From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2005 #56 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, February 6 2005 Volume 2005 : Number 056 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- RLJ's Traces of the Western Slopes, njc, nbc ["Lama, Jim L'Hommedieu" ] Top 50 songs (NJC) ["Anne Sandstrom" ] Top 500 list ["David Henderson" ] Slopes of the ["David Henderson" ] RE: Top 50 songs (NJC) ["Richard Flynn" ] Slopes ["David Henderson" ] songfacts.com [Smurf ] Re: Slopes njc [Catherine McKay ] re:NJC My top 50 ["Michael O'Malley" ] Re: Slopes njc ["Mark or Travis" ] Re: Top 50 songs (NJC) ["Mark or Travis" ] Re: Top 50 songs (NJC) [Bob Muller ] Re: Slopes [Em ] NJC Re: Slopes NJC [Bob Muller ] new orleans, njc [Jennifer Faulkner ] re:NJC My top 50 [Bob Muller ] Re: Slopes njc [Smurf ] Re: NJC My Top 50, now RLJ's Traces of the Western Slopes [Randy Remote <] RE: NJC Re: Slopes NJC ["David Henderson" ] Top 50, whew! ["mackoliver" ] Re: Top 500 list ["Mark or Travis" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 04:44:14 -0500 From: "Lama, Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: RLJ's Traces of the Western Slopes, njc, nbc Now you tell me! Today I ordered an outboard converter (digital-to-analog converter). It only does CDs and the 24/96 soundtracks on DVD-Video like "Shadows and Light". Since the CD player wore out, I've been listening to CDs on my DVD player. The sound was... well, it was "lousy". [Note to Em: I got 3 full years of daily use out of that "beloved" little Panasonic portable.] If anyone is keeping score, I really like every track on "Pirates", especially "Skeletons". Lama PS to MG: I'm listening for you too. Amen. Mark in Seattle said, >Some of the early transfers of analog recordings to cd were pretty lousy, imo. But what with SACD and audio dvd, I'm not sure how many more copies of my favorites I'm willing to buy. And then there's the talk that the cd will soon be obsolete. What's a music lover to do?> ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 08:28:51 EST From: Barolo82@aol.com Subject: Monkees Ciao Joniphiles, "and of course we also know that Stephen Stills would have been a Monkee in place of Peter Tork except his teeth were too crooked." I have read that Charles Manson had also auditioned for the Monkees (true). Can you see the Saturday Night Live skit that should have been done years ago? The Monkees done as if Stills and Manson were part of the group. I can just see it now. Joni can come over to visit Stills and fall in love with Charlie. :~) dc. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 06:00:08 -0800 (PST) From: Bob Muller Subject: NJC Re: Monkees NJC Barolo82@aol.com wrote: Oops - sorry, Dave - false. http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/monkees.htm Bob NP: Rickie Lee, "Something Cool" Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 09:59:03 -0500 From: "Anne Sandstrom" Subject: Top 50 songs (NJC) Ok Evian and Bob, I'll play. Here are my top 50 in no particular order: (oh and all those songs I have to leave out...) 1. Joni Mitchell - Chelsea Morning (first Joni song I heard her sing - I becam enthralled immediately) 2. Shawn Colvin - Shotgun Down the Avalance 3. James Taylor - Fire and Rain 4. Neil Young - Sugar Mountain 5. Patty Griffin - Long Ride Home 6. Pierre Bensusan - Nice Feeling 7. Steve Goodman - The Dutchman 8. Geoff Bartley - Who Should Know 9. Crosby, Stills & Nash - Find the Cost of Freedom 10. Sally Barker - Another Train 11. Steeleye Span - Cam Ye O'er Fra' France 12. Jethro Tull - Solstice Bells 13. David Broza - Night in Wyoming 14. Doobie Brothers - Toulouse Street 15. Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold 16. Lui Collins - Waiting for the Snow 17. Michael Johnson - Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon 18. Greg Brown - I Slept All Night By My Lover 19. Cindy Kallett - Tide and the River Rising 20. Yes - Heart of the Sunrise 21. Cris Williamson - Song of the Soul 22. Brooks Williams - Inland Sailor 23. Jimmy Buffet - My African Friend 24. David Buskin - For the Children 25. Allman Brothers - Little Martha 26. Earth, Wind & Fire - Boogie Wonderland (I just have to say here that one of my favorite memories involves this song; I'll spare you the long story, but just imagine a train full of kids of all races getting up and dancing to this song at the height of racial tensions when school busing was none too popular in Boston - a great moment and a great night...) 27. Marvin Gay - What's Going On 28. Bruce Cockburn - All the Diamonds 29. Indigo Girls - Get Out the Map 30. Cheryl Wheeler - Gandhi/Buddha 31. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life 32. Bob Franke - Thanksgiving Eve 33. Ellen McIlwaine - Can't Find My Way Home 34. Dan Fogelberg - Only the Heart May Know 35. John Gorka - Treasure Island 36. Moody Blues - Forever Autumn 37. Michael Hedges - Rickover's Dream 38. Billy Joel - The Downeaster "Alexa" 39. Mary McCaslin - Way Out West 40. Carrie Newcomer - The Fisher King 41. Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box 42. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (ok, so it's not a 'song' but I'm including it anyway...) 