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View Full Version : An Open letter to Shania's Timmins critics


tower
04-23-2004, 5:19am
If you read the letters page on line daily in Shania's local home town paper, you will notice some speaking badly about the Shania Twain Centre and Shania herself:

This letter below, will be emailed to the editor of that paper, but don't expect them to publish. A vocal minority in Timmins even post on the Shania Twain Centre's own message book there hate filled posts for all to read.

I have kept this 17 year old Girls name private, but this is my reply for what it is worth!



Dear xxxx,

As you get older you will find your viewpoint on life and values will change. Things become not as black and white anymore.

You should read Eilleen Twains Biography by Robin Eggar.

It is a tale that leaves you breathless, with more twists and turns than an Agetha Christie Murder story.

You will learn lessons from Shania's childhood that would stand anyone in good stead as lessons for life, and how to survive the cruel things it can throw at you from time to time.

Shania is one of a very rare breed of performer who never forgets her humble background, or the support of those who believe in her, and just like Dolly Parton, will eventually make it into the hall of fame of Artistes who's life's work has changed Music row for ever.

The comment I made about Shania feeling uncomfortable about having a 'shrine' like the Shania Twain Centre actually bringing in thousands of visitors from all over the world during her lifetime was a direct quote.

Go to the sites

http://www.shaniaforums.com or http://www.shania-twain.org/mb

if you wish to find out where and when she said that.

Once Timmins had built the centre she lost no time in giving them priceless artifacts to display, and Fed Ex's all her costumes within days of using them direct to the Centre.

At the last fan convention we were taken behind the public areas and actually got to hold up and model the gown she wore on TV just a week previous, and also hold and examine the I'm gonna getcha good' pleather suite worn in the video.

With Nashville talking her down, Shania never fires back, saying instead that she does not care too much about her critics in Music Row, but listens to her fans.

As long as she pleases her fans she is happy and her latest album pretty well proves that point.

It pleases us and we don't give a fig what the Country and Western people say about it.

As an aspiring singer/songwriter yourself, you could do a lot worse than take a leaf out of Dolly Parton and Shania Twain's life stories, both came from humble starts and through sheer determination and hard work have got to where they are now.

After Shania's death Music Row and Nashville will be all over her memory like a rash, claiming her songs as all time C & W classics, just as they do with Elvis.

Outside North America, Elvis was and is still regarded as Rock and Roll and Pop. No mention of C & W in any country.

It is the Joy and happiness that Shania has brought to me that have inspired me to move shortly to Timmins and give back a little to the community that helped make Shania the person she is today.

I am not the only one in the world who thinks that way About the Shania Twain Centre where every year they build on a success story that has a long ways to run.

Fan Convention number one only had 39 people attending from 4 countries. This year with months to go, you have many more countries already pre-registered including, Finland, England and Scotland.

There are a minority, a very VOCAL minority in Timmins who through jealousy or whatever seem to thing that Shania Twain owes Timmins a living....

She Does NOT, no one does. Shania has already done SO MUCH for Timmins, giving you a loss making concert back in 1999 at the end of the Come on over tour. During that amazing rainy day she endorsed dozens of local shops.

If that is not enought Eilleen gave the whole town a big plug with heaps of filmed inserts round Timmins during the Special's DVD which was sold all over the world marketed as "Live in Miami" outside of North America.

What does she get in return. The Timmins Daily press printing an item from her eldest brother Mark, later proved to not be true. Attacks on her native heritage and her duel nationality and readers letters saying how Shania should do this and give to that.

Letters saying how she has turned her back on Timmins.

If Shania was to give her entire fortune to sort out what is wrong with Timmins it would still not be enough. Sort your own problems out yourself like the rest of the World has to do.

She does not owe Timmins ANYTHING. Only last week after a local fire, Oooh Shania should give and buy us a new building... Excuse me!

So much for the Timmins local press. Shania has a music career to look after, she can not do that being based in Timmins.

Your local taxes are ridiculous and getting higher, how can you expect a superstar to give up 95% of there income to pay for a new library and police HQ and on and on, were she to live locally.

Your local government spends your tax money like water. Why don't the people who actually use the services pay for them as they use them. That way only those who benifit from local services pay the bill. Single people like me, high wage earners with no family end up paying the most.

It is exactly because of this most very high earners move to Switzerland where they can keep most of there earnings and use them in a more effective manner to help others.

At every concert Shania does she raises thousands of dollars for children's charities all over the world, using a raffle system where the winner gets to go on stage and get a photo taken alongside Shania.

Why you don't like Shania's music, especially as a lot of it is biased towards a female point of view. Your point of view, is totally beyond me.

I suggest you gather all 4 of her albums together and spend a night really listening to the words of each song and think again.

