From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2000 #89 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk JMDL Digest Sunday, February 13 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 089 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: -------- BSN Lithos (now fortified with NJC) [evian ] (now fortified with NJC) [Vince Lavieri ] Re: (now fortified with NJC) [Brian Gross ] Re: BSN Lithos (now fortified with NJC) ["Ken (Slarty)" ] BSN NY Times Review [dsk ] BSN Gave it a spin [dsk ] Re: Catching up with Painting Joni [dsk ] NY Daily News Review [dsk ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 21:27:58 -0600 From: evian Subject: BSN Lithos (now fortified with NJC) > And your spot-on > analysis has inspired me to quit my paying job to master my extraordinary > lawnmowing skills! :~) > > LOLOLOLOLLLLLL. Oh man, I am killing myself here! But, just to let you know, *I* am a pretty good lawnmower myself, and, I have to tell you, I quite enjoy cutting the grass -- indeed, I prefer it over working, so I too am going to give it all up to spend my time perfecting my lawnmoving craft. HOWEVER.... I really get insulted by these lawn people who keep asking me how it feels that all these OTHER lawn-mowing upstarts always refer to me as an influence. It's quite laughable. They just see a guy and a Craftsman, and they just assume that "Oh, Bob Muller is SO SO SO influenced by that Evian/Rob technique." Well, talk about jumping on the bandwagon. I look at Bob's lawn and I just don't see the influence... I just don't see it. It was my own unique height settings that fostered the whole "quite short, but not too short so the damn thing will die" trend. Also, the "just push the frigging thing in any pattern and to hell with the anal neighbor who insists on diagonal lines" move was invented by your's truly. Also, the "Oh-my-God-it's-hot-take-off-your-shirt-and-tuck-it-into-the-back-of-your-shorts" and the subsequent "Oh-my-God-the-shirt-fell-out-and-the-damn-thing-is-stuck-in-the-mower" and the "Oh-my-God-that-was-that-stupid-FUBU-shirt-you-had-to-pay-$50-for-and-now-its-a-tea-towel" trio was also my creation. I'd have a great career on the golf course, but I've been blacklisted since I pissed a tequila anachonda the full length of the green that time in high school, so the hell with them all! Evian, who is not *quite* so cranky as before, but who IS hepped up on these funky cold pills! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 22:58:49 -0500 From: Vince Lavieri Subject: (now fortified with NJC) So we have heard from Bob and Evian; did I understand from the interview that this now accounts for all of the male straight fans of J..., I mean, ah, er, lawn mowers? (the Rev) Vince evian wrote: > > And your spot-on > > analysis has inspired me to quit my paying job to master my extraordinary > > lawnmowing skills! :~) > > > > > LOLOLOLOLLLLLL. Oh man, I am killing myself here! But, just to let you > know, *I* am a pretty good lawnmower myself, and, I have to tell you, I > quite enjoy cutting the grass -- indeed, I prefer it over working, so I > too am going to give it all up to spend my time perfecting my lawnmoving > craft. > HOWEVER.... I really get insulted by these lawn people who keep > asking me how it feels that all these OTHER lawn-mowing upstarts always > refer to me as an influence. It's quite laughable. They just see a guy > and a Craftsman, and they just assume that "Oh, Bob Muller is SO SO SO > influenced by that Evian/Rob technique." Well, talk about jumping on > the bandwagon. I look at Bob's lawn and I just don't see the > influence... I just don't see it. It was my own unique height settings > that fostered the whole "quite short, but not too short so the damn > thing will die" trend. Also, the "just push the frigging thing in any > pattern and to hell with the anal neighbor who insists on diagonal > lines" move was invented by your's truly. Also, the > "Oh-my-God-it's-hot-take-off-your-shirt-and-tuck-it-into-the-back-of-your-shorts" > and the subsequent > "Oh-my-God-the-shirt-fell-out-and-the-damn-thing-is-stuck-in-the-mower" > and the > "Oh-my-God-that-was-that-stupid-FUBU-shirt-you-had-to-pay-$50-for-and-now-its-a-tea-towel" > trio was also my creation. I'd have a great career on the golf course, > but I've been blacklisted since I pissed a tequila anachonda the full > length of the green that time in high school, so the hell with them all! > > Evian, who is not *quite* so cranky as before, but who IS hepped up on > these funky cold pills! