Stuck in a rut, or "How Randy Newman made me regret my birth"

Sometimes when I listen to a certain artist I begin to regret being born in the eighties. I frequently spend my evenings listening to records that were released years before I was born and lamenting the fact that music began to go down hill with each passing day post-1979. Randy Newman is definitely one of those artists, and every time I listen to his 1972 masterpiece Sail Away I begin to experience the aforementioned pining for an earlier and simpler time in a very real and painful way.

Luckily though, Randy Newman is staying active these days, and in two short days I will be driving several hours to sit in the eighth row and watch him perform some of those songs with some friends. This moment will probably effect me one of two ways - Severe depression that I was not alive to enjoy the time at which the new music being created was as excellent as this, or a renewed spirit of optimism that Randy is still alive and kicking. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.