Randy Newman: Political Science

Written by Naomi Louisa O'Connell

mezzo-soprano

In category: Song of the Day

Published February 21, 2017

Steve first introduced me to the music of Randy Newman with the song “Dayton Ohio, 1903” in the NYFOS ‘Roadtrip’ program and I have been a huge fan ever since.  This song, written in the early 70s, is one of my favorites.  It pulls no punches. At a 2011 concert in London, Randy said about this song: “Funny how people don’t laugh at [it] anymore. We’re not actually that crazy. Not quite.”

Check out this Spotify link for my preferred version from a concert in New York in 1971; the YouTube link is from a live television performance in 1972.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NRbI15ufqM

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Hailed by The New York Times as “radiant,” Irish mezzo-soprano Naomi Louisa O’Connell deftly balances her love of opera with that of art song, musical theater and popular song with repertoire ranging from Schumann, Strauss and Ravel to Bernstein, Gershwin and Randy Newman. An alumna of the NYFOS@Juilliard residency, Naomi returns to NYFOS this week in Picnic Cantata/Dinner at Eight on Tuesday, February 21 at Merkin Concert Hall. To follow Naomi on Facebook, click here.

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