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 20:03:32 -0800 (PST) From: Brian Gross Subject: Re: (now fortified with NJC) - --- Vince Lavieri wrote: > So we have heard from Bob and Evian; did I understand from the interview that > this now > accounts for all of the male straight fans of J..., I mean, ah, er, lawn > mowers? I guess I'm in a class by myself then. I *hate* to mow the lawn. Water it, fertilize it, cut it...what a friggin waste!! Let it go natural and get a damn goat! As for the other item, isn't it odd that 'str8' has lots of curvy lines?? Later, Brian nw: Cocoon on PBS (never saw it before) ===== "No paper thin walls, no folks above No one else can hear the crazy cries of love" yeah, right __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 23:33:09 -0500 From: "Ken (Slarty)" Subject: Re: BSN Lithos (now fortified with NJC) Well for someone who actually cuts grass for a sideline and uses the money to buy his computer equipment, I'll keep my comments to my self except to say NO FUBU SHIRTS. I'm more of a steel toe'd shoes and oily shorts kinda guy and my hands still, even though we have 3 feet of snow on the lawn, smell of gasoline. I will comment on some of the other posts to grace my screen tonight and notice they are in the horizontal mode and none of this diagonal nonsense. Danger: may contain METOOISIMs I agree with Evian that the lady doth complain too much. Does come off sometimes as sounding like a spoiled child. Her repeated "I can quit this anytime and go and paint" spiel is tiring though I suspect maybe a auto-self defence mechanism against lack of interest and criticism. I saw Bruce Cockburn on CBC's The Arts yesterday and when asked why he keeps on making and playing music after so many years his answer was "What else would I do." Refreshing to say the least. Unfortunately for us (sometimes) is that Joni has something else, though I suspect many years from now Joni will be known not for her painting but for her music. There is a Kurt Vonnegut book "Bluebeard" where the hero of our story is a fabulous illustrator but who has decided to become an abstract painter for a the challenge. For him being an illustrator is just to damn easy. Maybe that's Joni's problem. Musically she is a genius and writing music comes just to easy for her so she looks for a challenge else where. On Randy Remote's critique: I also hear the same Montavoniesque background sludge and if I want Frank Sanatra I'll buy Frank Sanatra. A couple of years ago when I first heard that Joni was going to do a 'standards' CD I was delighted. I pictured something with a real Jazz feel. Something swinging like her take on "Centrepiece" and "Twisted". I'm not at all looking forward to her next 2 albums which promise more of the same. To me BSN could stand for 'Bull Shit Noise' but I would never say that on the JMDL. evian wrote: > > And your spot-on > > analysis has inspired me to quit my paying job to master my extraordinary > > lawnmowing skills! :~) > > > > > LOLOLOLOLLLLLL. Oh man, I am killing myself here! But, just to let you > know, *I* am a pretty good lawnmower myself, and, I have to tell you, I > quite enjoy cutting the grass -- indeed, I prefer it over working, so I > too am going to give it all up to spend my time perfecting my lawnmoving > craft. > HOWEVER.... I really get insulted by these lawn people who keep > asking me how it feels that all these OTHER lawn-mowing upstarts always > refer to me as an influence. It's quite laughable. They just see a guy > and a Craftsman, and they just assume that "Oh, Bob Muller is SO SO SO > influenced by that Evian/Rob technique." Well, talk about jumping on > the bandwagon. I look at Bob's lawn and I just don't see the > influence... I just don't see it. It was my own unique height settings > that fostered the whole "quite short, but not too short so the damn > thing will die" trend. Also, the "just push the frigging thing in any > pattern and to hell with the anal neighbor who insists on diagonal > lines" move was invented by your's truly. Also, the > "Oh-my-God-it's-hot-take-off-your-shirt-and-tuck-it-into-the-back-of-your-shorts" > and the subsequent > "Oh-my-God-the-shirt-fell-out-and-the-damn-thing-is-stuck-in-the-mower" > and the > "Oh-my-God-that-was-that-stupid-FUBU-shirt-you-had-to-pay-$50-for-and-now-its-a-tea-towel" > trio was also my creation. I'd have a great career on the golf course, > but I've been blacklisted since I pissed a tequila anachonda the full > length of the green that time in high school, so the hell with them all! > > Evian, who is not *quite* so cranky as before, but who IS hepped up on > these funky cold pills! