Randy Newman famous quotes

It's funny; people get so doctrinaire about music. It should be the last thing you don't have an open mind about.
-- Randy Newman

#People #Mind #Lasts

If you have a kid and you try irony out on them, they don't get it at 7, 8 years old. You can't really hide the Internet from kids. It worries me some particularly because I've done Disney and Pixar stuff.
-- Randy Newman

#Kids #Years #Worry

The radio is blastin', someone's knockin' at the door. I'm lookin' at my girlfriend, she's passed out on the floor.
-- Randy Newman

#Girlfriend #Doors #Alcohol

Still, it's clear that there are lots of people out there who are uncomfortable [about racism]. The Civil War was a long time ago but there are aspects of it that remain unsettled,
-- Randy Newman

#War #Racism #People

If getting on the radio was a major motivation, I'd be one of the worst writers of all time. I admire people who do it, and I think it's a nice way to work, but I try to do the best I can and write what I like. I don't worry about it.
-- Randy Newman

#Motivation #Nice #Writing

In England, in France, in no other country would a black man have a chance to get elected. There's no two ways about it. Our country [USA] has been better about dealing with immigration and people who are different from each other than any other country in the world, that I know of.
-- Randy Newman

#Country #Men #Usa

But if you're doing something, show up everyday, and something good might happen - it's not going to happen if you don't show up.
-- Randy Newman

#Everyday #Might #Shows

I think in most cases, unless you're writing about a character who is garrulous, you say what you've got to say and then get out. Those little conjunctions, those little turnaround words help you do it. That's the way I like to write: I get rid of things rather than add them.
-- Randy Newman

#Character #Writing #Thinking

Writers have always liked my stuff, pretty much. That's what I wanted - I think my goal wasn't to get rich and famous, necessarily, though I cared about that. I always thought, "Oh, this could be a hit," or "that will sell records." But the first thing I wanted was that people who knew a lot about music, or had taste-making qualities, they would like my stuff. Writers, people like that.
-- Randy Newman

#Thinking #Goal #People

The easiest thing I do is assignment songs. They tell me what they need me to write. I can do that fairly quickly. Writing for an orchestra is difficult. Writing songs [on your own] is most difficult of all. Though [writing for] the orchestra is close.
-- Randy Newman

#Song #Writing #Needs

The best of my songs are more than just a joke. There's something else going on - a character, or it's not just a plain joke.
-- Randy Newman

#Song #Character #Jokes

You know, they say you can reduce genius to someone who spent 10,000 hours trying to get good at something. I'm not claiming either one of those. I haven't done anything for 10,000 hours but sleep. But you do stuff enough, you get better at it. Usually it's a simple thing like that. Essentially, a brainless endeavor.
-- Randy Newman

#Sleep #Simple #Trying

I've often written about places that are totally different from anything I know. Sometimes they turn out better.
-- Randy Newman

#Different #Sometimes #Turns

I've written about a lot of different things, but the whole idea of writing for another character is unusual for pop music. Most of the repertory is love songs, and most of mine isn't. I don't know if that's a mental defect, or shyness, or what.
-- Randy Newman

#Song #Character #Writing

Sometimes what I'm writing is more important to me than the rest of my life. It's more important to me that I'm writing well than anything else.
-- Randy Newman

#Writing #Important #Sometimes

And the Lord said: I burn down your cities - how blind you must be. I take from you your children, and you say how blessed are we. You all must be crazy to put your faith in me. That's why I love mankind.
-- Randy Newman

#Children #Crazy #Blessed

I ain't saying that I'm better than you, but maybe I am.
-- Randy Newman

#Egotism

We'll have a kid or maybe we'll rent one. He's got to be straight, we don't want a bent one.
-- Randy Newman

#Family #Kids #Want

He got drunk last night, kicked Mama down the stairs. But I'm alright, so I don't care.
-- Randy Newman

#Family #Night #Drunk

Crank up the Beach Boys, Baby.
-- Randy Newman

#Baby #Beach #Boys

Short people got no reason to live.
-- Randy Newman

#People #Reason #Controversy

It takes a whole lot of medicine for me to pretend I am somebody else.
-- Randy Newman

#Medicine #Alcohol #Drug

I seen her with the milkman, riding down the street. When you're through with my baby, milkman, send her home to me.
-- Randy Newman

#Baby #Home #Infidelity

Don't forget to bring that little blonde haired girl along. You know the one, love to watch her jump up and down.
-- Randy Newman

#Girl #Watches #Littles

This one guy's wife is such a pretty brown thing, that I'm liable to give her a poke or two. Whaddaya think of that?
-- Randy Newman

#Thinking #Two #Giving

I'd like to explain why you fine young men had to be blown apart to defend this mud hole.
-- Randy Newman

#Men #Mud #Politics

Asia's crowded and Europe's too old, Africa is far too hot and Canada's too cold. And South America stole our name, let's drop the big one.
-- Randy Newman

