You go, Chicks ...

Hey there, y’all. Forgive my absence for a few days. I had a sick little one earlier in the week and some of you might know how that sidetracks you, what with the running for juice and the wiping up unpleasant spots … Anyway, my thoughts are musical today. Richmond held its collective breath last night as Elliot Yamin came thiiiiiis close to going down on American Idol. Granted, the other night wasn’t Elliot’s best, but bottom two? No way. Still, I wish he and everyone else had chosen better songs. In the entire canon of country music these nine songs were the best they could do? Couldn’t Katherine McPhee have knocked “Son of a Preacher Man” out of the park? Why didn’t Mandisa do “Crazy” or even “Stand by Your Man”? And if I’m not mistaken, Paris Bennett did “Cowboy Take Me Away” in the audition round. It’s a hard song to sing and she could’ve made a big impression with a good rendition. And speaking of the Dixie Chicks …

So happy today to see Melissa Ruggieri’s column on the Chicks and their brash return after being run out of country radio because they dared not to like the president. My favorite part was how K95 declined to comment on whether they would play the Chicks’ new single, “Not Ready to Make Nice.” K95 and their ilk were the biggest bunch of wimps when they dropped the Chicks from their rotation. I have not heard a single Dixie Chicks song on that station since the whole brouhaha (of course, I’ve pretty much stopped listening…) That happened three years ago, people! It seems like K95 is still taking the cowardly out instead of just saying, “We’re going to play good country music no matter what the politics of the artist.” Oh, by the way, can you tell I’m a huge Dixie Chicks fan? I’ll be buying three copies of their CD when it comes out May 23, just to help make up for the morons.