To: MDESTE1@aol.com
Subject: Joni in Paris (reformatted) long (IAOJC)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 21:30:14 EST
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I hope this doesnt dismay anyone but some time ago
I sent a post about my trip to Paris and Jonis' music.
I got a few responses and forgot about it. Since then I
heard from a couple of listers who suggested that I
resend it because somehow it got messed up in formatting.
So badly that I was told that maybe 80% of the listers
received a version so poorly formatted that no one
could read it. They've been bugging me to send it
because of the subject and I have resisted but now
I said what the heck. Im on aol and I do notice that
from time to time I get these weird chopped sentences
and maybe thats what they are referring to.
Sorry if anyone is bugged by this. Im sorry.
Its here for anyone who wants to take the time. It was
fun to write and funner to be there. If I get a bunch of
complaints I promise I will never do it again no matter
how much Im bugged. I dont want to impose on the list.
Here goes.
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On my recent trip to France I had to make the difficult
choice as per which select casettes would I bring to
provide my musical backdrop to my trip. Sort of like the
'five favorite albums' thread that has been running for
some time. This was for real. two weeks ;five albums.
Actually I have some hits tapes with many songs from
many albums so I bring two of those. Then one of my
all time traveling albums that somehow I didnt mention
in my "five favorite albums" post which is "All Things Must
Pass" by George Harrison which I think is the best of all
the post Beatle Beatle albums. The one side with Beware
of Darkness on it is one of the all time best sides of any
album anywhere at any time IMHO. During my trip it was
possible to take out my walkman as we walked around
both Paris and the country itself or while on the train
and hear the songs and watch the scenery as I created
my own MTV in my head. The other three albums I
brought with me were my Ry Cooder hits tape with
some Robert Johnson cuts thrown in. Let me say here
there is nothing which stirs these American bones like
hearing Sweet Home Chicago while sitting at a cafe on
the Rue St.Germaine. [Hearing a blues song in europe
also gets me for some reason]. But thats not why I
wrote this. It was because the last two album tapes
I brought were the ones with Jonis first five. Song to a
Seagull, Clouds, Ladies of the Canyon and Court and
Spark and Blue. I can not describe how wonderful the
songs on these albums sounded while in France. It was
almost like hearing them for the first time. The first week
we were in the absolute country. A little village that only
has one little road and a few buildings surrounded by
farms. The second week it was Paris itself. The album
that went the best with the country scenes was Blue.
River, Travelin, and the basic acoustic sound of Blue
created a great experience in the farmlike setting of the
Loire Valley; the others went better with Paris. In fact it
was powerful how such gentle songs like "I had a King"
and "Marcie" were so citylike that it bowled me over .
What sounds like folk music in my studio all of a sudden
was a gritty urban landscape put to music. Tin Angel
was playing as I walked through the Latin Quarter.
What a rush. Seeing all the lovers walking with their
arms around each other finding "someone to love today".
Taking the boatride on the Sein at night I couldnt resist
a further testing of my theory and so I got out the walker
and played Night in the City. It was absolutely awesome.
they had a huge ferris wheel at the place de Concord
which actually rotated at the same speed as Midway.
