Steve Earle has been a longtime Crooks & Liars fave and with Bush in the Middle East, who could resist the title track from his 2002 masterpiece, Jerusalem? Steve has been involved with socially conscious music since he was a teenager to young to play in bars, writing songs against aggression in Vietnam and against the death penalty. Despite his strong political messages, he's won two Grammy awards and believe me-- I've been on the committees that help pick the nominees-- strong political writing does not help songwriters. You can only imagine what went on when "John Walker's Blues" was discussed.