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Beyond the Myth
Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band live in New York
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Some things take a long time to die. In the 1989 cult novel Closer, author Dennis Cooper called Bob Dylan a “has been”. From the perspective of ornery punk-smut literature, there is little to consider relevant in folk music culture based on an America that existed prior to World War II. Conversely, in the trenches of Starbucks, where pithy metaphor has only but a fleeting moment to affect the passing consumer, Josh Ritter and his brand of tortured Americana is king. This may explain the regal title of his new band: The Royal City Band. Ritter and his band are indeed the Royal Minstrels of the chain-espresso bar.
One must consider that while waiting in line for a latte there is not much time to question the cultural implications of listening to a brand of music that was made popular by selling out the American-folk sub-culture and anti-war movement. As many contemporary artists represent the death of the American myth and cowboy heroism, Josh Ritter dutifully carries the torch right through Starbucks and out into the entire world. His music has a banal quality that invites you into a comfortable world where it is still okay to co-opt the tragic figures that populate blues stories and being an unassuming, innocent country-boy from Idaho is somehow still a reality. As musical director of Starbucks, Timothy Jones was recently quoted in the New York Times, “Josh seems to resonate deeply with people. Artists like Josh draw you into a lair of who they are.” That liar is something like the espresso bar nature of Starbucks: a recreating of a misplaced culture–plasticized and commoditized.
Josh Ritter’s music is lyrically precise, containing a calculated mix of metaphor and fantasy. The melodies are well researched and sometimes manage to squeeze-out pop affectations. For those of us who don’t agree with Dennis Cooper’s assessment of Dylan as “has been”, Ritter is on par to help cram the harmless void of Dylan’s later years when the folk-rock legend stops producing records.
Josh Ritter performs with the Royal City Band at Town Hall on May 19 and 20, and then at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 22nd. Go to his show to consider the deadweight of white America’s mythology, or perhaps just to have an extensive Starbucks-like experience.