43. Orpheus - Brown Arms in Houston 44. Pierce Pettis - Legacy 45. Donna Summer - State of Independence 46. Rusted Root - Ecstacy 47. Les Sampou - Chinatown 48. Lynne Saner - A Child Once 49. Wendy Waldman - Gringo en Mexico 50. Seals & Crofts - East of Ginger Trees lots of love, Anne ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 10:38:25 -0500 From: "David Henderson" Subject: Top 500 list RS' Top 500 - Don't get me wrong; there are a lot of really great songs on this list, but when I finished looking it over, I couldn't help but think this list was composed by 45-year-old straight guys (not that I have anything against 45-year-old straight guys). It could have been a much more interesting and varied list if the selection group had been a little more diverse. Why were so few women on the list? And so few R&B artists? Are there no great dance songs from any period in the last 40 years? Have there really been so few good songs written after 1980? Bob's list is much more varied with artists that I don't think made the RS list - Rickie Lee Jones, Lucinda Williams, XTC, Ani, Mishell . . . of course, I especially like seeing Joni at number one. I know some people hate lists. I love them. I think it's fun to rack my brain to come up with one and fun to see the list someone else creates from their own brain-racking. How about some lists from women, gay men, African-Americans, twentysomethings? David NP Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 08:52:25 -0800 (PST) From: Bob Muller Subject: NJC My Top 50 Back a couple of months ago, Evian challenged me to come up with my Top 50 songs (this was after my comments to RS' Top 500 songs). This was a very difficult exercise and as always very frustrating. I hope Evian appreciates the amount of Guantanamo-like torture this has been. I took lots of time poring through my musical memories and what songs/recordings really had that "oooh" factor for me. Also note that the 'recording' is the key rather than the 'song'...while I include Otis' "Dock Of The Bay" I wouldn't consider Michael Bolton's version, for example. My rules: - - -only (1) song per artist (a torturous rule in itself, since it disqualifies "Down To You") - - -only 50 songs (although I'm dying to add about 10 more) - - -no "ties" to sneak in extra songs I know I've left out lots of stuff that I can't live without and thankfully I don't have to...that being said, for the list-lovers among you, is my Top 50 songs, in no particular order except for my first entry which is my #1: 1. Joni Mitchell - Hejira 2. Yes - Siberian Khatru 3. Stevie Wonder - Golden Lady 4. Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town 5. The OJays - For The Love Of Money 6. Sugarloaf - Green-Eyed Lady 7. Brook Benton - Rainy Night In Georgia 8. Otis Redding - (Sittin On) The Dock of The Bay 9. Bruce Springsteen - Kittys Back 10. Bob Dylan - Youre Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go 11. War - All Day Music 12. Rickie Lee Jones - Traces Of The Western Slope 13. John Mayer - No Such Thing 14. The Band - Acadian Driftwood 15. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye 16. Lenny Welch - Since I Fell For You 17. Little Feat - Day Or Night 18. Lucinda Williams - Metal Firecracker 19. The Beatles - Paperback Writer 20. Meshell Ndegeocello - Loyalty 21. Al Green - Lets Stay Together 22. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit 23. XTC - Scarecrow People 24. Marshall Tucker Band - 24 Hours At A Time 25. Led Zeppelin - No Quarter 26. Dead Kennedys - Stars And Stripes of Corruption 27. Pink Floyd - Us and Them 28. Aretha Franklin - Day Dreaming 29. The Marcels - Blue Moon 30. Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Let It Ride 31. The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil 32. Bonnie Raitt - I Cant Make You Love Me 33. Tom Waits - Please Call Me Baby 34. Ani Difranco - Pulse 35. Loggins & Messina - Move On 36. The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee 37. Harry Nilsson - Jump Into The Fire 38. Grand Funk Railroad - Closer To Home 39. Neil Young - Cowgirl In The Sand 40. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode 41. Traffic - Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys 42. The Who - Wont Get Fooled Again 43. P.M. Dawn - Soncheynne 44. The Replacements - I Will Dare 45. Wall Of Voodoo - Ring Of Fire 46. Pearl Jam - Evenflow 47. Prince -I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man 48. Steely Dan - Bodhisattva 49. The Doors - Riders On The Storm 50. They Might Be Giants - Dont Lets Start Bob NP: REM, "Fireplace" (wait - nothing from REM on my list?....Arrrghh, I despise what you've put me through Satanic Evian - I rebuke you demon spirit!!) Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 10:48:28 -0500 From: "David Henderson" Subject: Slopes of the - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 09:26:45 -0800 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: NJC My Top 50 Bob Muller wrote: > > 12. Rickie Lee Jones - Traces Of The Western Slope > I'd be curious to know what it is you like about this song. It's one I've never been able to warm up to. Mark E. in Seattle - ----------------------------- Is that the one that says, "I'd lie to anybody but there was nobody else around"? I have always loved that line. I don't know why, but it says a lot to me about human nature and it makes me laugh! David ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 10:52:40 -0500 From: "Richard Flynn" Subject: RE: Top 50 songs (NJC) I like most of these songs, too, but I couldn't help noticing that you don't have anything by Bob Dylan on the list ;-) - -----Original Message----- From: owner-joni@jmdl.com [mailto:owner-joni@jmdl.com] On Behalf Of Anne Sandstrom Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 9:59 AM To: joni@smoe.org Subject: Top 50 songs (NJC) Ok Evian and Bob, I'll play. Here are my top 50 in no particular order: (oh and all those songs I have to leave out...) 1. Joni Mitchell - Chelsea Morning (first Joni song I heard her sing - I becam enthralled immediately) 2. Shawn Colvin - Shotgun Down the Avalance 3. James Taylor - Fire and Rain 4. Neil Young - Sugar Mountain 5. Patty Griffin - Long Ride Home 6. Pierre Bensusan - Nice Feeling 7. Steve Goodman - The Dutchman 8. Geoff Bartley - Who Should Know 9. Crosby, Stills & Nash - Find the Cost of Freedom 10. Sally Barker - Another Train 11. Steeleye Span - Cam Ye O'er Fra' France 12. Jethro Tull - Solstice Bells 13. David Broza - Night in Wyoming 14. Doobie Brothers - Toulouse Street 15. Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold 16. Lui Collins - Waiting for the Snow 17. Michael Johnson - Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon 18. Greg Brown - I Slept All Night By My Lover 19. Cindy Kallett - Tide and the River Rising 20. Yes - Heart of the Sunrise 21. Cris Williamson - Song of the Soul 22. Brooks Williams - Inland Sailor 23. Jimmy Buffet - My African Friend 24. David Buskin - For the Children 25. Allman Brothers - Little Martha 26. Earth, Wind & Fire - Boogie Wonderland (I just have to say here that one of my favorite memories involves this song; I'll spare you the long story, but just imagine a train full of kids of all races getting up and dancing to this song at the height of racial tensions when school busing was none too popular in Boston - a great moment and a great night...) 27. Marvin Gay - What's Going On 28. Bruce Cockburn - All the Diamonds 29. Indigo Girls - Get Out the Map 30. Cheryl Wheeler - Gandhi/Buddha 31. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life 32. Bob Franke - Thanksgiving Eve 33. Ellen McIlwaine - Can't Find My Way Home 34. Dan Fogelberg - Only the Heart May Know 35. John Gorka - Treasure Island 36. Moody Blues - Forever Autumn 37. Michael Hedges - Rickover's Dream 38. Billy Joel - The Downeaster "Alexa" 39. Mary McCaslin - Way Out West 40. Carrie Newcomer - The Fisher King 41. Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box 42. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (ok, so it's not a 'song' but I'm including it anyway...) 43. Orpheus - Brown Arms in Houston 44. Pierce Pettis - Legacy 45. Donna Summer - State of Independence 46. Rusted Root - Ecstacy 47. Les Sampou - Chinatown 48. Lynne Saner - A Child Once 49. Wendy Waldman - Gringo en Mexico 50. Seals & Crofts - East of Ginger Trees lots of love, Anne ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 10:58:31 -0500 From: "David Henderson" Subject: Slopes Thanks for the lyrics Bob. You answered my question. I think this is a phenomenal album, and my favorite three tunes are We Belong Together, Living It Up, and this one. I haven't owned this in years . . . I'm going to Amazon right after this. I still don't know exactly what she's talking about, but what a fasinating little world of drama she creates! I think I read somewhere that Johnny Johnson is a ghost, maybe an urban legend, and "he" is the inspiration for the song . . . definitely an LA thing. Any LA people know how Johnny Johson is? David NP Law & Order (I'm a complete and total L&O junkie.) - -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 15:46:16 -0800 (PST) From: Bob Muller Subject: Re: NJC My Top 50, now RLJ's Traces of the Western Slopes Mark or Travis wrote: Sure thing, Mark...in a word - everything. But since that doesn't move you any closer to a sense of my appreciation of it, I'll take a lengthier approach. It's 8 minutes long, which doesn't in and of itself mean anything, but in this case it sets it up as a song to be reckoned with; a Paprika Plains mini-symphony of kinds. Rickie spent a lot of time with Tom Waits, was obviously influenced by Laura Nyro, and this song is like a love-child between the two powerhouse songwriter-composers, the soulful and esoteric qualities of Nyro married with the jazz-bohemia lyrical qualities of Waits. And anybody who doesn't see the value of a good producer just has to listen to this track and listen in wonder at the juxtaposition of the different sounds as they are assembled by Russ Titelman & Lenny Waronker, simply amazing work - like in Joni's mini-symphonies, the silences are just as important (if not more so) than the cacophonies, and the way the song segues and glides between its different sections is seamless. The first "movement" of the opus begins with a soft, subtle piano and then at the 12-second mark there's the James Jam erson-likeMotownishbassriffthatisthesignaturehookofthesongandestablishesabiz arreoff-centersyncopation,soonbeingjoinedbyotherpercussion,horns,andothercol ors,windingtheirwayinandaroundSalBernardi'sandRickie'sbeatpoetry,tradingoffa seriesofimagesthatmaymeanonething,maymeananotherandallowthelistenertogowhere heorshewants. Then around the 2:15 mark, the REAL Nyro-ish part kicks in, almost a whole separate song: I lied to my angel so I could take you downtown I'd lie to anybody there was nobody else around And I know what people say about me But I lied to my angel and now he can't find me Steady and soulful and anchored, much more directly synchopated than the airy intro section, but then it segues again into yet another musical section: I'm sorry I saw him I saw him Laughing I could hear them Laughing Alive I could hear them E. A. Poe And Johnny Johnson If you dial in They're calling from the Western Slope Who's the thin thread of light That keeps you strangled in the scenery That follows my voice - can you see me? Then follow my voice even airier & looser than the start (this song, like so much of Joni's work, doesn't follow any pre-set convention but rather just goes where it wants to, yet within it's free-form looseness is musically incredibly tight) in the pattern of the beginning, then goes through the same cycle of lyric s,andthedistinctionbetweenthetightness&structureofthemusiciansandRickie'ssca t-likevocalisreallynice.Andagainwegetthebasshook...bumbadabadaBOOM,whichbrin gsitbacktowherewewere. At the 7:00 mark, the closing movement begins - a scat-chant that Ricki edoeswhileatrumpetsolos,percussioncomesinandout,andthenallfadesoutandboomit' sdone. Now lyrically, what any of it means is anybody's guess - I never gave it a lot of thought, it just reads like beat poetry and the looseness of the lyrical images fits the meandering musical patterns. I don't know if any of that helps...it's an ambitious piece that hits the targets as far as I'm concerned. Really & truly though I could have picked any number of RLJ songs, but this one to me is just something