Randy Newman Land Of Dreams Rarity
An Online Collection of Writings & Musings RANDYNEWMAN»»»Life-long music fan STEVE ROSTKOSKI studied recording engineering and library technology, andhas worked as a library technician, archival cataloger,freelance journalist and publisher. His essays and reviews have appeared in Crawdaddy!, The Rocket and other periodicals. Letter to the Vatican began in 1991 as a self-published zine created for the writers' groupAPA Centauri. This online edition archives both past and present work.This site would not exist without Paul Williams. He started the first rock music magazine, Crawdaddy!,in 1966, which I discovered in its later 1990s incarnation.
I found Crawdaddy! So inspirational, I wrote Paul and sent him my zine about the book.He liked my essay so much that he invited me to be the first outsidewriter published in the new edition of his magazine. I washonored. Paul's encouragement and support of my writing literallychanged my life and I am forever grateful. Thank you, Paul!In1995, Paul Williams suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bicycleaccident, leading to early onset of dementia, and a steady decline tothe point where he now requires full-time care. His friends and familyhave set up a website for donations to assist with Paul's care andmedical expenses.
The site also provides examples of his work andinformation about his many accomplishments.Also read Cindy Lee Berryhill's blog. UNTRUSTWORTHY NARRATORS, CONFIDENCE MEN & OTHER MASKSI like untrustworthy narratorsand things where the audience knows stuff that the narrator doesn'tknow.- Randy NewmanA sizist bigot.A huckstering slave-trader.A southern redneck.A dysfunctional hillbilly family.An Afrikaner witnessing the fall of apartheid.A Hollywood schmoozer.A rapist and stalker.A child murderer.An egocentric rapper.A naked purse-snatcher.Children's toys.God.The Devil.Thediverse cast of characters listed above is in reality one person indisguise. Each persona is the narrator in a song by musicianRandy Newman. Instead of writing the usual singer-songwriter lyrics,which seem to reveal the feelings of the artist, Newman uses an'untrustworthy narrator,' a flawed commentator, to provide the listenerwith a unique point of view. This is a literary device uncommonto songwriting and it establishes the premise for Kevin Courrier'sexcellent book Randy Newman's American Dreams.This isn't thefirst time that Courrier, a Canadian journalist, has investigated thework of a maverick American composer and musician.
His previousbook was Dangerous Kitchen: The Subversive World of Zappa, a criticalanalysis of the music of Frank Zappa. Naturally, Courriercompares the two artists. Both eschewed confessional lyrics andbecame cultural outsiders in the music business. When commercialsuccess did come their way (Newman's 'Short People' and 'I Love L.A.,'Zappa's 'Valley Girl'), mass audiences often misunderstood the artists'intentions.Courrier believes such outsiders and their masks aredeeply embedded in the fabric of American history.
He citesHerman Melville's The Confidence Man, a satire about a riverboatgambler who cons his fellow passengers and ultimately reveals theirunconscious desires. Courrier also refers to the use of blackfaceamong Jewish performers in vaudeville.
Both examples are crucialwhen analyzing Newman's work. His vocal style is stronglyinfluenced by black blues and R&B singers, while his piano playingoften recalls the ragtime genre. Also, like Melville's riverboatgambler, Newman's masks himself in order to 'con' the listener andreveal unrealized truths about themselves and society. Eventhough the song 'Rednecks' is from a Southern perspective, it is anindictment of racism in America as a whole.
'Old Man' is a son'slament for his dead father that speaks volumes about the breakdown offamily relationships. These are just a few instances of the'untrustworthy narrator' from songwriter's vast catalog that Courrierexamines in Randy Newman's American Dreams. While growing up in Hibbing, the circuses came through.You could see things like George Washington in blackface,Napoleon wearing blackface, weird Shakespearean things,stuff that didn't even make any sense at the time. Peopleon the Carney team would do different jobs. I once sawsomebody coming back from running the Ferris Wheelputting on makeup, and thought that was interesting.Wow, a guy could have more than one job.-Actually, the first time I met him, Bob was acting, in a way.And that's good, because you can go anywhere if you'resomeone else.- Folksinger Mark Spoelstrain No Direction HomeTheuntrustworthy narrator may be something of a rarity in popular music,but Randy Newman is not its only proponent. Courrier astutelypoints out the most untrustworthiest narrator in musical history is BobDylan, whose entire career has consisted of swapping one mask foranother.