They have these big searchlights now on the sides of the
boats and they flash them on the buildings as you go down
the river. It is like a scene out of Bladerunner. The
headphones of course provide an incredible sound. I
concluded that Jonis first five albums or at least the first
four are totally marinated with New York and heavy city
influence. They are cityscenes. Stark citysceens. Other
songs which have mystical qualities are Nathan LaFreneer
which I played three times in a row as I walked the Champs
Elysee and Gallery which I happened to play as we walked
in the old town in Tours. There were many others but I dont
want to bore the discussion list. I just had to get this off my
chest. All these years I conjured up images of Joni in a cabin,
in the forest, with a fire going. Now I can see her wandering
city streets. The harmonica sound in Nathan la Freneer (which
I swear sounds alot like Neil Young) was almost duplicated
by a real car horn in the area of the Musee D'Orsay. By the
way the entire area around the Musee D'Orsay is a great
place to haunt. It has all kinds of artist stores and salons,
antique stores, and book stores. We love it immensely. I
dont think the songs on the first five albums will ever sound
the same to me now that I have heard them with scenes
from Paris in my mind. Lastly yes, I did play Free Man in
Paris while I was on the Champs Elysee. By the way Joni
truly mispronounces the name [by saying it shawn duh/lee/sae]
as the French all pronounce it Chawn zeeleezae. The song
'Free Man' I think was more about the person in the song as
opposed to the city.I didnt get the expected Paris video-rush
connection. Free Man is actually not as Paris-like as some
of the others. Jonis writing on these albums is city-like. Im
not talking here about Joni purposely writing songs about a
city. Im saying that as a writer the sounds she had in her
head seemed to reflect the pace and ambience of the city
behind the words. The song that always makes me feel
melancholy is For Free. It was a beautiful musical backdrop
for the busier streets in Paris particularly by L'Opera and on
the Rue Haussman by the Place De Madelane. Speaking of
For Free, The sad thing to me was hat there are no more
street musicians in the metro subways. i was told they
passed a city ordinance. Thats too bad. They did however
allow the mimes and "statues" to perform on the street
although they dont do it for free. the last time I was in Paris
the musicians were all over the metro's and one particularly
excellent group was actually doing Vivaldi at Bir Hakheim.
But no more. lastly you might wonder which song gave me
the most vivid and moving Paris experience. It might sound
suprising but Dawntreader at dusk walking along the Seine
was a mind blast, hard to beat. Also, another time we were
in the St.Chapelle and as I gazed up al the windows I
scrambled around and got out the walkman and sitting on
one of the ancient wooden benches on the side I happened
to experience one of my all time faves "Songs to Ageing
Children". It was a mystical experience listening while looking
up at 40 feet high stained glass windows. The one album
which didnt make it in Paris was Court. By the time Joni
finished Court & Spark she was totally into the LA sceen
and her albums abandoned the ambience (and minimalist
elegance) of those first four albums. Court is really an LA
album. After that she was clearly under another influence.
Maybe thats why I like Jonis first four the best. It captured
more of her and less of her influencers in the final result.
By the time you have Steve Lukather putting metal
guitaristics and Thomas Dolby noodling keyboards on your
songs you have in fact changed. And she did. I think after
this experiencial sojourn (or is it Hejira) Joni has in fact
finally returned to her roots, not in Canada, but in her soul.
Her songs are now coming from her soul again. The
ambience I am hearing on the stuff since Turbulent Indigo
is a leaving of the prior phase of life behind. Hejira was
perhaps the beginning of her tearing away from where she
had been. Just as she had left New York and gone west.
The experience I had listening to her songs in France was
really wonderful I recommend it to all. It made me realize
more about Joni's writing and put me again in touch with
what is to me the most interesting aspect of her as an artist.
She does absorb her experiences and they are reintroduced
after they have been through the prism of her feelings.
Those feelings include not just the thoughts but the
environment itself in which the songs were written. The time
in her life. The place she was at. It was almost as if I got to
see Paris through Jonis feelings and with her guidance.
Most inspirational. A trip to remember.
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------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 13:04:27 -0500
From: "Brian S. Moss"
Subject: Joni sings Gerswin
Greetings;
I want to publicly 'Thank' p.henry and cul for there suggesting that I
should join this list. You are collectively knowledgeable, very interesting
and provacative and I am enjoying your discourse.
Should Joni ever decide to do a 'standards' album I would run to
purchase it. Not knowig but always suspecting that she had some influences
from that era, being ~ the same age they were mine as well; her
acknowlegement of Billie Holiday as one explains some of the 'feel' of much
of her own work. For many of those who have past the half-century mark the
old standards are just that, standards againist which new music can be
judged. The words and music that evoke our own feelings, life and times or
speak to our own ambitions and frustrations are perhaps 'classics', but the
ones that touch our soul, whether speaking to us personally or not are the
'Standards' because they speak not just to our own generation but to the
human condition. Obviously I feel that many of Joni's creations do just
that.
