Quotes from Randy Newman

I like science - geography, meteorology, cosmology.

Sometimes what I'm writing is more important to me than the rest of my life. It's more important to me that I'm writing well than anything else.

I like Public Enemy a great deal.

I started recording because I was always complaining about the records that I was getting of my songs. At least if I did them and messed them up, I wouldn't have anyone else to blame.

If we'd had another carefree 70's, I'd have been dead. It was a little too carefree, you know? I don't know how carefree they were for me, I think I was worried then, I can't remember what about.

What I'm most pleased about is that there's no particular decline. The songs I wrote 40 years ago are no worse and no better - there's a consistency.

Stay away from drugs. They're not worth it. I've tried, but there's none of them that's worth it.

Still, it's clear that there are lots of people out there who are uncomfortable [about racism]. The Civil War was a long time ago but there are aspects of it that remain unsettled.

You've got troubles, I've got 'em too. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. We'll stick together to see it through cause you've got a friend in me.

I've written a song for Prince. I never showed it to Prince, but just to see if I could do it. At the time, when I sort of knew him, he was recording a song a day. I wondered if I could do that. So I wrote it.

I am not overlooking any mail. I'm looking at all of it. I even wrote back to the Viagra people.

I like the performing. And interviews, even. And the stuff that's not sitting in a room by yourself with empty paper. But I never loved writing, to tell you the truth.

It's very hard to get rich and famous at a young age and handle it well.

Don't forget to bring that little blonde haired girl along. You know the one, love to watch her jump up and down.

I like the idea of taking a true classic written by a true genius and destroying it essentially! I like the idea of bringing it down to earth a bit - and even a bit lower than that.

I hate having to wait. I've got the thing done. I just want to see what happens.

But if you're doing something, show up everyday, and something good might happen - it's not going to happen if you don't show up.

Mostly, I don't write overtly personal stuff.

But I don't want to sing everything out of the side of my mouth, I want people to understand what I mean.

I once had dinner with Madonna and I wasn't nervous but within about a minute I found myself talking about underwear.

'Rednecks' always made me nervous to play, but I'm glad I wrote it and I continue to play it. It's just that the language is so rough.

It's funny; people get so doctrinaire about music. It should be the last thing you don't have an open mind about.

Thank God for the potholes on memory lane.