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Review: Randy Newman's 'Bad Love'
by Jordan Hoffman

published 6/28/99

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Jordan Hoffman is LeisureSuit.net's Queens-based Senior Editor.



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Subj: dexter's tune
I got the score of this tune. DO you still need it?

-- marek
Sep 29, 2007 at 11:53PM

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Bad Love, Great CD. Randy Newman Rules!
"Let's go back to yes-ter-day!" opens Randy Newman's first pop album this decade. What better way to summon the special Newman ears one sprouts when his tunes appear? Going back to yesterday, both musically and lyrically, is how Newman made his name, is how he pays for the Lexus he sings about, or the fancy schools where he sends his kids. Newman-brand nostalgia is a special kind of nostalgia. Perfect, simple Americana, though dark, just a bit off key. Is it just a coincidence he scored Pleasantville? Or that no one complains that, strictly speaking, Newman is a very limited singer?

Randy Newman, the bastard child of George Gershwin and Albert Brooks, has blessed us with a dozen new songs, all loosely about Bad Love. Indeed, it is the name of the record. Examples are a family, once only happy spending time in front of a television, now discovering that they're even happier in front of their individual television sets, a sweet love song to a far away ex-wife, a lover begging for death rather than more time spent with the lover who doesn't care, a powerful old man torn to shreds by a young piece of tail in tight pants, who knows how ridiculous it is that she destroys him so, an aged liberal idealist sending a last love letter to Karl Marx, admitting defeat and burying his past. . .from his mansion on the hill. Randy Newman reminds us there's bad love everywhere. There's also an explanation of how European imperialists brought disease all over the world in the 16th Century, not necessarily bad love, and perhaps more fitting with an older album where one never knew when a Huey Long campaign song might pop up--but then nothing about Randy Newman ever made complete sense.

All you really need to record a good Randy Newman album is piano and voice upfront and a little extra room in the back for some lush accompanying strings. Thus, I was a bit surprised to learn Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake (look up their credits yourself if you don't know them) were producing this new one. They've done a good job of it, leaving their signature sounds checked at the door, by and large, and adding color in a few charming places. Some Wurlitzer organ here, some pseudo-lounge rhumba there, and some Brian May-esque guitar put to hilarious effect on "I'm Dead (But I Don't Know It)," a nice middle finger to the sorry dinosaur rock acts still plugging away out there. Best is the slight 78 feel to "Going Home," a wonderfully subtle song, inspired by WWI, repeating a few simple lines just under two minutes. There's no one else recording today who can play a plain song so true that it can both break your heart and push your esoterica buttons at the same time.

Listen, I can't sell you on Randy Newman if you don't already like him. But maybe you've never heard him. Or, you may be a little puzzled. Is Randy Newman the A Bug's Life guy? Yes, he is. He's also done for pop songs what Gary Larson did for comics. The form is simple, sometimes dated, and with it, perhaps even as a result of it, the content cuts right to the quick, with a wit that is silly, but thoughtful, and often a touch distasteful. Newman's songs have layers of double meanings, intricacies and complexities that modern goofballs like Beck (who Newman admires) can only dream of. Yes, the guy from A Bug's Life. And George Carlin starred on Shining Time Station

One of my favorite Randy moments, other than on "Shame," when he tells the backup girls to shut up and let him explain, echoing his performance on "Randy Newman's Faust" when he barked at the orchestra for being out of key, when it was he who was singing wrong, was a moment describing his musical influences to Vin Scelsa during a radio interview. Describing the Stephen Foster-like piano shuffles that make their way into nearly every song, the very chords that cause me to reflexively giggle, he said, "It's a natural form of expression for me. Drummers don't like it, singers don't like it--Nobody likes it!" It's true, anywhere else outside of "Frontierland," it would be horribly annoying, but Randy Newman is flatly a fantastic and fascinating person, and whatever his natural form of expression may be, even belching out the alphabet, would be sublime. And I'd buy every album the day it came out.

Bad Love is on Dreamworks Records, because Randy has a lot of Jew friends in L.A., and Randy has done so much for their proud industries. All the boys are on it, from Greg Cohen to Bruce Fowler to Sid Page. He's promoted the album on "Regis and Kathi Lee." And you wonder where he gets his material from. Short people got no reason to live.


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THE YAK SHACK


Name: marek
Subject: dexter's tune
-- Sep 29, 2007 at 11:53PM
I got the score of this tune. DO you still need it?

Name: hg
Subject: dexters tune
-- Jul 22, 2006 at 2:59PM
http://www.musicnote s.com/
(search for "dexter's tune")
... greetings from munich

Name: nath
Subject: score of dexter's tune
-- Jun 20, 2006 at 6:51AM
I'm find the score of Dexter's tune, please, where i find it? It's very very important...please help me...The score is for my grandfather...he's dying...thanks soo much...

Name: django
Subject: randy
-- Nov 24, 2005 at 1:46AM
randy is finest songwriter of his era now that neil, van,james, paul macartney elton etc write absolutely unlistenable rubbish randy still has good sophisticated songs with biting clever lyrics and i thing his singing has improved with age - bad love is a brilliant piece - well he wants everybody to like him ...we do randy we do.....

Name: gerard
Subject: bad love
-- Aug 10, 2005 at 3:15AM
'Nations of Europe' sounds a bit heavy to me both in music and lyrics, not exactly Newman's best I'm afraid.

