From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2003 #5 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 Sunday, January 5 2003 Volume 2003 : Number 005 Sign up now for JoniFest 2003! http://www.jonifest.com ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: The first to make "world music"? [FredNow@aol.com] Re: bi or vari njc [FredNow@aol.com] re: teeth whitening - njc [=?iso-8859-1?q?Joseph=20Francis?= ] knock-off of Hejira snippet on NPR [Patti Witten ] Re: Rhymin' Joni, Songs of the Day and calling Paris [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] NY Time Review of T'log ["RSM" ] Re: Stryngs - more web site stuff (NJC) [Gertus@aol.com] Re: Rhymin' Joni, Songs of the Day and calling Paris [Bobsart48@aol.com] Re: NY Time Review of T'log [Catherine McKay ] Re: NY Time Review of T'log ["Moni Kellermann" ] Re: NY Time Review of T'log [Catherine McKay ] Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey [MIN] Re: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey ["Ch] Re: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey [Ros] Re: knock-off of Hejira snippet on NPR ["Steve Polifka" ] As the weekend turns (Covers Giveaway reminder) NJC ["Mary E. Pitassi" ] Re: JMDL Digest V2003 # Ricki Lee jones and Joni Mitchell [Kardinel@aol.c] chris & sherelle njc ["Kate Bennett" ] Joni article in Sunday New York Times ["Timothy Spong" ] chatroom njc [RoseMJoy@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 03:36:19 EST From: FredNow@aol.com Subject: Re: The first to make "world music"? David Sadowski writes: >World music is a pretty broad term. If you think about it, when kids in >England listened to blues from Chicago, wasn't that world music too? Exactly. The phrase "world music" is meaningless ... it's an ethnocentric marketing designation connoting music from everywhere else on Earth other than the dominant USA/Euro culture; bottom line, isn't all human music "world music"? As far as Western musicians incorporating musical elements from non-dominant cultures, Joni, of course, with "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" from 1975 and "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter" from 1977. Even earlier, Weather Report introduced elements of nonwestern music in their blend starting in 1970-71. And The Beatles, even earlier ... "Revolver" in 1966, if not "Rubber Soul" in 1965. Earlier still, Getz/Gilberto in 1963. Or Dizzy Gillespie blending Cuban rhythms with jazz in the 40s and 50s. And really, even jazz itself, in its very essence. - -Fred ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 03:44:53 EST From: FredNow@aol.com Subject: Re: bi or vari njc colin writes: >well, i fianlly gave in and went to the otpician.I just cannot see up >close anymore. I also can't see in the distance with out my >glasses(proof, as if you needed it, that i really am a wanker). >so, whcih do i get-the varifocals or bifocals? I am unlikely to wear >these away from home-i only need them for my pc and knitting and sewing. > >I take off my glasses for reading in bed. >I am sure there are others out there who use them so would appreciate >your experiences. I gave in a year or so ago when my arms got too short to read. Got progressive/varifocals and haven't looked back since, so to speak. Some folks don't like them, but any decent optician will give you a 30-day exchange period. Took a little getting used to, noticed that instead of turning my eyes I had to turn my head (otherwise you're looking through wrong part of lens). The only time it bugs me is when driving (but only slightly, doesn't impair driving safety) because as you move things are constantly shifting from one zone to the next as you get closer. All in all, I dig them, and no telltale dividing lines. Good luck. Fred ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 21:49:46 +1300 (NZDT) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Joseph=20Francis?= Subject: re: teeth whitening - njc On TV over here in NZ at the moment they are advertising this teeth whitening stuff. I think it's by Colgate? Anyway, it comes in what looks like a Twink bottle, and you just paint it on your teeth. Takes a couple of minutes is all. I think you can probably buy it at the supermarket. Joseph http://movies.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Movies - - What's on at your local cinema? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 01:15:00 -0800 From: "Mark Connely" Subject: Crest Whitening Strips NJC Don't use this stuff. All these products use a bleach (usually hydrogen or oxygen) and they all make your tooth enamel more porous. Porous enamel means teeth stain easier. More stains=more bleach. It's a trap. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Jan 2003 07:31:42 -0400 From: Patti Witten Subject: knock-off of Hejira snippet on NPR As many know, the NPR daily news show Morning Edition plays snippets of unattributed instrumental music edited between the news stories. A few days ago I am certain that I heard the introductory chords to "Hejira" performed on solo acoustic-electric guitar and solo fretless bass. It was not Joni and Jaco, and it was not played all that well (IMO). Too bad, cuz it's great music all right, one of my personal faves. I wonder about the royalties/copyright issues with this kind of thing. I tried to look around npr.org this morning but didn't find anything referring to these segments of music. In fact, the morning edition page failed to load :( Patti - -- Patti Witten, Acoustic-Rock http://pattiwitten.com FA, AMA, Indiegrrl, JPF, I-Town Records New CD "Sycamore Tryst" http://sycamoretryst.