This week I’ve been looking at some pretty famous songwriters who achieved fame for their populist style of singing and their unusual songs, Leonard Cohen and Joan Baez for example. Today my choice is Randy Newman. He’s one of our great American songwriters, but what I most admire about him is his choice of subject matter. It tends to be something specific. Something quirky, or a part of the human heart that usually doesn’t get discussed. He also has a killer sense of humor. I find his songs narrative, with telling harmonies and and simple melodies. Here he is in “Losing You.” It’s a conventional thing to sing about. But it isn’t about a lost love. It’s about the possibility of losing your love. Randy gets the human condition and sings about it with love.