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 23:48:23 -0500 From: Janet Hess Subject: The latest on Rex Reed (NJC) At least the man has impeccable taste, give him that much. - -------------- Saturday February 12 10:14 PM ET Film Critic Rex Reed Arrested for Alleged Shoplift NEW YORK (Reuters) - Movie critic Rex Reed was arrested on Saturday after he was caught by store security allegedly removing three compact discs from a midtown Manhattan record store, police said. The 61-year-old critic, who was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, was spotted by store detectives at 4:45 p.m. at Tower Records on Broadway allegedly taking the three CDs, police said. Authorities said they found him carrying CDs of Mel Torme, Peggy Lee and Carmen McRae. Reed was expected to appear in court in March, police said. - ------- Let all these dogs go running free The wild and gentle dogs Kennelled in me. Joni Mitchell ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 00:30:58 -0500 From: dsk Subject: BSN NY Times Review You can read the review and also see the dramatic photo by going to http://www.nytimes.com. In the printed paper that I picked up on my way home tonight there's also a b/w picture of Joni at last summer's Joni's Jazz. It's great that Joni's getting so much attention for her newest experiment, even though I'm not sure that "weather-beaten jazz chanteuse" is much of a compliment. Debra Shea ****************** February 13, 2000 Joni Mitchell: Something's Lost and Something's Gained By STEPHEN HOLDEN FEW contemporary voices have aged more shockingly than Joni Mitchell's. The craggy alto on "Both Sides Now," her intermittently magnificent new album of standards (including two of her best-loved original songs), is so changed from the sweetly yodeling folk soprano of her earliest albums that it hardly seems possible the two sounds could have come from the same body. In refusing to fight or try to camouflage the ravages of time, Ms. Mitchell belongs to an interpretive school that includes Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra, whose vocal deterioration brought them greater emotional depth and realism. Studying a chronology of their records is like following a road map of their lives that takes you deep into the mountains over increasingly rugged terrain. The bumpier the road gets, the longer the view. In the opposite school are supremely polished technicians like Mel Tormé and Sarah Vaughan, whose voices remained distinctively beautiful (even as they darkened with age) until the ends of their lives. Listening to Ms. Mitchell, who is 56 and has smoked heavily for decades, you can hear the toll of all those cigarettes in her shortened breath, husky timbre and inability to make fluent vocal leaps. At the same time, that very huskiness lends her torch singing the battered authenticity we expect of middle-aged jazz singers with their years of after-hours living and accompanying vices. Ms. Mitchell has been struggling for that authenticity since the mid-1970's, but it wasn't until her guest appearances on Herbie Hancock's 1998 album, "Gershwin's World," singing "The Man I Love" and "Summertime," that she finally sounded like a weather-beaten jazz chanteuse. To approach the rarefied place inhabited by Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone, Ms. Mitchell virtually had to lose her voice. With "Both Sides Now" (Warner Brothers 2-47620), Ms. Mitchell follows her 70's folk-pop peers, Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon, into the realm of formally orchestrated pop arranged in the style of late-1950's Holiday and Sinatra albums. And in making the gesture, Ms. Mitchell, the most influential female folk-rocker of all time, has recertified the continuity of pre-rock and rock traditions. That continuity has more to do with attitude than with musical style. For as much as rock-era singers rebelled against pre-rock forms, many (especially those who came out of folk music) retained an enduring faith in the earlier generation's romantic mythology. With true love the unquestioned ideal, pop sentiment swung between the poles of happily-ever-after and heartbreak, ecstasy and tragedy. Ms. Mitchell's original folk-rock songs upheld that mythology while analyzing it with an unprecedented personal candor and deep skepticism. It remained for another generation of punk rockers and hip-hoppers to topple that mythology and subvert romantic dreaminess with rawer, more realistic views of sex as brutally funny, harshly combative game-playing. "Both Sides Now," which Warner Brothers has just released in a special Valentine's Day package ($49.98; it will come out as a regular CD on March 21), was recorded in England with a 70-piece orchestra arranged and conducted by Vince Mendoza. The orchestrations on 7 of its 12 cuts have the richness of full-scale Hollywood film scores, embellished with jazz solos that feature Wayne Shorter (on saxophones) and Mark Isham (trumpet) along with a discreet dusting of jazz rhythm. The album's most obvious precedent is Holiday's classic "Lady in Satin," recorded in 1958, not long before the singer's death, with Ray Ellis conducting an orchestra augmented by top-flight jazz