Tag Archives: Mama Told Me Not to Come

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Song of the Day #4,862: ‘Mama Told Me (Not to Come)’ – Three Dog Night

A year after his debut, Paul Thomas Anderson made a major splash with 1997’s Boogie Nights, garnering critical accolades and year-end awards. His trajectory reminds me a lot of that of Wes Anderson, who followed the modest, low-budget Bottle Rocket with Rushmore, one of his most celebrated films.

Boogie Nights is a blast of creative energy so brazen it’s hard to believe Anderson was in his mid-20s when he made it. The sheer number of cinematic techniques on display here is dizzying, and it’s all stitched together with such confidence and bravado.

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Song of the Day #1,418: ‘Mama Told Me Not to Come’ – Randy Newman

Best Albums of the 70s – #13
12 Songs – Randy Newman (1970)

Randy Newman has released just 10 studio albums over the past 44 years, and half of those were produced in the 70s. In subsequent decades he turned his attention to film scores (with 20 Oscar nominations to show for it) while putting out a brilliant, acerbic record every seven or eight years.

But his most lasting work comes from his most prolific decade as a singer-songwriter. And 12 Songs, his second album, is a resonant, understated glimpse of his genius at work.

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