From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2002 #234 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk Unsubscribe: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.smoe.org/lists/joni Websites: http://www.jmdl.com http://www.jonimitchell.com JMDL Digest Thursday, May 30 2002 Volume 2002 : Number 234 The Official Joni Mitchell Homepage, created by Wally Breese, can be found at http://www.jonimitchell.com. It contains the latest news, a detailed bio, Original Interviews, essays, lyrics and much 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: -------- Re: JMDL Digest V2002 #233 - Alcohol [BRYAN8847@aol.com] Re: 9/11 tribute on hbo njc (long) [Kay Ashley ] Re: World music (njc) ["Kakki" ] Re: Questions for a research paper ["Jim L'Hommedieu" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 01:03:17 EDT From: BRYAN8847@aol.com Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2002 #233 - Alcohol In a message dated 5/29/02 9:53:50 PM Pacific Daylight Time, les@jmdl.com writes: > > do you think that joni is alcoholic? > > No! I am alcoholic (sober) and I can spot one a mile away with my eyes closed. I don't hear or see the traits of alcoholism in JM, though obviously she is stuck on nicotine, an altogether different though destructive kind of addiction. Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 01:37:33 -0400 From: Kay Ashley Subject: Re: 9/11 tribute on hbo njc (long) Kate Bennett wrote: > > i don't know if any of you who were there on 9/11 watched it (don't know if > i could have if i'd been there as living through it once is surely enough) > but if you did, i wonder how you felt about it... Debra Shea wrote: >Details varied but the story was always the same... I >love this person... I want her or him to come home. It wasn't talked >about for months, but anyone who'd been down there that day knew that >most of those missing people had become part of the ash that was >covering the city. In the show when the mayor's assistant talked about >grabbing handfuls of ash because it felt like her firefighter husband >was in it, I could only think, yes, he probably was, and how brave and >honest that in her sorrow she could be so aware of that. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to watch it or not, but then I was watching "The X-Files" movie on FX, the alternate Fox channel, found myself flipping during the ads (or was it during the movie?), and found myself at HBO right before it started... so I got sucked in. I did not watch the special that was aired in March for the 6 month anniversary; I knew that I was not ready for that, and in fact seeing The Sphere sculpture that used to live in the WTC plaza was too much of a circuit blower for me (they rededicated it in Battery Park on 3/11, and I work just a couple of blocks away, so I went to go see it.) But by last weekend I did feel somewhat ready to confront the reality of the footage again. Of course, it was devastating. I feel that the producers went too far at some points -- I for one did not need to see more than one person jump, more than one time. And I really didn't need to see one of the jumpers sprawled, post-mortem, on the ground. That, I think, was crossing the line of decency. It was perhaps an unhealthy thing for me to watch the film. I really relived a lot that I would care not to, but I imagine that I will relive it in bits and pieces for the rest of my life. However, one good thing about it was that I really, really, really cried while watching it, and that was a relief of sorts, as I was almost totally unable to cry for months after 9/11. It was really only after visiting Alison in Utah at the end of March (thank you again, forever and ever, Alison) that I started to emerge from my brain fog and frozen emotions. Much of the footage I had seen before, but there was one series of images that was taken from a helicopter, and those images I had not seen before, and it was the view of 2 WTC from above just as it started to collapse. I was astounded by the deadly grace with which the roof sank, almost as if it had been lifted up slightly before it fell. It was almost as if the force of gravity had been made visible for a split second. And then the top floors cascaded down underneath it with the perfect symmetry of a deck of cards. It was horrifying. And it was unavoidable that I counted down the floors to 105, 104, 103, etc., and imagined my friends who were on those top floors, their last phone calls cut off abruptly, probably instantaneously with their lives. One of the most painful things to think of, and I find myself perversely unable to will myself not to think of it, is imagining their last moment of awareness. The absolute horror and terror that they must have felt. I imagine things that are better left unwritten. And then the inevitable thoughts that Debra described, the realization that we breathed in those people. It's not a hypothetical. The fire recognized no distinction between steel, concrete, bone and flesh. All was returned to a simpler form. And I also felt an overwhelming empathy for the mayor's assistant, grabbing handfuls of ash knowing that her husband was in it, and thank you Debra for putting it so beautifully, "how brave and honest that in her sorrow she could be so aware of that." The nature of the ash, the smell of the burning rubble for months afterwards; and on occasion, that other smell of war -- these were definitely the unspeakables of life in downtown NYC. And if HBO's purpose was to try to transmit the horrors, the unspeakables, to people who were not there, then they succeeded. I think that's probably a good thing for Americans not living in NYC, it's important to understand. I think it must be difficult to imagine the scale of the horror if you're not familiar with the scale of the buildings themselves or aware of how many people worked there. (I know that I didn't really understand the Oklahoma City bombing, for example.) I think the repetitiveness of the footage, especially the aerial views, helped to put into perspective just how enormous those events were. And how unspeakable they were. It is to me truly miraculous that less than 3,000 people died that day, because by rights it could have been 25,000 or more (there were close to 100,000 people working in the whole complex.) And it is also truly horrifying that a group of human beings would plot to destroy so much and potentially kill that many people in such a way. And further, and this is what always gets me, that these humans had, right up until a few seconds before, the ability to choose not to go through with it. They totally buried any human compassion that resided in their hearts -- how amazing, how terrifying. And knowing how truly sociopathological the rest of them must be as well, that's what makes it so difficult to remain here, especially with all the attack warnings of the past week and a half. Because the threat is real, there are people in this world who would be happy to see this city cease to exist, and they will someday