soloists. "Lady in Satin" is as starkly tragic a pop album as has ever been made. On it, Holiday's cracked, parched old-woman's timbre (she was only 42 but sounds 70-something) adds an extra layer of pathos to self-lacerating ballads like "I'm a Fool to Want You," "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "You've Changed." Yet for all the physical damage on display, Holiday's stealthy jazz phrasing remained intact along with her ominous aura of masochistic enjoyment. "Both Sides Now," unlike "Lady in Satin," has its lighter moments. But on the whole it aspires to the same level of emotional gravity, especially in Ms. Mitchell's devastating versions of "You've Changed" and "You're My Thrill" (which Holiday recorded in 1949 with a similar arrangement). Ms. Mitchell's interpretations of both songs are as deep and somber as Lady Day's. Her Holiday-like phrasing, smoke-charred timbre and anguished intensity take you to the core of songs describing states of emotional torture: facing the imminent departure of a lover who has lost interest ("You've Changed"), and helpless erotic obsession ("You're My Thrill"). Equally powerful is a version of "At Last," sung as a pained cry of relief, in which eerie piano triplets almost beyond earshot echo Etta James's version of the song while the blossoming orchestrations recall Nat (King) Cole's. These darker moments are much more convincing than the album's sunnier ones, in which Ms. Mitchell's attempts to swing breezily fall short. Her performance on a brass-heavy Sinatra-influenced version of "I Wish I Were in Love Again," in particular, lacks the visceral punch that might make this playful celebration of a rough-and-tumble relationship seem like fun. The album's boldest and most problematic moments are its symphonically weighted versions of two Mitchell originals, "A Case of You" (originally a fragile folk-pop lament sung against a quivering dulcimer) and her most famous song, "Both Sides Now." Here, both are intoned as dramatic monologues amid churning, hovering strings. But since neither song goes anywhere harmonically, the music just sits heavily as the singer muses out loud. But if "A Case You" sinks under that orchestral weight, "Both Sides Now" somehow stays afloat. With her brooding oracular delivery, Ms. Mitchell forcibly twists this singsongy tune with its frilly images ("rows and flows of angel hair") into a humbling life lesson on the elusiveness of personal wisdom ("It's life's illusions I recall/ I really don't know life at all"). Like a determined swimmer fighting a flood tide, Ms. Mitchell prevails and carries her most famous song safely to higher ground. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 02:01:32 -0500 From: dsk Subject: BSN Gave it a spin After reading all the messages about lush, sensuous, moving-to-tears sounds I decided I couldn't wait until March 21, so yesterday I walked to the nearby record store, asked about their return policy after being told that I couldn't open one up, purchased one of the two BSNs they had, brought it home, opened it up, looked at ALL the scratches, put it in the CD player and listened to it, putting up with the odd bumpy out-of-sync pops, mostly in A Case of You. Unlike almost everyone else that has posted, the CD didn't grab me at all since nostalgia trips don't interest me, I don't like a mushy sound, and some of the lyrics were so simplistic it made "big boo-hoo" seem profound. For the first time ever listening to a Joni album I wasn't captured into sitting still and just listening. It pretty quickly became background music. After one play, I packed it up again, went back to the store, and opened the package in front of the cashier. She said it's scratched, I said yeah that's why I'm bringing it back, it was loose in the package. She rubs it with the tail of her shirt, holds it up, looks at me as though she thinks I've taken a perfect CD home and scratched it up myself, like this is a routine way some people spend a Friday afternoon. And then there's the pressure to replace it instead of getting my money back. I resisted and after she talked to the manager, I finally walked out with my $54.11, glad that I've heard what people are writing about, and looking forward to the regular release. I know there are subtleties in the music that I haven't heard yet and some of Joni's singing is very emotional, so this may grow on me once I have a chance to listen to it lots of times. I'm not in such a hurry to do that anymore though. But I can't get Comes Love out of my head. What's up with that? Reading all this I realize I've been influenced in writing this message by the step-by-step frenzied search described by Happy the Man. That was such a funny post, I'm going back to read it again. Debra Shea ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 