by Robert Wilkinson
November 28 is the 62nd birthday of one of the most genuine fake news satirists on the air, the incomparable Jon Stewart, and the 81st of the very funny piano man, Randy Newman.
Before we start the musical part of our tribute, let’s give a big shout out to a comedic legend! Jon Stewart (November 28, 1962, Trenton) is a Master of the spontaneous giggle, and his insights are remarkable in that he gets to the heart of any matter with a sense of the absurdity of modern life here on planet Earth and especially the theater of US politics. Anyone who can nail Bill Kristol and "Papa Bear" O'Reilly in a good natured way is patient, smart, and charming! To quote Jon, he's "nobody's monkey."
In 2007 I did a long bio of this very talented and funny guy who "goes Jersey" on people, at one point matched only by Brian Williams and of course, Bruce Springsteen! "So you're going to go Jersey on me...."
The 2007 birthday tribute gives you a bunch of his planetary positions. Jon is a double Sag, and he's even more of a force for culture, humor, and the rich and powerful not taking themselves seriously than he was last year.
He has now been “navigating the 60s,” having been through his second Saturn return a few years ago which is always a tough, strange, and revelatory period in life. Much gets stripped away in the early 50s, and Jon was no exception. His Saturn at 7 Aquarius shows he really is “the child born out of the Cosmic Egg,” sprung forth from all that was unrealized before he showed up.
If you don't know who this remarkable anchor emeritus of The Daily Show on Comedy Central is, by all means when you're done reading this, go to Jon's bio and astrological planet positions in the 2007 Birthday tribute. Then, if you want some great laughs, go to the Daily Show video site on you tube to view some remarkable clips of the remarkable wit and self-deprecating good natured comedic genius of Jon Stewart. He brought the light of insightful humor on the political theater of our times, and blazed a path for other luminaries like Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, Ed Helms, John Oliver, Larry Willmore, Olivia Munn, Jason Jones, Sam Bee, and too many more than I could list. For about 10 years this was one of the few shows on television that was worth the watch, and perhaps the sanest and quickest way to get into the social and political news of the day.
While we had the good fortune of Jon hosting a new show on Disney+ last year for a few months, it seems it got cancelled due to the Chinese govt. not liking something about his show. Which is why we need to begin to separate what we want from what Beijing does not like, and why he’s back hosting Comedy Central once a week.
A huge happy birthday to you, Jon Stewart. You're a tonic for America's generic obsessions and compulsions. May you come back strong, and be around for a long, long time. Smart, witty, with a sense of the ironic in modern America - what's not to like? Gotta love it......
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Today is also the birthday of another very funny guy, the remarkable musical composer and satirist Randy Newman (November 28, 1943). So let’s take a few to enjoy this brilliant piano man with a wit as sharp as a knife!
I found it again! From Letterman in 1983, a great clip of “I Love L.A” and “Political Science.” I love this song, and I do “love L.A.! "I Love L.A" and “Political Science.”
This is also one of my favorite clips, featuring Randy and some well-known friends cranking up an awesome version of the amazing "I Love L.A."
Here’s some great early television footage of Randy’s tongue in cheek “Political Science”
From 1974, Randy’s twisted take on Stephen Foster’s “My Old Kentucky Home” (And no, these were NOT the original lyrics! Southern culture and all that.)
With Ry Cooder and Linda Ronstadt in a live 1983 performance of Randy's "Rider in the Rain."
This looks to be an early live clip of Randy on piano giving us “Birmingham”
Randy live at the Bitter End East in September 1970 giving us an audio only performance of "Lonely At The Top."
Here’s the original video of a song that offended a lot of people! “Short People”
From 1978, Randy live on The Old Grey Whistle Test performing “Short People”
Here’s an early live video on UK tv of Randy giving us God's Song."
From 1988, the original music video featuring Mark Knopfler on guitar in “It’s The Money That Matters”
For a great performance, here's Randy live in 2002 at the Lakers' "3 peat" celebration at the Hollywood Bowl of "I Love L.A."
Last year I had “Political Science” from Lyle Lovett’s Soundstage DVD in 2004, but it’s gone. Instead, from Rotterdam in 1979, here’s another performance of Randy’s satirical look at “Political Science”
Here’s the official music video where Randy weighs in with “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country”
Since I can never seem to get enough of this classic tune that perfectly captures the vibe, here’s the brilliant original music video to “I Love L.A.”
Here's the long audio-only version of what may be his most well-known song, the theme from Monk, "It's A Jungle Out There."
In previous years I’ve closed the show with two concerts in Passaic, one from 1978 and one from 1983, but this year they’re still nowhere to be found.
XXXXFrom 1995 on Letterman, Randy live doing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCVWpZRuF_w “Dixie Flyer”
The live cut from Amsterdam in 1978 of this tune is gone, so instead, here’s a live 2011 performance of "Rednecks."
We’ll begin to close this brief birthday tribute dance to Randy with a 14 minute “tiny desk concert” from NPR. Randy Newman NPR Tiny Desk Concert – 2017
For our closer, here’s an hour and 18 show from 1979 in Rotterdam! Randy Newman Live in Holland - 1979
For the first encore, 57 minutes of Randy, Linda Ronstadt, and Ry Cooder live at the Odeon! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKn_s6UE-wI Randy Newman Live at the Odeon in 1982
For the second encore, 45 minutes on NY TV hosted by Jools Holland and David Sandborn in 1988, Randy Newman with Mark Knopfler on “Sunday Night” - 1988
And for the third encore, 53 minutes of Randy at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in May 1999! Randy Newman Live at the House of Blues in LA - 1999
If you just can’t get enough of this great talent, here’s The Randy Newman you tube channel with all kinds of great clips and performances!
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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