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Enter Natalie Maines, whod been trying the music programs at a series of colleges.
Her personality was the real selling point; her performances felt freed-up and charismatic.
She brought irrepressible sass and savvy to the group, and nixed the retro outfits.
Shania Twains youthful verve and forwardness definitely stood out.
Then the Chicks arrived, sounding like no one else.
It wasinitially recorded, rather blandly, by an all-male outfit that never released it.
The Chicks performance, positing female friendship as the best line of defense, became a platinum-selling signature number.
But during a dispute with Sony over unpaid royalties, the Chicks didnt hesitate to openly escalate it.
The Chicks wanted their young, female fans to see them taking up for themselves.
They were simultaneously circling back to the string-band sensibilities they found formative and stretching out.
From there, they got theatrical with what came to be recognized as a history-making feud.
At Keiths shows, the jumbotron displayed a satirically doctored photo of Maines cozying up to Saddam Hussein.
We do not want this war, this violence.
She paused, checking her fingering once more, before looking up and delivering a punchline with playful disgust.
And were ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.
That night, they toasted a successful performance.
It was at that point that the Chicks went from bemusement into crisis management.
All of this played out in the pre-social-media era, when scandals were metabolized more slowly.
April 2003:The Chicks maintained a united front while absorbing unambiguously sexist insults and death threats.
But the Chicks ensured their return to the televised affair would complicate those gestures.
The track possessed a handmade quality and a massive, gleaming hook.
They simply explained, We want to meet this moment, and simultaneously rolled out a musical manifesto.
Sonically, the Chicks had found a protest style suited to their singular gifts.
Thats not to say that the subject matter is carefree.
They tease out complicated desires.
They feel for those blindsided by betrayal before developing defenses, and that includes their younger selves.
