From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2008 #81 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Unsubscribe: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe Website: http://jonimitchell.com JMDL Digest Monday, May 26 2008 Volume 2008 : Number 081 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- The First Album 40 years on ["Jeff Hankins" ] Re: last album listened to all the way through [Mark-Leon Thorne ] Re: Lyric Database thanks NJC [Bob Muller ] RE: most played - njc ["patrick leader" ] Otis & Marlena [Michel BYRNE ] Re: most played - njc ["Mark Angelo" ] Re: Otis & Marlen ["Mark Angelo" ] Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #58 [StDoherty@aol.com] Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #58 [StDoherty@aol.com] Amelia it was just a false alarm ["Mark Angelo" ] Re: Lyric Database thanks ["Mark Angelo" ] Woodstock and the Other Diva [Patti Parlette ] Re: last album listened to all the way through ["Mark Scott" ] Re: NJC Suggestions? (long) [Victor Johnson ] Re: starbucks cutting back on their music division ["Kate Bennett" ] njc, Shine on dying soldiers (and their families) in patriotic pain [Patt] NJC Suggestions? (long ["Kate Bennett" ] Re: Otis & Marlen ["Mark Scott" ] Re: Amelia it was just a false alarm ["Mark Scott" ] Girls Like Us ["Richard Flynn" ] Re: Amelia it was just a false alarm ["Mark Angelo" ] Re: Amelia it was just a false alarm ["Mark Angelo" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 09:06:56 +0100 From: "Jeff Hankins" Subject: The First Album 40 years on Though I can't compete with the 4 hr Dawntreader-a-thon through the Ozarks (great idea!) I did spend all my journeys to and from work last week (half hour each way, that's 5 hours altogether) playing the first album over and over. Here are some reflections: 1 It's still gorgeous. What a debut 2 What IS that siren thing on 'Nathan La Freneer'? It's an instrument? Is Joni playing it?. 4 decades on, you'd have thought I'd have bothered to find out. 3 Though 'Blue' is always cited as the 'emotionally raw' breakthrough, there's some pretty heart-on-sleeve confessional here too. The first two tracks, the last? 4 Don't you just love singing along to the dancer's part when it comes to the Pirate of Penance? Well, both parts,actually, alternately. 5 Single lines that still have the power to move? How about 'Beware of the power of moons' - wooah, goosebumps. 6 The whole album kicks off the whole freedom vs commitment theme much more fully than I remembered. 7 Night in the City is a nice one to sing along to, as well (both parts) and if you're lucky and you're in a slow traffic lane, and the windows are down, well who knows - your falsetto might just give some fellow travellers an interestingly scary fright. 8 Sisotowbell Lane. Perfect little song for marriage of melody and lyric. Always loved it. Always up there in my top five. Want to sit in that rocking chair gazing at the badlands with my purple mouth still nibbling muffins by the light of the candle in the window. The romantic in me. 9 Did Joni (has anyone) written any other song apart from 'Seagull' in the strangely drone-dominated CCCGCG ? 10. It's the 40 year anniversary of this remarkable album. Hey Reprise, how about an anniversary reissue with bonus tracks ( Jeremy, for instance!!). Obsessively Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 18:58:45 +1000 From: Mark-Leon Thorne Subject: Re: last album listened to all the way through I have to agree, Mark. The Travelogue version of The Dawntreader is pure genius. It's the highlight of the two discs. Mark in Sydney NP Hello (Dolly) - The Beloved ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 11:16:57 +0200 From: "Oddmund Kaarevik" Subject: NJC (indeed) Dancer with bruised knees "Oh my God, Oddmund! Magnet and iron, the Joni souls." Magnet and iron indeed dearest Patti ! "Sweetheart, no *wonder* you are having a hard time dealing with sibling rivalry/second son inferiority. You've been listening to "First Son"! No, no, no! Don't listen to it! You're just romanticizing some pain that's in your head. " Oh, you are very sweet to protect me Patii ! Warm arrangement, indeed. I'm the youngest of five children. And my oldest brother - fourteen years older than me, has always been kind of the blackseheep of the family. That has changed, but still the text doesn't feel that relevant to me. I always smile when I think about who that first born son is, she is singing about, really is. It is Rufus Wainwright !!! And yes he is special, and I'm sure e has broke his mothers heart twice or more. But I see there is this special bounding - just take a look at the back on his latest (Original) CD, "Relase the stars" he has included a picture