have the means to fulfill their vision; and how on earth do we deal with that information? Denial is my drug of choice these days, because I have decided to stay here. So, this was an incredibly long response to Kate's question. I feel like what I've just written was perhaps more of a diary entry than an email, but I do have a lot to say these days, it seems. Thanks for listening. Kay ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 22:33:35 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: World music (njc) Randy, I was going to comment again on this thread but you took the words right out of my mouth! All of the genres of music you cite have been huge in the U.S. for years now. I used to go to the various festivals in SoCal regularly and always came home loaded with music. World music has been the bulk of my, and my friends, music collections for years. Oh - I'll add another that has been big for a number of years now - Peruvian/Andean. You are so right about jazz, too, although many of the jazz artists I am familiar with are HUGE everywhere else in the world. Kakki > I don't think I can agree with this either. World music as a genre is > getting huge in the US. British music practically took over in the 70's- > Yes, ELP, Tull, Floyd, et al....I was a definite fan! > There are literally hundreds of Reggae festivals every summer drawing > huge crowds and featuring Jamaican musicians. Celtic music is pretty > big. Hawaiian music is big. I went to a Brazilian music concert in > San Francisco that was sold out, probably a couple thousand people, > and they have them regularly. Shakira. Julio Iglesias. All them Eye- > talian operas. Vanessa Mae, The Gypsy Kings, Bjork....I think there > is quite alot of diversity. If anything, as someone mentioned, many of > our own fine jazz musicians do not get the recognition they deserve. > True, the mainstream Top 20 is often a bore, but 'twas ever thus. > RR ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 23:41:03 -0700 (PDT) From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: Re: Questions for a research paper Hi again Stephanie, Wow. You really get to the heart of the matter with these questions. Not to be flippant but the "best" stuff is whatever is playing on the stereo at the time. I mean, it's one of the greatest pleasures of my life to be able to sit in my living room and CHOOSE from 21 official titles, not to mention at least that many boots. My idea of fun is an evening with a collection that spans Louis Armstrong to Plow On Boy playing on $4,000 worth of high fi gear at close range. But I digress. I guess my short answer is that first question, pointing at identifying "best creative material" is kind of meaningless to me. What does "best" mean? I have *my* favorites but I've heard Don Rowe and Marcel Deste make vigorous, impassioned, articulate, & convincing arguments for titles that don't mean much to me. I guess I'm contrary tonight cause I'll even argue with categorizing HOSL and Mingus in different periods. To me, the middle era, (my favorite if I have to pick) is C&S, MoA, HOSL, Hejira, DJRD, Mingus, S&L, and WTRF. That last one is agruable until you give me this point: imagine Crazy Horse trying to play those tracks. (And I love Crazy Horse, I'm just saying.) It's "wide like jazz" not rock. [SIDE QUESTION: LET'S SEE HANDS OF ANYONE WHO CAN NAME A STRETCH OF 8 ALBUMS IN A ROW OF THIS QUALITY FROM ANY OF THE SOLO BEATLES. GET THOSE HANDS UP!! OKAY, NOW WHO CAN NAME 8 DYLAN ALBUMS IN A ROW OF THIS QUALITY? ANYONE? NO ONE? NO ONE?!?!?] But like I said, choosing one era over the others is impossible. I mean, my favorite *period* is what I call the 'jazz' period but my favorite *album* is "For The Roses". How can I defend that contradiction? I mean how can I defend it with intellect? I can't. So, I'll answer the question you didn't ask. I was thinking about this today. I watched a video by Roy Clark. In his youth, he was a very fast player and had lots of charisma. He was alternately funny, sincere, and hammy but it reminded me that my favorite part of music has nothing to do with flash. Nothing to do with speed. It's about those rare moments when the singer and song disappear. Sometimes I'm struck motionless, suspended, comfortably numb as Roger Waters observed oh so long ago. I love the Quincy Jones arrangement of "One For My Baby", sung Frank on "Sinatra At The Sands" in front of Count Basie's orchestra. And a kinky obscure Steely Dan track called "Brooklyn". And "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder. And Paul McCartney's "Junk". And Eddie Sauter's "Night Rider" with Stan Getz blowing over the top. What do these tracks have in common? I don't have a clue except that they all produce quickened pulse, dialated pupils, and hair-raising expectation. That brings me back to where I began. My favorite period is the one I'm exploring at the moment. The one that's reconnecting me with the wordless wonder we all came from. And to which we will all finally return. Lamadoo ps, Would you ask a mother, "Is your favorite child from your early, contemplative, naive experiences or your later, wisened, mature relationships?" We can't settle this tonight. Enough. Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 00:05:27 -0700 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: Re: yet another interesting journey/Christine Lavin (njc) hey victor, sounds like you are in a good luck groove! anne is right about christine, i've never seen her perform (but have heard that sensitive new age guys song- how cool you got to be part of it!)..anyway someone told me she passes tapes around of new artists from a college radio station...i forget which one but someone told me one of my songs was on it...anyway, the idea is that the tape gets given to someone in the audience, then they give it to someone else, etc...i think that is how it works...cool idea, huh? >>Wow Victor - what an eventful few days! Now, I don't want to bum you out, but Christine Lavin is the patron saint of undiscovered talent. You didn't happen to have a CD of yours to hand her, did you???? Still, way cool that you got to be on stage with her...<< ******************************************** Kate Bennett www.katebennett.com sponsored by Polysonics Discover the Indies at Taylor Guitars: http://www.taylorguitars.com/artists/awp/indies/bennett.html ******************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 22:57:32 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: 9/11 tribute on hbo njc (long) Kay wrote: > I feel like what I've just written was perhaps more of a diary entry than an email, but > I do have a lot to say these days, it seems. Thanks for listening. I appreciate all of the eloquent entries from you, Debra, Patrick and others. They are very important and helpful to me and, I'm sure, many others here. Kakki ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2002 #234 ***************************** ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe ------- Siquomb, isn't she?