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 08:06:12 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Rhymin' Joni, Songs of the Day and calling Paris In a message dated 1/4/2003 9:09:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, Bobsart48@aol.com writes: > This can hardly be an accident, and it smacks of craftsmanship rather than > miraculous genius to me. I would say that a person can have one or the other OR both. Only-Geniuses may be able to conceive unique concepts but can't translate it into action/results. And a good craftsman can do a good job with the results but their work is all derivative. Artists like Joni surely have the genius to create unique stuff and also she is blessed with the craftmanship to execute her ideas. I think the example of I Had A King shows clearly that she has both gifts. > Anyway, I hope I haven't killed this horse. Music > and poetry derive so much from math and logic. Hard to believe Joni was a > decimal in Ray's Dad's math class. :-) Unfortunately, very few math teachers are successful in translating how math and mathmatical logic are fundamental in things like music, art, design, etc. Most of us go through school learning that math is only for working math problems. So Ray's Dad gets the blame in my book. Bob NP: Counting Crows, "Good Time" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 06:19:54 -0800 From: "RSM" Subject: NY Time Review of T'log My NY Times tracker for "Joni" finally paid off. Here is the review, middling to negative, for T'log http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/05/arts/music/05ROCK.html?tntemail0 Ron LA ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 09:46:32 EST From: Gertus@aol.com Subject: Re: Stryngs - more web site stuff (NJC) Hi Chris, No problem with the download at all - mp3 straight into Music Match Juke Box - - perfect. I love all 4 samples but especially "Handfull of Pills" - brilliant violin - and "Convince" - neat guitar work from Martin. Needless to say the bass is great throughout (well I had to say that didn't I?) and the emotional quality of String's voice comes across well. I feel privileged indeed to have heard you guys play live in the privacy of your own living room! Just one thing, isn't there only one "l" in handful or should it be 2 words? Jacky ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 09:46:50 EST From: Bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: Rhymin' Joni, Songs of the Day and calling Paris Bob M (the one who can be serious) replied: > Artists like Joni surely have the genius to create unique stuff and also she > is blessed with the craftmanship to execute her ideas. I think the example > of I Had A King shows clearly that she has both gifts. Yes !! And the drive to get her genius out there, and the hard work to have developed her craft so that the art is so fine. "A weak and a lazy mind?" Indeed :~) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 10:09:12 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: NY Time Review of T'log --- RSM wrote: > My NY Times tracker for "Joni" finally paid off. > Here is the review, > middling to negative, for T'log > > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/05/arts/music/05ROCK.html?tntemail0 > The annoying thing about the NY Times is, you can't read these things unless you sign up - it's free, but it's a hassle and then they start sending you e-mails that you might not want to receive (not spam, just annoying in its own way.) ===== Catherine Toronto ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 16:22:08 +0100 From: "Moni Kellermann" Subject: Re: NY Time Review of T'log - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Catherine McKay" Subject: Re: NY Time Review of T'log > --- RSM wrote: > > My NY Times > > tracker for "Joni" finally paid off. > > Here is the review, > > middling to negative, for T'log > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/05/arts/music/05ROCK.html?tntemail0 > The annoying thing about the NY Times is, you can't > read these things unless you sign up - it's free, but > it's a hassle and then they start sending you e-mails > that you might not want to receive (not spam, just > annoying in its own way.) > Catherine Okay, so here it is Note: As Mr.Rockwell writes "the entire album, comes dressed (overdressed) in orchestral /soft-jazz arrangements by Larry Klein" I wonder whether he really knows what he's writing about... January 5, 2003 Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey By JOHN ROCKWELL JONI MITCHELL'S new "Travelogue" isn't billed as a farewell, but it's hard to see it any other way. Ms. Mitchell is 58, and her once-girlish soprano is now a frail and unsteady mezzo. This personally (not to say idiosyncratically) chosen, newly arranged collection of 22 of her songs from 1966 to 1994 presumably represents some sort of retrospective summa. Of course, it's always dangerous to presume anyone's motivations, let alone those of an artist as hermetically private as Ms. Mitchell. But in addition to this quasi memorial to herself (Nonesuch, two CD's), she has chosen to blast the music industry in a recent interview in Rolling Stone, denouncing the business as a cesspool and MTV's vulgarity, as she sees it, as "tragic." Having now fled her longtime base of Reprise, she didn't flee too far, however, since Nonesuch is also part of AOL Time Warner. As a longtime admirer of Ms. Mitchell - I even lived in her Laurel Canyon neighborhood in the early 70's - I must confess that my first reaction to this new set was one of horror. Asked recently by WNYC-FM to appear on air with some emblematic examples of American music in the 20th century, I thought of her song "Amelia," which was once my prime evidence when I called her a 20th-century American Schubert. The song appears on Ms. Mitchell's 1976 album "Hejira," which is full of songs about flight and wandering and loneliness. "Amelia" is Amelia Earhart, the doomed aviatrix. Ms. Mitchell's words tie together place and heart and mind, myth and history, womanhood and a lost love. She starts by evoking the emptiness of the desert and the sky, six jet vapor trails "like the hexagram of the heavens, like the strings of my guitar." Her "life becomes a travelogue" - you see how central this one song is to this new retrospective travelogue of her life in song. Suddenly she's missing a lover. She equates herself with Amelia and with Icarus, "ascending on beautiful foolish arms." "I've spent my whole life at icy altitudes," she muses. "And looking down on everything/ I crashed