The Dixie Chicks’ “Gaslighter” is the rage anthem we need for 2020
By Lacy Baugher
The Dixie Chicks are back with their first new single since 2006 and “Gaslighter” is the feminist rage anthem we all need in these times.
If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that it’s our anger and rage that will sustain us – as women, as Americans, as human beings. Which means that the iconic band The Dixie Chicks is right on time with “Gaslighter,” their first piece of new music in over a decade.
Music fans – especially female ones – have long counted on the Dixie Chicks’ music to say the things we feel in our innermost hearts. (Looking at you, “Goodbye Earl.”). And their latest anthem feels no different.
On the surface, the song is a scathing takedown of a lying, manipulative ex, but these days, well…let’s just say you can interpret it a lot of different ways. It features many of the elements we’ve come to associate with the group, including beautiful, blended harmonies, arch lyrics and a chorus that you just can’t get out of your head.
Plus, this song is a straight up bop, y’all.
It’s also incredibly cathartic to sing at the top of your lungs in the car, just saying.
The song is the title track to The Dixie Chicks’ forthcoming new album, which will drop on May 1.
The term “gaslighting” comes from a 1938 play named Gaslight, and is a form of psychological manipulation that uses denial, misdirection, contradiction, and misinformation to destabilize the victim and delegitimize the victim’s beliefs, often causing them to question their own reality or memory. It’s become much more well-known in recent years thanks to our current political climate, and certain politicians who seem to gleefully relish openly contradicting things we just saw them say.
It’s exhausting, y’all. And it’s infuriating. And though the Dixie Chick’s “Gaslighter” isn’t an overtly political tune – one has to assume it’s actually about lead singer Natalie Maines’ recent divorce – it’s hard to listen to it and not give the lyrics something of a double meaning.
However you want to interpret the song though; one thing seems clear. Music has missed The Dixie Chicks, and we’re all better off now that they’re back – and seemingly stronger and better than ever. (See: Not everything about 2020 is terrible.)
Next. Brace yourselves, Little Monsters: A new Lady Gaga album is coming. dark
What do you think of “Gaslighter”? Are you looking forward to the upcoming album?