Elton attacks 'censorship' in US
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3902833.stm

Elton John has said stars are scared to speak out against war in Iraq because of "bullying tactics" used by the US government to hinder free speech.
"There's an atmosphere of fear in America right now that is deadly. Everyone is too career-conscious," he told New York magazine, Interview.

Sir Elton said performers could be "frightened by the current administration's bullying tactics",

The singer likened the current "fear factor" to McCarthyism in the 1950s.

"There was a moment about a year ago when you couldn't say a word about anything in this country for fear of your career being shot down by people saying you are un-American," he told the magazine.

The singer said things were different in the 1960s.

"People like Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, The Beatles and Pete Seeger were constantly writing and talking about what was going on.

Backlash

"That's not happening now. As of this spring, there have been virtually no anti-war concerts - or anti-war songs that catch on, for that matter," he said.

He voiced concern that it appeared acceptable to speak out if you were pro-Bush, using the example of country singer Toby Keith, but not if you were critical of the President, as in the case of country rock band, the Dixie Chicks.

"On the one hand, you have someone like Toby Keith, who has come out and been very supportive of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq - which is OK because America is a democracy and Toby Keith is entitled to say what he thinks and feels.

"But, on the other hand, the Dixie Chicks got shot down in flames last year for criticising the president. They were treated like they were being un-American, when in fact they have every right to say whatever they want about him because he's freely elected, and therefore accountable."

Sir Elton is currently in New York playing a series of concerts.

Thanks for the article...
 

but I found the above part about Toby Keith interesting...

He recently stated on a KWTV Channel 9 interview (His hometown is the OKC suburb Moore) that he has support for the troops but is totally against the war in Iraq, Mainly because he stated it seems "the facts did not support the real reason why we went into Iraq". I wonder why the national press never acknowledge's that?

It's funny, The recent comments made nationally about Toby Keith lately seem to be he is a pro-Shrub/hate-monger/war-monger whereas from the interview on KWTV he comes off as more "liberal-minded" than many are lead to believe...I'm not a fan of his by-the-way, But it's funny that his 30 minute interview made him sound the total opposite of what he has been betrayed as being.

As for Natalie Maines, She HAD my respect until the BS-fest she pulled during the Dixie Chicks May 2003 show in OK at the Ford Center...I can understand her frustration over the freedom to speak out against the war (She should be able to as Sir Elton says without having a backlash), But when her OWN fans wore shirts that also showed their FREEDOM OF SPEECH (Some in support of the Shrub adminstration & MAINLY those FIGHTING overseas) and you had requested your security GOONS to have ANY fans wearing THOSE shirts to either forfeit the shirts or be ejected outta the show I find that as total hypocritical BS (Especially when some of the fans INTIMIDATED were 10 yr old girls who were showing support for their Father who is in the US Air Force)!!!! This was reported widely by several media outlets in and around Oklahoma, Even by some that supported the DC until this episode occurred.

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0401/21/lkl.00.html

KING: That's Toby Keith with -- now, Willie Nelson and you do not share the same politics.

KEITH: No.

KING: Willie Nelson is a very, very liberal guy.

KEITH: Yes.

KING: And you could be called on the conservative end.

KEITH: Yes.
(snip)
CALLER: Don't you think it's a shame when you -- when some of your material kind of gets censored by the government? Like what happened to you and the Dixie Chicks?

KEITH: Yeah, I don't think I was censored by the government.

KING: No one censored you.

KEITH: And Pete Jennings, Pete Jennings isn't running for any office, is he?
(snip)
KING: What do you make over the argument about Iraq? It's obviously going to be big in the campaign.

KEITH: You know, I don't know. My stance on that has always been, I knew we were going into Afghanistan, no way around it. Without the Afghanistan country just turning over the Taliban and Osama and everybody to us, I knew there was going to be some conflict there, so I always feel for the troops and their families when they're going in.

And again, knowing their going into Iraq. It's not -- I've never had an opinion on it. I don't think that I'm supposed to have an opinion. I thought we were supposed to be in Afghanistan, but even though I was uncertain whether we were supposed to be in Iraq or not, I trust Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld and the president, whoever that may be at the time of war, a lot more than I trust...

KING: So if your president commits to war, you have to commit?

KEITH: I'm an American and I have to support our troops. At some point the anti-war stuff in America gets to looking to our troops like anti-American stuff.

KING: What do you do if you're a citizen who honestly opposes?

KEITH: You can support -- I'm all for you supporting that up until the war starts. Once the war starts, I think everybody needs to support -- somebody's got a mother, daughter, brother, sister, son whatever over there laying on the line for us so we can stay here in this big Disneyland we live in. I think you have to support them. They don't want to be over there any worse than the anti-war people. They want to be home with their kids, but they're not. They're over there fighting and I think they need all the support they can get more so about whether we should be at war or not.