into his arms." Finally she pulls in to a desert motel, showers and sleeps "on the strange pillows of my wanderlust," dreaming "of 747's/ Over geometric farms." On the original studio recording, the accompaniment is electric guitars and vibraphones, electronically sustaining Ms. Mitchell's own inimitable vocals, cool and clipped, and almost pushing this sad, intimate, conversational song along to its conclusion. Even better, really, is the live version on her album "Shadows and Light" of 1980, just as nervously forward-moving but with a guitar backing closer to her folkish roots. The new version, indeed the entire album, comes dressed (overdressed) in orchestral /soft-jazz arrangements by Larry Klein. Mr. Klein and Ms. Mitchell were married for eight years, and although they broke up domestically in 1994, they have continued to collaborate professionally, having now completed nine projects together. Having heard "Amelia" in its new guise, I think I called it an abomination on the radio. Now I've listened to the whole album. One must make allowances for an artist's right to evolve and for fans' right to cling, even unfairly, to what they once loved. And one must concede a certain winsome communicativeness in Ms. Mitchell's vocal weaknesses. But I still think this set is pretty terrible. Part of the problem is simple taste. I personally have little use for the kind of bloated symphonic jazz heard here. Ms. Mitchell clearly does have a taste for it, so much so that she now chops up the urgent flow of "Amelia" for soggy orchestral ditherings between the verses. Any artist must constantly question his or her past accomplishments; to repeat oneself risks becoming a hack. In fairness, Ms. Mitchell has undertaken a hejira of her own over some 23 albums (depending on how you count). From folk to folk rock to jazz (or jazz folk), all with her own highly personal inventiveness, and now to this, it's been a trip that has alienated fans along the way, throwing them off the curves, as it were. But the journey has presumably helped keep her fresh. That said, restless experimentation also suggests a quality of unwelcome self-indulgence that has always marked her music and her personality. When one confronts the really naove paintings that proliferate in the lavish booklet with which these two CD's are packaged - let alone the rudimentary "multi-media content" on the one "enhanced audio CD" - one has to wonder whether Ms. Mitchell has slid too far into her own world. There is usually some kind of healthy link between creator and public, or at least imagined public, a link that sustains even the most private artists and helps dampen the temptation toward vanity projects like "Travelogue." Her early jazz experiments could be welcomed as the honorable efforts of a folk-rock singer to connect with the wider world of improvisation in jazz. One fears that this album marks some sort of aspiration to "art" in the classical, formalized sense. Nonesuch is, after all, AOL Time Warner's prestige label, especially for classical music and crossover projects of a certain vanguard sort. But a self-conscious aspiration for gentility can kill the essence of the idioms that Ms. Mitchell grew up with. Above, I called her singing inimitable. But of course it isn't, quite. Right now, the best live Joni Mitchell is the countertenor-falsettist-drag artist John Kelly in his periodic revivals of his Joni Mitchell act, fabled in downtown Manhattan. Mr. Kelly sings Ms. Mitchell far better than she sings herself now. If you want her unadulterated, buy albums like "Ladies of the Canyon," "Blue," "Court and Spark" or "Hejira." If you want to see her in person, catch John Kelly. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 10:57:51 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: NY Time Review of T'log --- Moni Kellermann wrote: > - -----> Okay, so here it is > Note: As Mr.Rockwell writes "the entire album, comes > dressed (overdressed) in > orchestral /soft-jazz arrangements by Larry Klein" I > wonder whether he really > knows what he's writing about... > > January 5, 2003 > > Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey > > By JOHN ROCKWELL > Thanks, Moni. I'm in a cranky mood so the thought of creating yet another user name and yet another password set me off. This guy uses far too many words to say he doesn't like the CD at all. And he's awfully patronizing, isn't he? Yeesh! ===== Catherine Toronto ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 10:59:37 EST From: MINGSDANCE@aol.com Subject: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey Return-Path: Received: from rly-xc02.mx.aol.com (rly-xc02.mail.aol.com [172.20.105.135]) by air-xc05.mail.aol.com (v90.10) with ESMTP id MAILINXC51-0105095053; Sun, 05 Jan 2003 09:50:53 -0500 Received: from ms4.lga2.nytimes.com (ms4.lga2.nytimes.com [199.239.138.148]) by rly-xc02.mx.aol.com (v90.10) with ESMTP id MAILRELAYINXC29-0105095042; Sun, 05 Jan 2003 09:50:42 -0500 Received: from email4.lga2.nytimes.com (email4 [10.5.101.169]) by ms4.lga2.nytimes.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4DA1B5A626 for ; Sun, 5 Jan 2003 09:55:02 -0500 (EST) Received: by email4.lga2.nytimes.com (Postfix, from userid 202) id 3042AC43C; Sun, 5 Jan 2003 09:43:32 -0500 (EST) Sender: articles-email@ms1.lga2.nytimes.com Reply-To: dfginmia@aol.com Errors-To: articles-email@ms1.lga2.nytimes.com From: dfginmia@aol.com To: mingsdance@aol.com Subject: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey Message-Id: <20030105144332.3042AC43C@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 09:43:32 -0500 (EST) X-Mailer: Unknown (No Version) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit MIME-Version: 1.0 This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by dfginmia@aol.com. Mingus: This article was in today's NY Times. Dave Gould dfginmia@aol.com Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey January 5, 2003 By JOHN ROCKWELL JONI MITCHELL'S new "Travelogue" isn't billed as a farewell, but it's hard to see it any other way. Ms. Mitchell is 58, and her once-girlish soprano