Publication

2008 - ECW Press, Chicago, New York (State)

Language

English

Word Count

75,000 words, Guess

Page Count

300 pages

Physical Format

Electronic resource

Identifiers

  • Internet Archiverandynewmansamer0000cour
  • ISBN-139781554906901
  • ISBN-101554906903
  • OverDrive3445D4D8-ABC9-4FD4-B05A-A93627016C7B
  • Better World Books9781554906901
and 1 more

Classifications

  • LCCML410.N554 C86 2005eb
  • LCCML410.N5716C68 2005

Description

In addition to covering the life, music, and philosophy of Randy Newman, an enigmatic and audacious American composer, this biography looks at why he has been so largely unacknowledged—and misunderstood—by listeners and fans alike. Delving into the reasons for Newman's peripheral status on the cultural landscape, this suggests that, at heart, he has always been a musical outsider, that he has even built his mainstream career on a brilliant disguise. Using the conventions of American pop as a devious strategy, Newman incorporates into his barbed and satirical work the role of the untrustworthy narrator. In his songs, he wickedly enacts character dramas in order to play a variety of dubious roles: a slave trader in "Sail Away," a stalker in "Suzanne," a born-again yuppie in "It's Money That I Love," and an American demagogue in "Political Science." This is an illuminating portrait of an American artist as a masked man, an artful dodger who remains an American music enigma.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Randy Newman’s American DreamsElectronic resourceECW Press2008

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