#Europe #Names #America

College men from L.S.U., went in dumb, come out dumb, too.
-- Randy Newman

#Education #Men #College

I've written a song for Prince. I never showed it to Prince, but just to see if I could do it. At the time, when I sort of knew him, he was recording a song a day. I wondered if I could do that. So I wrote it.
-- Randy Newman

#Song

I like the performing. And interviews, even. And the stuff that's not sitting in a room by yourself with empty paper. But I never loved writing, to tell you the truth.
-- Randy Newman

#Writing #Paper #Stuff

Rednecks' always made me nervous to play, but I'm glad I wrote it and I continue to play it. It's just that the language is so rough.
-- Randy Newman

#Redneck #Play #Language

I've worked with a band, and it's nice to have someone to travel around with, but I didn't like it as well on stage.
-- Randy Newman

#Nice #Band #Stage

Stay away from drugs. They're not worth it. I've tried, but there's none of them that's worth it.
-- Randy Newman

#Drug #Worth It

Learn about the world, the way it works, any kind of science and anthropology, it's really an interesting place we live in. Evolution is a really fantastic idea, even more than the idea of God I think.
-- Randy Newman

#Thinking #Ideas #Interesting

I started recording because I was always complaining about the records that I was getting of my songs. At least if I did them and messed them up, I wouldn't have anyone else to blame.
-- Randy Newman

#Song #Records #Complaining

I am half a man, holy Jesus, what a drag.
-- Randy Newman

#Jesus #Men #Half

They don't respect us, so let's surprise them, we'll drop the big one, pulverize them.
-- Randy Newman

#Politics #Surprise #Bigs

I sit here in this chair, I pour myself some whiskey, and watch my troubles vanish into the air.
-- Randy Newman

#Air #Alcohol #Drug

I like to write my lyrics on clay tablets.
-- Randy Newman

#Writing #Tablets #Clay

I'm pretty proud of my film music in general.
-- Randy Newman

#Film Music #Proud #Film

You've got troubles, I've got 'em too. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. We'll stick together to see it through cause you've got a friend in me.
-- Randy Newman

#Together #Causes #Sticks

I like the idea of taking a true classic written by a true genius and essentially destroying it!
-- Randy Newman

#Ideas #Genius #Classic

Who would want to break into [the music business]? It's like a bank that's already been robbed.
-- Randy Newman

#Want #Break #Music Business

We don't know our ***** from a hole in the ground.
-- Randy Newman

#Ass #Holes

I think the tax cut is ridiculous but so am I.
-- Randy Newman

#Cutting #Thinking #Ridiculous

I once had dinner with Madonna and I wasn't nervous but within about a minute I found myself talking about underwear.
-- Randy Newman

#Talking #Dinner #Underwear

If I were to die tomorrow, I think they'd say Newman 56, composer of the hit song, Short People. Jumped off a mountain today.
-- Randy Newman

#Song #Thinking #People

God bless the potholes on Memory Lane.
-- Randy Newman

#Memories #God Bless #Lanes

I realized that, instead of moving people closer to a salvation decision, an answer can push them further away. Rather than engaging their minds or urging them to consider an alternative perspective, an answer can give them ammunition for future attacks against the gospel.
-- Randy Newman

#Moving #Giving #Perspective

I am not overlooking any mail. I'm looking at all of it. I even wrote back to the Viagra people.
-- Randy Newman

#People #Viagra #Mail

I like Public Enemy a great deal.
-- Randy Newman

#Enemy #Public Enemies #Deals

I like science - geography, meteorology, cosmology.
-- Randy Newman

#Meteorology #Geography #Cosmology

I've always had a lot of respect from the people I respected.
-- Randy Newman

#People

Cleveland, city of light! City of magic!
-- Randy Newman

#Cities #Light #Magic

What I'm most pleased about is that there's no particular decline. The songs I wrote 40 years ago are no worse and no better - there's a consistency.
-- Randy Newman

#Song #Years #Consistency

If we'd had another carefree 70s, I'd have been dead. It was a little too carefree, you know? I don't know how carefree they were for me, I think I was worried then, I can't remember what about.
-- Randy Newman

#Thinking #Littles #Remember

I don't remember ever having writer's block. If I sit in there for four hours, I'll usually have something.
-- Randy Newman

#Block #Four #Remember

I always thought my best album was 'Trouble in Paradise.' I was the happiest with that one.
-- Randy Newman

#Paradise #Albums #Trouble

But I don't want to sing everything out of the side of my mouth, I want people to understand what I mean.
-- Randy Newman

#Mean #People #Want

It's very hard to get rich and famous at a young age and handle it well.
-- Randy Newman

#Age #Rich #Young

Most of my songs are about insensitivity of some kind.
-- Randy Newman

#Song #Kind #Insensitivity

Mostly, I don't write overtly personal stuff.
-- Randy Newman

#Writing #Stuff

My music has a high irritation factor. I`ve always tried to say something. Eccentric lyrics about eccentric people. Often it was is joke. But I would plead guilty on the grounds that I prefer eccetricity to the bland.
-- Randy Newman

#Irritation #People #Eccentric