Theodor W. Adorno  

"Ich glaube allerdings, dass Versuche, politischen Protest mit der popular music, also mit der Unterhaltungsmusik zusammenzubringen, deshalb zum Scheitern verurteilt sind, weil die ganze Sphäre der Unterhaltungsmusik, auch wo sie irgendwie modernistisch sich aufputzt, so mit dem Warencharakter, mit dem Amüsement, mit dem Schielen nach dem Konsum verbunden ist, dass also Versuche, dem eine veränderte Funktion zu geben, ganz äußerlich bleiben, und ich muss sagen, wenn also dann irgendjemand sich hinstellt und auf eine im Grunde doch schnulzenhafte Musik dann irgendwelche Dinge darüber singt, dass Vietnam nicht zu ertragen sei, dann finde ich, dass gerade dieser Song nicht zu ertragen ist, weil er, indem er das Entsetzliche noch irgendwie konsumierbar macht, schließlich auch daraus noch etwas wie Konsumqualitäten herauspresst."--"Theodor W. Adorno, 1968" (gesendet von 3sat).

Adorno interview about a Joan Baez singing "Oh Freedom"

Adorno speaking about Joan Baez song 'I believe, in fact, that attempts to bring political protest together with ‘popular music’ – that is, with entertainment music – are for the following reason doomed from the start. The entire sphere of popular music, even there where it dresses itself up in modernist guise is to such a degree inseparable from the Warencharakter(A commodity character) from consumption, from the cross-eyed transfixion with amusement, that –er-attempt to outfit it with a new function remain superficial And I have to say that when somebody sets himself up, and for whatever reason (accompanies0 maudlin music by singing something or other about Vietnam being unbearable….I find, in fact, THIS SONG unbearable, in that by taking the horrendous and making it somehow consumable, it ends up wringing something like consumption-qualities out of it.

My take: Joan Baez - I think her live long devotion to using her music as a form of education and protest to create social change is a testament to the fact she was not trying to use the 'Vietnam war' for her own gain. She certainly was not trying to reduce something horrnedous into a Consumable. AT the time of the interview possibly '67 maybe this was how she was viewed by some?

'Cartoonist Al Capp, creator of the comic strip Li'l Abner, during the 1960s satirized Baez as "Joanie Phoanie". Joanie was an unabashed communist radical who sang songs of class warfare while hypocritically traveling in a limousine and charging outrageous performance fees to impoverished orphans. Capp had this character singing bizarre songs such as "A Tale of Bagels and Bacon" and "Molotov Cocktails for Two". Although Baez was upset by the parody in 1966, she admits to being more amused in recent years. "I wish I could have laughed at this at the time", she wrote in a caption under one of the strips, reprinted in her autobiography. "Mr. Capp confused me considerably. I'm sorry he's not alive to read this, it would make him chuckle" Capp stated at the time, ""Joanie Phoanie is a repulsive, egomaniacal, un-American, non-taxpaying horror, I see no resemblance to Joan Baez whatsoever, but if Miss Baez wants to prove it, let her."

In 1973 she released 'Where are you now, my son?'which featured a 23-minute title song which took up all of the B-side of the album. Half spoken word poem and half tape-recorded sounds, the song documented Baez's visit to Hanoi, North Vietnam, in December 1972, during which she and her traveling companions survived the 11-day long Christmas Bombings campaign over Hanoi and Haiphong.

However only in the context of her life since the 70's can one perhaps view her sincerity and values for what they obviously are?