All work and no play

Last week was very busy. Our managing editor, who helps me to put the three newspapers I am editor in chief of together, was on a holiday. He has been a journalist for maaaany years and to cover up for him took quite a few extra hours. But I learnt loads and I am proud of the people I work with cause we made three really good papers, despite being a few people short.

So, I did not blog that much, but I must underline one thing: The foreign policy debate last Wednesday showed how the Social Democratic party should act in opposition. The party was not simply against the foreign policy declaration presented by the Conservative government, an alternative, progressive declaration was presented, and an open seminar about Social Democratic foreign policy was organized in the center of Stockholm. I wrote my editorial about this [Swedish], cause we cannot only be against things...

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After congratulating Dixie Chicks, I got an e-mail asking if I listen to Joe Ely. I didn’t, but I have started now. Here is YouTube-clip from Tribeca Rock’n’Roll Club in NYC, and here is Joe Ely’s website. [Thanks for your e-mail, Bo]

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I just cannot stop praising The Sopranos, saw the two first episodes of season four yesterday. If you live in Stockholm, they have a dvd-boxes sales at Buylando, Kungsholmen (S:t Eriksgatan 34). 499 kronor for two seasons/boxes…

“We’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

The 49th Grammy Awards have been handed out, and one of my absolute favorite bands won in all the five categories where they were nominated. The New York Times reports:

The Dixie Chicks took home Grammys for the top three awards: record, song and album of the year. Their “Taking the Long Way” (Open Wide/Columbia) won best country album and “Not Ready to Make Nice” also captured best country performance by a duo or group with vocal. That song is an unapologetic response to the furor set off in 2003 when the band’s lead singer, Natalie Maines, made an off-the-cuff antiwar remark to London concertgoers: “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

Since I love this kind of music and the state of Texas, but not the President of the United States, a few worlds collide in a great way when I listen to the Dixie Chicks. “Not ready to make nice” is a great song, but I think “The long way around” is even better [listen to them both, those were YouTube links for ya].

Big congrats, Dixie Chicks!