Dixie Chicks: Stand Up and Sing!

I have a whole list of things to blog about and not much time - I've had to prepare for an all-day seminar here in Taiwan, not to mention adjust to the 12 hour time change and deal with the fact that Blogger thinks I want a Chinese interface (based on my IP address) and I don't know how to change it.

So just a quick note on the Dixie Chicks, prompted by seeing their documentary "Shut Up and Sing" on the flight over. I've liked their music for years, and I was annoyed by the whole deal of country music radio and fans boycotting them and even threatening them over a comment they made in 2003 against President Bush and the then-impending Iraq War. As the tag line for the movie says, "Freedom of speech is fine as long as you don't do it in public." The Chicks basically said "screw that," and the movie tells the whole story, including behind the scenes footage from the making of their comeback album "Taking the Long Way." Great stuff.

Of course they ended up winning five Grammy Awards back in February for music from that album, and their live version of the song "Not Ready To Make Nice" is wonderful, so I decided to post the video here. The original video is also quite moving.