This is a weird little coincidence...
KING: Where were you on the morning of 9/11?

KEITH: I was at a thoroughbred horse sale in Kentucky and...

KING: Do you own horses?

KEITH: Yes, I own thoroughbreds. And the FBI, I guess, had come in, and there was two Saudi Arabian princes that come in and buy horses at these sales, and they had big 747s there at the Lexington airport. And on my way to the sale that morning, they were -- the police were all around that -- those...

KING: Looking at the planes.

KEITH: Shutting those planes down

I wonder if his recent comments are because he's seeing some kind of backlash? :shrug:

Exactly...
 

why his comments have changed...One of the reasons I am not a fan of his, He seems to remind me of a "politician" who cannot decide which view he is for, Man his views sure changed from Jan 2004 to May 2004 (His interview with KWTV was immediately after the CMA's in May) :lol:

Though I will admit I like to rip on him because he used to wear a "Shag-mullet" years ago...LOL!!!!!

Btw, Censorship is why Al "What else can I create?" Gore did not get my vote in 2000, I remember this "organization" his wife participated in that was Pro-censorship of music (Tipper went as far as to once state "If my husband ever becomes President the PMRC will have easier access to censoring music")...I wasnt taking any chances with the censorship BS from Al Bore, But yet Shrub is a censor too, Tsk...tsk...tsk...

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Whatdoya expect...
 

from a redneck named Toby, A crew cut? Btw, A redneck named Toby is "very intimidatin'"...NOT!

I will (hopefully) be seeing his "liberal" bud Willie Nelson in concert soon along with the legendary Bob "...Mumbles..." Dylan

Brian "mulle-mulle-mulle-mulle" (Think Austin Powers in "Goldmember", But substitute the word "Mole" with "Mullet") j.

What a dumbass. :laugh: I'd like to know how our invading Iraq is protecting us and the fact that he trusts ChimpCo is the biggest giveaway. AND - he has the balls to say everyone should support every American operation, how ridiculous.

As for the Elton article, I agree. The current state of things reminds me of the Vietnam era. Remember what happened to Eartha Kitt and Jean Seberg? It's now happening to Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, and Whoopi Goldberg.

He's an idiot. I think some of the lyrics are "We'll put a boot in your ass" or something. Yeah, and he wonders why people all over the world hate this country and its people. :rolleyes:

I'm not sure I understand your position. Wouldn't you consider this censorship too? I wouldn't, but then I don't think what happened to the Chicks was censorship either. Their fan base, largely from the South or from the country genre of music, didn't agree with what they said. So they voiced theirs' by boycotting them. So what? The Chicks are still around and have every right to say what they want to, and do. Wouldn't be any different if an actor or actress expressed conservative opinions. You can bet there'd be some backlash from that by the largely liberal crowd in Hollywood.

Personally...
 

I think Toby Keith has jealousy issues due to the fact that Natalie Maines Mohawk mullet is more masculine than his shag mullet was in the late 80's...

Honestly, I think Natalie & Toby need to go play Twister in a mine field!!!!

The song you have is called "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue." Its lyrics that include the timeless gem, "We'll put a boot in your a$$, it's the American way." :rolleyes: It was actually written about the Sept. 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan, but by the time it was all over country radio, all the chatter about Iraq made people associate it with that war instead. I also recall that a major network news anchorman (I think it was Peter Jennings) criticized Toby for the language and badass attitude in the song.

Toby made himself look even more pro-Iraq war when he engaged the Dixie Chicks in a feud. Shortly after Natalie Maines made her infamous comments, Toby showed a giant doctored photo of Natalie sitting in Saddam Hussein's lap at a concert of his (or maybe it was an awards show appearance, I don't recall). Natalie responded by showing up at the next major awards show wearing a T-shirt that read, "F.U.T.K." And I think it died down after that. I guess the children took a time out and went to sulk in their separate corners. :laugh:

The song with the line about not knowing the difference between Iraq and Iran was "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning" by Alan Jackson. Alan seems to be quite socially conservative, so I guess he has that in common with Toby, but they're otherwise quite different. Alan is much more low-key and, IMO, much more respectful of women in his music, even if he does seem to believe in traditional husband and wife roles.

