If Singer/Songwriter/Composer Randy Newman Was In Your Living Room, Fiddling With Your Radio...

...it'd probably sound something like this.

I've always loved Newman's music, and not just his cinematic stuff. There's always something so "lived-in" about his voice; something so clever (yet sincere) about his lyrics. And now that I've listened to this podcast, I have another reason: When Bob Boilen complimented his "rounding-the-bases" melody from The Natural, the example of melodic greatness Randy reached for in an effort to deflect the compliment was Beethoven's sublime 7th Symphony.

Now that's a man with excellent taste.

Attribution(s): "Happy Randy" photo comes from ejmc via Visual Hunt (CC BY).