Randy Newman Takes On The Administration
Last month, the Academy's perennial nominee Randy Newman saw "a slightly expurgated version" of the lyrics to his new song "A Few Words In Defense Of Our Country" run as an an op-ed piece in the New York Times. A sample:
I’d like to say a few wordsIf anything, it's a reminder of the songwriter's Sail Away era, before he was the go-to soundtrack song man. He spoke with Newsweek about the tune and his writing:
In defense of our country
Whose people aren’t bad nor are they mean
Now the leaders we have
While they’re the worst that we’ve had
Are hardly the worst this poor world has seen
Newsweek: You’ve been scoring films for almost 30 years now. So you never find yourself having to curb your instincts?Randy Newman: If you’re scoring a scene where he’s riding down the highway and he’s crashing into things and he sees stuff that scares him, I write the spook music. I do whatever I can do to serve the picture. I’m not interested in writing Bruckner’s 10th symphony, even if I could. I’m interested in doing what’s best for the picture. It sounds a little too noble, but that’s exactly the way I look at the job.
Newsweek: So what prompted this song, then, at this time?
Randy Newman: It’s the noisiest kind of administration and the noisiest kind of incompetence I’ve seen in my lifetime.
At least Nixon knew the rules and then broke them. But putting someone in prison and not letting them see a lawyer or know what they’re charged with? Maybe they’ve snuck it all along, Kennedy on down. But they’ve actually admitted it, with [U.S. Attorney General Alberto] Gonzales up there saying this is higgledy-piggledy-ing about big giant American things that we are proud of. It’s really odd, the certitude, the way Cheney, Bush and Rumsfeld acted, we’ve never seen anything like this. Against my will almost I wrote something. This is an aberration. They’ll be gone and I don’t think we’ll have anything this bad again.We're guessing it won't make the Toy Story 3 soundtrack. Here's a video of the polemic which, despite Randy's intentions, still sounds like it should be sung by a claymation character during a third act flashback.
For the lefties, here are the lyrics:
I’d like to say a few wordsThink Randy's a donkey or an elephant?
In defense of our country
Whose people aren’t bad nor are they mean
Now the leaders we have
While they’re the worst that we’ve had
Are hardly the worst this poor world has seenLet’s turn history’s pages, shall we?
Take the Caesars for example
Why within the first few of them
They had split Gaul into three parts
Fed the Christians to the lions
And burned down the City
And one of ’em
Appointed his own horse Consul of the Empire
That’s like vice president or something
That’s not a very good example, is it?
But wait, here’s one, the Spanish Inquisition
They put people in a terrible positionI don’t even like to think about it
Well, sometimes I like to think about itJust 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 is pretty much out of the question
But in times like these
We sure could use a friendHitler. Stalin.
Men who need no introduction
King Leopold of Belgium. That’s right.
Everyone thinks he’s so great
Well he owned The Congo
He tore it up too
He took the diamonds, he took the gold
He took the silver
Know what he left them with?
MalariaA 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 and color coded
And what are we supposed to be afraid of?
Why, of being afraid
That’s what terror means, doesn’t it?
That’s what it used to meanThe end of an empire is messy at best
And this empire is 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
Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.
Posted at 12:30 PM in Video
Tags: Randy Newman
"Pluto ain't a planet anymore either."
ah, randy newman. you have stolen my heart.
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Wait a second. Are you telling me that a singer/musician is railing against the Bush administration? What??!? And they're not above using hyperbole to explain their feelings??!? Really???!? I cannot believe it. I will not believe it.
Way to go out on a limb there Randy.
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Uh, why aren't you railing against the Bush administration, mattshu?
Exactly how far does Cheney's dick have to be up your ass before you realize you're getting fucked?
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Poor guy mattshu has no sense of right and wrong. No wonder he relates to Bush & Co.
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You might check into anger management classes, dude. Thanks for your concern, but personally, Cheney has not caused me many problems. If you picked him up at a bar and he had his way with you, causing you pain, then i am sorry for you.
Sometimes it's better to fix the things that you have control over, rather than obsess about things over which you have no control. Makes life a bit more enjoyable when you see that you are responsible for your own happiness.
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Thank you, Ayn Rand.
Can I speak to mattshu now?
:D
Moron.
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A. Thanks for the compliment.
B. Let me descend to your level. The level of "oh, no, my bumper sticker sayings aren't affecting people, and real debate scares me and makes me want to piss myself."
I know you are but what am I, infinity.
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Bumper sticker sayings like..."Sometimes it's better to fix the things that you have control over, rather than obsess about things over which you have no control"?
:D
This is too easy.
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Political Science
by Randy Newman
(Available on the first edition of the very fine Old Grey Whistle Test DVDs)
No one likes us I don't know why. We may not be perfect But heaven knows we try. But all around even our old friends put us down. Let's drop the big one and see what happens. We give them money But are they grateful? No they're spiteful And they're hateful. They don't respect us so let's surprise them; We'll drop the big one and pulverize them.
Now Asia's crowded
And Europe's too old.
Africa's far too hot,
And Canada's too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us.
Bridge:
We'll save Australia;
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We'll build an all-American amusement park there;
They've got surfing, too.
Well, boom goes London,
And boom Paris.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it'll be;
We'll set everybody free;
You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby,
There'll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let's drop the big one now.
Let's drop the big one now.
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That's right, Mattshu! You keep fighting the good fight by posting on a music website's comments system! That'll teach 'em!
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That's one big-ass bumper sticker.
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None of you should be allowed to vote.
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hey all
what happened to public discourse?
and why does a simple political disagreement go from:
this:
"Wait a second. Are you telling me that a singer/musician is railing against the Bush administration? What??!? And they're not above using hyperbole to explain their feelings??!? Really???!? I cannot believe it. I will not believe it.
Way to go out on a limb there Randy."
to this:
"Exactly how far does Cheney's dick have to be up your ass before you realize you're getting fucked?"
i personally dont see how mattshus dislike of protest music and musicians using their voice equals him enoying the anal rapings of you vice president.
apparently if you arent 100 percent liberal, hate em all, cant have a discussion with em, liberal you like to take it in the ass. at least according to Theo.
So Theo, when you get what you want and we actually get a chance to vote for a new president, or we need to talk about the issues, when Obama or Clinton or any democrat needs to talk to a republican or neocon or fascist, whatever you call them, or whenever someone says "lets actually work together' youre gonna yell "FAG!!! BUSH IS SUCKING YOU OFF AND YOU LIKE IT!" and then giggle and run. good work.
Mattshu
I personally dont agree with youre negative critique of Rany Newman's use of his music to protest. Thats what rock and roll is. iTS A LOUD NOISE aganist the quiet bullsit. Its Bob Dylan at newport using an electric guitar and writing "masters of war", its the sex pistols singing abotu "anarchy in the uk."
it's all the fucking great rock songs from the 60s.
if it isnt screaming a big fuck you and pissing someone off, it isnt rock and roll. it might have a guitar, not every song might be a protest anthem.
randy newman also has a history of it, as shown by his song Political Science. He's been at it for awhile, all the new upstarts dixie chicks, bright eyes, etc. are jumping on his band wagon and many other, neil young, dylan etc. so its kind of unfair to critizice him for jumling on now, hes done it for year.
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So jake here is telling me not to make blanket assumptions about people by making one about me.
Excellent job, sir.
You win at the internets.
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hahaha,
snappy retort!!!
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I like Randy Newman
Keepin' the niggers down!
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I have seen this information and lots more at
http://megauploadfiles.com/
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