Name: marymoh
Subject: i love u
-- Jul 1, 2005 at 1:44PM
i love de site so let no any guyman enter there ok

Name: An LS.n Reader
Subject: Review: Randy Newman's 'Bad Love'
-- Jun 24, 2004 at 4:33AM
in the song rednecks "line quoted is "we're keeping the niggers down" Randy is not being racist..if you listen to the song, he is pointing out that the north is just as prejudiced as the south, the south is just more open and honest out their prejudice

Name: Diego
Subject: Re: Short People
-- Mar 30, 2004 at 5:51AM
Anybody who's familiar with Newman's oeuvre will tell you he is anything but a racist. His mission was always to show us how ignorant and mean we can be sometimes. "Bad Love" is a fascinating album, perhaps less caustic than, say, "Trouble In Paradise", but tracks such as "Nations Of Europe" prove the old dog can still bite. On "Short People": are you sure it's actually about short people or midgets? To me it's about children! You know, there are many people who really hate children, and that frightens me no end. Randy often says his father was like that, and that's the reason he wrote "Memo To My Son". What do you think? Is my theory sensible?

Name: rebecca
Subject: short people ain't got no reason to live
-- Dec 12, 2003 at 7:13PM
short people are more succseful then tall people so stop dissing on us

Name: yaris
Subject: I miss you-Randy Newman
-- May 28, 2003 at 8:44PM
Could someone please email me the lyrics to "I miss you" by Randy Newman? Thanks so much!
email to: BreakingN2showbiz@ya hoo.com

Name: Greg Daley
Subject: Randy Newman
-- May 16, 2003 at 5:19PM
I am hoping to produce a video similiar to one
randy newman did...I would like his permission...did find a way of contacting him? If so pls advise!!

Name: mike
Subject: this thread is hilarious!
-- Oct 28, 2002 at 3:07PM
To the guy who implied Newman is a racist: Did you actually listen to the song?? I guess you're one of those idiots who also thinks Newman hates short people, huh?

And to the teachers who want to use "I'm Different" at their school functions...are you kidding? Have you actually heard the lyrics to the song? "I'm different, and that's how it goes/Ain't gonna play no goddamn game...I got a different way of talkin'/drives the women kind of wild...I ain't saying I'm better than you are/ But maybe I am..."

I'm sure the parents would love that!

Name: Trish
Subject: video
-- Aug 25, 2002 at 2:51PM
I'm trying to remember the name of the song that has Hulk Hogan in the video.

Name: The Editors Respond
Subject: Re: I miss you
-- Aug 19, 2002 at 10:59PM
Phil --

Try opening the CD and looking at the enclosed booklet with the lyrics in them.

Name: phil
Subject: I miss you
-- Aug 19, 2002 at 3:51PM
I`m trying to find the lyrics to the song "I Miss You." MY e-mail is phil@go-concepts.com , thanks,Phil.

Name: Jamie
Subject: Lyrics Request
-- May 26, 2002 at 6:03PM
Could it be possible if someone could send me lyrics to the song "Going Home" by Randy Newman? My email address is JRTBounceWithMe@aol. com. Thank you very much!

Name: HYNA
Subject: Review: Randy Newman's 'Bad Love'
-- May 9, 2002 at 6:12PM
WHAT'Z CRACKIN CRYSTAL HERE CRYSTAL1987US@YAHOO. COM

Name: Debbie Sullen
Subject: Randy Newman
-- Apr 18, 2002 at 7:05PM
I'm a kindergarten teacher and am interested in having my children sing "I'm Different" at their end of the year promotional exercises. How can I get the musc and lyrics for the song?
Debbie Sullen
debbie413@msn.co m

Name: Mary Blakely
Subject: Randy Newman
-- Jan 14, 2002 at 3:35PM
Can you help me? I am a professional speaker who helps teachers and parents to understand why children do what they do. I would like to use Randy Newman's song, "I'm Different" on my Powerpoint presentation that I do for schools and I need to contact him for permission to use his song. Who do I need to contact in order to get the approval? thanks for your help.
Mary Blakely
616-323-9280
mary@azuray.com

Name: matt
Subject: MORONS ALL
-- Jun 4, 2001 at 9:28PM
OK people Randy Newman is not a racist (Rednecks) ...nor is he against gay people (Half a Man). He speaks out against them in his songs. Rednecks wasn't about being able to say "nigger" in a song...it was meant to show how the south - stereotyped for being ignorant - had actually begun desegregating their society, while the high and mighty north simply put their black community in the urban centers where the white folk wouldn't have to see them. Does anyone have a brain anymore? Do people actually listen to things???

Name: Giampaolo
Subject: Bad Love
-- Jun 29, 2000 at 8:29AM
"Maybe i'm not understanding
the English language"...itis
descouranging to see how many
people just don't get it..
America deserves Oliver Stone

Name: Lauri
Subject: too bad
-- Apr 7, 2000 at 7:07AM
Listen all you fools out there... If you don`t know what your`re talking about... just shut up.
Listen to it instead.

Name: Jordan Hoffman Responds
Subject: Re: Bad love review
-- Dec 20, 1999 at 12:04PM
Roeland--this is a Randy Newman review. The author of "We're keeping the Niggers down." Think beofre you yak.

Name: Roeland
Subject: Bad love review
-- Dec 20, 1999 at 5:20AM
I hope the last paragraph of the review of Randy Newman's Bad love is meant to be satire? If so, there is one problem: it is not funny. If it is not meant to be satirical, I can only say that it is racist drivel.

Name: Sean
Subject: Bad Love Bad Writing
-- Aug 9, 1999 at 7:33PM
" Going back to yesterday, both musically and lyrically, is how Newman made his name,"

When I first discovered this site I was impressed with fresh writing. But this is the mosty awful piece of suck-up, douche-chill, cliche-ridden tripe I'd expect in Entertainment Weekly.

Maybe I was mistaken about this site.


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