James McMurtry – Childish Things
The buzz surrounding James McMurtry’s latest record, “Childish Things,” is all about one track: the seven minute long epic protest song “We Can’t Make It Here.” It’s a great song, no doubt, one that’s prodded political bloggers to
write music reviews, sparked music reviewers to write up comparisons to more mainstream “patriotic” fare and has even been called “the best protest song since Bob Dylan’s Masters of War” by no less a cultural icon than Stephen King.
The fact that he has never really been a political songwriter probably contributes to all the fuss. If Steve Earle had written “Can’t Make It Here,” it may have passed without much notice, but McMurtry has built a reputation for writing thoughtful lyrics that focus on plain old humans and human issues. True to form, “Can’t Make It Here” catalogues the current political atmosphere’s human toll in true McMurtry fashion.