BTW thanks for the Irish Times interview; More real information than I
have ever seen in print.
The overwhelming fascination I first had for Joni was the 'bell' like
tone of her voice. At ~17, I had never encountered a voice so clear and
clean[no overtones] and I suppose that is one reason why when she slid off
into the rock idiom [it did seriously affect her voice] I did not follow too
closely. I did not like Dylans' electric departure either. I can now look
back and find alot that I now value but at the time....
I suppose I should admit to a strong traditional folk bias.
Keep Smilin'......brian
NP: Detroit NPR[wdet]'Folks Like Us' 3 hours of the music I love.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 04:48:52 +0100
From: Marian Russell
Subject: $800,000 house? NJC
Could someone please send me the scoop on Kilauren and the $800,000
house?
Marian
Vienna
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 14:09:34 EST
From: TerryM2442@aol.com
Subject: Re: Tidbits from New Stone
In a message dated 2/27/99 9:44:56 AM Eastern Standard Time, RMuRocks@aol.com
writes:
<< 3. CSNY - new album & tour coming soon >>
I DID see that mentioned in RS and was very happy, indeed. I think the album
comes out in June, with the tour to follow. Apparently, they got together to
do a project and enjoyed it so much, decided to carry it through into the
makings of an entire album. Can't wait to hear it!
Terry
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 14:39:19 EST
From: IVPAUL42@aol.com
Subject: Re: Madonna acknowledges Joni,Chrissie and Deborah
In a message dated 2/27/99 10:39:48 AM Eastern Standard Time, Strummed@aol.com
writes:
<< comeon bob give madonna a little credit now. CHRI$. >>
Sorry, cash only for the material girl at this store!
Paul I
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 14:19:05 -0600
From: Michael Paz
Subject: Night Ride Home
Hello All from New Orleans-
In regards to the semi current discussion of NRH, I love this record. Two
Grey Rooms is one of my all time faves. Ray's Dads Caddilac also conjures up
some amazing memories of my "parking days" up on the mountain overlooking San
Pedro Sula. Slouching is a great song that I have enjoyed more live than on
this particular record. The production is a good on this record, but I could
have lived without the cricket sound thru the entire song. Since I stumbled on
the JMDL and all the guitar tabs that have been posted NRH is one I really
like to sing and play. Thanks again to Marian, Sue, Howard, and all other Joni
transcribers. Have a lovely weekend.
Michael Paz
NP-Julian waking up from a nap
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 15:22:05 EST
From: Strummed@aol.com
Subject: Re: List goings-on (NJC, but JMDL content)
HEY, i count 1332, want to knoW about complaints? listen to KINGS X,
"COMPLAIN" on their "DOGMAN" release. have fun, live long. keep your powder
dry, yours CHRI$.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 15:26:04 EST
From: Strummed@aol.com
Subject: Re: night ride home! (jc)
Scorpions, excellent band. don' think they were lonely though, CHRI$.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 15:32:04 EST
From: Strummed@aol.com
Subject: Re: Madonna acknowledges Joni,Chrissie and Deborah
"E PLURIBUS UNUM" THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR GRAND FUNK RAILROAD. ALTHOUGH
MY brother warms up for mark farner when he plays in his christian rock band
tours, CHRI$.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 20:37:25 -0000
From: philipf@tinet.ie
Subject: Re: Tidbits from New Stone
- -----Original Message-----
From: RMuRocks@aol.com
>Anyway, on to the leetle Joni-mention: there's an article about the
shutting
>down of A&M records, and James Young, guitarist for Styx, says "the A&M lot
>was a magical place. I remember running into Karen Carpenter and Joni
>Mitchell, Janet Jackson, when she was, like, seventeen years old."