With a deceptively simple hook laden chorus most songs are more addictive than Heroin or Tobacco.

People who say her lyrics are just plain daft, have not listened to songs like Honey I'm home or "If your not in it for love" or the "Woman in Me" "No one needs to know" or from the new album "Only Hurts when I breathe" and don't deserve any of my time in the form of a Shania defense.

If that is the way they think about Shania's songwriting, then I will never change there attitude.

Her ballads such as "From this moment on" and "Still the One" are timeless, classless, and of universal appeal.

Shania is bigger than Nashville and they just don't like that one little bit.

Fact is Nashville does not exist outside of North America.
Country Music Television and all its offshoots do not exist outside North America.

They seem to think they can call the Shots, well I guess Shania has called there bluff on that one, entering the popular music charts of dozens of countries around the world, with ease again and again.

All without any help from the composers of Nashville and Music Row.


---------- end of Rant.... for now ;) ----- till next time.

AngelinaShania
04-23-2004, 6:18am
Very well said!!!!! :mad: who are they to say bad things behind Shania's back?!?! Like you said she's done so much for them and all they give her back is a slap in the face :scowl:

FinnFreak
04-23-2004, 7:27am
Well, being one of the Finns who will be taking the journey all the way to Timmins, Ontario... especially to attend this year's Fan Convention...

...I doubt very much Timmins, on it's own, would have ever lured me into visiting their town; first flying from Finland to Toronto, then taking a car & driving up north; without the existence of the STC and Fan Convention... I would've stopped in Sudbury to visit some relatives and then turned back...

But Timmins has something that will make those visitors travel further...

I'm not sure what Tom is refering to, when speaking about a 17-year-old girl, but I'd expect that it's propably something this local girl has written, saying something along the lines as: the STC was a waste of tax payers' money..? - and that the money should've been used right now for something more useful..?

hmm... every remote community has a tight budget, and not to go bankrupt you have to be very careful where to invest - and that's what the STC is: an investment. It's not going to suddenly bring in millions of tourists over night, these things take time to grow... naturally there are always many areas which need money very badly, but... we've got a saying in Finland: "In the freezing cold in winter, peeing your pants won't warm you for long"

...and I know that the people there know what I'm talking about...


Shania Twain does not owe Timmins anything - it's the other way around:


...even in Helsinki, on stage, she specifically pointed out, with pride in her voice, that she's a girl from Timmins, Ontario - and that she's Canadian... so, a crowd of 12,000 left home after the concert with that nugget of information buried in their minds...

...without Shania Twain, Timmins would be just another speck of dirt on a map, very few in the world would've ever even heared of...

...she's shown by example, that with hard work and by not giving up, one will succeed... and that alone is something the whole world respects...


John - :)

GorToma
04-23-2004, 8:04am
thats great :D:D:D

shania-little
04-23-2004, 10:33am
reall a great letter..!! I hope you'll get an answer or will it be publiced

Shania's4life!!
04-23-2004, 10:46am
it is all out of jealousy! :rolleyes:

- Shania does NOT owe Timmins anything, Timmins owes ITSELF some god damn respect!

- Shania's lyrics are NOT daft, if they were she wouldnt have sold 60+million records worldwide, be the biggest selling female artist of all time and be the ONLY artist in HISTORY to have 3 consecutive Diamond selling albums all with her own material on them!!

BTW, Nashville owes Shania MANY apoligies!
the reason why they dont like Shania is because she is original, beautiful, talented, sexy, indipendant and doesnt let any boundaries stand in her way!
the ironey is that this is what makes Shania so successfull, so....apparently Nashville dislike success?
well maybe that explains why country music was close to dying out until Shania came along!
Shania make country music internasional!
before there were many parts of the world that probably didnt even know what the **** country music was, but now they do, all thanks to Shania!! :)
Shania has done SO much for Nashville and country music in general and what does she get in return?
Nashville starts disrespecting Shania and they even raise and praise artists who are JUST like Shania with the so called "country-pop crossover" out of spite! :mad:
it is ridiculous! :rolleyes:

Troll
04-23-2004, 11:23am
Thanks for the letter. :up:

Roger
04-23-2004, 11:34am
Tom, couldn't find the letter you are responding to. Maybe that was there yesterday but not today. I can't fully appreciate what you are saying unless I know what the critic said.

I don't know enough about Timmins politics to be able to comment on the local taxation level or how freely they spend taxpayers' money. Apart from that I agree with most of what you said of course.

Roger

tower
04-23-2004, 11:34pm
Well, being one of the Finns who will be taking the journey all the way to Timmins, Ontario... especially to attend this year's Fan Convention...


Shania Twain does not owe Timmins anything - it's the other way around:


...even in Helsinki, on stage, she specifically pointed out, with pride in her voice, that she's a girl from Timmins, Ontario - and that she's Canadian... so, a crowd of 12,000 left home after the concert with that nugget of information buried in their minds...