different, a song so complex in its scope that nobody else would have ever come up with it. Bob ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 08:59:09 -0800 (PST) From: Smurf Subject: songfacts.com I just came across a site called songfacts.com that lets you search for a song and read 'facts' about it. Since anyone can submit 'facts' I am sure there are some non-facts here, but I think it's a good resource. There are only two Joni songs there now: the ubiquitous "Big Yellow Taxi" and "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio." Here's what they have to say about "YTMOIAR": Released in October 1972, it became Joni's first hit single, reaching the Top 20 in January 1973. Her previous hit songs were hits for other artists. Graham Nash, David Crosby and Neil Young all took part in the sessions for the song, but only a Graham Nash harmonica part was used on the final release. The lyrics are a metaphor in which the narrator is a car radio and a radio station hoping to please listeners. (thanks, Charles - Charlotte, NC, for all above) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 13:00:06 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Slopes njc --- David Henderson wrote: > Thanks for the lyrics Bob. You answered my > question. I think this is a > phenomenal album, and my favorite three tunes are We > Belong Together, Living > It Up, and this one. I haven't owned this in years > . . . I'm going to > Amazon right after this. > > I still don't know exactly what she's talking about, > but what a fasinating > little world of drama she creates! I think I read > somewhere that Johnny > Johnson is a ghost, maybe an urban legend, and "he" > is the inspiration for > the song . . . definitely an LA thing. Any LA > people know how Johnny Johson > is? I want to add to the "Thanks, Bob, for posting the lyrics" too. And I echo your sentiments, David, about never knowing what RLJ is talking about, but loving the words nonetheless. In fact, if it weren't for printed lyrics in albums (which I can't read anyway because the type is so tiny!), I'd never even UNDERSTAND what she's saying, because she slurs a lot. I find her diction has improved lately though, or maybe she's just using more universal language, because I don't have this problem with "Evening of my best day". I wonder if there's a RLJ translator somewhere? Her website is very nice, but I don't think it's anywhere near as complete (not complete, but maybe comprehensive?) as jmdl.com. ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 18:08:20 +0000 From: "Michael O'Malley" Subject: re:NJC My top 50 Hi Bob, you probably already saw this, but in case you didn't, this is a Top 50 list of essential pop songs of the 20th century that a team of CBC radio panelists came up with last summer. Needless to say, it differs considerably from your list because the selection criteria were quite different. http://www.cbc.ca/50tracks/essentialpopmusic.html Michael in Quebec NP: Mtnica Salmaso - Voadeira _________________________________________________________________ Take advantage of powerful junk e-mail filters built on patented Microsoft. SmartScreen Technology. http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN. Premium right now and get the first two months FREE*. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 10:55:03 -0800 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Slopes njc Catherine McKay wrote: > I want to add to the "Thanks, Bob, for posting the > lyrics" too. And I echo your sentiments, David, about > never knowing what RLJ is talking about, but loving > the words nonetheless. In fact, if it weren't for > printed lyrics in albums (which I can't read anyway > because the type is so tiny!), I'd never even > UNDERSTAND what she's saying, because she slurs a lot. > I find her diction has improved lately though, or > maybe she's just using more universal language, > because I don't have this problem with "Evening of my > best day". I wonder if there's a RLJ translator > somewhere? Her website is very nice, but I don't think > it's anywhere near as complete (not complete, but > maybe comprehensive?) as jmdl.com. This used to me one of my main complaints about RLJ, Catherine. I do believe her website has all of the lyrics to everything she's recorded. Rickie Lee is someone that it really took me a long time to 'get' and some people on the JMDL can tell you that I resisted her for a long, long time. A lot of it had to do with rumors I had heard of Rickie making disparaging remarks about Joni. And some of it was that I couldn't understand her lyrics. I thought she was a poseur and rather pretentious. But then I saw her perform live. My resistance was beginning to wear down thanks to Patrick Leader and a good friend of mine but I wasn't prepared for the undiluted force of her brilliance. She really blew me away. I finally figured out that she was the real thing. Her lyrics often can be brilliant in a different way from Joni's but I think with RLJ it's the whole package - the sound of her amazing voice, the musicians - all of it that matters. I'm slowly becoming less word-oriented in my musical tastes (Joni I think was largely responsible for my focus on lyrics) and learning to listen to the whole sound of a piece of music. A lot of that is thanks to the JMDL. So thank you, JMDL! Mark E. in Seattle (and for those of you who don't know, I used to sign my JMDL posts as 'Mark in Seattle' but I changed it after seeing Rickie Lee Jones at the Woodland Park Zoo a few years ago. The title of the 'review' I posted to the list was 'Mark E's in Love'. My middle name is Edward so it fits and I've kept it that way ever since and I'm still in love with Rickie Lee Jones.) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:01:33 -0800 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Top 50 songs (NJC) Anne Sandstrom wrote: > 26. Earth, Wind & Fire - Boogie Wonderland (I just have to say here > that one of my favorite memories involves this song; I'll spare you > the long story, but just imagine a train full of kids of all races > getting up and dancing to this song at the height of racial tensions > when school busing was none too popular in Boston - a great moment > and a great night...) Don't you find that most of your favorite songs have associations with something in your life that either made them special to begin with or has helped keep them fixed in your memory? You mentioned Steeleye Span, Anne. I have a very specific memory of buying the vinyl 'Below the Salt' when I was in college, bringing it back to the apartment I was sharing with 5 other people, tooting up and playing that album. We had a fireplace in that appartment with a fire going on that winter's day, somebody made popcorn and as the song 'King Henry' played it was snowing. The snow was indeed gathering like bolts of lace outside the picture window and seemed to be falling in time with the music. Ah the things I remember about the 70s...was I really there? Mark E. in Seattle thinking about doing a 'top 50' of his own ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:04:01 -0800 (PST) From: Bob Muller Subject: Re: Top 50 songs (NJC) Anne Sandstrom wrote: 50. Seals & Crofts - East of Ginger Trees Thanks for putting together your list, Anne - you must be more efficient then me...you were done in less than 24 hours and it took me 2 months. And I even omitted (accidentally) Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come". Thanks for mentioning the Seals & Crofts tune - a true gem! If I was to add an S&C song to my list it would be "Summer Breeze", because it has that 'oooh' factor for me, but "East of Ginger Trees" is also way cool. And your list also included a Doobies tune and an Earth Wind & Fire, while mine didn't. Maybe I should have gone to 100 but it would have been twice the aggravation! Personal lists like yours are always much more interesting than "polled" lists like the Rolling Stone list which highlights all the usual suspects. Heck, a great number of your list is people that I've never heard of! Bob NP: Prince, "Uptown" Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:11:22 -0800 (PST) From: Em Subject: Re: Slopes sorry for just jumping in on the middle of a convo and I have no clue what the subject refers to, but "Johnny Johnson" caught my eye. Not sure if it would be the same reference, but Chuck Berry's awesome piano player's name was (is?) Johnnie Johnson - very big part of the sound of that lovely little band. :) Em - --- David Henderson wrote: > Thanks for the lyrics Bob. You answered my question. I think this > is a > phenomenal album, and my favorite three tunes are We Belong Together, > Living > It Up, and this one. I haven't owned this in years . . . I'm going > to > Amazon right after this. > > I still don't know exactly what she's talking about, but what a > fasinating > little world of drama she creates! I think I read somewhere that > Johnny > Johnson is a ghost, maybe an urban legend, and "he" is the > inspiration for > the song . . . definitely an LA thing. Any LA people know how Johnny > Johson > is? > > David > NP Law & Order (I'm a complete and total L&O junkie.) > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 15:46:16 -0800 (PST) > From: Bob Muller > Subject: Re: NJC My Top 50, now RLJ's Traces of the Western Slopes > > Mark or Travis wrote: > I've > never been able to warm up to.> > > Sure thing, Mark...in a word - everything. But since that doesn't > move you > any closer to a sense of my appreciation of it, I'll take a lengthier > approach. > > It's 8 minutes long, which doesn't in and of itself mean anything, > but in > this case it sets it up as a song to be reckoned with; a Paprika > Plains > mini-symphony of kinds. Rickie spent a lot of time with Tom Waits, > was > obviously influenced by Laura Nyro, and this song is like a > love-child > between the two powerhouse songwriter-composers, the soulful and > esoteric > qualities of Nyro married with the jazz-bohemia lyrical qualities of > Waits. > > And anybody who doesn't see the value of a good producer just has to > listen > to this track and listen in wonder at the juxtaposition of the > different > sounds as they are assembled by Russ Titelman & Lenny Waronker, > simply > amazing work - like in Joni's mini-symphonies, the silences are just > as > important (if not more so) than the cacophonies, and the way the song > segues > and glides between its different sections is seamless. > > The first "movement" of the opus begins with a soft, subtle piano and > then > at the 12-second mark there's the James Jam > erson-likeMotownishbassriffthatisthesignaturehookofthesongandestablishesabiz > arreoff-centersyncopation,soonbeingjoinedbyotherpercussion,horns,andothercol > ors,windingtheirwayinandaroundSalBernardi'sandRickie'sbeatpoetry,tradingoffa > seriesofimagesthatmaymeanonething,maymeananotherandallowthelistenertogowhere > heorshewants. > > Then around the 2:15 mark, the REAL Nyro-ish part kicks in, almost a > whole > separate song: > > I lied to my angel so I could take you downtown > I'd lie to anybody there was nobody else around > And I know what people say about me > But I lied to my angel and now he can't find me > > Steady and soulful and anchored, much more directly synchopated than > the > airy intro section, but then it segues again into yet another musical > section: > > I'm sorry > I saw him > I saw him > Laughing > I could hear them > Laughing > Alive > I could hear them > > E. A. Poe > And Johnny Johnson > If you dial in > They're calling from the Western Slope > Who's the thin thread of light > That keeps you strangled in the scenery > That follows my voice - can you see me? > Then follow my voice > > > even airier & looser than the start (this song, like so