It may appear that Dylan is letting us have a glimpsebehind the masks with his autobiography Chronicles and thejust-released documentary No Direction Home, but as usual with Dylan,all is not what it seems.In fact, in some ways, the wholeconcept behind No Direction Home is one big ruse. The project istouted as a Martin Scorsese production, leading to the assumption thatit was the famed filmmaker who got the elusive Dylan to finally beinterviewed on camera for a look back on his childhood and rise to famein the 1960s.
In reality, Dylan's manager Jeff Rosen has beencompiling archival footage and conducting filmed interviews for thelast fifteen years. No Direction Home is an authorized Dylanbiography masked by a Scorsese production credit. The disguiseseems to be working, too.
Just last night, I read a review of thefilm in the online journal Pop Matters that criticized Scorsese for hisuninformed questions during the interviews!Despite all itsmasks, No Direction Home still presents an intriguing portrait of oneof America's most mercurial artists. Not surprisingly, Dylan'sinterviews don't really reveal anything new. Like his Chroniclesbook, it's not so much what he says, but how he says it. It'sfascinating just to hear the way he turns a phrase. Moreinformative are interviews with the likes of fellow Greenwich Villagefolk singer, Dave Van Ronk, and the queen of protest, Joan Baez, whoprobably know more than anyone what makes Dylan tick, but admit, evento them, he's often a slippery character. The documentary alsopresents Dylan's metamorphosis from a Woody Guthrie-wannabe to afull-blown electric rock 'n' roll poet through stunning performancefootage from 1962 to 1966.
It is mesmerizing to watch Dylan through theyears, as he effortlessly dons one mask after another. Especiallybreathtaking are performances from the confrontational 1966 UK tour,when Dylan appeared with a backing band playing electric instruments,eliciting boos and jeers from folk music-loving audiences.
Youcan feel the electricity in the air as Dylan literally leaps at themicrophone with every line he sings, looking like a skinny, crazedmarionette.Some of the other archival material is equallyfascinating. Odetta's thundering performance virtually nails yoursoul to the wall, and the footage of Gene Vincent displays therockabilly giant's wild, manic energy. Perhaps the mostinteresting find is a performance by obscure folksinger John JacobNiles, who sings in a high, lonesome voice and begins his song with thelyric, 'Go away from my window. ', which Dylan borrowed for'It Ain't Me, Babe.' The film only starts to drag when newsreelfootage of protest rallies and hippies, as seen in countless other PBSdocumentaries about the 1960s, is inserted for historicalcontext. Since much of the interview and performance materialitself is so riveting, it is difficult to realize at first that NoDirection Home is actually rather conventional in form.
You wouldthink that Scorsese would push the documentary boundaries a little moreand avoid many of the newsreel cliches (but then who knows how much hewas involved with the project?).A friend and fellow fancomplained to me how little Dylan reveals in No Direction Home.(As the man himself said in one of his songs, 'nothing isrevealed.' ) I responded that Dylan is a master at generating hisown mythology, so how could we expect anything more? The filmmerely preserves the ultimate untrustworthy narrator of rock music forthe ages. Yes, Dylan is 'conning' us. He always has.That's what makes him so interesting.
