From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V4 #352 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk JMDL Digest Sunday, August 15 1999 Volume 04 : Number 352 The Laborday JoniFest is happening this fall! For information: send a message to Join the mailing list at: ------- The Official Joni Mitchell Homepage is maintained by Wally Breese at http://www.jonimitchell.com and contains the latest news, a detailed bio, original interviews and essays, lyrics, and much more. ------- The JMDL website can be found at http://www.jmdl.com and contains interviews, articles, the member gallery, archives, and much more. ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Joni and Ew (Probably old news) [evian ] Re: Song to a Seagull (long) [=?iso-8859-1?Q?Winfried_H=FChn?= ] RE: vh1 woodstock show njc [Ginamu@aol.com] Re: Lilith Fair (NJC) [Bounced Message ] Re: Song to a Seagull (long) ["Mark or Travis" ] Re: Song to a Seagull (long) ["Kakki" ] Re: Song to a Seagull & Song for Sharon (long) [waytoblu@mindspring.com] rhyming patterns, joni's albums ["Wally Kairuz" ] joni tribute in Sydney ["Takats, Angela" ] Re: Bay of Fundy NJC ["Lisa Peakes" ] re: one liners ["Takats, Angela" ] re: one liners [PJT ] Re: Song to a Seagull & Song for Sharon (long) ["Mark or Travis" Subject: Joni and Ew (Probably old news) Hey kids, My memory is really fuzzy right now, but I just stumbled upon the online-only Joni interview for Entertainment Weekly's 100 Moments of Rock issue in May. I just assumed it was the same one that was in the mag, but apparently it isn't. I can't remember if someone posted this or not, and I am sure someone has, but if not, you can find it at http://www.pathfinder.com/ew/fab400/music100/int5-2.html I love Joni's criticism of Joan Osborne... I love it when she gets bitchy ;) Anyway, happy weekend! Evian np: Cupid and Psyche '85 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 09:41:05 +0200 From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Winfried_H=FChn?= Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull (long) O.K. You guys have done it again... I'm off to the record store in order to enlarge my Joni-collection! Winfried - -----Original Message ----- Von: Scott and Jody An: Mark or Travis Cc: ; Gesendet: 14. august 1999 01:01 Betreff: Re: Song to a Seagull (long) > Mark wrote: > > > > I find 'The Dawntreader' to be very soothing. The guitar reminds me > > of the rolling & swelling of the ocean on a sunny, fairly calm day. > > > This song has always been my calming source. Whenever I become stressed > out beyond belief, I listen to this. I love Joni's guitar- on "the roll > of the harbor wake-the songs that the rigging makes". I can just feel > myself on a sailboat out at sea! > > btw - I enjoyed reading your entire post about STAS! > > Thanks, > jody > > > > ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 04:45:03 EDT From: Bolvangar@aol.com Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull (long) Mark in Seattle wrote: <> I've noticed those internal rhymes, her way of extending a line past the rhymed word and then rhyming the new word. She does it in "Dawntreader" too, for instance ("a dream that the wars are DONE/a dream that you tell no ONE but the GREY SEA/they'll say that you're CRAZY"....where the music suddenly blossoms on "grey sea"). I think it's really graceful, enabling her to sustain an idea within a structural framework or to link two ideas together. On the other hand, I think that on her early albums she often lets these flowery formal devices, the internal rhymes and alliteration ("wars and wine," leather and lace," "tunnel tiled and turning," "windless wells of wonder," etc.) and such, overwhelm the songs' lyrical content -- at times the devices seem to become the end of her writing, rather than part of the means. I don't think she'd begun yet to fuse form and content, as she would so powerfully later. I think "broom of contempt" doesn't work because it sounds (to me) like it's written for the sake of rhyming internally with "rooms have an empty ring" -- it's contrived, and I think that exposes the slight silliness of "broom of contempt" when it's cut off from context. I wrote: > One interesting thing about this album for me is the contrast between the > "city" songs and the "seaside" songs. [snip] Another contrast is between the > lyrics' character portraits and Joni's flowery fantasies...like > observation (external) vs. imagination (internal). Mark wrote: <> Oops, I didn't mean to say that the contrast between external/character and internal/fantasy was a part of the contrast between city and seaside -- I meant that they were two different sets of contrasts at work in the album. My idea about the music was that even though (as you point out) we think of the city as being more distracting, to me it's Joni's "seaside" music, intriguingly, that distracts (surprises) us more on this album. I agree with you that the implication may be that the "internal" things that surprise us when we're introspective can be more unusual and unexpected than the "external" surprises of the city -- you know how being away from the city (with its constant aural and visual stimulation) for a while kind of clears your senses. I also appreciated Marcel's comments about this being Joni's first album after coming to New York from the open