...without Shania Twain, Timmins would be just another speck of dirt on a map, very few in the world would've ever even heared of...

...she's shown by example, that with hard work and by not giving up, one will succeed... and that alone is something the whole world respects...


John - :)

Well John it may be our climate, the fact that we share long dark winters, or whatever, but you are so tuned in to what I tried to say in that long rambling letter that will never be published in the Timmins daily press EVER.

Atacking them for publishing Mark's outbursts and the other stuff was not a very good idea. I should have limited it to 5 paragraphs at the very most.

Well I am just human, and BOY these Shania critics from her home town just get my motor going...

reidster
04-24-2004, 5:54pm
Timmins does not say anything bad about Shania. They don't expect her to do anything for them either. How can you say that if havn't even been to Timmins before.

tower
04-25-2004, 5:01am
Tom, couldn't find the letter you are responding to. Maybe that was there yesterday but not today. I can't fully appreciate what you are saying unless I know what the critic said.

Hi Roger,

It is still there, go to

http://www.shaniatwaincentre.com enter the site and then look for the Braveheart Guest book. She turns out to be just 16 years old, so go easy on her and signs herself as ANNE.

I have heard a lot worse in the Taverns of Timmins by those older and supposed to be wiser. As I say a vocal minority, mostly fueled by jealousy, cause Shania made good and escaped the poverty trap some find themself in Timmins.

Roger
04-25-2004, 10:47am
Tom, you can't please all of the people all of the time. And neither can Shania. I don't bother responding to critics unless I think they are at least half intelligent and/or are likely to be influential. I save myself a lot of heartburn that way. Besides I bet Shania doesn't worry about naysayers.


Roger

tower
04-25-2004, 10:59am
Tom, you can't please all of the people all of the time. And neither can Shania. I don't bother responding to critics unless I think they are at least half intelligent and/or are likely to be influential. I save myself a lot of heartburn that way. Besides I bet Shania doesn't worry about naysayers.


Roger

True, but what got my motor running was this 16 year old had posted on the very public Shania Twain Centre guest book. Every year there are a small trickle of letters to the Timmins Daily Press which run Shania down in one way or the other. The problem is that the Daily press never print the other side of the Shania point of view, or rarely.

I doubt my reply will ever be published, but I am in email contact with the 16 year old that got me going in the first place. She claims to know all about Shania and has got all her albums, but prefers Hip/Hop and R & B.

I find it difficult to believe she has indeed heard all Shania's albums, but still.

aFinn
04-25-2004, 1:05pm
...even in Helsinki, on stage, she specifically pointed out, with pride in her voice, that she's a girl from Timmins, Ontario - and that she's Canadian... It was a natural subject to take up in Finland, as she told about the many, many Finns who had migrated to Timmins. She mentioned she knew many.

Also naturally took the subject of hockey up, being a Canadian and all :p

The similarities between Finland and Timmins/Canada are very strong, and through being a Shania fan have I learned so many things about Timmins, the life in Northern Ontario, and being from the north, I feel the connection.

tower
04-26-2004, 4:30am
It was a natural subject to take up in Finland, as she told about the many, many Finns who had migrated to Timmins. She mentioned she knew many.

Also naturally took the subject of hockey up, being a Canadian and all :p

The similarities between Finland and Timmins/Canada are very strong, and through being a Shania fan have I learned so many things about Timmins, the life in Northern Ontario, and being from the north, I feel the connection.


Yes heaps and heaps of folk in Timmins from Finnish bloodlines, Will and Tracy from the STC are but two so you do not have to look far. Quite a few Scots as well but more Finns I would say. Things must of been even tougher for you way back when.

Still in email contact with the 16 year old who upset me with her post on the STC Guest Book. She has resorted to swearing at me now (nice) so I guess I must be hitting home. Although her native language is French she types good English I must admit.

Shania's TopFan
04-26-2004, 5:30am
Tom, you can't please all of the people all of the time. And neither can Shania. I don't bother responding to critics unless I think they are at least half intelligent and/or are likely to be influential. I save myself a lot of heartburn that way. Besides I bet Shania doesn't worry about naysayers.


Roger


Well said Roger.

A 16 yr old girl is hardly likely to influence or upset many people but it seems she has hit the spot with a small minority.

