WEDNESDAY PICK | "Paul Williams Still Alive": Yes, but who the heck is he?

"Today is the day," Jason Zabel tweeted on June 6, "we learned that Ray Bradbury was still alive." At least we knew that Ray Bradbury had been alive—which is more than most could say about songwriter Paul Williams, today best known for writing Kermit's anthem "The Rainbow Connection." He was on The Tonight Show over 50 times, but he's kept a low profile for...oh, about the last 30 years. Filmmaker Stephen Kessler sought Williams out and made a surprisingly frank documentary in which Williams, sometimes begrudgingly, tells the story of his rise and (surprise, surprise) drug-addled fall. The aptly titled Paul Williams Still Alive is having its Minnesota premiere at the Trylon Microcinema on June 13 under the auspices of Sound Unseen and The Current.