Paul Wiliams: '70s Hitmaker on Writing Songs for Kermit, the Carpenters and Ishtar (Breaking the Line)

06/12/2012

Paul Wiliams: '70s Hitmaker on Writing Songs for Kermit, the Carpenters and Ishtar

The documentary Paul Williams: Still Alive distracts from its intriguing subject with the naggingly persistent intrusions of the filmmaker himself, who more often than not seems to be making the film as a means to buddy up with his musical idol. (It doesn't work.) But if nothing else, it has put Williams, a prolific lyricist whose songs include "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "The Rainbow Connection" back in the spotlight, and gave me a chance to talk to him about them for the A.V. Club. It also gave me a chance to pursue what's become an accident campaign to mention the cult classic The Phantom of the Paradise in as many recent articles as possible; see here and here, and stay tuned for my upcoming interview with the guy who played Beef.

Jun 12, 2012 1:04:30 PM | Articles, Interviews, Music

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Sam Adams

Sam Adams is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Onion A.V. Club, and a Contributing Editor at Philadelphia City Paper, where he edited the film section from 1999-2007. His writing has appeared in Entertainment Weekly, the Boston Globe, the Hollywood Reporter and Film Comment. He is a member of the National Society of Film Critics, and his essays on Two Lane Blacktop and Greendale appear in the NSFC anthology The B List. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughter.

Breaking the Line

Sam Adams' thoughts on movies, music and the culture at large.

06/12/2012