is now a frail and unsteady mezzo. This personally (not to say idiosyncratically) chosen, newly arranged collection of 22 of her songs from 1966 to 1994 presumably represents some sort of retrospective summa. Of course, it's always dangerous to presume anyone's motivations, let alone those of an artist as hermetically private as Ms. Mitchell. But in addition to this quasi memorial to herself (Nonesuch, two CD's), she has chosen to blast the music industry in a recent interview in Rolling Stone, denouncing the business as a cesspool and MTV's vulgarity, as she sees it, as "tragic." Having now fled her longtime base of Reprise, she didn't flee too far, however, since Nonesuch is also part of AOL Time Warner. As a longtime admirer of Ms. Mitchell - I even lived in her Laurel Canyon neighborhood in the early 70's - I must confess that my first reaction to this new set was one of horror. Asked recently by WNYC-FM to appear on air with some emblematic examples of American music in the 20th century, I thought of her song "Amelia," which was once my prime evidence when I called her a 20th-century American Schubert. The song appears on Ms. Mitchell's 1976 album "Hejira," which is full of songs about flight and wandering and loneliness. "Amelia" is Amelia Earhart, the doomed aviatrix. Ms. Mitchell's words tie together place and heart and mind, myth and history, womanhood and a lost love. She starts by evoking the emptiness of the desert and the sky, six jet vapor trails "like the hexagram of the heavens, like the strings of my guitar." Her "life becomes a travelogue" - you see how central this one song is to this new retrospective travelogue of her life in song. Suddenly she's missing a lover. She equates herself with Amelia and with Icarus, "ascending on beautiful foolish arms." "I've spent my whole life at icy altitudes," she muses. "And looking down on everything/ I crashed into his arms." Finally she pulls in to a desert motel, showers and sleeps "on the strange pillows of my wanderlust," dreaming "of 747's/ Over geometric farms." On the original studio recording, the accompaniment is electric guitars and vibraphones, electronically sustaining Ms. Mitchell's own inimitable vocals, cool and clipped, and almost pushing this sad, intimate, conversational song along to its conclusion. Even better, really, is the live version on her album "Shadows and Light" of 1980, just as nervously forward-moving but with a guitar backing closer to her folkish roots. The new version, indeed the entire album, comes dressed (overdressed) in orchestral /soft-jazz arrangements by Larry Klein. Mr. Klein and Ms. Mitchell were married for eight years, and although they broke up domestically in 1994, they have continued to collaborate professionally, having now completed nine projects together. Having heard "Amelia" in its new guise, I think I called it an abomination on the radio. Now I've listened to the whole album. One must make allowances for an artist's right to evolve and for fans' right to cling, even unfairly, to what they once loved. And one must concede a certain winsome communicativeness in Ms. Mitchell's vocal weaknesses. But I still think this set is pretty terrible. Part of the problem is simple taste. I personally have little use for the kind of bloated symphonic jazz heard here. Ms. Mitchell clearly does have a taste for it, so much so that she now chops up the urgent flow of "Amelia" for soggy orchestral ditherings between the verses. Any artist must constantly question his or her past accomplishments; to repeat oneself risks becoming a hack. In fairness, Ms. Mitchell has undertaken a hejira of her own over some 23 albums (depending on how you count). From folk to folk rock to jazz (or jazz folk), all with her own highly personal inventiveness, and now to this, it's been a trip that has alienated fans along the way, throwing them off the curves, as it were. But the journey has presumably helped keep her fresh. That said, restless experimentation also suggests a quality of unwelcome self-indulgence that has always marked her music and her personality. When one confronts the really naove paintings that proliferate in the lavish booklet with which these two CD's are packaged - let alone the rudimentary "multi-media content" on the one "enhanced audio CD" - one has to wonder whether Ms. Mitchell has slid too far into her own world. There is usually some kind of healthy link between creator and public, or at least imagined public, a link that sustains even the most private artists and helps dampen the temptation toward vanity projects like "Travelogue." Her early jazz experiments could be welcomed as the honorable efforts of a folk-rock singer to connect with the wider world of improvisation in jazz. One fears that this album marks some sort of aspiration to "art" in the classical, formalized sense. Nonesuch is, after all, AOL Time Warner's prestige label, especially for classical music and crossover projects of a certain vanguard sort. But a self-conscious aspiration for gentility can kill the essence of the idioms that Ms. Mitchell grew up with. Above, I called her singing inimitable. But of course it isn't, quite. Right now, the best live Joni Mitchell is the countertenor-falsettist-drag artist John Kelly in his periodic revivals of his Joni Mitchell act, fabled in downtown Manhattan. Mr. Kelly sings Ms. Mitchell far better than she sings herself now. If you want her unadulterated, buy albums like "Ladies of the Canyon," "Blue," "Court and Spark" or "Hejira." If you want to see her in person, catch John Kelly. