3/8/21
Every March 8 celebrates International Women’s Day and the importance that women play in the world. I was not really aware of International Women’s Day until this date three years ago. I was studying abroad in Spain at the time, and the women of Spain planned a work boycott on the 8th. The motto and goal of the day: “if we stop, then the world stops.” From my understanding, this was the first feminist strike of extreme scale in the country’s history. Labor strikes are not uncommon in Europe, but the unions always have a schedule when one occurs, especially the transportation strikes. They are normally just an inconvenience but not super impactful. During my short visit to the Italian capital city (Rome), a labor strike forced the metro to shut down. This really was not a big deal because the bus system was still fully functioning, and I ended up using my own 2 feet to transport myself over the city (what an incredible walking city).
The women’s labor strike in Spain was a different story. Thursday mornings around 8:30 in the morning, I would begin my 12 minute stroll to my 8:40 Art Class with Señora Elena (nobody ever arrives to anything on time in Spain. It’s the culture.) This morning, though, Elena cancelled class. Now, I do not remember if she was participating in the strike or if she could not get a bus from Madrid. Either way, the normal schedule was altered. I decided to hit up the local panadería to get some pastries and enjoy the class off. I turned the corner on Calle Juan Bravo to meet disappointment. Of course, the panadería was closed too! That whole day in Spain was WILD. If I remember correctly, around 70 percent of flights were canceled and so many of the bus and train transport schedules were completely thrown into the blaze. To visualize the state of the country on March 8, 2018, recall the episode of Spongebob Squarepants when Spongebob clears his mind of everything but fine dining and BREATHING. But, he cannot remember his name when Squilliam asks.
That’s a very hyperbolic visual of the economic chaos of that day. I could find how much money was lost in the economy that day, but that would require me to cite something.
Ever since that day 3 years ago, I definitely will not forget that March 8th is International Women’s Day. Props to all of the women who orchestrated the strike and the millions that participated in the movement. That’s how you run a successful and non-violent strike, and people definitely noticed. The strike halted the economy for that one day and showed the country and world that women are essential to the success of the economic engine.
Three years later, I celebrate International Women’s Day with the same spirit and bravery that these women showcased through my daily music album. One group that really exhibits the same enthusiasm perfect for International Women’s Day is the band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks. Their 2006 album, Taking the Long Way, perfectly exemplifies female badassery. There is a lot of backstory before the making of this album, and I only know the details from the album’s lyrics and reading Wikipedia articles. Basically, the Chicks were ostracized from the country music scene for speaking out negatively against fellow Texan President Bush and his war policies. It’s ridiculous that people hated the Chicks due to their anti-war political opinions. John Lennon, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters, and pretty much every musician during the Vietnam War had anti-war or anti-American views, but none of these artists were cancelled in the way the artist formerly known as the Dixie Chicks. Sadly, sexism likely placed a roll in their cancellation since the Dixie Chicks were an all female group. For almost everyone, a fall from the top is impossible to rebound. But, these women responded to the world in the best way possible: a perfect album that displays their incredible musical talent.
Very very few albums are considered perfect albums. I’d define a “perfect album” as an album with zero filler songs while varying the feel and sound of each song. Dixie Chicks’ Taking the Long Way is a perfect album. Every song is great. Some songs are better than others, but overall every song really stands out on its own. As for the feel variation, this is definitely the case. The album includes a full-on-Americana badass driving song (“The Long Way Around”), a drinking salon song (“Bitter End”), a song that the musicians clearly wanted the world to hear (“Not Ready to Make Nice”), a great feel good song (“I Like It”), a soft beautiful ballad song (“Lulliby”), and a super groovy blues song with a simple message and the incredible guitar skills of John Mayer (“I Hope”). I could write about every one of these songs, but I’ll focus on one of my favorites with a short shout out to another favorite.
First, I want to shout out “Voice Inside My Head”. WOW. This is a damn good song. First, the instrumentation. All of the instruments balance so well with each other and with Natalie’s vocals. In the video below, you can see like 4 or 5 guitars playing. You can’t see it in the video, but Emily plays my favorite instrument, the sitar, in the pre-chorus part of the song. The sitar is not something one hears very often in a country song (this song really busts through any sort of country music boundaries), but it’s so awesome! The sheer amount of instruments coincide so well with the lyrics of the song. There’s so much going on inside your own head, and sometimes all you want to hear is your own voice. Natalie has such a powerful voice, and she delivers her vocals perfectly to shine through the beautiful “noise” of the instrumentation.
Even though I really enjoy every song, there is a clear favorite for me: “The Long Way Around”. Something about this song connects with me so much. It provokes my sense of adventure and curiosity, while teaching me that it’s perfectly okay to be continuously figuring out life. No one ever has life figured out at any point and time, and that’s the beauty of living! The Chicks hooked me with the opening stanza:
“My friends from high school
Married their high school boyfriends
And moved into houses
In the same zip codes as their parents lived.
But I, I could never follow.”
I’m completely onboard at this point. Only 5 lines into the album! I love my family and my hometown, but the first 4 lines sound absolutely awful. I would feel trapped in the hometown bubble, ONLY hanging out with family and high school friends (I bolded “only” because I love my high school friends and family). There’s so many interesting places and people outside the bubble of the hometown. I feel sorry for the people trapped in that sort of lifestyle. They may be happy with that lifestyle, but that’s unfortunately the only life they know. I could never follow.
This song is about moving forward in life and never staying stagnant. Everything could be going perfectly, but there’s always shit that happens in your life that you have no control over. For the Chicks, they expressed their political distaste for President Bush, and they could not control the way that the public and their fans reacted toward their thoughts. There is no going back to that moment in the past because the past cannot be changed. The future, however, offers so many possibilities. While you do not have complete control over the events that will happen in your life in the future, you can control the way in which you carry yourself. You have to stay true to yourself through all of the shit and chaos. These lyrics towards the end of the song explain this idea:
“Well, I fought with a stranger and I met myself
I opened my mouth and I heard myself
It can get pretty lonely when you show yourself
Guess, I could’ve made it easier on myself.
But I, I could never follow.”
I can definitely take a lesson from the Chicks when encountering shitty situations. Obliviously, they did not enjoy the backlash that came after their President Bush comments. But, they moved forward with grace and dignity, and never backed down from their opinions. In their eyes, they were right. This future was a vastly different future than the future they probably imagined for themselves in early 2003, but all of those events led to their best musical work with the release of Taking the Long Way. I do not care to describe my situation because it’s already in the past, and I do not hold any sort of anger or hatred. I believe I did the right thing in my situation, and that’s what matters. I will move forward to a bright future, and maybe I’ll make a Grammy-winning album in 3 years (very unlikely, but not improbable).
I have really enjoyed diving into the artist formerly known as the Dixie Chick’s music. Their music perfectly embodies the spirit of Women’s History Month and the Woman Up! Movement that my sister Lauren has coined and inspired. They are not just a girl’s group, but a damn good band that empowers anyone and everyone who is willing to listen.
