\n\t\u201cThe Secret of Life\u201d comes not even two years after she published her massive 970-page memoir, \u201cMy Name Is Barbra,\u201d<\/a> which was accompanied by 48-hour audiobook that she read. She is also in production of a multi-part documentary about her life directed by Frank Marshall.<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tEven so, Streisand insists, \u201cI\u2019m very lazy. I don\u2019t like to have to work.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe adds, \u201cI like to be free. I don\u2019t like to have commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tStreisand credits Jay Landers, her longtime producing partner and A&R executive for over 30 years, for convincing her to record new albums. \u201cI always wanted to end my career, my movie career doing \u2018Gypsy,\u2019\u201d Streisand says. \u201cThat would\u2019ve been the book end to my \u2018Funny Girl\u2019 play. I couldn\u2019t get that done. Time goes so fast. Time is so precious that when Jay talked about this, I thought, \u2018This is a good idea.\u2019 <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd then working with two wonderful producers, Peter Asher and Walter Afanasieff,\u201d she continues. \u201cThen Jay and I became the executive producers because I have to approve everything. That\u2019s the way it was with me at the beginning, and that\u2019s the way it is with me at the ending.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tI talked to Streisand for this week\u2019s episode of the \u201cJust for Variety<\/a>\u201d podcast.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\tHi, Barbra.\t<\/p>\n \n\tHi, I\u2019m so happy to read this article. [Streisand is referencing my essay about having open-heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai<\/a> in Los Angeles. The Barbra Streisand Women\u2019s Heart Center is located at the hospital.]<\/p>\n \t\tThank you, but don\u2019t make me cry.\t<\/p>\n \n\tWhat a lovely thing that my heart center could help you.<\/p>\n \t\tNow every time I go to cardio rehab, I see your name on the door because that\u2019s where your center\u2019s offices are. But now we have to talk about you.\t<\/p>\n \n\tWait, wait. What do you have to do when you go there?<\/p>\n \t\tI\u2019m on a treadmill and a bike connected to a heart monitor and I slowly increase resistance when I can.\t<\/p>\n \n\tIt makes me happy to hear your story, really. OK, what do you want to know about my record?<\/p>\n \t\tWhat comes first, the song or the duet partner?\t<\/p>\n \n\tThe song. The music and the lyrics, and then the partner. They brought me people that were just superb. Everyone was different and yet marvelous.<\/p>\n \t\tI was listening to \u201cTo Lose You Again\u201d with Sam Smith, the lyrics and the two of your voices, I sat there and I cried.\t<\/p>\n \n\tYou must have had a relationship like that.<\/p>\n \t\tWhen you are singing a song like that, are you thinking about someone?\t<\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t think I had something like that, which is someone you had a close relationship to and they want you to try again and you say, \u201cI can\u2019t do it again.\u201d You know what? I don\u2019t know. I have to make myself that person. I have to think of what that would feel like. It\u2019s complicated.<\/p>\n \t\tIs it easy to go to that space? Some of these songs, they\u2019re not happy endings.\t<\/p>\n \n\tThey make the best songs. The sadness of it. The what-could-have-been songs. They\u2019re very emotional.<\/p>\n \t\tThey are songs about grieving the fantasy that didn\u2019t happen.\t<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s what happens when you have a love affair and it doesn\u2019t end up together. It\u2019s very, very sad. If I remember correctly, [\u201cTo Lose You Again\u201d] is one of the earlier ones I sang. I never listen to my records after I make them.<\/p>\n \t\tNever?\t<\/p>\n \n\tNo, I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n \t\tWhat happens if you\u2019re driving in a car, you have the radio on, a Barbara Streisand song comes on, do you listen or do you turn it off?\t<\/p>\n \n\tNo, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d go that far. As a matter of fact, when I hear something that I recorded like 20 years ago, I\u2019m just evaluating the sound of the orchestra with the voice. That the voice is too loud, too little. When I finish, like this record, I don\u2019t listen to it until like years later. It gives me another perspective. I don\u2019t watch my movies. I don\u2019t listen to my records.<\/p>\n \t\tYou have Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey singing with you on \u201cOne Heart, One Voice.\u201d How did you decide on the two?\t<\/p>\n \n\tThey\u2019re the hottest, biggest, most wonderful voices. And they both said yes to join me.