That's a shame if that place is closing. Long before it was Joni's
studio, it was Charlie Chaplin's movie lot, hence the english style
architecture. A friend got me in for a look around once.
Philip
NP The Meters - Tippy Toes
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 20:39:11 -0000
From: philipf@tinet.ie
Subject: Re: Night Ride Home- (jc)
>Patrick wrote:
>
>>i'd love to hear how night ride home hit the longest-term joni freaks, the
>>one's who've bought every album on release day. was it a relief after the
>>'80s albums?
I came on board when Clouds was new, so I suppose I qualify for
this. To me NRH is bookended by two of her most brilliant songs
and Passion Play is obviously the work of a genius. In between is
a somewhat mixed bag. I remember being pleased about how
happy she sounded, apart of course from The Windfall which I
presumed was some kind of mistake. Slouching dosen't work for
me at all. The music dosen't come remotely close to matching
W.B. Yeats' words. I get no sense of things falling apart. Some
Jungle line style chaos, for example, might have been more appropriate.
I'd rate Slouching among her worst songs ever along with stuff like
Magdelene Launderies. The production is unremarkable and dosen't
compare well with the startling brilliance of Chalkmark.
Oh, and I love Ray's Dad's Cadillac. Are there any bad songs
about Cadillacs ? Maybe they don't allow it.
Philip
NP Basement Jaxx - Fly Life
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 15:46:03 -0500
From: Jerry Notaro
Subject: Re: sandy denny (njc)
patrick leader wrote:
>
> bob, you are a lucky man. pick up the her greatest hits, i promise you
> won't regret it. one of the best voices of the folk-rock generation
Her box set is great, also.
Jerry
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 16:22:58 EST
From: TerryM2442@aol.com
Subject: Re: Night Ride Home
In a message dated 2/27/99 3:20:16 PM Eastern Standard Time,
michaelpaz@worldnet.att.net writes:
<< The production is a good on this record, but I could
have lived without the cricket sound thru the entire song. >>
Funny, that's what drew me into the song when I first heard it, Michael. I
LOVE the cricket-playing rhythm section.
Terry
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 14:24:54 -0800
From: "Kakki"
Subject: A&M Records and $800,000 house
Since I will be spending half my afternoon and evening in Hollywood today
these posts caught my attention. Indeed A&M Records is being closed down
and from many accounts I've heard, it is the big heartbreak in the music
world right now. A&M was owned by Polygram, which was recently acquired by
MCA. There is massive reorganization going on as a result. It is sad,
because A&M was known for nurturing and growing its artists much more than
the other companies. And the site is really charming - my favorite corner
in Hollywood.
As for mentions of the $800,000 Hollywood Hills house that Joni is selling -
this may sound funny but that is actually a pretty low-end price for a home
in the Hollywood Hills, especially one which has been completely renovated.
The house is relatively small - 2,500 square feet, yet sits on a 1/2 acre,
which is a good sized lot in the city. People pay for location here, where
some houses half that size in a desirable location sell for even more. The
views from the Hollywood Hills are spectacular.
Kakki, perennial renter
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 18:21:19 -0500 (EST)
From: David Wright
Subject: Re: Night Ride Home
Randy Remote writes:
>
> Am I the only one who would put this near the bottom of the list of Joni
> albums?
I would put it about fourth (behind DJRD, Hejira, and Blue, just
ahead of C&S and HOSL), almost entirely on the strength of five of its
songs: the title track, Passion Play, Slouching, and *especially* Come In
From the Cold and Cherokee Louise. On all of these tracks I think the
music and words are so wise, moving and eloquent. I find the title track
wonderfully evocative; Passion Play and Slouching powerful both
politically and spiritually; and Come In... and Louise heartbreakingly
empathic, honest, and utterly unsentimental in their looking back at
adolescence. This theme of encounters between youth and age runs through
much of the album, I think -- in the form of meetings, like Only Joy in
Town or Two Grey Rooms (more of a non-meeting, actually); or of memories,
as in Come In..., Cherokee, and Ray's Dad's Cadillac; or internal
conflict, in Nothing Can Be Done.