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/05/arts/music/05ROCK.html?ex=1042777812&ei=1&en=b93d8bcebd0f6a5e HOW TO ADVERTISE - --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 11:12:07 -0500 From: "Christopher Treacy" Subject: Re: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey Wow - I'm disappointed with Mr. Rockwell, a fine journalist and longtime (as he admits below) fan. I figured whenever the NYT got around to doing it's piece on T'log (they're usually early with their JM press, but I'll allow for the holidays etc.) it would help, not hinder, this seemingly misunderstood chapter in Joni's career. I wonder if deep under all those layers of anti-industry bravado, this sort of thing bothers Joni...or whether she simply doesn't give a shit. I will say this - I'm tired of folks who know my fascination with JM coming up to me and asking me (with expressions on their faces as though somebody where holding a plate of shit under the nose...) "Did you HEAR the new Joni CD?" - of course I've heard it, and once again will stand up as the underdog, take the critique personally (I can't help it), and defend this piece. - -Chris, looking forward to the tribute show at Passim on monday night. - ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 10:59 AM Subject: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey > Return-Path: > Received: from rly-xc02.mx.aol.com (rly-xc02.mail.aol.com > [172.20.105.135]) by air-xc05.mail.aol.com (v90.10) with ESMTP id > MAILINXC51-0105095053; Sun, 05 Jan 2003 09:50:53 -0500 > Received: from ms4.lga2.nytimes.com (ms4.lga2.nytimes.com > [199.239.138.148]) by rly-xc02.mx.aol.com (v90.10) with ESMTP id > MAILRELAYINXC29-0105095042; Sun, 05 Jan 2003 09:50:42 -0500 > Received: from email4.lga2.nytimes.com (email4 [10.5.101.169]) by > ms4.lga2.nytimes.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4DA1B5A626 for > ; Sun, 5 Jan 2003 09:55:02 -0500 (EST) > Received: by email4.lga2.nytimes.com (Postfix, from userid 202) id > 3042AC43C; Sun, 5 Jan 2003 09:43:32 -0500 (EST) > Sender: articles-email@ms1.lga2.nytimes.com > Reply-To: dfginmia@aol.com > Errors-To: articles-email@ms1.lga2.nytimes.com > From: dfginmia@aol.com > To: mingsdance@aol.com > Subject: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey > Message-Id: <20030105144332.3042AC43C@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> > Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 09:43:32 -0500 (EST) > X-Mailer: Unknown (No Version) > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > This article from NYTimes.com > has been sent to you by dfginmia@aol.com. > > > Mingus: > > This article was in today's NY Times. > > Dave Gould > > dfginmia@aol.com > > > Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey > > January 5, 2003 > By JOHN ROCKWELL > > > > > > > JONI MITCHELL'S new "Travelogue" isn't billed as a > farewell, but it's hard to see it any other way. Ms. > Mitchell is 58, and her once-girlish soprano is now a frail > and unsteady mezzo. This personally (not to say > idiosyncratically) chosen, newly arranged collection of 22 > of her songs from 1966 to 1994 presumably represents some > sort of retrospective summa. > > Of course, it's always dangerous to presume anyone's > motivations, let alone those of an artist as hermetically > private as Ms. Mitchell. But in addition to this quasi > memorial to herself (Nonesuch, two CD's), she has chosen to > blast the music industry in a recent interview in Rolling > Stone, denouncing the business as a cesspool and MTV's > vulgarity, as she sees it, as "tragic." Having now fled her > longtime base of Reprise, she didn't flee too far, however, > since Nonesuch is also part of AOL Time Warner. > > As a longtime admirer of Ms. Mitchell - I even lived in her > Laurel Canyon neighborhood in the early 70's - I must > confess that my first reaction to this new set was one of > horror. Asked recently by WNYC-FM to appear on air with > some emblematic examples of American music in the 20th > century, I thought of her song "Amelia," which was once my > prime evidence when I called her a 20th-century American > Schubert. > > The song appears on Ms. Mitchell's 1976 album "Hejira," > which is full of songs about flight and wandering and > loneliness. "Amelia" is Amelia Earhart, the doomed > aviatrix. Ms. Mitchell's words tie together place and heart > and mind, myth and history, womanhood and a lost love. She > starts by evoking the emptiness of the desert and the sky, > six jet vapor trails "like the hexagram of the heavens, > like the strings of my guitar." Her "life becomes a > travelogue" - you see how central this one song is to this > new retrospective travelogue of her life in song. > > Suddenly she's missing a lover. She equates herself with > Amelia and with Icarus, "ascending on beautiful foolish > arms." > > "I've spent my whole life at icy altitudes," she muses. > "And looking down on everything/ I crashed into his arms." > > Finally she pulls in to a desert motel, showers and sleeps > "on the strange pillows of my wanderlust," dreaming "of > 747's/ Over geometric farms." > > On the original studio recording, the accompaniment is > electric guitars and vibraphones, electronically sustaining > Ms. Mitchell's own inimitable vocals, cool and clipped, and > almost pushing this sad, intimate, conversational song > along to its conclusion. Even better, really, is the live > version on her album "Shadows and Light" of 1980, just as > nervously forward-moving but with a guitar backing closer > to her folkish roots. > > The new version, indeed the entire album, comes dressed > (overdressed) in orchestral /soft-jazz arrangements by > Larry Klein. Mr. Klein and Ms. Mitchell were married for > eight years, and although they broke up domestically in > 1994, they have continued to collaborate professionally, > having now completed nine projects together. > > Having heard "Amelia" in its new guise, I think I called it > an abomination on the radio. Now I've listened to the whole > album. One must make allowances for an artist's right to > evolve and for fans' right to cling, even unfairly, to what > they once loved. And one must concede a certain winsome > communicativeness in Ms. Mitchell's vocal weaknesses. But I > still think this set is pretty terrible. > > Part of the problem is simple taste. I personally have > little use for the kind of bloated symphonic jazz heard > here. Ms. Mitchell clearly does have a taste for it, so > much so that she now chops up the urgent flow of "Amelia" > for soggy orchestral ditherings between the verses. > > Any artist must constantly