Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down

And out of left field – literally – comes this old toppie, Ry Cooder (64), with the clearest, angriest riposte to all bankers and whatever rightwingers that rhyme with them. No vague Bono-esque platitudes for Uncle Ry – he isn’t scared of offending the moneyed elite. In fact, he wants to piss them off. Ry channels the anti-capitalist zeitgeist felt by ordinary people around the world. What makes his powerful lyrics stand out is the music: upbeat roots-rock and Texmex waltzes. And “Christmas Time This Year” is probably the most unnerving anti-war song I’ve ever heard: “Now Johnny ain’t got no legs and Billy ain’t got no face/Do they know it’s Christmas time this year?/Tommy looks about the same but his mind is gone/Does he know it’s Christmas time this year?” One of the albums of 2011.