Artists such as Bob Dylanand Randy Newman are the confidence men of our time, using masks not todirectly reveal anything about themselves, but to expose what's goingon around us all, making their work all the more engaging and lasting.OCTOBER 2005THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD: THREE STATES OF THE UNION They all hate us anyhowSo let’s drop the big one now- Randy Newman, “Political Science,” 1972“Political Science” is Randy Newman’sscathing portrayal of America’s superiority complex gone awry and thesong has only become more relevant with each passing (gulp)decade. On his latest album Harps and Angels, Newman shows thathe’s still keeping a sharp eye on the state of the union. “A Few Wordsin Defense of Our Country” is almost an update and coda to “PoliticalScience” that compares Hitler, Stalin and the Spanish Inquisition toour current administration, proving the United States really isn’t sobad.It’ssurprising to hear a rollicking piano, not unlike Randy Newman’s,gracing a number of songs on Red Dog Blues by.The Austin-based musician recently took up the instrument and it bringsa new dimension to his latest work. Also much like Newman,Fracasso takes the role of the “unreliable narrator” in the song “ThereGoes the Neighborhood” to depict post-9/11 paranoia.They don’t dress like we doThey talk funny when spoken toI never see them at our churchThey may be pagans or even worseOh no, there goes the neighborhoodThe lovely neighborhoodAbackwoods drifter hopes to find salvation in the Lone Star State in“Texas Lost Highway,” while the title tune muses on loss, from thedeath of a favorite dog to watching a father fade away in a resthome. “Red White & Blue” takes the perspective of a woundedsoldier. Its traditional folk sound evokes the Civil War, but itcould be about a more current conflict, too.Unlike Newman’s“Feels Like Home,” Fracasso’s songs display affairs of the heart withpoetic aplomb.
The pride, joy and awe that he feels watching hisnew daughter is palpable in “Naked Fool.” Even though the NewOrleans-flavored horn and piano arrangement brings Katrina to mind,“Hurricane” subtly mourns not only storm victims, but also casualtiesof love and life in general. “That is Life” shows how love andromance can flourish amid everyday routine as Fracasso utilizes a keeneye for small details that populate his songs.Now she lies on the sofa in a feathered sweaterWe’re both so tired but it’s our only time togetherMama, mama turn that TV offThere’s just one thing I wanna get acrossThat is lifeRedDog Blues blends folk, blues and country, and adds a little R&Bswing to Michael Fracasso’s already impressive repertoire. Thisvaried album proves he remains one of Austin’s premier lyricists andtunesmiths and is too good to be kept a secret for much longer.Apost on a music forum recently alerted me to another piano playerconcerned about America’s mindset. The poster raved about Roscoe Gordon’sNo Dark in America, a CD found in a dollar bargain bin. Gordonwas one of the founders of the Memphis Blues genre and known for hisunique piano style that Sun Records’ founder Sam Phillips called“Roscoe’s Rhythm.” He recorded a number of hit sides for Sun andother labels in the 1950s that made their way to Jamaica, where hispiano shuffle sparked the burgeoning ska scene. After retiring toQueens, New York, in the 1960s, he was rediscovered in 2000 andprompted to return to recording and performing. Just one monthafter he completed No Dark in America, Gordon passed away in 2002.Thealbum is a fine epitaph for this largely overlooked musicalinnovator.
His lopsided piano boogie is prominently featured andis unmistakable as the forerunner of ska rhythm. Sometimes theband struggles to keep up with Roscoe’s idiosyncratic rhythmicsense. He has a tendency to unexpectedly stretch out notes thatmakes it challenging to follow the beat. But this is Gordon’sstyle and most of the time it works, particularly on the title tune,written in response to the events of 9/11.
“No Dark in America”is a gritty slab of R&B with a monster roadhouse groove big enoughto shake off America’s woes.This song alone is worthmuch more than a dollar, but the disc holds other gems as well.Gordon shows his humorous side by revisiting his early Sun hit “Cheeseand Crackers” and on the ribald “You Look Bad When You’re Naked,” ahome recording performed on his charmingly out of tune piano. The blueslament “Are You Mine?” has Gordon strumming an electric guitar,utilizing a stop-start arrangement for dramatic effect. Even onanother instrument, he can’t resist messing with the rhythm! Thealbum concludes with the understated tender ballad “Now You’reGone.” The lyrics address a long lost lover, but they only remindus how much we lost now that Roscoe Gordon himself is gone.SEPTEMBER 2008Design downloaded from - your source for free web templates.
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Randy Newman Land Of Dreams Rarity Lyrics
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