Randy Newman was in Denver this past weekend to help open this week's Democratic National Convention. He performed his song "Louisiana 1927" for delegates at a pre-Convention kick-off event yesterday.

In a preview of the event in the New York Times, writer Robert Levine cites Randy's "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country," off his new album, Harps and Angels, in a larger examination of the singer-songwriter's politically charged works. "He prefers to wield a lyrical scalpel rather than a hammer," writes Levin, "and he blends humor and politics in ways few songwriters would dare."

To read the article, including an interview with Randy, visit nytimes.com.

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Last Thursday, Randy was the featured guest on BBC Radio 4's daily magazine program Front Row. The show, with Randy at the top of the episode, is available on line for the new few days at bbc.co.uk.

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The Knoxville News Sentinel's Wayne Bledsoe, in his review of Harps and Angels, calls Randy "one of modern music's true treasures." He continues:

While many now know him best from his chipper Disney movie scores, Newman has written some of the most viciously hilarious and biting songs of the past 100 years. His songs can bring tears to your eyes, fill you with righteous indignation and then sneak around and bite you on your rear end.

Yet it's not his political observations alone that make Randy's songwriting so significant. Says Bledsoe:

[T]he key to what makes Newman's songs work so well is that he captures the nature of humanity in his songs. At his funniest, Newman's characters are trying to hide their flaws or make excuses for their shortcomings—just as we all do. It makes Newman's songs doubly believable when the singer is laid bare.

Read more at knoxnews.com.