prairie. I never thought of STAS that way. But the city and the ocean certainly must have seemed like something from a fantasy to her. That perspective kind of opens me up more to the artifice of the subject and style of this album. - --David NP: soundtrack, _Little Odessa_ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 04:53:10 EDT From: Bolvangar@aol.com Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull (long) Mark in Seattle also wrote: <> As a side note, I always had a kind of different interpretation of the man's actions. I took his motives to be, rather than spiritual and inward-directed, vindictive towards the woman in the song (Joni), removing or painting over the symbols of their life together -- just like he changed the locks on the door. I think this gives a certain edge to the song. - --David ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 08:27:36 -0400 From: waytoblu@mindspring.com Subject: Joni and Ew (Probably old news) >I found this interview with Joni very interesting since the way I got into >music was very similiar. I began taking piano lessons when I was 7 or 8 and >took them for several years but ended up quitting because I really just >wanted to make up songs and pick stuff up from the radio. Several years >later I was introduced to the guitar and it seemed to open up a whole world. >I haven't experimented alot with alternate tunings though it has often been >remarked that the chords I use are strange and unconventional--in a good >way. > >The album I heard that made me want to become a musician was Rush "A >Farewell to Kings" and it just occured to me, there seems to be a common >theme running between the song "A Farewell to Kings" and Joni Mitchell "I >Had a King"...Neil Peart, an excellent lyricist who also happens to be from >Canada. He also wrote a superb book called The Masked Rider-Cycling Through >West Africa, a journalistic sort of novel about a bicycling trip he took >across West Africa with four other people. > > >Victor >NP: Francis Cabrel -- Petite Marie > ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 18:11:01 +0200 From: "Tube" Subject: Both hands in the air > > Both hands in air, gesturing, both feet on > > accelerator, head turned to talk to someone in back > > seat: Italy. This would be funny if it wasn't true. I actually go out of my way to avoid driving on Italy's freeways. Every Monday morning the Italian newspapers report colossal death and injury tolls over the weekend. From where I live I can drive down the freeway (The Via Ostiense, Via del Mare or Via Cristoforo Colombo, for those that are interested) into central Rome in about 25 minutes, or take the train in, in about 40 minutes. I usually choose the train - It's less convenient, but I know for a fact that I have a better chance of mortal survival that way. No kidding. Tube in Rome. PS - Howdy all! Sorry for my absence but I've actually been working for the past few weeks and too busy to spend much time on my computer. Today I'm alone in the house, wife's taken the kids on a trip to her mother's, so it's quiet and I'm catching up on my e-mail and updating my website for the first time in months. Bye - --------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail services powered by Pro.Net. Internet Service Provider - --------------------------------------------------------------- Check http://www.pngroup.net/promail - --------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 12:17:00 EDT From: Ginamu@aol.com Subject: RE: vh1 woodstock show njc Hi everyone! I'm back from vacation and browsing the digests that have accumulated. The quote below made me think of something: >>The "Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac" line always made me wonder about Mr. Henley's aptitude as an songwriter. Surely, Jerry Garcia or one of the Dead owned a Cadillac or better? Didn't Elvis drive them, too? Joni has had a few Mercedes. When someone gets to be a music star, we naturally expect them to treat themselves to a little luxury, even if they champion protelariat ideals.<< I once read somewhere that Bob Marley was asked why, with his political values, he drove a BMW and his reply was because it stood for Bob Marley and The Wailers! Take care, Gina ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 10:19:33 -0600 From: Bounced Message Subject: Re: Lilith Fair (NJC) From: "Kakki" Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 08:28:55 -0700 Jimlama wrote: > Well the 1999 Lilith Fair came to Cincinnati this week and I had a great > time. It was very hot but with the right refreshments :) I was able to > soldier on. I even got an autograph from Lilith herself..... I'll add > it to my autograph collection from Crosby Nash and the one from Jethro > Tull and Lynyrd Skynard..... > -- > Hoping Kakki will explain to the JMDL lurkers where the jokes are in > this post, Sounds like you enjoyed some interesting refreshments, Jimbo. ;-) Now where's your review?? C'mon, I read that the Pretenders were there! Kakki NP: CPR - Deja Vu live - (Happy Birthday to Mr. Crosby!) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 10:22:12 -0700 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull (long) > Mark in Seattle also wrote: > < cleansing like a monk, removing everything from his life that is distracting > or > corrupting. Painting the pastel walls a neutral brown, removing all > ornamentation or anything that is extraneous.