On Tue, 2 Mar 1999, Ph. Barnard wrote:
> Carl starts a thread:
>
> > what was the first known
> > instance of the half-ironic cover
>
> In my mind, it was always the Byrd's version of "The Christian Life."
> I couldn't understand it any other way than as an ironic gesture at
> the time....
Well, the Byrds had sorta made a habit of doing tongue-in-cheek songs
right from the start, like "Oh, Susannah" and that song from Dr.
Strangelove. So it wasnt too far of a jump to an obscure Louvin Brothers
song.
I wish I could read Jake's piece on this. It seems to be that much of the
irony lies in the listener. (And havent we been through this thread
before?) When I first heard "March 16-20, 1992," the gospel tunes sounded
ironic to me. And of course a song like "Warfare" still does, but UT's
version of "Atomic Power" no longer does (especially since they left off
the last verse). And I think that has a lot to do with my loosening up
about the idea of a rock band doing a gospel song. Or maybe it's because
as the years go by I doubt the ability of Jay Farrar to be ironic.
Will Miner
Denver, CO
