Month: March 2011

Randy Newman‘s successful career as a composer of film scores has been a double-edged sword. To young people, he is the guy with the nasal voice who sang "You’ve Got a Friend in Me" for Toy Story 16 years ago (!). To an older audience the edgy L.A. songwriter and college campus favorite who happened to score films betrayed the razor-sharp wit of his early career with high-profile forays into making cute music—see above—but never abandoning that wit.

Look beyond it for a minute. This member of the Toy Story generation fell in love with Randy Newman while listening to an album recorded by Harry Nilsson, aptly titled Nilsson Sings Newman and released in 1970. Perhaps the best track from that song is a blissful paean to the simple life, "Dayton, Ohio – 1903" that starts with a dark, jazzy piano pulse that unravels into a trickling descent—the melody relaxes as the listener does. By the time Nilsson sings, the melody has coolly unfurled: "Would you like to come over for tea with the missus and me?," he sings, and Newman (who played piano for the record) breaks into a pacifying I-IV, a familiar chorus. And we’re home.

Etta James, who cut her teeth as a gospel artist, mined Newman’s sometimes bleak power in a bloodthirsty cover of "God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind)," in which a ravaged human population asks God why He’s so damn mean, to which God responds: "You really need me/That’s why I love mankind." Ouch.

You won’t hear a Big Idea song like that on rock radio these days. As ur-rock critic Robert Christgau said of Newman’s second album, 12 Songs, "He can get away with the kind of calculated effects that destroy more straightforward meaning-mongers," calling it a "perfect album." Though he’s occasionally lost his way (his Faust musical was a flop), Newman hasn’t lost his knack for pushing buttons in song. His most recent solo record, 2008’s Harps and Angels featured a song called "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country"—the lyrics to which were published as an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times.

It appears that this tour is in support of the forthcoming Randy Newman Songbook, Volume 2, which features "a fresh look at both classic and more recent work in new solo recordings of his celebrated songs." From recent YouTube videos, as well as "A Few Words…," Newman now seems to favor the talking/singing that guys like Dylan and Lou Reed do. No matter how he says it, it will be well worth having a listen. That’s why I love Randy Newman.

Tickets are still available for tonight’s 8pm Randy Newman show at The Paramount Theater.

The work on the dusty, holey West Main Street parking lot has finally began.

In the last couple of weeks, the owners of the West Main street parking lot adjacent to the Amtrak station met with city officials for a mandatory pre-construction get-together and procured a permit to begin the approved improvements for the property. Among them: paving. Today, crews began construction.

Lot owners and developers Gabe Silverman and Allan Cadgene have been at the center of the dust controversy for some time and just before they met with the city, Peter Castiglione, co-owner of Maya Restaurant on West Main, was ready to file a lawsuit against them.

“What we will be suing them for is the condition of the parking lot,” Castiglione told C-VILLE before Silverman and Cadgene obtain the construction permit. “[The dust problem] needs to be abated. Otherwise it’s creating a public nuisance.”

According to Nick Rogers, city planner, the owners have contracted Digs, Inc., a local construction firm to do the work.

Just a couple of weeks after the lot owners obtained the appropriate permit, the work has began.

Crews working on the right side of the parking lot. The left side is open to parking.

Crews working on the lot.

Lot owners have picked local construction firm Digs, Inc.

Virginia plays their last home game of the season Tuesday night at the JPJ. Both the Wahoos and the Wolfpack are 5-9 in the ACC, and have zero chance of competing in the NCAA Tournament this season. 

Will Sherrill and Mustapha Farrakhan will likely play their last games in the John Paul Jones Arena Tuesday night. It’s possible that Virginia will play some sort of crappy CBI Tournament game at home in the post-season, but also very unlikely because of the venue already having committed to hosting the NCAA Women’s first and second round games.

The Wolfpack has not won a game yet in the JPJ, but they do hold a 80-56 advantage all-time against the Hoos. NC State is led by Tracy Smith who is averaging almost 15 per game. State is coming off a victory over lowly Georgia Tech on Saturday, and this is almost certainly the last couple of games for embattled coach Sidney Lowe. The Pack has one more game at home after facing Virginia.

Virginia played their worst second-half of the season Saturday as they only scored sixteen points in the final 20 minutes against Boston College. Virginia was 4-21 from the three-point line Saturday in the loss to BC. Tony Bennett’s Wahoos were credited with zero fast break points in that game as well.

I think the Hoos can win this game if they remember how to shoot the basketball, but only if they run some sort of real, ACC-quality offense out there and stop making such ridiculous decisions on defense. Hopefully Mu will step-up in his last game at home and shoot the lights out!

K.T. Harrell, you awake yet? Sammy, hello? Is Assane Sene the best player on this team now? Yikes!

Prediction? Hoos 57 Wolfpack 67. It’s finally over…Time for full venues, beautiful Charlottesville weather, sundresses, and sports like baseball and lax where Virginia has a chance to really do something special!

Tuesday night at the JPJ on senior night, the Wahoos began the game with a 16-0 run. Before you knew it, the Wolfpack had battled right back with an eleven point run of their own.

Seniors Mustapha Farrakhan and Will Sherrill both had huge nights for Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers. Farrakhan scored fifteen points, and Sherrill was on fire as he finished with fourteen. Joe Harris paced the Hoos with nineteen points in 36 minutes.

Both teams had seven blocks, but the Wolfpack committed fifteen turnovers.

The Wolfpack was led by their sixth-man Javier Gonzalez who only averages five points a game, but he finished with sixteen on 6/10 shooting.

Coach Bennett on his seniors: “Will makes us a better team when he is healthy. I told both Will and Mustapha before the game that I was very proud of them. I told them that I have been a part of a lot of senior nights and that the best way they could give back would be to play their hearts out and I think they both did that tonight.”

Assane Sene fouled out with the game still in question, but when he was on the court he played another outstanding game for the Wahoos. Sene was a defensive force in the middle as he blocked four of the Wolfpack’s shots, and was also solid at the line finishing 3/4, and he chipped in nine points.

Virginia has one more game left as they travel to dreadful College Park for a 2 pm. game on Saturday. Go Hoos.