>> > and David also replied: > As a side note, I always had a kind of different interpretation of the > man's actions. I took his motives to be, rather than spiritual and > inward-directed, vindictive towards the woman in the song (Joni), removing or > painting over the symbols of their life together -- just like he changed the > locks on the door. I think this gives a certain edge to the song. I thought of this too. It just seems a little extreme to me if you apply it to a romantic relationship. Painting, maybe, but painting the walls brown? Taking the curtains down? But I think it does work and may very well be what she intended. Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 11:26:13 -0700 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull & Song for Sharon (long) David continues: > On the other hand, I think that on her early albums she often lets these > flowery formal devices, the internal rhymes and alliteration ("wars and > wine," leather and lace," "tunnel tiled and turning," "windless wells of > wonder," etc.) and such, overwhelm the songs' lyrical content -- at times the > devices seem to become the end of her writing, rather than part of the means. > I don't think she'd begun yet to fuse form and content, as she would so > powerfully later. and I reply: We agree here. There are certains lines, words, phrases in the early songs that seem to be thrown into the song merely for the sake of a rhyme. Not to pick on Marcel, but the lines he called attention to in 'The Dawntreader' always struck me that way. 'Mermaids live in colonies' to me has nothing to do with the line of thinking she has set up in this song and the line seems to be there merely for the sake of a rhyme. It is another romantic image of the sea so it does fit with the overall imagery, but it really doesn't further the thought she is conveying. I think "broom of contempt" doesn't work because it sounds > (to me) like it's written for the sake of rhyming internally with "rooms have > an empty ring" -- it's contrived, and I think that exposes the slight > silliness of "broom of contempt" when it's cut off from context. And here we disagree. In this case I think the phrase 'broom of contempt' fits in very well and continues the expression of cleansing or purging whether it be a spiritual cleansing or getting a romantic partner out of your system after a breakup. One of my favorite examples of the logic and economy of Joni's later lyrics is 'Song For Sharon'. This song has a *lot* of words and it's easy to get the verses mixed up when you try to sing it unless you stop and think about the logic of it. Each verse pretty much takes up where the last one has left off. The first verse is about riding the Staten Island ferry in NYC. The next verse talks about those little Indian kids' fathers walking the girders of the Manhattan skyline and then says she's headed to the church to play Bingo. The gambling theme is continued in the next versus with 'I can keep my cool at poker/but I'm a fool when love's at stake' and concludes with her love luck going up i smoke. The next verse starts with her leaving her lover 'at a North Dakota junction' - her love luck has run out. It ends with her saying that she does accept the shifts in her romantic life better than she used to. The next verse is about a woman who has been unable to accept whatever changes life has thrown at her and the reactions of Joni's friends to this woman's suicide. Then we get the advice of friends and family on how to move away from that line at the edge of despair & get closer to satisfaction. But all Joni wants is another romantic involvement. Next we see where this romantic yearning for love started. Joni as a child fantasizes about pretty ladies in white lace wedding gowns and love is the main stimulant of her fantasies & illusions. The following verse shows the adolescent Joni chasing this fantasy as she goes 'skating after golden Reggie' who teaches her that there are thorns in the fantasy - first you get the kisses and then you get the tears - but Joni will not abandon the romantic notions that are tied up with the 'ceremony of the bells & lace'. In the next verse we have skaters again only now they are on Wollman Rink. Some of them are skating in pairs but the adult Joni is left sitting on the sidelines, alone observing and reflecting on how her reason and her emotions seem to deceive her when it comes to love. Finally we come back to Sharon who, like the skaters in pairs, is paired or married and settled into a domestic life on a farm with a husband and a family. Joni contrasts Sharon's life with her own. But her conclusion is that Sharon still has occasional opportunity to express her musical (creative) side and that Joni can partake of Sharon's more settled, pastoral existence from time to time. The point I'm trying to get across is that mostly all of the lyrics of Joni's more mature work have a purpose in furthering the thought or story she is trying to convey. Very little is extraneous or contrived. I was first drawn to Joni because of her words (in case you couldn't tell). One of the wonderful things about being on this list is that there are so many musicians here and you have taught me to appreciate the music as well. Not that I didn't appreciate it before, but your thoughts, insights, and information about the musical aspects have really enhanced my appreciation. I hope you all don't mind too much when I ramble on about the lyrics. Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 11:36:25 PDT From: "Russell Bowden" Subject: Bay of Fundy NJC As a native of Maine, I have visited the Bay of Fundy. It is known as having the highest/lowest tides in the world. This part of the US/Canada is also known for the high numbers of bald eagles. I know there are a lot of stables there and I have heard it is great place for riding. Appaloosas??? Can't help you there. Love, Russ NP Sire of Sorrow......I do believe our Queen is no less than a Prophetess of All Things Now _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 11:10:09 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull (long) Mark wrote: > It just seems a little extreme to me if you > apply it to a romantic relationship. Painting, maybe, but painting > the walls brown? Taking the curtains down? But I think it does work > and may very well be what she intended. I see him as removing all vestiges of a feminine presence (pastel walls and probably delicate curtains) now that she is leaving. I think "swept with the broom of contempt" is the best line in that verse. Kakki ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 16:09:30 -0400 From: waytoblu@mindspring.com Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull & Song for Sharon (long) >Mermaids live in >colonies' to me has nothing to do with the line of thinking she has >set up in this song and the line seems to be there merely for the sake >of a rhyme. It is another romantic image of the sea so it does fit >with the overall imagery, but it really doesn't further the thought >she is conveying. I disagree with this in that by the very virtue of this line being different than the other lines, as is "dolphins playing in the sea" and "Children laughing out to sea", completely conveys her thought of leaving behind what she is familiar with and going somewhere different and strange. Each of these lines is followed by "All his seadreams come to me". IMO these are his dreams which are all coming to her. I like the way my mind is temporarily shifted with these random images and seem to come back inside of her thoughts, as if I was in his thoughts for a moment. Victor NP: Joni Mitchell STAS ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 17:50:00 -0300 From: "Wally Kairuz" Subject: rhyming patterns, joni's albums i find the discussion of joni's rhyming patterns on her early albums fascinating. one of the things that called my attention when i first heard her early songs was the way she demonstrated her love for words. i always bear in mind that stas is dedicated to one her school teachers because he taught her "to love words". in those days i fantasized that if i ever recorded an album i would dedicate to joni mitchell because, unlike Mr. Kratzman -- who had taught her to love words -- she had taught me "to word love". stas is, in my opinion, joni's "brontė'' album. it's so romantic in a wuthering heights kind of way. even her references to contemporary culture and events are tinged with a gothic, love-in-the-moors color. yes, even, sisotowbell lane is melancholy in its seeming optimism, not to mention its intricate, turn-of-the century rhyming games. i see clouds as her polyphony album. the spirit is altogether more baroque. along these lines, i would regard lotc as her piano album. i could go on and do the same with blue, c&s and the rest. but i'll leave it open to all of you, if you want to play. by what trait would you identify each of joni's album? wtrf: her political album? c&s: her pop album? etc.. wally\k ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 14:36:20 PDT From: "Chad Burkhart" Subject: DJRD Hi All Why is it that I have waited so long to get this album. Today I decided that I could wait no longer, I contemplated all kinds of different albums, well I need only DJRD, WTRF, CMIARS, and DED to complete my Joni collection and I talked to a few people about which album was best and thanks Ian for recomending this one!!! I had to trek all over god's green earth to find this album and finally tracked it down at Sam's. No one else in the entire city of Montreal had this album and since it was an import I have to believe that it was never released in Canada. Anyway, I finally purchased DJRD for the hefty price tag of $30 tax included. All that I can say about this album is WOW!!!I,m in the middle of the album, on first listen, track is called The Tenth World and I love the drums that are going on along with some chanting etc. Also I almost peed my pants when I heard Paprika Plains!!! It is the longest Joni song I have ever heard and I just adore it. I usually love her songs that she plays at the pian and this one is no exception. Earlier today I was listening to one of the tape trees that I recieved (thanks Bob) and I heard her play Man From Mars on the piano and I loved that rendition. NP: Dreamland. I always loved that track from SAL and this version is just as good, if not better! Anyway, to make a long post short, anyone that is looking for a good addition to their Joni collection should run out and get DJRD, in my humble opinion, I have to place it near the top and I haven't even listened