Music to their ears

Many see Dixie Chicks8217; Grammy sweep as a referendum on Bush8217;s handling of the Iraq war

The Dixie Chicks8217; big win at the Grammy Awards on Sunday exposed ideological tensions between the music industry8217;s Nashville establishment and the broader, more diverse membership of the Recording Academy, which chooses the Grammy winners, according to voters and music executives interviewed afterward.

To some, the voting served not only as a referendum on President George Bush8217;s handling of the Iraq war, but also on what was perceived as country music8217;s rejection 8212; and radio8217;s censorship 8212; of the trio.

Jeff Ayeroff, a longtime music executive and an academy member, said the resounding endorsement of the group reflected the fact that the academy represents 8220;the artist community, which was very angry at what radio did, because it was not very American.8221; Ayeroff said he voted for the Dixie Chicks in at least one category.

At the awards on Sunday, the band 8212; Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison 8212; swept all five of the Grammy categories in which it was nominated, including the top three 8212; Album, Record and Song of the Year 8212; the first time all three have been swept in 13 years.

The awards amounted to vindication for the Dixie Chicks, who found their career sidetracked in 2003 after vocalist Maines told a London concert audience shortly before the invasion of Iraq that the band was 8220;ashamed8221; that the President hailed from their home state, Texas. In the furor that followed, country radio programmers pulled the multiplatinum-selling trio8217;s music from the airwaves and rallied listeners to destroy their CDs.

The storm flared anew last year when the Dixie Chicks released the album Taking the Long Way, which included the single 8220;Not Ready to Make Nice,8221; a defiant and bitter response to the group8217;s treatment. And things got worse when band members said they were not interested in being part of the commercial country music business; Maguire, who plays the fiddle, said the group would rather have fans 8220;who get it8221; instead of 8220;people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith.8221; Country stations once again all but ignored the Dixie Chicks8217; music.

The sweep reflected something of a retort to the Country Music Association8217;s annual awards, held in November, where the Dixie Chicks were shut out. 8220;When you go the CMAs, Alison Krauss doesn8217;t win Female Vocalist of the Year or Record of the Year, but she wins it at the Grammys,8221; Maines said backstage.