MP3 of the Day

On this day in 2003 the British newspaper, The Guardian published its review of a Dixie Chicks concert that had occurred two nights earlier in London. The article ignited the biggest international music-related story of the year. In that review, The Guardian's Betty Clarke included the following line from the concert: "Just so you know,' said singer Natalie Maines, 'we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." (Clarke left out the middle of the full quotation, which was, "Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence. And we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.") That line quickly became fodder for a grassroots anti-Dixie Chicks backlash. It began with thousands of phone calls flooding country-music radio stations from Denver to Nashville - demanding that the Dixie Chicks be removed from the stations' playlists. Soon some of those same stations were calling for a boycott of the recent Dixie Chicks' album and of their upcoming U.S. tour. Fellow country star Toby Keith joined in by performing in front of a backdrop that featured a gigantic image of Natalie Maines beside Saddam Hussein. Today we have the song Satisfied Mind by Jonathan Richman from the album Jonathan Goes Country. Happy Friday!