2. Randy NewmanRandy Newman
I went to LA last year, and I was doing this radio show for UCLA. The students were all about 18, and I said that I like Randy Newman, and they all started laughing at me. I think they really thought I was joking. I assume that they think he just did Toy Story and stuff. I couldn’t be bothered to be that older person that was like, ‘No kids, you should check out his early stuff!’ I just conceded and giggled at myself on live radio.
You can hear the elements of that Toy Story soundtrack in every album he makes. That’s why he makes soundtracks: he’s a storyteller, he doesn’t even have to say any words and his music tells a beautiful story. His music is so relatable and so thematic in a variety of subtle to dramatic ways. He says some questionable things sometimes, but he is being a character. I think that’s why some people can struggle with him, because he will say some outrageous things that perhaps he shouldn’t say. I don’t agree with some of the things he says, but he’s acting.
This album is also hilarious, because it’s one of the worst produced albums ever. You have to go between each song turning the volume up and down. My favorite was always ‘Living Without You’, just because I’m a sucker for the soppy stuff. You have to turn it up in the verse and turn it down when you get to the chorus – it sounds terrible! But that’s all part of the charm of it. It was nice hearing a record that sounded so terrible, because I’m not a producer, and it gave me faith that you don’t have to be a producer to make a record.
