Most Popular
-
Cock and Awe
St. Louis pickup artists rule the roost.
-
The strange and violent world of St. Louis' bail bondsmen
-
A Village Runs Through It: The RFT unveils its big bold plans for that big damn hole
-
All In A Name
Did the Post-Dispatch deliberately give its new blog the same title as the competition?
-
Heat Rises: Pappy's Smokehouse elevates humble barbecue to ethereal heights
-
Was it Colonel Mustard or Professor Plum who killed MLK? (4)
-
John Ray used to own a tavern in Benton Park. Now he lives in Quincy and dabbles in conspiracy theory. (3)
-
Heat Rises: Pappy's Smokehouse elevates humble barbecue to ethereal heights (3)
-
The strange and violent world of St. Louis' bail bondsmen (2)
-
A to Z (2)
-
Tegan and Sara find their sister act soaring with The Con
-
Fifteen things you might not know about the Bottle Rockets, on their fifteenth birthday
-
B-Sides gets personal with Alicia Keys, as she is, and examines the parallels between Metallica-worshippers Apocalyptica and Harptallica
-
Using Their Illusion: Ferocious — and funny — locals the Livers hope video builds the radio star
-
Slice of Life
John Vanderslice celebrates warmer weather with an exclusive mix of tunes.
-
Mission Accomplished!
05:53PM 05/01/08 -
George Lois: The Apotheosis of Cover Design
03:46PM 05/01/08 -
Exclusive MP3s: Ghostface Killah "Charlie Brown" Remixes by DJ Mehdi, Guns N' Bombs, more!
07:43PM 05/01/08 -
Cinco de Mayo on Cherokee Street at aPop Records!
07:21PM 05/01/08 -
The Shaved Duck Opens Tonight
11:49AM 05/01/08 -
The Morning Brew: Thursday, 5.1
09:23AM 05/01/08
What we are writing about
- 7-Up
- A Closer Walk with...
- Araka
- Central West End...
- COCA
- Cory Spinks
- Craft Alliance
- foie gras
- Kevin Kline Awards
- Ludo
- Mensa
- Mexican cuisine
- Mosaic
- musicals
- Othello
- Playstation
- RFT DJ Spin-off
- sexual harassment
- St. Louis theater
- The Black Rep
- The Ghost of the Forest
- Three Monkeys
- Tuesdays with Morrie
- University City
- Vashon High School
- Washington University
- White Flag Projects
- Wii
- Xbox
- ~scape
Recent Articles By Christian Schaeffer
-
Femme Fatality
One's Not Enough
(Stickfigure Recordings) -
Quiet, or You Get the Lash!
Music in the library
-
Destroyer
9 p.m. Wednesday, April 30. Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City
-
The Roscoe Beano Band
Time Traveler
(self-released) -
Life Unscripted
Project Improv-St. Louis goes long
National Features
-
Broward-Palm Beach New Times
Last Step to Redemption
Drug counselor Richard Entrekin swam a little too easily in a sea of sharks.
By Amy Guthrie -
Village Voice
The Cro-Mag Diaries
Remembering the brutal life and times of John "Bloodclot" Joseph, New York hardcore icon.
By Rob Harvilla -
Miami New Times
Class Warfare
At a Florida school, kids threaten teachers, whose bosses look the other way.
By Francisco Alvarado -
SF Weekly
Party Crashers
If you think Ralph Nader won't screw the Democrats again, you're not paying attention.
By John Geluardi
Randy Newman
7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 4. Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard
Christian Schaeffer
Published: April 30, 2008
With all due respect to novelist David Foster Wallace, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men would make a good title for a Randy Newman retrospective. For 40 years, Newman has crafted three-minute, piano-based pop songs about such unsavory characters as sweet-talking slave traders ("Sail Away"), trigger-happy patriots ("Political Science"), and good-old-boy politicians ("Kingfish"). He continued this streak last year when he published the lyrics to "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" as an op-ed piece for the New York Times, ruminating on our nation's leaders and how they stack up to the likes of Stalin and the Caesars. And while Newman's humor and saztire have always been a hallmark of his songwriting, it's easy to ignore the big, human heart that rests inside these hideous men. It's this heart that keeps Newman's character studies vibrant 40 years later, and it's the same heart that makes Newman an engaging, magnanimous performer.