question his or her past > accomplishments; to repeat oneself risks becoming a hack. > In fairness, Ms. Mitchell has undertaken a hejira of her > own over some 23 albums (depending on how you count). From > folk to folk rock to jazz (or jazz folk), all with her own > highly personal inventiveness, and now to this, it's been a > trip that has alienated fans along the way, throwing them > off the curves, as it were. But the journey has presumably > helped keep her fresh. > > That said, restless experimentation also suggests a quality > of unwelcome self-indulgence that has always marked her > music and her personality. When one confronts the really > naove paintings that proliferate in the lavish booklet with > which these two CD's are packaged - let alone the > rudimentary "multi-media content" on the one "enhanced > audio CD" - one has to wonder whether Ms. Mitchell has slid > too far into her own world. There is usually some kind of > healthy link between creator and public, or at least > imagined public, a link that sustains even the most private > artists and helps dampen the temptation toward vanity > projects like "Travelogue." > > Her early jazz experiments could be welcomed as the > honorable efforts of a folk-rock singer to connect with the > wider world of improvisation in jazz. One fears that this > album marks some sort of aspiration to "art" in the > classical, formalized sense. Nonesuch is, after all, AOL > Time Warner's prestige label, especially for classical > music and crossover projects of a certain vanguard sort. > But a self-conscious aspiration for gentility can kill the > essence of the idioms that Ms. Mitchell grew up with. > > Above, I called her singing inimitable. But of course it > isn't, quite. Right now, the best live Joni Mitchell is the > countertenor-falsettist-drag artist John Kelly in his > periodic revivals of his Joni Mitchell act, fabled in > downtown Manhattan. Mr. Kelly sings Ms. Mitchell far better > than she sings herself now. If you want her unadulterated, > buy albums like "Ladies of the Canyon," "Blue," "Court and > Spark" or "Hejira." If you want to see her in person, catch > John Kelly. > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/05/arts/music/05ROCK.html?ex=1042777812&ei=1& en=b93d8bcebd0f6a5e > > > > HOW TO ADVERTISE > --------------------------------- > For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters > or other creative advertising opportunities with The > New York Times on the Web, please contact > onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media > kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo > > For general information about NYTimes.com, write to > help@nytimes.com. > > Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 11:22:03 EST From: RoseMJoy@aol.com Subject: Re: NYTimes.com Article: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey In a message dated 1/5/03 11:14:08 AM Eastern Standard Time, whizzboom@attbi.com writes: > I wonder if deep under all those layers of anti-industry bravado, this sort > of thing bothers Joni...or whether she simply doesn't give a shit. > > I hope that it doesn't bother her in a negative way, instead I hope that it pushes Joni in a direction to write and compose again. ~rosie in nj Better ask questions before you shoot Deceit and betrayal's bitter fruit It's hard to swallow, come time to pay. That taste on your tongue don't easily slip away Let Kingdom come. I'm gonna find my way Through this lonesome day ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 11:06:53 -0600 From: "Steve Polifka" Subject: Re: knock-off of Hejira snippet on NPR hey Patti, I know that piece! It's from a guitarist on the Windham Hill label- the name escapes me, but it was fieatured on a video called Western Light. Ironically, his piece played while shots of Red Rock Canyon from helicopter loomed on the screen. Steve - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Patti Witten" To: Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 5:31 AM Subject: knock-off of Hejira snippet on NPR > As many know, the NPR daily news show Morning Edition plays snippets of > unattributed instrumental music edited between the news stories. A few days > ago I am certain that I heard the introductory chords to "Hejira" performed > on solo acoustic-electric guitar and solo fretless bass. It was not Joni and > Jaco, and it was not played all that well (IMO). Too bad, cuz it's great > music all right, one of my personal faves. I wonder about the > royalties/copyright issues with this kind of thing. I tried to look around > npr.org this morning but didn't find anything referring to these segments of > music. In fact, the morning edition page failed to load :( > > Patti > -- > Patti Witten, Acoustic-Rock http://pattiwitten.com > FA, AMA, Indiegrrl, JPF, I-Town Records > New CD "Sycamore Tryst" http://sycamoretryst.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 12:38:24 -0500 From: "PAUL PETERSON" Subject: NY Times review of Travelogue Here's a piece by John Rockwell, someone with a history of personal = antipathy towards Joni's art. The idea that John Kelly is a better = singer than Joni, past, present or future, is absurd! =20 January 5, 2003 Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey By JOHN ROCKWELL =20 ONI MITCHELL'S new "Travelogue" isn't billed as a farewell, but = it's hard to see it any other way. Ms. Mitchell is 58, and her = once-girlish soprano is now a frail and unsteady mezzo. This personally = (not to say idiosyncratically) chosen, newly arranged collection of 22 = of her songs from 1966 to 1994 presumably represents some sort of = retrospective summa. Of course, it's always dangerous to presume anyone's motivations, = let alone those of an artist as hermetically private as Ms. Mitchell. = But in addition to this quasi memorial to herself (Nonesuch, two CD's), = she has chosen to blast the music industry in a recent interview in = Rolling Stone, denouncing the business as a cesspool and MTV's = vulgarity, as she sees it, as "tragic." Having now fled her longtime = base of