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Inspired By: The Dixie Chicks

22 Jun

Last week I saw the Dixie Chicks at Madison Square Garden. This was a concert I have been waiting to see for more than a decade!

The show was excellent and I was thrilled to hear and sing along to my favorite Dixie Chicks songs. I left the show humming “Cowboy Take Me Away”, and carrying a souvenir tote bag printed with a line from the song “Not Ready To Make Nice”.

I also left inspired to write about my favorite tracks from the Dixie Chicks’ catalog, as well as some other related music inspired by the concert.

Fly

How did a girl born and raised in Hudson County where “Wide Open Spaces” are a foreign concept come to love the Dixie Chicks? MTV, of course! The year was 1999 and I saw the music video for “Goodbye Earl” from the Chicks’ sophomore album Fly (available on CD and streaming in Freegal).

fly

Mary Ann and Wanda getting the ultimate revenge on the Wanda’s abusive* ex-husband Earl appealed to me as a baby feminist.

You can watch the video on YouTube of course and Freegal, sans commercials. Dear reader, please don’t try anything from the video at home–poisoning people is never a good idea.

Some other choice tracks from Fly:

  • “Cowboy Take Me Away”
  • “Cold Day In July”
  • “Hole In My Head”
  • “Sin Wagon”
  • “If I Fall You’re Going Down With Me”–my very favorite. I had hoped to hear this at the concert, but sadly it wasn’t on the set list. 😦

Wide Open Spaces

wide-open-spaces

The Dixie Chicks’ first album was Wide Open Spaces, released in 1998. (CD and Freegal) The title track of this record is now an anthem for women who want to spread their wings and leave home, but I am partial to “There’s Your Trouble”.

Home

home

The album Home (CD and Freegal) came out in 2002, and includes a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”. There are some sadder, more introspective songs on this record, such as “Traveling Soldier” and “Top of the World”, but “White Trash Wedding” brings levity. I think that the brash “Truth No. 2” was a precursor to the music the Dixie Chicks would make on Taking the Long Way.

Shut Up & Sing

shut-up-sing

The Dixie Chicks found controversy in 2004 when lead singer Natalie Maines made a negative statement about then President George W. Bush, which brought intense criticism and backlash from the country music community. The documentary Shut Up & Sing covers this period of the Chicks’ history.

Taking the Long Way

taking-long-way

From that turmoil came the Grammy-winning Taking the Long Way (CD and Freegal). This album was a game changer, and it is my favorite. This is a rare album I can listen to all the way through without skipping around.

Excellent tracks:

  • “Not Ready To Make Nice”
  • “Taking the Long Way”
  • “Easy Silence”
  • “Baby Hold On”
  • “Everybody Knows”

Sing “Lullaby” to your loved one, your baby, your teenager, your bae, your pet, or whomever you please.

Whenever anyone asks me, “Kerry, why haven’t you [insert milestone that others think I should have reached by now] yet?” I answer that I’m “Taking the Long Way”. Thank you, Dixie Chicks, for helping me answer that nosy but usually well meaning question!

Dixie Chicks Miscellany

If you want to dive deeper into the Dixie Chicks’ music, I recommend borrowing on DVD their VH1 Storytellers episode, where they tell the origin stories of some of their songs. I love to hear about artists’ inspirations for their work. Check out Top of the World Live (CD and Freegal) if you want to experience the Chicks in concert.

This New York Times piece about the Dixie Chicks and Kacey Musgraves as “Country Rebels” prompted me to borrow Kacey Musgraves’s recent release Pageant Material (CD and Hoopla) and savor the title track, “Late to the Party”, and “Biscuits”.

With the line “…mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy…”, “Biscuits” can serve as a good response to any nosy yet usually well meaning questions.

Are you going to any concerts this summer? Do you use song lyrics to respond to questions you’d rather not answer?

-Written by Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

*Click here for resources on domestic violence.

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The Mile Square City Readers Book Club Half-Year Review, Part 2

1 Apr

The Mile Square City Readers Book Club has officially been around for one year! We celebrated this momentous occasion with book discussion (of course!) and cupcakes.

Here is roundup of the books we’ve read in the past six months. Click here to read about what we read in the club’s first six months. If you would like to keep up with the Mile Square City Readers Book Club, send an email to reference AT hoboken DOT bccls DOT org to join our mailing list.

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

head-full-of-ghosts.jpg

For Halloween, we chose a spooky book, and A Head Full of Ghosts did not disappoint! When the Barrett family’s oldest daughter Marjorie show symptoms of schizophrenia (or demonic possession) it dramatically affects the family, who become reluctant reality TV stars by selling their trauma to ease financial burdens. In addition to scares, this book brought ripe discussion about whether Marjorie was truly mentally ill or faking it, or if she was actually possessed by an evil entity. You can borrow this title through eLibraryNJ as an eBook, or as an audiobook from eBCCLS.

The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty by Vendela Vida

diver-clothes

The group agreed that what the narrator of The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty, the November book, experiences is the ultimate traveler’s nightmare: losing their passport while abroad. After the narrator (whose name we never learn) reports her missing passport, the police in Casablanca give her one that belongs to someone else, whose identity she takes on. As the book unfolds, we learn why the narrator is quick to take on a new persona. This book is also available as an eBook in eLibraryNJ and eBCCLS and as an audiobook in Hoopla Digital.

Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton

hony-stories

For December we chose to read the newest book by the creator of the popular Humans of New York blog. Humans of New York: Stories includes the trademark pictures of average folks in NYC that are published daily on the blog and social media, with the addition of stories from the photo subjects. Brandon Stanton realized the interviews were as important as the pictures and included more in this volume. In the discussion, we talked about the stories in the book that moved us the most. You can borrow this book as an eBook in eLibraryNJ and eBCCLS.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

walden

Several book club members suggested Walden, which chronicled Henry David Thoreau’s choice to live self sufficiently near Walden Pond, as a way to start 2016 on an insightful note and decompress from the madness of the holidays. Thoreau built his home, planted crops to grow his own food, spent time outside of “society”, and learned about his natural surroundings. Listening to an audiobook adaptation makes the section where Thoreau discussed various animal noises extra entertaining. Walden can be borrowed as an eBook and audiobook from eLibraryNJ and Hoopla Digital.

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by Z.Z. Packer

drinking-coffee

In February the group read Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, a collection of short stories by Z.Z. Packer. It was consensus that the stories were beautifully written. The stories had connecting themes that tied them all together, and the characters were interesting to follow. The title story “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” was the favorite. This book is also available as an audiobook through Hoopla Digital and as an eBook through the 3M Cloud Library.

Opening Belle by Maureen Sherry

opening-belle

The group found Opening Belle, a fictionalized account of a female managing director of a Wall Street bank leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, to be a quick and enjoyable read. While some found the character development lacking, it was agreed that the protagonist Belle definitely evolved throughout the story. The book also brought forth discussion on issues working mothers face, and the pressure to have a balanced home and professional life. In addition to print copies, you can read an eBook on one of the library’s lendable eReaders.

Thank you to our members who have joined our discussions and shared their opinions and stories for making our first year so wonderful!

We always welcome new members to the Mile Square City Readers book club, so grab a copy of The Widow by Fiona Barton from the second floor reference desk (or borrow one of our Kindles and iPads if you prefer digital books) and join our discussion of the book on Thursday April 28, 2016 at 7:30 PM.

-Written by Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

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