Music That Bush Clearly Doesn't Hear

[dweller]

by John Nichols

Last spring, in an attempt to make President Bush appear to be more of a regular guy, the White House released a list of the tunes
the commander in chief was listening to on his iPod.

The list featured mostly country, alt-country and blues artists, including John Fogerty, John Hiatt, Alan Jackson, George Jones and
Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Perhaps the most interesting name on Bush's listening list was that of James McMurtry, the brilliant Austin-based songwriter who
used his 2004 live album to poke fun at the president's attempts to fake a Texaser-than-thou accent.

McMurtry responded to the news that Bush's playlist included his song "Valley Road" by politely suggesting that the president
might not be the most serious listener of his songs, which frequently detail the damage done to Americans by rampaging
corporatists and an uncaring government.


In case there was any doubt about the differences between George W. Bush's worldview and James McMurtry's, the musician
posted a savage critique of the president and his pals, "We Can't Make It Here," on his Web site shortly before last year's election.
That song, a haunting reflection on corporate globalization and wars of whim, was the highlight of McMurtry's set last month when
he played at Camp Casey, the protest vigil organized outside the president's Crawford, Texas, ranch by Cindy Sheehan, whose son
Casey was killed in Iraq.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0915-20.htm

lyrics included.
dp