60. Mara Davis Discusses The Chicks, Taking the Long Way

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Radio/TV/podcast host and talent booker Mara Davis introduces Al to the The Chicks’ (formerly The Dixie Chicks) Taking the Long Way, released in 2006. Several of the tracks address the backlash to lead singer Natalie Maines' comments about President George W. Bush made three years earlier, and Mara talked about how The Chicks’ response to the incident helped to make her a fan of the group. She also highlighted her favorite tracks on the album, discussed the Spotify-Joe Rogan-Neil Young controversy and talked about the VOTEHER podcast that she co-hosts with Georgia state senator Jen Jordan.

You can find all of the episodes of Mara and Jen’s VOTEHER podcast right here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/voteher-podcast-with-jen-jordan-and-mara-davis/id1529098225

While you’ve got your podcast app open, you owe it to yourself to check out The Jump with Shirley Manson (Mara books the guests for this show!): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jump-with-shirley-manson/id1469077859

Follow Mara on Twitter! @maradavis

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

Al has recently launched You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter. You can subscribe for free to get Al’s monthly posts, but paid subscriptions give you access to weekly posts and much more. Please consider trying a paid subscription as it also helps to support this podcast! https://youmealbum.substack.com

Al wrote a piece for Bandcamp Daily! It's about a Quasi song that has made Al rethink his ideas about the importance of achievement. You can give it a read here: https://daily.bandcamp.com/resonance/quasi-seal-the-deal-essay

0:50 Mara joins the show

1:48 Mara talks about The Chicks’ crossover into more pop-oriented music

3:52 Mara appreciates how The Chicks dealt with the George W. Bush controversy

6:43 Mara was only slightly familiar with The Chicks prior to the controversy

7:45 The Chicks' albums were not representative of the type of music that Mara previously listened to

9:14 Mara had no doubt about which album to discuss

10:55 Mara and Al don’t respond to "The Long Way Around" the same way

13:49 Mara discusses some of her other favorite tracks from the album

17:40 Mara also admires Kacey Musgraves

19:42 The Chicks have not been welcomed back the way that Morgan Wallen has been

22:48 Mara is also impressed by The Chicks as a live act

25:00 Mara gets back to some of her other favorite tracks

27:48 Al has some opinions about the album’s track sequence

29:41 Mara contrasts the current Spotify controversy with the treatment of The Chicks

37:44 One more track that Mara loves: “So Hard”

39:34 The tracks that stood out to Al

44:00 Mara talks about why she connects with the female artists she loves

45:33 The one track that Mara skips sometimes

47:00 Mara and Al talk about the album’s writing collaborations

48:52 Mara now listens to a lot more country music

52:43 Mara explains how she started the VOTEHER podcast with Jen Jordan

58:55 Mara talks about booking talent for Shirley Manson’s podcast, The Jump

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