Actually, I do find the album very uneven in terms of the
individual songs. I don't really like Ray's Dad's Cadillac, Only Joy in
Town, or The Windfall -- and am unmoved by Nothing Can Be Done (except for
the title hook: "I am not old/I'm told/But I am not young...") and,
apparently unlike most people, Two Grey Rooms.
- --David
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 16:23:00 -0700
From: Bounced Message
Subject: H.elp Need Digests!
From: mann@chicagonet.net
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 12:56:42 -0600
H.elp! This is the second time this has happened to me.
I've emptied my trash folder and lose half of all the email
I have too!
If anyone has digests from 2/10 forward I would really
appreciate them being forwarded to me.
Thanks so much!
Laura
mann@chicagonet.net
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 18:06:47 -0600
From: mann@chicagonet.net
Subject: Thanks for the Digests & $10 Music Blvd...AGAIN!
Susan,
Thanks sooooooooooo much for the
digests! I really appreciate it.
Here's another $10 for Music Boulevard.
It says for new accounts only but it
worked for me! Try it. Go to:
http://www.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/5824_0_main.txt
Your credit should appear at time of check out.
Laura :-)
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 01:03:59 +0000
From: catman
Subject: myJoni Hit list
1. TI
2. NRH
3. HOSL
4. STAS
5.HEJIRA
6.LOTC
7.DED
8.BLUE
9.C&S
10.CLOUDS
11. FTR
12. TTT
13.WTRF
14.TTT
15.CMIAR
16MINGUS(i really don't care much for this one)
- --
CARLY SIMON DISCUSSION LIST
http://www.ethericcats.demon.co.uk/ethericcats/index.html
TANTRA’S/ETHERIC PERSIANS AND HIMALAYANS
http://www.ethericcats.demon.co.uk
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 22:31:47
From: Lisa Kowalski
Subject: I'm grateful for the JMDL
Hi everybody! I recently joined the JMDL in January and sent a few
posts and then went into Lurkland for the past 6 weeks.I've been undergoing
treatments for breast cancer and was having a rough time of it and had to
take time off of work for a month to recoup and recharge my batteries.I'm
back at work now and have gotten a good prognosis from the doctor! I
haven't been posting while I've been home but I have been reading your
posts everyday and I want you to all know I think you guys are great! This
List is so interesting,informative and very amusing at times.You all have
such insight into Joni and her music and life,besides so many other topics.
For 30 yrs I thought I was the only one in the world that loved Joni
Mitchell and then I stumbled upon this list and am truly amazed by it and
very grateful.I feel it has pulled me thru my treatments,cause whenever I
would feel down I'd read the posts on the list and feel 100% better!
I started listening to Joni when I was 16 in 1968 and I am one of
those freaks that would buy her albums as soon as they were released(and
still do!) I have all her vinyl from Clouds to CMIARS and all her CDS from
Clouds to TTT,plus the Herbie Hancock Gershwin CD,the Kyle Eastwood Cd and
the ChieftansCD(that I wouldnt have known about if it werent for this
list),plus I've already ordered Painting with Words and Music thru
Amazon.com so I guess I qualify for being a major Joni-phile! and I'm proud
of it!
Take care !
Lisa
The Magicflute(I play the flute plus its my favorite Mozart opera!)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 21:27:25 -0800
From: "Gene Mock"
Subject: CD Rom rewriters
Can anyone out there answer if the current generation of CDRom rewriters(?)
are capable of copying the CD's with music? Is there a substantial
difference in sound quality like is apparent when copying videos? Thanks
You Gene
------------------------------
End of JMDL Digest V4 #99
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