He eschews the title, but Murry’s most often described as a folk-rock singer songwriter. He’s wildly talented and reminiscent of Springsteen at his best. His songs are made of powerfully moving stuff and they’re so personal that at times it hurts listening to them. It’s no surprise then that at the moment he’s listed as one of the world’s best – right up there with Dylan (he’s one of Uncut’s 50 best singer-songwriters of all time). Murry’s understated about it, though.
“Look, it’s good print, but Nebraska’s not on there – I mean really?” he says, genuinely quizzical. “I’d take me off and put that on there. It’s all so subjective isn’t it? There’s really no magic in creating songs, but there’s a whole lot of bleeding – blood-letting that goes on. It takes a lot of emotional energy to create anything of value. Anyway, I don’t give a fuck what most critics think. Most of them are just failed songwriters anyway. Not in Australia though…”
He’s not trying to dig himself out of a hole there either. Murry has spent a lot of time in Australia – among other things he’s recorded here and plans to do so again in August. He’s a keen observer of what goes on and he’s developed a real affection for us, even though he’s called us an “interesting and strange breed.”
“Well, you are,” he laughs. “Australia’s a weird and amazing place in all of the good ways and the bad ones! Australians are very generous people, but there’s a real division in Australia and a lot goes unspoken. For instance, racism is very real there, but Australia’s just so huge that you don’t see it all the time. There’s also something kind of Southern about your hospitality, but in the South they’re guarded and it’s kind of manipulative, whereas in Australia, you really do get a chance.”
There’s at least one thing he really wants to do when he’s back. “I never even saw the beach last time. Mark Stanley [Aussie producer who worked on Murry’s latest release Califorlonia] sucks. I was here for a whole month and I never even got close to a beach. I want to surf, but I’m real bad. I don’t want to embarrass myself. I don’t want to be like the pale, pasty guy falling off. Someone’s gonna need to teach me – I grew up in Mississippi.”
Going back to Murry’s image, undoubtedly it’s fuelled by him saying things like he’s a bit dark because he’s angry. It sounds like time has softened that a tad and he has some good advice for us all.
“I don’t feel angry now. I was angry for a while. Now, I just feel indignant. I feel that if anyone is to engage by writing songs or creating rock’n’roll, there’s only one way and that’s the honest way. For a long time there I felt like the world was going to hell in a hand basket. Maybe it still is, in which case maybe it’s my turn to run after it with the fire extinguisher. Trying to explain that sounds kinda odd, but if the world is so screwed up, we all have responsibilities. At the very least, be nice to your next door neighbour and get to know their names.”
BY MEG CRAWFORD