much of > Joni's work, > doesn't follow any pre-set convention but rather just goes where it > wants > to, yet within it's free-form looseness is musically incredibly > tight) in > the pattern of the beginning, then goes through the same cycle of > lyric > s,andthedistinctionbetweenthetightness&structureofthemusiciansandRickie'ssca > t-likevocalisreallynice.Andagainwegetthebasshook...bumbadabadaBOOM,whichbrin > gsitbacktowherewewere. > > At the 7:00 mark, the closing movement begins - a scat-chant that > Ricki > edoeswhileatrumpetsolos,percussioncomesinandout,andthenallfadesoutandboomit' > sdone. > > Now lyrically, what any of it means is anybody's guess - I never gave > it a > lot of thought, it just reads like beat poetry and the looseness of > the > lyrical images fits the meandering musical patterns. > > I don't know if any of that helps...it's an ambitious piece that hits > the > targets as far as I'm concerned. Really & truly though I could have > picked > any number of RLJ songs, but this one to me is just something > different, a > song so complex in its scope that nobody else would have ever come up > with > it. > > Bob ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:13:38 -0800 (PST) From: Bob Muller Subject: NJC Re: Slopes NJC David Henderson wrote: According to an article from her website, the Johnny Johnson in question is Chuck Berry's piano player, a star in his own right. http://furnitureforthepeople.com/sundance/ (with a great pic of RLJ & Waits) An excerpt: <<Traces of the Western Slopes, the albums epic, sounds like it might have been influenced by Steely Dans Aja, a song that was equally lengthy, equally cinematic, and equally oblique. Ms. Jones sings about listening to Edgar Allen Poe and to one of the most poetic of early rock and roll sidemen, Chuck Berrys pianist Johnny Johnson, on her car radio. Again, she creates an imaginary landscape that bristles with color and life, and her singing is so inventively personal that even the most self-conscious lines  but whos qualified to retrieve / the souls enduring song?  sound unerringly appropriate. The music plays spare, lyrical piano off against the epic sweep of massed keyboards.>> When I was listening to the track last night, I too was reminded of SD's Aja. I'm sorta glad I just wrote from my head before looking up any information about the song. Another awesome track is "Woody & Dutch on the Slow Train to Peking", with an awesome groove and a cool story about a road trip to a record store, something that I can relate to. Bob NP: The Replacements, "I Don't Know" Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:06:59 -0800 (PST) From: Jennifer Faulkner Subject: new orleans, njc Hey all, I'm going to New Orleans soon and I was wondering if any of you knew of cheap and good places to eat Cajun food. Thanks, Jen ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:25:28 -0800 (PST) From: Bob Muller Subject: re:NJC My top 50 Michael O'Malley wrote: http://www.cbc.ca/50tracks/essentialpopmusic.html Yes, different criteria to be sure. I wanted a Glenn Miller tune on my list, but couldn't decide between 'In The Mood' (always a hit at a party) and 'Moonlight Serenade' (one of the best slow-dance songs ever), so in the end they cancelled each other out. Bob NP: Counting Crows, "Goodnight Elisabeth" Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 12:04:51 -0800 (PST) From: Smurf Subject: Re: Slopes njc - --- Mark E. wrote: > Mark E. in Seattle > (and for those of you who don't know, I used to sign > my JMDL posts as 'Mark in Seattle' but I > changed it after seeing Rickie Lee Jones at the > Woodland Park Zoo a few years ago. The title of the > 'review' I posted to the list was 'Mark E's in > Love'. My middle name is Edward so it fits and I've > kept it that way ever since and I'm still in love > with Rickie Lee Jones.) > I totally understand. - --Robert J. Anderson __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 12:18:31 -0800 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: NJC My Top 50, now RLJ's Traces of the Western Slopes Bob- Really enjoyed reading your list, I would be comfortable listening to K-MULL, some stuff there I haven't heard, too. As for "Traces of Western Slopes", when Pirates came out, it blew me away, especially "Traces"....when Rickie comes back in with that swooping vocal thing...ooh, tingles every time. I think maybe her first album was mixed a certain way to have a more "in your face" sound. But I agree; a remastering of "Pirates" would be helpful. RR Bob Muller wrote: > Mark or Travis wrote: > > > Sure thing, Mark...in a word - everything. But since that doesn't move you any closer to a sense of my appreciation of it, I'll take a lengthier approach. > > It's 8 minutes long, which doesn't in and of itself mean anything, but in this case it sets it up as a song to be reckoned with; a Paprika Plains mini-symphony of kinds. Rickie spent a lot of time with Tom Waits, was obviously influenced by Laura Nyro, and this song is like a love-child between the two powerhouse songwriter-composers, the soulful and esoteric qualities of Nyro married with the jazz-bohemia lyrical qualities of Waits. > > And anybody who doesn't see the value of a good producer just has to listen to this track and listen in wonder at the juxtaposition of the different sounds as they are assembled by Russ Titelman & Lenny Waronker, simply amazing work - like in Joni's mini-symphonies, the silences are just as important (if not more so) than the cacophonies, and the way the song segues and glides between its different sections is seamless. > > The first "movement" of the opus begins with a soft, subtle piano and then at the 12-second mark there's the James Jamerson-like Motownish bass riff that is the signature hook of the song and establishes a bizarre off-center syncopation, soon being joined by other percussion, horns, and other