Country radio still uneasy w/Dixie Chicks(red-staters against free-speech)

[Charlie Brown]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/27/music.dixiechicks.ap/index.html

Not all big cities are playing it, though. WIL-FM in St. Louis, which hasn't had the Chicks in rotation since 2003, gave "Not Ready to Make Nice" a trial run and decided against adding it to the playlist after listeners complained with calls and e-mails.

"With the hard feelings out there, especially here in the heartland, combined with the in-your-face lyrics, I don't think that boded well for them," program director Greg Mozingo said.

In Denver, KYGO program director Joel Burke also was bothered by the lyrics. KYGO tested the song, and while Burke said listeners reacted favorably, he isn't ready to add it to the playlist.

"The ticked-off factor is beginning to subside," Burke said. "There is an appetite that I'm beginning to see for the first time in nearly three years that people are interested in the Dixie Chicks again.

"But what concerns me about this song is it's backward thinking," he added. "I'd rather wait until the CD comes out and pick a song we can embrace and that doesn't have any negative connection to it."