...please enjoy the most devastating parody of both Joan Baez and radical chic ever committed to magnetic tape, "Pull the Tregros." Performed by Diana Reed and written and produced by Spinal Tap's Christopher Guest and the late great Tony Hendra.
So many grievous wrongs/For me to right with tedious songs...
I should add two things. First of all, I adore Joan Baez as a person -- she's smart, sassy, and politically on the side of the angels. Her music, however -- i.e. what they used to call her "achingly pure soprano" -- has (with one exception I'll post about next week) always bored me to tears.
Secondly, you probably couldn't get away with this parody in today's climate, but that only makes it more devastingly pertinent. IMHO.
5 comments:
Agree with regarding Joan Baez. My one pick is Diamonds and Rust!
Roger
I always thought of Joan Baez as the first hippie chick. Five years before there were hippies!
My wife's love of her music turned me into at least a mild fan of her recordings.
Captain Al
Agree with you on Joanie. She nonetheless is a foundation of my musical tastes. My parents played Joan Baez in concert on an almost continuous loop in the days before I could buy my own records. And my first live concert was my parents taking me to see her at the University of Maryland in the early 70's.
And my parents were far from being hippies. Dad was a career officer in the Navy, stationed at the Pentagon when we went to that concert. He also had to explain to my mom why the college students in front of us were passing around a cigarette.
And, of course, I had a copy of this song.
Just listened to the song again and they really walk (sing) a fine line between satire and totally offensiveness. So Steve you're totally correct in that in today's political climate you really might not get away with releasing the recording.
Two questions:
Is there any record of Joan's reaction to the recording?
Who is Diana Reed?
Captain Al
Count me in for 'Diamonds and Rust'. Great song. She really meant it.
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