Poll: Should Women "Shut Up and Sing"?

Madonna's biography elicits strong opinions, what's yours?

Inside This Issue

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• Madonna’s gripping Billboard speech about being a woman in music

• The Chicks and country music’s dark underbelly

• Men whose words shook up the establishment

• ICYMI

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Madonna photo by Ralf Liebhold, Shutterstock

Poll: Should Women "Shut Up and Sing"?

A few weeks ago, I posted the following experience in Herizon Music’s private Facebook group about a short but surprising encounter with a female acquaintance at a local restaurant I haunt.

First, let me say that the biography, Madonna: A Rebel Life by Mary Gabriel, is a comprehensive page turner about the multi-creative’s life. I highly recommend it. Second, there were some strong reactions in the comments section of the post as well as in person. I’d like to get your opinion. What do you think of musicians using lyrics or stage time for expressing political or social commentary?

Madonna

Madonna shared her thoughts on mixing political/social commentary and music on Facebook in 2020. How? By posting this video clip of the late Nina Simone, who was often called The Voice of The Civil Rights Movement.

Of course, Madonna has never shied away from speaking her mind in public, on stage or off. Here is a short list of her most notable socio-political stances:

• One of the first A-listers to advocate and raise money for HIV/AIDS patients in the 1980s while others considered it too risky for their careers. She often dedicates “Live To Tell” (by Madonna, Patrick Leonard) to those who died of AIDS.

• Promoting equality and education in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, the U.S. and other countries via her Ray Of Light Foundation since 1998. In her song “What It Feels Like For A Girl” (by Madonna, Guy Sigsworth, David Torn) speaks directly toward the patriarchal philosophy that women are inferior. Note: The video was banned from MTV for its violent content, but MuchMusic aired it saying it wasn’t any more violent than what kids see on TV every day.

• Co-founding Raising Malawi with Michael Berg in 2006 to provide healthcare, food, shelter, and education to the 1 millions orphans in Malawi— there are only 17 million people in the whole country. Many were orphaned by AIDS/HIV and poverty. She was later criticized for adopting two children with whom she bonded and wanted to provide a better life. She produced the documentary I Am Because We Are to highlight the nation’s struggles instead of caving.

• Championing the LGBTQ+ and women’s rights throughout her career in too many ways to list. Her 2019 song “I Rise” (by Madonna, Jason Evigan, Brittany Hazzard) is her pep talk anthem for anyone who feels bullied or shamed.

• Releasing the “Like A Prayer” video and a number of other Catholic-soaked music/productions, the Roman Church found Madonna’s work to be blasphemous and banned her and led a national boycott against her music.

One of Madonna’s most defining moments was her acceptance speech for Billboard’s 2016 Woman of The Year Award. I cannot state STRONGLY ENOUGH how much her words impacted me and so many other women in the music industry. How do I know?

I ask all my podcast guests (and many other women in music) which woman has had the most influence on their careers. Aside from their mothers, Madonna is the #1 credited influence. Over the past 40 years, she has become Nostra Donna — not just because of her catchy tunes, cutting edge videos, and viral dance moves, but because she chose *not* to shut up and sing in spite of crushing societal pressure.

The Chicks

One cannot write about “shut up and sing” without writing about The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks). The country trio expressed their opposition to the U.S. invading Iraq at a 2003 London show when lead singer Natalie Maines stated they were ashamed that then U.S. President George Bush was from Texas.

It was part of the introduction to a song called “Traveling Soldier” (by Bruce Robison) about a teen befriending a girl before he’s shipped off to war so he has someone to write to while he’s away. The girl is eventually heartbroken when his name is called over a football game loud speaker on a list of “Vietnam dead.” It’s a gut wrenching story.

Up to that point, I had interviewed and met a lot of country music industry folks and fans and considered them more professional and kinder than their contemporaries in other popular genres. But I dub 2003 as the year that country music’s dark underbelly bared itself. Country music stations pulled The Chicks’ music from playlists and organized CD burning events. Fans boycotted the tour. The nasty rhetoric was shocking and fierce. The trio even received death threats, including a note that said “You will be shot dead at your show in Dallas.”

Country singer Toby Keith, who passed away this year, attacked Natalie publicly. He even displayed doctored photos of her next to Saddam Hussein at concerts. His and like-minded fans’ hateful speech and threats were clearly deemed acceptable because they were cloaked in patriotism and American flags. The message: If you criticized the president or weren’t outraged by the thought, you weren’t country enough. Before he died, Toby reflected on his words and actions:

“I’m embarrassed about the way I let myself get sucked into all of that. I disappointed myself,” he said, according to CMT.com. “I didn’t disappoint anybody else. Everybody else loved it. They wanted me to attack that. But I probably disappointed myself more than anything, because I’m better than that. It got pretty vicious sometimes, putting her and Saddam Hussein up on the screen. That was funny for a night or two, and then it was a little over the top for me. I’m not that mean.”

The Chicks came out with a documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing in 2006 to share their journey about the whole saga and where they went from there. The film’s name was derived from conservative talking head Laura Ingraham's book Shut Up and Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the Media are Subverting America. You may recall Ingraham telling basketball legend LeBron James to “shut up and dribble.”

That same year, The Chicks single “Not Ready To Make Nice” (by Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, Marty Maguire, and Dan Wilson) became their comeback track, winning three GRAMMY awards and becoming a certified double platinum hit. The bridge’s lyrics were jarring the first time music lovers heard them:

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
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 I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter and say that I better
Shut up and sing or my life will be over

For the record, The Chicks made like Madonna and integrated their socio-political views into their brand with their wildly success Gaslighter album and tour. Like so many artists throughout world history, public shaming and suppression had the opposite effect of their intended result.

Modern female artists who are regularly told to shut up and sing include Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Maren Morris, P!NK, Megan Thee Stallion, and Pussy Riot (this Russian group has been imprisoned for practicing free speech). Which artists would you add to the list? Leave their names and stories in the comments.

Men Who Didn’t Shut Up

It seems that public attacks are more cruel and long-lasting for female artists who speak up about social or political issues. But male artists are not immune. John Lennon’s 1969 anti-war protests were met with a four-year long lawsuit between Lennon and the U.S. government when President Nixon perceived his popularity a political threat (Lennon prevailed). In the court of public opinion, Yoko Ono was blamed for Lennon’s actions, including his leaving The Beatles. “Give Peace A Chance” and “Imagine” came out of those years.

And we shouldn’t downplay the enormous whipping that N.W.A. and Public Enemy endured in response to their 1980s-90s rap albums provocatively condemning police violence and killing of black people while spotlighting the harsh realities of growing up in neighborhoods ravaged by addiction and unemployment. Songs like “Fuck The Police,” where Judge Dre finds a police officer guilty of crimes against teens, scared the shit out of a lot of people and organizations. The first parental advisory sticker appeared on 2 Live Crew’s Banned In The U.S.A.

Pearl Jam was called out for on-stage criticisms of President Bush in 2003 (the same year as Natalie’s comments). But the fans and media were quicker to forgive. Now? Frontman Eddie Vedder still expresses the band’s socio-political values though in a more subdued fashion.

ICYMI

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