Just Us Kids: User Reviews

Old Man Pretends to be Anti-Establishment .. And Probably Sounds Better Live
By boomshanka from Lakeview, April 25, 2008

Stephen King said that James McMurtry is " the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation .." I say that Jimmy is a washed-up country rocker who composes decent lyrics, but is nowhere near Bobby Dylan for insight, Waylon Jennings for grit or Kris Kristofferson for schmarm. Wait on that last one, I may have hit on something there. J. McMurt encapsulates the archetypical "rocker" you might find any Friday night you care to view one on Austin City Limits - wry, sparsely tuneful, full of southwestern-style swank (without all that antibellum slavery business mixed in from other regions of the U.S.). It is an easy topic for songsmithing for an Austenite to make stabs at a Texan whitehouse administration during our current war-torn era. James takes to it faster than an armadillo to a barbecue picnic at Zilker Park ( <- Austin reference ). His tracks taste like a heaping spoonful of potato salad, while I'm that much more interested in the rib / brisket combo basket. Where's the beef? I sincererly wonder that if the "establishment" considers this artist's output to be "rebellious" or "anti-establishment", then the leashes around all of our necks must be fastened very securely. Name-dropping methamphetamines or mentioning Dick Cheney's lack of humanity isn't the mark of an outlaw, but rather the sign of an old man reacting to his outrage over the propoganda pushed onto us all by Time/Warner/AOL and their ilk. His comments may titilate us for a night or two, but they don't point us in the direction of resolving the crises he illuminates. Perhaps he needs to commit some more crimes of humanity or wrestle some lonesome dove outlaws in his downtime when he isnt touring. Perhaps it is not actually his job to solve the world's problems, but then again, as a singer-songerwriter, isn't that what he is proclaiming to profess? That being said, the live track that I heard sounded like it was the best of the bunch, and so I would have to believe that experiencing the Jay McMurt Traveling Circus live is totally the best time ever.