to the whole thing. Anyway, I will continue enjoying this album for the next while. Cheers,Yours always, Chadly From Mountains ICQ = 41775889 Go where you will go to Know that I will know you Someday I may know you very well ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 08:08:22 +1000 From: "Takats, Angela" Subject: joni tribute in Sydney Hey Listers, Nicholas has already filled you in on our latest joni-event down under...and I must say I agreed with everything he said, but thought I may as well add some more. Having purchased dinner/show tickets well in advanced after witnessing the brilliance of the first Tribute, I was very excited to get seated early and lap up the wonderful atmosphere and music. I grabbed a Joni Tribute broshure to see who was singing and what they were singing - it was the same performer line up as before, so I knew we'd all be in for a treat. I was sad to see that several of the girls had chosen to do exactly the same songs as the last tribute, how could this be? with so many gems to choose from. (and not one song from Hejira on the list!!!) I have to agree with Nicholas about the crowd, totally REVOLTING! My boyfriend and I paid extra to sit closer to the stage, but it didn't stop two large, very drunk men (who I'm sure had no idea who JM was) from standing right infront of our table, in total "show us your tits" mode, if you know what I mean. The crowd was a definate put-off and really changed the whole mood of this concert. There were lovely performances of "Crazy Cries", "I had a King", "Willie", "For Free", "Help Me" (great backing vocals).....the real stand out performances were from Rachel Gaudry who tackled "Goodbyre Pork Pie Hat" with such maturity and without hitting one off note...Tania Bowra was my favourite though with "Carey" and "Chinese Cafe" - she really has the "right stuff", a fantastic guitarist and then playing the piano with ease for her second song...a confident voice, singing the songs the Joni way. Sarah Mcgregor also did well with "Harry's House" (what a fantastic song, the band was 'going off') and "Woman of.." I must say that I thought the band wasn't as good as the last tribute - they were all fanatstic musicians, but it just didn't come together for some songs. Now the 'cringe' moments.....I've heard several versions of 'Woodstock', but one I want to forget is Karen Jacobsen's....there was a groovy guitar rift in there somewhere, but that's about it...trying to rock it up and over-do the vocal thing just made me want to cover my ears! Joni's lyrics can be hard to remember....but it did get annoying when some of the performers decided to add there own words in as they were singing away - like in Rainy Night House....(and maybe this will show my lack of knowledge of different versions of this song) but the performer sang "you gave up all your father's golden factories - to see who in the world..." - hmmmm? This is the same performer that said "I'm doing the Miles of Aisles version of this song...it was like a live concert that Joni did...wasn't it Woodstock? Yeah I think it was Woodstock" (My boyfriend had to stop me from groaning as I rolled my eyes) The minute Chinese Cafe was finished we left, as I could see that " You dream flat.." and "Come in from.." were the last songs - both not on my fav list and both sung by a lady who made me fall asleep last time...so the night did in on the high of Tania Bowra's wonderful performance. It's so good to have some 'joni-things' happening in Sydney....I just wish we had more true joni lovers around, to support these events - instead of loud and feral bar-hangers! Tribute Thoughts from Ange in Sydney ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 18:43:56 -0400 From: "Lisa Peakes" Subject: Re: Bay of Fundy NJC I think of "too far from the Bay of Fundy" as not referring to things the cowboy/Coyote would claim as totems, but that the cowboy/Coyote is too far removed from these symbols that are dear to the storyteller - in other words, sorry, Coyote, but we wouldn't get along - ("....from different sets of circumstance") - it's another example, like the I'm-getting-to-bed-just-as-you're-rising reference, that this pair isn't in it for the long haul. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 09:49:35 +1000 From: "Takats, Angela" Subject: re: one liners Bob wrote: <> Thanks for sharing this beautiful moment Bob....it doesn't sound silly at all. What a magical moment...it truely is an amazing album that takes my breath away each time I listen. Every song teaches me so much, every time I listen to it. And I think it's great that Joni can feel so confident and proud of this collection of songs. Wish I could have been standing there with you Bob, Ange Sydney ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 17:04:03 -0700 (PDT) From: PJT Subject: re: one liners Bob, I have to agree with Ange. I envy you the moment and I too would hold it in my heart forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pam _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 20:30:41 -0700 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull & Song for Sharon (long) > >Mermaids live in > >colonies' to me has nothing to do with the line of thinking she has > >set up in this song and the line seems to be there merely for the sake > >of a rhyme. It is another romantic image