A card from Barbra Streisand postmarked November 1978, for example, thanks Mr. Dylan for sending flowers and playfully suggests that they make a record together; there is no evidence of a response.And that prompted Barbra Streisand to go into her archive and write this to the NYT:
As I remember it, first he sent me flowers and a lovely note, asking me if I would like to sing with him. In return, I sent him the note that’s in his archive, thanking him for the flowers and the invitation.Okay, but the NYT said there was no evidence of a response. Anyway, Streisand claims a response, wiping out the unpleasant impression that one might get flowers and a nice invitation from Bob Dylan and fail to respond. But Streisand ups her prestige to a whole new level by sharing another letter that she got from Bob Dylan:
Years later … when “Yentl” was about to come out … he sent me his latest album, along with the letter I still have. In it, he writes, “There are some songs on this album which I’m sure you would love to do.” He adds, “I’m looking forward to seeing your movie. Maybe you can direct me in one of mine.” And then he goes on to say something that still means so much to me: “You are my favorite star. Your self-determination, wit and temperament and sense of justice have always appealed to me.”There's no claim that she responded to that kind note, and Streisand ends with a statement that she's going "to send a copy of his letter to Bob, so it can be included in his archive, as well as mine."
So don't anyone ever forget that Barbra Streisand is, as she has always told us, the greatest star:
Posts
30 comments:
She's not bad.
No. I don't.
Yentl was horrifically bad, a punchline in our family to this day.
I saw her on Broadway, in Funny Girl, as a young boy of 13 or 14. Going in, I thought the idea of people walking about on stage and singing was stupid and boring.
I was blown away by her singing. it was amazing, and changed how i thought about music.
I came to detest her politics. But she remains one of the best singers I have ever heard live.
I don't hold stupid politics against the artists that I like, but I make an exception for her.
Because she's also an awful person.
50 years on - Althouse is still a Dylan groupie...
Meh. I'm very much a cafeteria Dylan fan. I can pick and choose -- like and dislike -- certain parts of his taste and teachings.
She's no Celine Dion, but she's good.
Yentl was ridiculous.
She has a great voice and a great ego.
Yentl was a musical with two singing stars (Streisand and Mandy Patinkin) but only one allowed to sing.
Prince of Tides was a movie about a therapist having sex with her client.
But she does have a great voice.
I will always give Babs props for "What's Up, Doc.
In the theater my Grandfather laughed SO hard.
I am Laslo.
A Dylan / Streisand Post:
Are we going to hit Godwin's Law here, too.?
Please?
I am Laslo.
@ Althouse.
You have been on Fire. Flambé. El fuego.
But PLEASE keep throwing in occasional Posts like these.
Trump now brings the same comments, over and over and relentlessly over, regardless of The Initial Spark you Provide.
Godwin's Law needs a Place to find a Breather.
Maybe it is time for you to show something from your sketchbooks.
I am Laslo.
It was sad when Mr. Dylan made that Dodge commercial.
Funny Girl was a great show. Too bad it's not done anymore, possibly because it's so closely associated with Streisand. Dylan''s songs were always better when done by others.
Tried. Made it to 1:58 out of 3:55. Her adenoids resonate about a quarter-tone off her vocal cords. I've watched a real soprano shatter glass, and that leaves me wondering queasily if there exists a note which, if Streisand achieves it, will set up a resonance in her whole face and trachea that causes them to melt into a liver-like substance.
Two of my least favorite singers. We shouldn't waterboard people - just play nonstop Dylan/Streisand songs.
Any terrorist will spill the beans to stop that kind of torture.
I can't think of any Dylan song that Streisand covered. For that matter, I can't think of any Dylan song that I would want to hear Streisand cover. I can't think of any Dylan song that Johnny Cash didn't sing better.......For what it's worth I think some of her covers of Fanny Brice songs were better than Fanny's. She would probably do good with Al Jolson also. I bet she could do a killer version of Mamie.
She is the best of the era. Great voice, unlike Dylan. They compliment one another well.
Prince of Tides soundtrack album is a winner, although all instrumental. The movie is a good attempt to follow a heck of a novel by Pat Conroy.
