Video: Randy Newman Performs "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country"

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The Los Angeles Times called "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" "so funny it hurt," and Rolling Stone named it among the Best Singles of 2007. It's now featured on Harps and Angels, Randy's latest Nonesuch release. You can watch a video performance of the song from last year on the Nonesuch Media page, and check back next week for all-new video features celebrating the release of the new album.

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Randy Newman presented the lyrics of his song "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" as an op-ed piece in the New York Times in January 2007 in response to the President's recent State of the Union address. The Los Angeles Times called the song a “three-decades-on bookend to Political Science" that was "so funny it hurt," and Rolling Stone named it the #2 song of 2007 (“right behind Jay-Z and ahead of Rihanna,” Newman wryly points out). It's now featured on Harps and Angels, Randy's latest Nonesuch release, due out this Tuesday.

Randy recorded a video performance of the song last year that you can now revisit on the Nonesuch Media page at nonesuch.com/media. To celebrate the arrival of Harps and Angels next week, we'll be releasing some brand-new video features, in which Randy tells the stories behind the album's songs, paired with solo piano performances of the pieces, so check back on Monday.

You'll also find dozens of other Nonesuch videos at nonesuch.com/media.

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  • Friday, August 1, 2008
    Video: Randy Newman Performs "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country"
    Pamela Springsteen

    Randy Newman presented the lyrics of his song "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" as an op-ed piece in the New York Times in January 2007 in response to the President's recent State of the Union address. The Los Angeles Times called the song a “three-decades-on bookend to Political Science" that was "so funny it hurt," and Rolling Stone named it the #2 song of 2007 (“right behind Jay-Z and ahead of Rihanna,” Newman wryly points out). It's now featured on Harps and Angels, Randy's latest Nonesuch release, due out this Tuesday.

    Randy recorded a video performance of the song last year that you can now revisit on the Nonesuch Media page at nonesuch.com/media. To celebrate the arrival of Harps and Angels next week, we'll be releasing some brand-new video features, in which Randy tells the stories behind the album's songs, paired with solo piano performances of the pieces, so check back on Monday.

    You'll also find dozens of other Nonesuch videos at nonesuch.com/media.

    Journal Articles:Album ReleaseVideo

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