A Few Words
Friday night, Game #1 of Major League Baseball’s World Series Championship. The New York Yankees playing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bottom of the 10th inning, Yankees leading 3-2, bases loaded, two outs already secured by the Yankees. First baseman Freddie Freeman steps up to the plate. He turns on the first pitch - an inside fastball, to hit the game-winning, first-ever walk-off Grand Slam home run. Dodgers win, 6-3. Bedlam erupts in the sold-out Dodger Stadium. The anthem I Love LA starts playing over the PA system. The cosmic timing couldn’t be more perfect.
The song was written, performed and released by Randy Newman in 1983. A new biography of Newman just came out, sharing its title with one of its subject’s songs: A Few Words In Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman. The author is Robert Hilburn, who served as the chief pop music critic and music editor for the Los Angeles Timesfrom 1970 through 2005.
Hilburn writes that Newman is “torn between two impulses as an artist: He wants to have hits. Writing Pop music means after all it should be popular. And he wants to say something, to express opinions on racism, sexism, and the always-fraught grandeur of the American Dream.”
Words ascribed to Newman on a recent NPR piece include “lovely,” “eccentric,” “oblique,” and “abrasive.”
His first Pop hit was 1977’s Short People. Newman’s role as an unreliable narrator in the song was lost on many listeners. They thought he really didn’t like short people. This mistake was repeated in the songs Sail Away (where he plays the character of a slave trader), and in the character of an unabashed racist in the song Rednecks. His satire has sometimes flown over peoples’ heads.
Newman’s character sketches of the exploited and creepy live in a ZIP Code near Tom Waits’ storytelling. His lyrics often rise to a Twain-like level of cleverness, and some of his melodies are as sweet as Aaron Copeland’s Fanfare For The Common Man.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans, Newman’s song Louisiana 1927, became an anthem. “Louisiana, Louisiana they’re trying to wash us away…”
His songs span a wide history of America, and pull no punches. The 1972 song Political Science features a jingoistic character that suggests that America should “Drop the Big One now,” using nuclear weapons in a way that eerily sound like certain modern American politicians.
And some lyrics from his recent biography’s namesake song ring as true today as when they were written in 2008:
Just a few words
In defense of our country
Whose time at the top
Could be coming to an end
Now, we don't want their love
And respect at this point's pretty much out of the question
But in times like these
We sure could use a friend
You know, a president once said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
Now it seems like we're supposed to be afraid
It's patriotic, in fact
Color-coded
What we supposed to be afraid of?
Why, of being afraid
That's what terror means, doesn't it?
That's what it used to mean
The end of an empire
Is messy at best
And this empire's ending
Like all the rest
Like the Spanish Armada
Adrift on the sea
We're adrift in the land of the brave
And the home of the free
Nearing 80 years of age, it is certainly time for this retrospective of Newman's life and work. Let’s celebrate him while he is still with us.
Sunday Supper
This Sunday I offer this Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad, with Toasted Hazelnuts along with this simple Beef Stew, ladled over a bed of cheesy polenta. For dessert I’m making these elevated Rice Krispie treats (with a little bit of caramel added, because I always have to futz with these things).
Sunday Music
Here is NPR’s recent review of the Randy Newman biography, as well as a retrospective of past interviews with the artist. Here Newman performs Sail Away with the London Symphony Orchestra. Here he performs I Think It’s Going To Rain Today when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Lastly, here is Newman performing with Lyle Lovett the iconic song written for Pixar’s Toy Story, You’ve Got A Friend In Me. Enjoy!
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Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,