Reprise, she didn't flee too far, however, since Nonesuch is = also part of AOL Time Warner. As a longtime admirer of Ms. Mitchell - I even lived in her Laurel = Canyon neighborhood in the early 70's - I must confess that my first = reaction to this new set was one of horror. Asked recently by WNYC-FM to = appear on air with some emblematic examples of American music in the = 20th century, I thought of her song "Amelia," which was once my prime = evidence when I called her a 20th-century American Schubert. The song appears on Ms. Mitchell's 1976 album "Hejira," which is = full of songs about flight and wandering and loneliness. "Amelia" is = Amelia Earhart, the doomed aviatrix. Ms. Mitchell's words tie together = place and heart and mind, myth and history, womanhood and a lost love. = She starts by evoking the emptiness of the desert and the sky, six jet = vapor trails "like the hexagram of the heavens, like the strings of my = guitar." Her "life becomes a travelogue" - you see how central this one = song is to this new retrospective travelogue of her life in song. Suddenly she's missing a lover. She equates herself with Amelia = and with Icarus, "ascending on beautiful foolish arms." "I've spent my whole life at icy altitudes," she muses. "And = looking down on everything/ I crashed into his arms." Finally she pulls in to a desert motel, showers and sleeps "on the = strange pillows of my wanderlust," dreaming "of 747's/ Over geometric = farms." On the original studio recording, the accompaniment is electric = guitars and vibraphones, electronically sustaining Ms. Mitchell's own = inimitable vocals, cool and clipped, and almost pushing this sad, = intimate, conversational song along to its conclusion. Even better, = really, is the live version on her album "Shadows and Light" of 1980, = just as nervously forward-moving but with a guitar backing closer to her = folkish roots. The new version, indeed the entire album, comes dressed = (overdressed) in orchestral /soft-jazz arrangements by Larry Klein. Mr. = Klein and Ms. Mitchell were married for eight years, and although they = broke up domestically in 1994, they have continued to collaborate = professionally, having now completed nine projects together. Having heard "Amelia" in its new guise, I think I called it an = abomination on the radio. Now I've listened to the whole album. One must = make allowances for an artist's right to evolve and for fans' right to = cling, even unfairly, to what they once loved. And one must concede a = certain winsome communicativeness in Ms. Mitchell's vocal weaknesses. = But I still think this set is pretty terrible. Part of the problem is simple taste. I personally have little use = for the kind of bloated symphonic jazz heard here. Ms. Mitchell clearly = does have a taste for it, so much so that she now chops up the urgent = flow of "Amelia" for soggy orchestral ditherings between the verses. Any artist must constantly question his or her past = accomplishments; to repeat oneself risks becoming a hack. In fairness, = Ms. Mitchell has undertaken a hejira of her own over some 23 albums = (depending on how you count). From folk to folk rock to jazz (or jazz = folk), all with her own highly personal inventiveness, and now to this, = it's been a trip that has alienated fans along the way, throwing them = off the curves, as it were. But the journey has presumably helped keep = her fresh. That said, restless experimentation also suggests a quality of = unwelcome self-indulgence that has always marked her music and her = personality. When one confronts the really na=EFve paintings that = proliferate in the lavish booklet with which these two CD's are packaged = - - let alone the rudimentary "multi-media content" on the one "enhanced = audio CD" - one has to wonder whether Ms. Mitchell has slid too far into = her own world. There is usually some kind of healthy link between = creator and public, or at least imagined public, a link that sustains = even the most private artists and helps dampen the temptation toward = vanity projects like "Travelogue." Her early jazz experiments could be welcomed as the honorable = efforts of a folk-rock singer to connect with the wider world of = improvisation in jazz. One fears that this album marks some sort of = aspiration to "art" in the classical, formalized sense. Nonesuch is, = after all, AOL Time Warner's prestige label, especially for classical = music and crossover projects of a certain vanguard sort. But a = self-conscious aspiration for gentility can kill the essence of the = idioms that Ms. Mitchell grew up with. Above, I called her singing inimitable. But of course it isn't, = quite. Right now, the best live Joni Mitchell is the = countertenor-falsettist-drag artist John Kelly in his periodic revivals = of his Joni Mitchell act, fabled in downtown Manhattan. Mr. Kelly sings = Ms. Mitchell far better than she sings herself now. If you want her = unadulterated, buy albums like "Ladies of the Canyon," "Blue," "Court = and Spark" or "Hejira." If you want to see her in person, catch John = Kelly. =20 =20 [demime 0.97c removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of j.gif] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 11:44:07 -0600 From: "Mary E. Pitassi" Subject: As the weekend turns (Covers Giveaway reminder) NJC That JoniGuy in South Carolina wrote: "As of this writing NO Italians have guessed, though I've had one "pseudo-Italian" try to pull a scam on me! :~) [. . . ] So what am I, Bob--chopped liver?? HUH?? Mary P., Just another hyphenated American--er, make that "UnitedStatesian"--after all. ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 10:21:17 -0800 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: Re: Rhymin' Joni, Songs of the Day and calling Paris >>This can hardly be an accident, and it smacks of craftsmanship rather than miraculous genius to me. Anyway, I hope I haven't killed this horse. Music and poetry derive so much from math and logic.