of the sea so it does fit > >with the overall imagery, but it really doesn't further the thought > >she is conveying. > > > I disagree with this in that by the very virtue of this line being different > than the other lines, as is "dolphins playing in the sea" and "Children > laughing out to sea", completely conveys her thought of leaving behind what > she is familiar with and going somewhere different and strange. Those two lines that you quote make perfect sense to me in the context of the song. Dolphins playing in the sea are a nice image of 'a promise to be free' and in the last verse she has just mentioned 'the dream of a baby' so the children laughing is very logical. But, although I like your interpretation and respect your opinion, that line about the mermaids just doesn't fit for me. It's great to hear all these different interpretations of Joni's songs. Kakki's take on the first verse of 'I Had a King' added to David's comments really made me stop and rethink the song. Thanks to everybody who has posted on this thread! Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 20:48:10 -0700 (PDT) From: zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny) Subject: Joni one-liners Hi All! I just got back from vacation a few hours ago, (not caught up with reading the list yet) and I thought I'd share one of my musings. We vacation every year in a little private resort in central Washington State, not far from where Joni played with Van & Bob at The Gorge. Well we live on the western side of the state where it's very green, treed, busy and IMHO, beautiful. I never have liked the eastern portions of the state but it does provide the hot dry climate we like for water skiing and general fun in the sun. This year my husband and I drove over to our destination by way of a different route than his family usually takes, but that meant we needed to drive directly through a town I lived in during the time of both Hejira's and DWRD's release. (It's easier for me to keep track of time by recalling what Joni had out new at the time, than to look at calendar years. :-) I refer to my time in this central Wash town as my time in The Pit, believing surely the townspeople had only renamed the town from it's original name of "Hell", shortly before I had moved there. Well, to pass my time back in the mid to late 70's, I'd jump in my little Porsche convertible and go for long drives in the desert with Joni playing from the cassette deck. Hours and hours of listening to Joni as I would travel alone and look out at this barren landscape in all directions, mesmerized by her lyrics and drawn to do some significant searching of my own. Hejira was so much my theme song that I pondered for years about getting a personalized license plate to express my own honorable flight to all. (I won't tell the whole story) So as we were driving some of these same roads this past week, that I drove years ago, I started thinking about the Joni one-liners thread that started right before our vacation. I couldn't agree more with all of the listers who have stated the song Hejira contains arguably the most brilliant, and deeply thought provoking lines ever written, by Joni or anyone else. And Hejira was, in retrospect, the initial bookend, with TI being the bookend on the backside, to a chapter of my life where intense spiritual searching took place in between those albums. Hejira provided some of the greatest questions and observations that any song writer or philosopher could have ever posed to me, largely because I would actually *listen* to what Joni had to say. And yes, I'd have to agree many I've met in my life are "so deep and superficial between the forceps and the stone", but if they won't let you in, you'll never really know! After that long intro and even though I just had a huge reminder of how much that song and album has meant to me, and I know too, it's not as cerebral as many of the lines from Hejira, I'd still have to give my nod to another Joni one-liner from an earlier album for being the most impacting to me personally, on an on-going, life-long basis. From A Case of You, "you said 'love is touching souls' Well surely you touch mine, 'Cause part of you pours out of me in these lines from time to time." For me, the picture Joni paints of how souls melt together and pour out from each other is the best description I know of to articulate what genuine love is. This line represents to me, the goal of relationships/friendships. Maybe I love this line so much because it's what I pray I never lose sight of? I think about this line often when I communicate with friends, and I always feel so blessed to be able to steal from Joni to convey to them how they touch me. That means more to me than than even the brilliant and thought provoking lyrics from Hejira. Sorry for rambling! Blessings, Penny (who's going to try to get caught up now with the list and private emails!) ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V4 #352 ************************** The Song and Album Voting Booths are open! Cast your votes by clicking the links at http://www.jmdl.com/gallery username: jimdle password: siquomb ------- Don't forget about these ongoing projects: Glossary project: Send a blank message to for all the details. FAQ Project: Help compile the JMDL FAQ. 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