Natalie Maines' 15 words can't top George Bush's 16—the ones about uranium in Niger—for political effect. But when the Dixie Chicks played London in 2003, 10 days before the Iraq invasion, and Maines said, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas," the tremors in the conservative country music scene were seismic. The Chicks, whose previous two CDs had hit No. 1 on both the pop and Country charts, lost album sales and radio play. Some fans stomped their discs to bits. Maines, 31, Emily Robison, 33, and Martie Maguire, 36, didn't cringe and curtsy. On their tart, tasty new album, Taking the Long Way, they make stands and take hostages. The title song sets a defiant tone ("Wouldn't kiss all the ass that they told me to") that peaks in the CD's first single, the power-pop Not Ready to Make Nice. Maines' vocal intensity counters that of fans whose doting curdled into death threats, including "a letter/ Sayin' that I better shut up and sing/ Or my life will be over." DIXIE CHICKS Song Lyrics Goodbye Earl (From the album "FLY")The movie from two time Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple and Cecelia Peck that chronicles the lives of the Dixie Chicks from 2003 to the start of their 2006 tour. All the highs, lows and mayhem that occurred just before and for the three years following “the incident” are all here. The personal attacks, personal growth, a changing world, making Music, having babies, receiving death threats, and even a fair amount of laughter. From The Weinstein Company and Cabin Creek Films. “Shut Up and Sing” will be released on DVD on Feb. 20.