What a lunatic she is with her "Hitler" remark!!!
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/n...ronstadt_x.htm
Linda Ronstadt, hummin' an outraged tune
By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Linda Ronstadt has been many things to many people: a rock 'n' roll pinup girl, a rootsy balladeer, a traditional pop crooner and, recently, a vocal Michael Moore supporter.
Today, as she sits in a cluttered Midtown hotel room, the 58-year-old has assumed the less glamorous role of working mom. But as her adopted son, Carlos, 10, digs into lunch, Ronstadt, who just released Hummin' to Myself — her first collection of pop standards since a successful trio of albums with arranger Nelson Riddle in the '80s — is persuaded to discuss music and politics, though not necessarily in that order.
Don't get her started on the recent presidential election. "People don't realize that by voting Republican, they voted against themselves," she says. Of Iraq in particular, she adds, "I worry that some people are entertained by the idea of this war. They don't know anything about the Iraqis, but they're angry and frustrated in their own lives. It's like Germany, before Hitler took over. The economy was bad and people felt kicked around. They looked for a scapegoat. Now we've got a new bunch of Hitlers."
More temperate remarks got Ronstadt into hot water in June, when while performing at the Aladdin Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, she dedicated an encore of Desperado to Michael Moore, controversial director of the anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Ronstadt had cited Moore at many previous concerts without any problems, she says, and she learned of unrest at the Aladdin after hearing TV reports that concertgoers had thrown drinks and ripped down posters.
"No one threw drinks or anything in the concert hall," Ronstadt says. "I don't know what people did in the lobby, but if they behaved like naughty schoolboys, that's not my fault. I doubt it was the first time they had drunk people in Vegas, you know?"
Though she has no regrets about the incident — "It made me look rather good, I think" — Ronstadt predictably speaks with more enthusiasm of Hummin'. The album picks up from her last collaboration with the late Riddle. She isn't surprised that stars such as Rod Stewart and Norah Jones have since turned to re-interpreting classics: "These songs are the finest aspect of American pop culture of the 20th century."
Carlos and his 13-year-old sister, Mary, whom Ronstadt also adopted, have turned their mom on to newer sounds as well. "My little boy likes Eminem, and there's a compelling musicianship and pathos there. My daughter got me into Pink, who is such a talented songwriter and can really play blues."
In fact, where her political views are concerned, the singer feels more accurately perceived as a concerned mother than an artist on a soapbox.
"I have very little power," she insists. "I've been blessed with an unusually long career, but the peak was in the '70s and '80s. I think you just have to carry on — and do what you can to get information out to people. Do what you can."
Linda Ronstadt has emerged once again!!
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