This is an I-Heart podcast.

This episode contains explicit language.

There are all kinds of reasons for wanting to do a podcast episode.

You want to tell a specific story.

You want to make an argument, make sense of a particularly powerful piece of tape.

But the simplest, and let's be honest, the most selfish reason,

is that you want an excuse to hang out with someone you love.

And this was the origin of the Randy Newman episode. I am one of the very large group of music lovers who think that

Randy Newman is a genius and that his best albums like Sail Away or Good Old Boys are basically

as good as pop music ever gets. So I tracked him down.

Actually, through his son.

Thanks, Amos.

Booked a flight to Los Angeles.

And on the plane ride, I asked myself,

OK, of all the million things I could possibly talk to Randy Newman about,

what would make for the best story?

And somewhere over, I'm sure, Nebraska, I realized,

oh, it's obvious.

I need to talk to him about his song, Rednecks.

And so I did.

And if you're listening, Randy, and you want to have me over again, just say the word.

In the fall of 1974, the musician Randy Newman released an album called Good Old Boys.

...