<\/p>\n \t\tIt was just announced that Ariana is going to be in the new \u201cMeet the Parents.\u201d<\/a>\t<\/p>\n \n\tYou\u2019re kidding.<\/p>\n \t\tWill we see Roz Focker again?\t<\/p>\n \n\tShe\u2019s going to play Roz Focker?<\/p>\n \t\tNo, I want to know if you are going to play Roz. Not Ariana.\t<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s very funny.<\/p>\n \t\tThat would be interesting casting.\t<\/p>\n \n\tOh my God. They\u2019d have to pay me a lot of money because I didn\u2019t get paid what the other people got paid and so I\u2019m pissed off. I was in the time when women were getting paid less than the men. The head of Universal was Ron Meyer at the time, and he actually sent me a bonus check. It was very sweet.<\/p>\n \t\tDid you see \u201cWicked\u201d<\/a> with Ariana?\t<\/p>\n \n\tI showed it to my grandchildren\u2026They loved \u201cWicked.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tDid you?\t<\/p>\n \n\tI was just watching their reaction and they were totally fine with the witches. I was surprised. A four- and a six-year-old, you know?<\/p>\n \t\tHow often do serious acting offers come your way?\t<\/p>\n \n\tI get a lot of offers, but they\u2019re funny offers. Well, one was good. It was something that Peter Bogdanovich<\/a> was going to do and Guillermo del Toro<\/a> sent it to me, I think. It\u2019s a subject that I actually love, but I\u2019m not going to tell you. I\u2019m not ready to direct again. I think I\u2019ve probably had it.<\/p>\n \t\tTell me about the title of the album.\t<\/p>\n \n\tI sang a song with James Taylor, who wrote the song, \u201cSecret O\u2019 Life,\u201d about the passage of time, appreciating the passage of time. As I get older, I am appreciating the passage of time. So that means a lot.<\/p>\n \t\tWith a new album, does that mean maybe you\u2019ll perform live again?\t<\/p>\n \n\tOh, God. I doubt it. But there\u2019s a little part of me that may consider that. But the other part of me goes, why?<\/p>\n \t\tBefore we go, I have to ask you, who should the Democrats pick for 2028?\t<\/p>\n \n\tBoy, that\u2019s a really hard question. I can\u2019t answer that. That\u2019s complicated. We feel complicated. I feel the world is in chaos. Our country is the worst of the chaos, I think. I\u2019m so sad for what\u2019s happening. So sad.<\/p>\n \t\tDo you think we\u2019ll see a woman president in your lifetime?\t<\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t know about in my lifetime, but certainly in my son\u2019s lifetime. Boy, I\u2019ll tell you a story \u2014 the other day I was on my Pilates table, and somehow my phone was playing music. I don\u2019t know why because it usually doesn\u2019t. Usually, I have the news on. And I hear this voice, a man\u2019s voice, and I thought, \u201cMy God! Hitting these incredible notes and what a song. Very interesting song.\u201d And I said, \u201cWho is singing? Can someone find out who is singing on my phone right now?\u201d You know who it turned out to be? My son, Jason. Can you imagine? I mean, hitting these notes. Well, I had to call him and say, \u201cWhat the hell, Jason?\u201d I couldn\u2019t believe this. I know his voice is brilliant, but you know who wrote the song even? It was by my friend, Quincy Jones. It was the theme from \u201cThe Pawn Broker.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tIf I\u2019m remembering correctly, you brought him up on stage at the Hollywood Bowl.\t<\/p>\n \n\tOh, right. When he walked around that, was there water there? I wouldn\u2019t dare walk around. It was so cold, I thought, \u201cI\u2019m going to fall right into this hole.\u201d Isn\u2019t he wonderful?<\/p>\n \t\tYeah, he\u2019s your son.\t<\/p>\n \n\tWell, yeah, but he\u2019s very much like me in the sense that he\u2019s shy, not really liking to perform in front of people. That\u2019s why I love recording. I\u2019m alone. I can look like a schlump. I don\u2019t have to put on makeup, I don\u2019t have to perform. I can just sing. And I love doing that. I love recording. I\u2019m at home in a recording studio.<\/p>\n \n\tThis conversation was edited for length and clarity. You can listen to it in its entirety on \u201cJust for Variety\u201d above or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barbra Streisand hasn\u2019t stopped working since launching her professional singing career 65 years ago in New York City.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[9594,171,9595,9596,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-8329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-barbra-steisand","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-just-for-variety","11":"tag-meet-the-fockers","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114733418562571662","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}