The witty, cynical and often tongue-in-cheek songwriter Randy Newman is the subject of a new biography. He also wrote a bunch of film scores, including the music for Toy Story, Ragtime, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. We're revisiting Newman's interview with Terry Gross from 1998 and Ken Tucker reviews the book, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country. Justin Chang reviews the new Vatican thriller Conclave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
This message comes from Mint Mobile.
From the gas pump to the grocery store, inflation is everywhere.
So Mint Mobile is offering premium wireless starting at just $15 a month.
To get your new phone plan for just $15, go to mintmobile.com switch this is FRESH AIR.
I'm David Biancouli.
Some people don't know Randy Newman's name, but they do know his celebrated movie songs like you've Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story.
Some people also know him as the guy who wrote a big novelty hit about short people.
And a smaller number are aware of a large body of work, including dark songs about relationships, racism, geopolitics, pollution and religion, that ranks among the finest pop music to emerge from Los Angeles in the latter part of the 20th century.
A new biography of Newman by Robert Hilburn takes its title from one of Newman's songs.
It's called A Few Words in Defense of Our country, and rock critic Ken Tucker says it presents all these facets of Newman's life.
What has happened down here is the wind have changed.
Clouds roll in from the north and it start to rain.
Three of Randy Newman's uncles were Hollywood film composers, and their skill and success was apparently, according to this new biography, a huge burden for a young Randy Newman, who knew he, too, wanted to be a musician but doubted his talent.
He took refuge in music.
His uncles ignored rock and roll, especially the tumbling piano hits of Fats Domino.
Rock music gave Newman an escape route into both fantasy and social commentary, and soon he was making up characters and inhabiting them.
You looked like a princess the night we met with your hair piled apart I will never forget.
I'm drunk right now, baby, but I got to be.
I never could tell you what you mean to me.
I loved you the first time I saw you and I always will love you.