The Mashup You Probably Weren't Expecting

November 24, 2019 7:36 PM

Julie & Carol At Carnagie Hall (1962) [51m, Wikipedia, written by Mike Nichols, video quality terrible, but still great]. Julie & Carol at Lincoln Center (1971) [51m, Wikipedia]. Julie & Carol Together Again (1989, filmed at the Pantages) [48m, Wikipedia].

To get to the mashups within the mashups, here's the History Of Musical Comedy medley [10m] from 1962, the Music Of The 60s medley [15m] from 1971, and the Music Of The 70s and 80s medley [10m] from 1989.

posted by hippybear (9 comments total)

Carol Burnett was just amazingly talented.

Can't think of another female comic with her physical comedy chops, and, could sing, poorly if it made it funny, well if that was needed, and dance. One good thing about growing up in the 70s.
posted by Windopaene at 8:01 PM on November 24, 2019 [9 favorites]

See also Sills and Burnett at the Met.
posted by holborne at 9:48 PM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

I did not know that I needed to see these. Thanks!
posted by eotvos at 10:17 PM on November 24, 2019

Julie and Carol are magical together, thanks for posting.

I would love to see Burnett and Bjork perform together. It'd also be a good opportunity to shatter some spare concrete slabs I can't otherwise get rid of.
posted by zaixfeep at 10:42 PM on November 24, 2019

Burnett's still kicking. Jeez Windopaene scare me half to death, whydoncha...
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:07 AM on November 25, 2019 [5 favorites]

My heart breaks a little every time I hear Julie Andrews sing and I think of the unmitigated tragedy of her no longer being able to do so.
posted by bardophile at 5:47 AM on November 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

I'm convinced there's a very special kind of parody that we need a new word for. It (a) shows genuine enthusiasm and respect for its target, (b) doesn't shy away from punching hard at the cringe-worthy bits, and (c) is willing to put in enough effort to be at least as good as the thing it's parodying. The Pratt Family piece from the first link is my new go-to example. It simultaneously celebrates everything I love about musical theater and sneers at everything I hate about musical theater. It manages to do both with professional skill.

I can think of some examples from science fiction that do the same thing: Red Dwarf, Galaxy Quest, Redshirts, arguably Starship Troopers and Mars Attacks. (The later are less sympathetic, which is appropriate given their targets.) Broadway sometimes gets there: A Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors, and Once Upon a Mattress come pretty close. In other media, it's hard to find examples. Most parody is either entirely in opposition to the original, too sympathetic to be interesting, or so poorly executed it's impossible to care. (I'm looking at you, SNL.) Some Sots Art might count, or genre-twisted covers of songs. But, it's really hard to do well. I can't think of a novel that spoofs a novel and has achieved the same thing.
posted by eotvos at 12:45 PM on November 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

I'm convinced there's a very special kind of parody that we need a new word for. It (a) shows genuine enthusiasm and respect for its target, (b) doesn't shy away from punching hard at the cringe-worthy bits, and (c) is willing to put in enough effort to be at least as good as the thing it's parodying.

Hasn't all the best parody always done this?
posted by bardophile at 6:18 PM on November 26, 2019

Hasn't all the best parody always done this?

Maybe my definition of parody is overly broad, but I'd claim there exists fantastic parody that has absolutely no respect for its referent, even if it shows respect for individuals involved. (e.g., The Great Dictator, Sorry to Bother You.) I'm a fan of both kinds. But, they seem like a different category.
posted by eotvos at 7:53 AM on November 27, 2019