colors, winding their way in and around Sal Bernardi's and Rickie's beat poetry, trading off a series of images that may mean one thing, may mean another and allow the listener to go where he or she wants. > > Then around the 2:15 mark, the REAL Nyro-ish part kicks in, almost a whole separate song: > > I lied to my angel so I could take you downtown > I'd lie to anybody there was nobody else around > And I know what people say about me > But I lied to my angel and now he can't find me > > Steady and soulful and anchored, much more directly synchopated than the airy intro section, but then it segues again into yet another musical section: > > I'm sorry > I saw him > I saw him > Laughing > I could hear them > Laughing > Alive > I could hear them > > E. A. Poe > And Johnny Johnson > If you dial in > They're calling from the Western Slope > Who's the thin thread of light > That keeps you strangled in the scenery > That follows my voice - can you see me? > Then follow my voice > > even airier & looser than the start (this song, like so much of Joni's work, doesn't follow any pre-set convention but rather just goes where it wants to, yet within it's free-form looseness is musically incredibly tight) in the pattern of the beginning, then goes through the same cycle of lyrics, and the distinction between the tightness & structure of the musicians and Rickie's scat-like vocal is really nice. And again we get the bass hook...bum ba da ba da BOOM, which brings it back to where we were. > > At the 7:00 mark, the closing movement begins - a scat-chant that Rickie does while a trumpet solos, percussion comes in and out, and then all fades out and boom it's done. > > Now lyrically, what any of it means is anybody's guess - I never gave it a lot of thought, it just reads like beat poetry and the looseness of the lyrical images fits the meandering musical patterns. > > I don't know if any of that helps...it's an ambitious piece that hits the targets as far as I'm concerned. Really & truly though I could have picked any number of RLJ songs, but this one to me is just something different, a song so complex in its scope that nobody else would have ever come up with it. > > Bob > > NP: Ani, "Evolve" 4/7/04 > Read only the mail you want - Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 15:30:21 -0500 From: "David Henderson" Subject: RE: NJC Re: Slopes NJC Thanks for the Johnny Johnson excerpt, Bob. I didn't think to look at a website for her. When RLJ's first LP was released, I was about 18 or so, I immediately fell in love. I thought she was hip, cool, smart and complex like Joni even though their styles are very different. Pirates trumped the first LP, and I think it's her best. I think We Belong Together and Living It Up are especially brilliant, like miniature films. I liked a lot of Magazine, but then I sort of tired of RLJ. I always thought her voice was her weakest talent, so the covers albums didn't really appeal to me. I did fall in love all over again, briefly, with the one with Flying Horses (is that right?) and Satellites, but then she lost me again. I thought the one with Leo Kottke (except for the haunting priest/molestation song) was kind of boring and monotonous. Ghostyhead? I actually like some electronic/trip-hop/hip-hop, but what the hell was that? Good Lord, this must be what Catherine heard! There were no lyrics included, and I don't think I could understand one word. Anyway, all that to say I LOVE early Ricki Lee, but I haven't really given her much thought in the last decade. I wish she put out more, npi. She can write some brilliant lyrics when she does not get too obscure. I think I'll have to revisit her catalogue. Naked Songs was good. Was the live LP with the full band good? Was her last any good? David NP The Killers (speaking of people who mumble and slur their lyrics.) -----Original Message----- From: Bob Muller [mailto:scjoniguy@yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 2:14 PM To: David Henderson; Joni Mitchell List Subject: NJC Re: Slopes NJC David Henderson wrote: According to an article from her website, the Johnny Johnson in question is Chuck Berry's piano player, a star in his own right. http://furnitureforthepeople.com/sundance/ (with a great pic of RLJ & Waits) An excerpt: <<Traces of the Western Slopes, the albums epic, sounds like it might have been influenced by Steely Dans Aja, a song that was equally lengthy, equally cinematic, and equally oblique. Ms. Jones sings about listening to Edgar Allen Poe and to one of the most poetic of early rock and roll sidemen, Chuck Berrys pianist Johnny Johnson, on her car radio. Again, she creates an imaginary landscape that bristles with color and life, and her singing is so inventively personal that even the most self-conscious lines  but whos qualified to retrieve / the souls enduring song?  sound unerringly appropriate. The music plays spare, lyrical piano off against the epic sweep of massed keyboards.>> When I was listening to the track last night, I too was reminded of SD's Aja. I'm sorta glad I just wrote from my head before looking up any information about the song. Another awesome track is "Woody & Dutch on the Slow Train to Peking", with an awesome groove and a cool story about a road trip to a record store, something that I can relate to. Bob NP: The Replacements, "I Don't Know" - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 14:48:28 -0600 From: "mackoliver" Subject: Top 50, whew! Here's mine (a homosexual as if that defines who and what I am, such thoughts irritate me and my sexual proclivities are such a small part of who and what I am). Bob, this was tough, especially the one song rule. Surely I left someone out and the list would change tomorrow. But fun to do nevertheless. 1. Funny that Way- Melissa Manchester 2. Both Sides, Now-Joni Mitchell 3. Dorothy-Judy Collins 4. Jungleland-Bruce Springsteen 5. Baby, Can You Come Out Tonight-Dolly Parton 6. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant-Billy Joel 7. A Woman Left Lonely-Janis Joplin 8. How Much I Feel-Ambrosia 9. Looking For The Right One-Stephen Bishop 10. Company-Rickie Lee Jones 11. I Just Wanna Stop-Gino Vannelli 12. Your Song-Elton John 13. You Oughta Be Home With Me-Barry Manilow 14. I Saw A Man And He Danced With His Wife-Cher 15. How Deep Is Your Love-Bee Gees 16. Faithless Love-Linda Ronstadt 17. Long Time Looking-Helen Reddy 18. The Man That Got Away-Judy Garland 19. Keep A Watch On The Shoreline-Phoebe Snow 20. Nothing Seems To Matter-Bonnie Raitt 21. Stayed Too Long At The Fair-Barbra Streisand 22. Taxi-Harry Chapin 23. Remember Me-Diana Ross 24. Until You Come Back To Me-Aretha Franklin 25. Private Dancer-Tina Turner 26. Superstar-Carpenters 27. Daughter of Light-Carole King 28. Where Does the Lovin Go-David Gates 29. Living For You-Candi Staton 30. Can't Get Enough Of Your Love-Barry White 31. Gulf Coast Highway-Nanci Griffith 32. Haven't Got Time For The Pain-Carly Simon 33. I Could Never Miss You-Lulu 34. You Can Have Me Anytime-Boz Scaggs 35. Holding Out For Love-Daryl Hall 36. Before My Heart Finds Out-Gene Cotton 37. What's Forever For-Michael Murphy 38. California Dreamin'-Mamas and Papas 39. That's The Way of The World-Earth, Wind, and Fire 40. Nither One of Us-Gladys Knight 41. Promise Me-Luther Vandross 42. One Man Band-Ronnie Dyson 43. Photographs and Memories-Jim Croce 44. I Should Be With You-Steve Wariner 45. No. 9 Dream-John Lennon 46. No One In The World-Anita Baker 47. The Rain, the Park, and Other Things-Cowsills 48. Use Me-Bill Withers 49. It's A Sin When You Love Somebody-Joe Cocker 50. Those Eyes-Natalie Cole mack np: missy ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 13:07:04 -0800 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Top 500 list David Henderson wrote: > > How about some lists from women, gay men, African-Americans, > twentysomethings? > > David > NP Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose Don't you love Van Lear Rose? Being in total agreement with your comments about the Rolling Stone and fitting at least one of the criteria you listed above (and if you know what's good for you you'll amend that list to include gay women, David ;-)) I have decided to attempt what for me is an arduous task. Just deciding on a favorite Joni Mitchell song involves a certain amount of angst and agony for me and would usually stop me from doing this. Lists of Joni favorites is something I avoid. But since this is less about Joni and more of a history and indirectly a personality profile of individual tastes, I have decided to play. In no particular order and apt to change at any moment: My Top 50 songs 1. Joni Mitchell - The Dawntreader (either version - is that cheating?) 2. Carly Simon - You're So Vain 3. Billie Holiday - I Cover the Waterfront 4. The Seekers - Georgy Girl 5. Dusty Springfield - Anyone Who Had a Heart 6. Barbra Streisand - When the Sun Comes Out 7. Judy Garland - Somewhere Over the Rainbow 8. Steeleye Span - The Weaver and the Factory Maid 9. Laura Nyro - Brown Earth 10. Marianne Faithful - The Ballad of Lucy Jordan 11. Sherelle Smith - Edith and the Kingpin 12. Leonard Cohen - The Stranger Song 13. k. d. lang - Hallelujah 14. Judy Collins - Albatross 15. Peter Paul & Mary - Leavin' on a Jet Plane 16. Dionne Warwick - Theme from 'The Valley of the Dolls' 17. The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun 18. Simon & Garfunkel - Scarborough Fair/Canticle 19. Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust 20. Emmylou Harris - Hour of Gold 21. Yes - Your Move 22. Jethro Tull - Living in the Past 23. The Fifth Dimension - One Less Bell 24. Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit 25. Lambert Hendricks and Ross - Fiesta in Blue 26. Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 27. Mary Hopkin - Those Were the Days 28. Julie Andrews - I Could Have Danced All Night 29. Bette Midler - Your Love is Lifting Me Higher 30. Rickie Lee Jones - Stewart's Coat 31. Cowboy Junkies - Bea's Song (River Song Trilogy Part II) 32. Loretta Lynn - Fist City 33. Patsy Cline - Sweet Dreams 34. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man 35. One-Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley 36. He's Got the Whole World in His Hands - Laurie London 37. Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Brian Hyland 38. Carole King - It's Too Late 39. Cass Elliott - Make Your Own Kind of Music 40. Carpenters - Rainy Days and Mondays 41. Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company - Piece of My Heart 42. Blondie - Union City Blue 43. Fleetwood Mac - Sara 44. Annie Lennox - Why 45. The Pretenders - Mystery Acheivement 46. Seal - If I Could 47. Heart - Mistral Wind 48. Linda Ronstadt - Prisoner in Disguise 49. The Moody Blues - Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) 50. Nat King Cole - Nature Boy There were three of these songs that are among my earliest memories of hearing music on the radio. I actually had to look them up to find out who the original artists were. Apparently my musical memory goes back to about 1958 when I was 4 years old. Can anybody spot which four songs I looked up? The Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole don't figure into this since I didn't discover those til I was was an adult. I started to list 'Silver Spoon' by Grace Slick and 'Hyperdrive' by Jefferson Starship but couldn't decide if that was cheating since I'd already included 'White Rabbit' and all three are Grace's songs. I finally decided I needed more room on my list so I left them out. I did manage to sneak Joni in there twice by including Seal's 'If I Could'! Mark E. in Seatte ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2005 #56 **************************** ------- 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)