If only Babs had stuck to singing . . .
Bob's mom probably kept asking him, "When are you going to marry a nice Jewish girl?"
And Bob's like, "I don't know, Ma."
Bob's mom said, "What about Barbra Streisand? She's nice. And authentic!"
And Bob said, "I liked her in What's Up, Doc?. I've always been a Bugs Bunny man. Don't tell anybody."
And Bob's mom said, "When are you going to sing about Israel?"
And Bob said, "Ma! Come on! Nobody sings about Israel." But he started composing Neighborhood Bully in his mind.
(In the future, jokes like this will be known as "pulling a Donnie" and frowned upon. Hopefully it will still be legal, though).
I have a tiny, tiny prediction that may or may not come true.
Jews who like Israel have noticed that Barack Obama does not like Israel. But they feel this obligation and loyalty to not slam him too much, because he is African-American and they want to be nice liberal people who do not slam African-Americans. They want to believe in the American dream.
The problem they may run into this election is that the Democrat party is the party of old white people. So much for that American dream stuff! If you like the DREAM act, and the American dream, you have to feel a powerful urge to vote for Marco Rubio, who has a very nice story.
I've noticed that Michael Bloomberg--who is not a nice Jewish boy, in my opinion, you will not find any love letters from Natalie Portman to Michael Bloomberg--is shitting himself at the idea that a serious Jewish candidate for national office is some kind of damn Commie ("you're making us look bad, you schmuck, 93 million dead!"). And these liberals Jews are thinking, "hey, where is all the anti-Semitism in the Republican party, why aren't they attacking Bernie Sanders, who is a damn Commie? Instead they're attacking Donald Trump, who is a racist and a fascist. Holy shit! Who's going to stop Bernie Sanders the Commie? And what are they teaching these kids that they don't know Communism is stupid and evil? Holy shit! Maybe Republicans aren't so bad?! And they like Israel! Holy shit, holy shit!
And look at Marco Rubio, standing up to Donald Trump, and making vulgar jokes about him in public. Look at that brave young man from Cuba! And little Jewish girls are developing a Marco crush, they can't help it. Soon they will start wearing Marco T-shirts, which are way cooler than Che T-shirts. Did you know Che shot homosexuals? Marco wouldn't do that! Marco is awesome!
And Jews are a tiny, tiny slice of the American electorate. But, as some Donnie supporters might say, they control Hollywood. Oh shit, what happens if these Jews who control Hollywood decide to become Marco supporters? Oh shit oh shit!"
Stay in, Marco! Keep rocking, brother.
Tell us why you believe in the American dream, Marco! Hit them hard with the American dream, Marco! Tell them how the DREAM act is full of shit, but there is an American dream, and you are the prime example of it! American dream, Marco! Claim it! Claim it now!
Wrong thread, I know. Let me see if I can tie it in.
Marco is squatting in Donnie's mind, like a poor immigrant boy from Cuba who just wants a place to live, and Donnie is like, how do I get this shitty Cuban out of my head without getting lynched in New York City? Which, as some of my supporters might say, is filled with Jews!
Hey, Marco Rubio, say something nice about Neil Diamond! You know that Neil Diamond song, Coming to America? That's your song, brother! Claim it! Sing it! And New York city is yours! Seize New York, Marco! Donald Trump thinks he owns New York? Squat in his mind! Squat in his high rise apartment building! Go full Cuban, Marco! You can do it, brother!
And don't forget who your favorite economist is. That's right! Milton Friedman!
Yentl is like Godfather III, if you can forget it, She was the greatest star. Perfect clarity of voice, wonderfully zany movies. I can see how she wouldn't want to sing with Bob though, no disrespect to Bob, whom I greatly admire.
You know, you can say anything. It's what you do that matters.
Streisand and Dylan say they like each other, but they never covered each others songs and they never worked together.
Big deal.
Next?
St Croix,
If you don't like Trump, that's fine, but really, Rubio? He's a boy.
A "favorite" is not necessarily a choice of quality over, say, ridiculousness.
Post a Comment