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Dixie Chicks

Date: Jul 11 2004

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

There is no doubt in my mind that The Dixie Chicks have helped elevate the status of country music in America and beyond from niche to notorious. With their cool lyrics, fun themes, pop-influences and of course their good looks, they changed the way a lot of people think of pop country female musicians.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

John

Derek

John: Man, there are a lot of attractive female country singers aren’t there?

Derek: Yeah, there really are. Um, how ’bout The Dixie Chicks?

John: Yeah, I’d say. Ya know, besides Shania Twain and Faith Hill, The Dixie Chicks are probably the cutest.

Derek: Yeah, I’d say. Ya know, ya got a total of three there, ya know?

John: That works. And their music isn’t too shabby either.

Derek: Yeah, at least you can tolerate listening to it. You know, the others, I kinda turn the volume down a little, but The Dixie Chicks are good to listen to.

John: Do you have one of their CDs?

Derek: Uh, no I don’t but…

John: I wonder. I think they have two or three out now, right? Or maybe four?

Derek: That’s a possibility. I’m not sure.

John: Have you ever been to one of their concerts?

Derek: No, but I’ve been meaning to go.

John: I hear they rock. They’re not, ya know, traditional country. It’s…They kinda got some pop mixed in to it. So they appeal to a broad range of people.

Derek: Yeah, um, I would suppose that…ya know, they play ‘em on MTV so, I figure it’s a pretty broad range.

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Discussion

The first time I saw The Dixie Chicks, I was watching late-night TV at a friend’s house. They were singing their infamous song about Earl and they looked like they were having a great time on stage. They put on a really fabulous performance, but something made me uncomfortable. At first I wanted to write them off as being just another group of cute girls with “real” musicians in the background. Then I realized, “hey, you can be cute and talented”. Then I thought, “if they can do it, so can I”. So thanks to The Dixie Chicks, I started playing and writing my own music. Thanks a bunch ladies!