to make this a little clearer, I should have said, "He should be an adult, and come over here." Of course we're not questioning his manhood. He has said that he wants to come and resolve the legal issues regarding his exile. So, all I'm saying is, why doesn't he do it?

I have noticed that it is easier for people to be patriotic when their guy is in charge. Also, national crises don't always inspire patriotism as much as they do jingoism (what I see now). There is a difference.

Quoted from AlphaGamDiva:
i think these r kelly types and polanski people are sick.....but that doesn't mean i don't enjoy their work. poe was a crack-head, too, and he wrote some amazing stuff! judge not lest ye be jugded, folks..........that's how i feel about this whole situation now, i guess. i don't have to agree with anyone, i don't have buy their shit, but i can enjoy their artistry if i want to.

I couldn't agree more. I love the Dixie Chicks and think that what Natalie said was out of context (although she does have the right to say what she wants to say), I'm not going to stop buying the music. She has every right to say how she feels- all the celebrities did it at the Oscars and they aren't getting slammed because of it. As for R.Kelly, i love the song, but not his music. Yeah, what he did was sick, but it doesn't affect his music. I totally agree with the Poe comment, as well... good comparison.

Quoted from Cream:
The Dixie Chicks could learn a lesson here. They should just apologize and remove themselves from the political dialogue or they could wind up just like Sinead O'Connor, a very talented outcast who could never recapture her previous success.

They did apologize. A few times. But the media will choose to show what they wish, and a lot of the media didn't choose this. They're over it. Bring our troops home and let's get this thing over with...

my bad, munchkin...like i said, rough night, plus i don't know all the grim details of mr. polanski.....i just thought he wasn't allowed back here, and assumed (oops) he had been sentenced with the boot. thanks for the info, though.

as far as my personal patriotism, seeing as though i can't speak for anyone else.....since 9/11, i've decided to join the nat'l guard. it's been a long, thoughtful process, and i haven't signed yet, but am going to asap. with everything that's happened in the past few years, i just feel like it's something i can actually DO instead of sitting around talkin a bunch of talk that's not doing a whole lot. ya know? plus, what makes this an even better decision in my mind, too, is that Bush is president right now. and it's always easier to be patriotic when "your guy" is in charge....when the big guy pisses you off, it's natural to be a lil testy. no matter who is in charge, though, i always am proud to be an american...i may not always be so proud of who is representing us, but it's always pretty damn skippy to live here than say, oh, france?
so, that's how i am showing my patriotism. i'm not hiding behind a flag, i'm not just decorating my house/car in american flags, i'm going out and serving my country. jus'sayin....