<< interesting posts bob s... i agree, music is math...great songwriting is both art & craft, inspiration & perspiration...putting it all together into a structure that evokes emotion, intellectual thought, physical movement ... choosing words that tell a story while also rhyming naturally without sounding forced...this takes great art & craft...somewhere in all of this process is where genius (an overused word these days) emerges ... joni did it over & over & over again & deserves to be credited with genius imho... ******************************************** Kate Bennett: www.katebennett.com Sponsored by Polysonics/Atlantis Sound Labs Over the Moon- "bringing the melancholy world of twilight to life almost like magic" All Music Guide ******************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Jan 2003 10:47:43 -0800 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: NY Time Review of T'log Ouch! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 13:55:32 EST From: Kardinel@aol.com Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2003 # Ricki Lee jones and Joni Mitchell A week or so ago someone mention the beauty of the album "Pirates." I loved that album when it came out. It's one of my favorites yet I never replaced it when I went over to cd's. Got a gift certficate to border's and bought it and love hearing it again. Ricki Lee Jones is a real talent and I love the way she sings on "Pirates", not a bad song on it. Is it as good as Joni-yes- I have to be honest. I remember RLJ used to be compared a lot to Joni and she hated it though I would have been greatly flattered if it was me. Maybe she didn't want to be seen as a copycat. Both women have that jazzy style and blond hair and berets. Both are great talents and I have to say I love "Pirates" and it's up there with "Hejira" and "Hissing of the Summer Lawns." Maureen Oh, and thank you to the person who put the bug in my ear. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 10:50:19 -0800 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: chris & sherelle njc great news! my congratulations to you both... chris the songs on your website sound fantastic... sherelle so happy to hear you are out performing! i wish you both great success in the coming year... ******************************************** Kate Bennett: www.katebennett.com Sponsored by Polysonics/Atlantis Sound Labs Over the Moon- "bringing the melancholy world of twilight to life almost like magic" All Music Guide ******************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Jan 2003 19:57:08 +0000 From: "Timothy Spong" Subject: Joni article in Sunday New York Times New York Times, Sunday, 1.5.'03, section 2, "Arts and Leisure," page 31, the first "Music" page: John Rockewll, "Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey." It's a review of "Travelogue." I get the only-jmdl Digest, and have just read Saturday's posts today, Sunday; probably others have already posted about this article. However, maybe I'll include something not mentioned by others. This article occupies about half the page, and, in turn, about half that half is occupied by a rather flattering picture of S who IQUOMB performing in November. The text of the article is not very flattering abuot "Travelogue," but it is candid and nonmalicious. The author establishes his bona fides as a J.M. fan early in the article: "As a longtime admirer of Ms. Mitchell -- ... I thought of her song 'Amelia,' which was once my prime evidence when I called her a 20th-century American Schubert." The quote-out says, "A songwriter who has traversed many genres arrives at soggy orchestral jazz." The last paragraph refers to John Kelly, and concludes, Mr. Kelly sings Ms. Mitchell far better than she sings herself now. If you want her unadulterated, buy albums like "Ladies of the Canyon," "Blue," "Court and Spark" or "Hejira." If you want to see her in person, catch John Kelly. Text from The New York Times is available online; it involves opening an account. The paper itself is available in many public libraries in the U.S.A., even those far from New York, and, I would guess, in larger libraries abroad. Tim Spong Dover, Del., U.S.A> _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 15:42:26 EST From: RoseMJoy@aol.com Subject: Re: NY Time Review of T'log In a message dated 1/5/03 1:53:05 PM Eastern Standard Time, guitarzan@direcpc.com writes: > Ouch! > Yeah, that's what I say. That was really mean. bastid!!! Better ask questions before you shoot Deceit and betrayal's bitter fruit It's hard to swallow, come time to pay. That taste on your tongue don't easily slip away Let Kingdom come. I'm gonna find my way Through this lonesome day ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Jan 2003 15:57:38 -0500 From: dsk Subject: Re: NY Time Review of T'log Randy Remote wrote: > > Ouch! Yes. It's too bad Rockwell felt the need to wrap it up so simplistically at the end. Up until then, his reaction was complex, especially regarding a fan's expectations vs. Joni's right to do as she wishes, and I could relate to and agree with much of what he'd written, but not at all with his conclusion. As much as I've enjoyed John Kelly's shows, it's mostly because I realize while listening to him how deeply I love Joni's work, which is all so familiar I often take it for granted. The performance artist aspect of John's work is fun and impressive, but after one of his shows (and sometimes even during) I'm always eager to listen to the "real thing" again. I'd be very happy seeing Joni herself, even singing as she does now. There will never be a substitute for that experience. Debra Shea ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 16:07:00 EST From: RoseMJoy@aol.com Subject: chatroom njc Does anyone feel like chatting? rosie in nj Better ask questions before you shoot Deceit and betrayal's bitter fruit It's hard to swallow, come time to pay. That taste on your tongue don't easily slip away Let Kingdom come. I'm gonna find my way Through this lonesome day ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2003 #5 *************************** ------- 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? (http://www.siquomb.com/siquomb.cfm)