02:29:41 -0500 From: dsk Subject: Re: Catching up with Painting Joni > I will give Debra much credit in her discussions of the > paintings because she articulates her position in depth. Hi Kakki, Welcome back and thanks for this comment. I'm holding off even thinking about Joni's art until I see some of it in person (although I admit I'm very tempted by the lifeboat). > Now I'm like the newly, evangelical converted and one knows how that > can be ;-) Untiring, for sure. And persuasive. > In the end, Joni has never represented herself as a ground-breaking artist, > so why is she held to that standard? She just says that she is a painter > first - a true statement - and that the painting is how she would prefer to > express herself and what she wishes to devote her time to now. Excellent point. It's assumed that a person known as a genius in one area is a genius in all areas, which of course isn't true. Jackson Pollack, incredibly expressive using paint, could hardly put a sentence together when he talked to people. And then there's something about Einstein barely being able to dress himself. Or am I just imagining that one? :-) Debra Shea ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 02:55:03 -0500 From: dsk Subject: NY Daily News Review This is from http://www.nydailynews.com. It must have been in last Sunday's paper. Not such a good review from a long-time Joni fan. *********** From: New York Now | Music | Sunday, February 06, 2000 Standard Surprises George Michael's in the mood for love, but Joni Mitchell lacks pep By JIM FARBER Daily News Staff Writer GEORGE MICHAEL, "SONGS FROM THE LAST CENTURY" (VIRGIN) JONI MITCHELL, "BOTH SIDES NOW" (REPRISE) Sooner or later, every singer wants to tackle the classics. The millennium must've seemed as good a time as any for two major names — Joni Mitchell and George Michael — whose new works take on the standards of the last century. Their decisions, no doubt, reflect a broader desire by the baby-boom generation to make peace with the music of their parents' era. At the same time, it reflects the two stars' desires to try material that has withstood the test of time. Certainly, Michael has gone to enormous lengths to be taken seriously in the last few years. But as the album goes into circulation, the big question is this: Is he up to the task of bringing a fresh approach to these standards or is this nothing more than a self-conscious reach on his part? Mitchell, on the other hand, would seem a natural for this type of music. She's got the sensibility and character to make these elegant and precise songs her own. Well, surprise! The exact opposite turns out to be true. Michael puts in a sweet and moving performance, while Mitchell (my idol!) brings little of her brilliance to bear. The most striking aspect of Michael's interpretations, in fact, is the naive quality in his voice, communicating an almost antique innocence. Some of this derives from less than ideal circumstances: namely, Michael's shallowness. He isn't a guy who exudes significant experience or great intelligence. But that just makes him sound more endearingly boyish and vulnerable. He makes every number sound like a song of first love. In the world of standards, it recalls the underrated '50s recordings of Doris Day. To get that quality in this cynical age makes this album nothing short of miraculous. Joni Mitchell can't help but communicate much more sophistication on her album. But her take on standards like "Stormy Weather" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" (timed to come out for Valentine's Day) winds up depressingly turgid. As even her most ardent fans must acknowledge, Joni has lost significant elements of her voice over the years. But usually she makes up for it with phrasing and arrangements that fill in nuance and color. Here, Mitchell's phrasing is puzzlingly repetitive, her melodic choices narrow, emphasizing the most brittle and hoarse aspects of her instrument. She minimizes the tunes with the orchestral arrangements, which tend to be dreary, dark and slow. There's little vigor anywhere, in fact, and no compelling mood. Only her version of "Comes Love" (made famous by Billie Holiday) nails the sad wit of the lyric. Longtime followers will be intrigued by the fact that Mitchell included two of her own classics, "A Case Of You" and "Both Sides Now." But to what end? The latter is motionless. The former, once one of the most movingly tense pieces in recorded history, here meanders. Like most everything else on the record, it ends up heartbreaking for all the wrong reasons. ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2000 #89 **************************** 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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