FinnFreak
04-26-2004, 9:31am
Yes heaps and heaps of folk in Timmins from Finnish bloodlines, Will and Tracy from the STC are but two so you do not have to look far. Quite a few Scots as well but more Finns I would say. Things must of been even tougher for you way back when.

hmm... during the last hundred years, Finland has lost about a million as emigrants... mostly to North America, without any emigration there would be 6-7 million inhabitants in Finland (now about 5 million). The first big emigration wave started way back in the 1860's, caused mainly by a period of famine from 3 consecutive years of crop loss (which killed about 270,000 of a population of 1.8 million) and the Russian Empire's acts of oppression... many Finns left to work in mining, logging and farming to the other side of the Atlantic... and most left from this region - everybody has relatives living in North America... but this is something we can possibly elaborate on in more detail in August...

John - :)

Roger
04-26-2004, 10:29am
hmm... during the last hundred years, Finland has lost about a million as emigrants... mostly to North America, without any emigration there would be 6-7 million inhabitants in Finland (now about 5 million). The first big emigration wave started way back in the 1860's, caused mainly by a period of famine from 3 consecutive years of crop loss (which killed about 270,000 of a population of 1.8 million) and the Russian Empire's acts of oppression... many Finns left to work in mining, logging and farming to the other side of the Atlantic... and most left from this region - everybody has relatives living in North America... but this is something we can possibly elaborate on in more detail in August...

John - :)

The greatest number of immigrants to Canada in the 1800s came from Scotland and Ireland. The Ottawa Valley is very Irish, even to a degree the accent, and Ottawa has tons of Irish pubs. :)

Roger

1Yukari2
04-26-2004, 7:07pm
It was a Timmins paper that called Shania a liar about her heritage.

tower
04-27-2004, 4:54am
It was a Timmins paper that called Shania a liar about her heritage.

Well not exactly that strong, but yes an anti Shania item for sure. You can read the paper online now at

http:timminspress.com

One of a series of Anti Shania items they have publised over the years. However I must point out that the Timmins Daily press gave the 1st Fan convention last year the best of coverage, and I don't think they will repeat the mistake of publishing Anti Shania items in the future unless they are proved to be true.

They are trying to ignore the whole Shania thing between Fan Conventions now, and I think that is a good idea myself as Shania does not want, or needs the publicity in her former home town.

tower
04-27-2004, 5:14am
The greatest number of immigrants to Canada in the 1800s came from Scotland and Ireland. The Ottawa Valley is very Irish, even to a degree the accent, and Ottawa has tons of Irish pubs. :)

Roger

I just love the Irish and Ireland, both north and south. I think many Scots feel the same way. We share a common bond in music, culture and history.

Like many Scots and Irish people before me, I look forward to embracing Canada and becoming a small part of your vibrant nation.

Most northern nations in Europe share a strong bond, the climate, the long summer days and very long winter nights make us 'different' in ways which don't hit visitors right away. But we bond in a way which is not well known or understood by the major nations of this world.

I am very well travelled, my job keeps that side of things that way and I am so proud of the way the Northern nations of Europe have helped shape many countries I have worked in for the better.

It is with some pride I say I was born in Scotland, though a tiny nation of less that 5 million, just like Finland, Ireland, Norway and Denmark we have made our mark on this world of ours, way beyond the tiny population that remains.

Few in Scotland back the English elected Prime Minister and the current foreign policy of this "United Kingdom"...

Roger
04-27-2004, 10:55am
Few in Scotland back the English elected Prime Minister and the current foreign policy of this "United Kingdom"...

My English relatives tell me that a lot or even most of the English don't back Blair on his Iraq policy either.

Roger

Shania_nuts
04-28-2004, 3:22pm
ummm im more or less speechless right now but i can say that if shania doesn't give a rats butoty (butt or a**) about what her critics think then why should we??we suport her and all about her, im pretty sure there are more of us then them it just they haven't taking the time to get to know her like we have!! so i say SCREW THEM they ain't got a brain to think with in the first place!!! but that letter is very well writen and got ur point across clearly!!!

tower
04-29-2004, 1:58am
The problem lies mostly with the young in Timmins who did not know Eilleen or her family and feel somehow that Shania has sold Timmins out by not visiting them in public since 1999.

I can put up with that in the Taverns of Timmins as face to face I can put up a spirited defence, problem with this Girl was she posted on the STC Guest Book, you can read her post at http://www.shaniatwaincentre.com by entering the site and viewing the Braveheart Guest Book.

Her name is Anne. I can't get the post buttons to work in my browser, must be Java or something, not good html code anyrate as it only works on my PC running IE or Netscape.

Thanks for all your replies though.

Mizery1
04-29-2004, 2:12am
This one Tom?
http://pub1.bravenet.com/guestbook/show.php?usernum=22261728&cpv=1

tower
04-29-2004, 1:06pm
This one Tom?
http://pub1.bravenet.com/guestbook/show.php?usernum=22261728&cpv=1

Yes scroll down the the post by Anne, that's the one. Be gentle on her though, she is only 16!

It is also the public face of the Shania Twain Centre too.