As for Toby's popularity, I think his appeal is with two main groups. One is the so-called NASCAR dads, i.e., white, male, working-class, socially conservative, frequently gun-owning good ol' boys, and the other is women who are attracted to good ol' boys with a bit of badass in them. The former of these two categories happens to be a demographic Nashville is targeting aggressively these days, and that probably accounts for the fact that Toby is all over country radio--although, it seems like every time I hear someone requesting one of his songs on our local country stations, it's a woman in the second category. Generally speaking, country fans (who are all over the country, but are most heavily concentrated in the South, the Plains states and the Rocky Mountain region) are divided on whether they like Toby or not, and most of the non-country fans just roll their eyes at him. Personally, I didn't care for him even before he became the poster child for red-state American uber-patriotism. His past hits have included such gems as "You Ain't Much Fun Since I Quit Drinking" and "A Little Less Talk And A Lot More Action." And of course, there's "I'm Just Talking About Tonight"--a song that basically expresses the sentiment, "Hey, baby, I don't want a relationship or commitment or nuthin' like that, I just wanna get naked with you tonight." Kind of ironic coming from a genre whose largest fan base is red-state Repugs who just love their Christian family values.

I could go on and one for paragraphs about how unlistenable country music has become during Dubya's reign of terror, but that's a whole other thread.

Incidentally, I've read elsewhere that Toby is actually a registered Democrat, but a very conservative one.

Eileen

Well, country music performers have been spouting mindless conservative drivel for a lot longer than Dubya's been in office. Charlie Daniels and Hank Williams, Jr. are two that spring immediately to mind.

There's a small vein of country performers that aren't wingnuts, and those are the ones I tend to listen to. You have to search a little bit to find them, but it's worth it. I don't listen to country radio at all. It's complete crap.

It just makes me love Elton John even more that he speaks out like that, considering there are probably many who wouldn't. Just as a sidenote, I would want to say that the Dixie Chicks still aren't being played here in Amarillo, which is only two hours away from Natalie's hometown -- Lubbock.

About Toby Keith, I hate the man personally, he has just came to represent something that I really don't like. Most people around here call it "patriotic," but I think most others find it as I do, ignorant.

I don't believe that Lux was talking about censorship, but rather the reaction that most people SHOULD have in regards to someone displaying an ignorant statement such as not knowing (or caring) about the difference between Iraq and Iran, but feeling we should just bomb 'em all.

And there are plenty of famous performers who express conservative opinions... Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Wood, Lara Flynn-Boyle, Chuck Norris, Pat Sajak, Dennis Miller and Kelsey Grammar, being chief among them... and I very rarely hear anyone blast them or conduct boycotts of their films, etc., the way the conservative/Republican party was boycotting and blasting the Dixie Chicks and anyone else speaking out against the war in Iraq.

There is a very scary mindset in the US right now, that to be anything other than a conservative is to be Anti-American, un-patriotic, or, worse, a "commie."

Good point. I've only been a country fan for about six years, and its entirely possibly that I stumbled into the scene during a particularly open-minded period. The mid to late 90s were a great time for women in country, and it seems that women are often the ones who address the more progressive and controversial topics in country music. Shania Twain's modern working woman persona is a far cry from the good little barefoot-and-pregnant housewife of Falwell and Robertson's dreams. And Martina McBride made a name for herself singing about topics like domestic violence and child abuse, and did so without resorting to preaching. Before them, you had people like Loretta Lynn singing about "The Pill" and Tammy Wynette singing about "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," but the female voices rose to a new level of influence in the 90s as women like Faith, Shania and the Chicks ruled the charts. In addition, whether you think he's overrated or not, Garth Brooks was a new breed of country star who didn't fit into conservative stereotypes--I remember a bit of controversy arising among country fans back in '98 or '99 or so when Garth sang alongside Elton John and George Michael at a gay rights benefit concert. Even if I don't always like his music and think he has a bit of an ego, the man won my respect right then. And you can never overestimate the impact Garth had on country music in the 90s.

But since around 2000, women have been pushed out of the spotlight more and more in country music. If you don't believe that, look at how often a woman has won any major country music award other than Female Vocalist, or how often a woman has had a #1 hit on the Billboard Country Chart. Recently, we had Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman"--a song with major red-state appeal. Before that, the most recent #1 was Martina McBride's "Blessed"--an ode to wedded, familial bliss--in March of 2002. Martina seems to have been appointed the token female superstar in country at the moment because she's very wholesome and family-friendly. But I miss the edge her music used to have. She's gone from singing about domestic violence ("Independence Day") and child abuse ("Concrete Angel") and social responsibility ("Love's The Only House") to singing about motherhood ("In My Daughter's Eyes") and girl power ("This One's For The Girls"). Moreover, Garth has gone into retirement (and his last few songs have failed to get much airplay). So now it seems like you can't listen to country radio for more than five minutes without hearing some song that sounds like it was written by either Dubya's propaganda machine or the Christian Coalition. If I want to be preached at, I'll go to church, thank you very much. :mad:

Really? Who are they and where can I find their music????? :D

Eileen