of him and his mother - and he says something "because she still whispers that I'm special.." I think this is a *a bit* too much. Now I much prefer Rufus little sister, (so you see Patti, the gift goes on - for the youngest too) Martha Wainwright. I think she has a great voice and very good texts. And of course I have this loyalty to the youngest of the family. Very important indeed. No Rufus is this GIANT star in Norway. All kind of celebrities are drawn to his cincerts in Norway. While Martha has some loyal fans but doesn't draw these great crowds. But Martha is really, as she is singing in one song, doing everything in true. And she is damn good too ! So don't miss her in concert if she is playing somewhere near you these days. The pattern you show is very interesting, Patti. And I recognize it from my aunt. She has a first born son, a special one. He has not always been very nice, his two younge siblings has in many ways been more what is the word- kind and sweet and loyal to the parents. But he's the first born son, the special son. The one with the silver spoon in his mouht. And everything he does is beautiful and imporatant. But when that is said. I think that to gain so much love and affection - in some prospect must be positive too. Because it may make you love other people back... Maybe... NP. Kate & Anna McGarriggle: Come a long way Best and love and affection *** Oddmund *** Ps. This made me laugh and smile: I met a woman (LOL...I don't think she had a mouth like yours, or that she knew your devils and your deeds) who had a cartoon on her desk that said: "How do you divide your love between four children?" The answer: "I don't. I multiply it." I'm sure that your mother loves you just as much as your brother. And maybe I am this black crow --- Look how he's diving down to pick up every shiny thing!) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 11:38:29 +0100 From: "Anita Tedder" Subject: Re: last album listened to all the way through/American Idol Laura wrote: "A new question: what is the longest time anybody has listened to a Joni song on repeat? Do I win with "The Dawntreader?" I scratched my original version of STAS lifting the needle on and off also playing 'The Dawntreader' what seemed like month in month out (but I was just a moon-eyed fourteen at the time) so I am trying to go one up here, Laura :~))) One of the gifts I have received from JMDL was getting the tuning of 'The Dawntreader' and finally being able to play it. I was talking to someone and told them I hated to play other people's songs in exactly the same way that they do, without trying to make it in some way my own - but it really is the only way for me on this song. Same tuning, attempting the same phrasing. Just trying it. Someone recently said to me 'Well, Joni probably can't do it anymore, so don't worry about it' Dawntreader truly is sublime (Joni's version, not mine!!) I think I have come out of the closet as an Idol (both US and UK) fan before. There are some astonishingly good artists and amazing singers. Leona Lewis blew me away from the very first time she appeared in the UK. Great heart and soul IMO. The version of 'Hallelujah' on the US Idol final this year was pretty grim and I don't think Graham Nash and Brooke White faired much better. Graham I thought looked nervous and Brooke strummed those strings like she was a complete beginner - but the variety of songs mentioned by Randy (and Mark I think) was nice to see in this season. I couldn't help thinking of all the song writers I have seen locally in my little town who were better than Brooke White. Brooke is okay and quite a refreshing change in Idol, but she's not brilliant. One of these jobbing musicians who played locally to me last week and whose new album I have on repeat and listen to all the way through at the moment is my friend Amy Wadge's 'Bump'. I mentioned it here some weeks ago and I'd really recommend it. I saw this review the other day, where the reviewer, James Johnston, says: "And I know that one day her CD will sit in my "favorites" collection right next to Joni Mitchell's "Hejira" where it will reside in the company that it truly deserves" You can check the review out at: http://www.stcroixmusic.com/index.php?mod=showarticle&column_id=235&article= 1&q=amy%20wadge What an accolade for 'Bump'. And James, are out there lurking? Anita ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 13:55:53 +0200 From: "Oddmund Kaarevik" Subject: most played my most played track is Linda Thompson "Versatile heart" 47 plays (I've only had Itunes last 11 months) The only Joni-realted track on top 25 is Holly Brook's faboulous cover of "All I want" with 28 plays NP. Sandro Dominelli: Two grey rooms best oddmund ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 06:09:20 -0700 (PDT) From: Bob Muller Subject: Re: Lyric Database thanks NJC Thanks for the intro Ben, and a belated welcome to you. The more voices, the better. Bob NP: Carole King, "Tapestry" ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 08:53:34 -0400 From: "patrick leader" Subject: RE: most played - njc hi folks- i didn't have to look, i knew what would show up. 1) hide and seek, the imogen heap song, as recorded by awaken, ucla's a capella group. this is absolutely the most wonderful piece of recorded music that has crossed my path in the last two years. i just can't get enough of it. i thought 'hide and seek' was an amazing song when i first heard heap's version (which is all done with manipulated overdubs of her own voice). but this arrangement opens out the song to pure beauty. 2) shirk, by me'shell ndgeocello. off her newest album, which was released on october 25th last year, same day as 'shine', 'river: the joni letters' and chaka's 'funk this'. i still listen to all four albums quite a bit, but this song is the sweetest sound released that day. co-written with pat metheny and oumou sangare, with vox by me'shell and sangare and guitars by methene and herve sambe. rest of the top 10 - - when she smiles she lights up the sky - plantlife4 - - dream machine - mark farina featuring sean hayes - - chicago (acoustic version) - sufjan stevens - - broken toy - keane - - calling you - george michael and queen - - about four songs from the 'spring awakening' cast album. i just adored this show and and adore the album. patrick np - mandalay, insensible, from all chilled@181.fm - -----Original Message----- From: owner-joni@smoe.org [mailto:owner-joni@smoe.org]On Behalf Of Oddmund Kaarevik Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 7:56 AM To: joni@smoe.org Subject: most played my most played track is Linda Thompson "Versatile heart" 47 plays (I've only had Itunes last 11 months) The only Joni-realted track on top 25 is Holly Brook's faboulous cover of "All I want" with 28 plays NP. Sandro Dominelli: Two grey rooms best oddmund ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 14:05:21 +0000 From: Michel BYRNE Subject: Otis & Marlena Thanks for bringing our attention to this great song. I've always loved it, especially for its guitar line, but I must admit i've never understood 'the fatted flake'. Is this skin flaking in the sun?... Probably a very stupid question, but it's just one of those joni lyrics i've just gone along with because it sounded so great, but never actually understood... :) Mich _________________________________________________________________ http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/msnnkmgl0010000002ukm/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 10:15:50 -0400 From: "Mark Angelo" Subject: Re: most played - njc I love Imogen Heap! (Real Given Name). Particularly her last album "Speak For Yourself". "Hide and Seek" is one of my favorite songs of all songs. Every song on the album is great. Highly recommended for the electronica genre. She is a beautiful, ecclectic, genuine spirit and her exclusive use of Apple Macintosh computers speak to this creative individualism. I first discovered her from watching the movie "Garden State" employing the key song "Let Go" - on a par with "Hide & Seek" I believe - which was from her previous work "Details" that she collaborated with Guy Sigworth to make under the name Frou Frou and overall doesn't come close to "Speak For Yourself" IMHO, though "Let Go" makes it worth buying in and of itself. On my iTunes Top 25 Played List: 1) How To Make An American Quilt - Thomas Newman 2) Bad Dreams - Joni 3) One Week Last Summer - Joni 4) Two Grey Rooms - Joni 5) If I Had A Heart - Joni 6) This Place - Joni 7) Cinderella Man - Thomas Newman 8) Nemo Egg (Main Title) - Thomas Newman 9) Hana - Joni 10) The Green Mile - Thomas Newman Something about the main title tune to How To Make An American Quilt gives me such an inner feeling of peace, of warmth, it helps to keep my spirits up whenever I get down. He has quite a talent for composing. I can put it on repeat and play it over and over , much like Laura with her 4 hours of listening to "The Dawntreader". I'm sure I must be nominated for an Honorable Mention at least in this category!! Speaking of sountrack music, I LOVE BT - and his soundtrack for the movie Monster (the true story portrayed by Charlize Theron who won an Oscar for the role which succeeds in transforming what society has labeled a "Monster" into a human who because of an unfortunate abusive upbringing and continued assaults by males in her adult life is ultimately pushed over the edge. A soundtrack for those "seeking comfort in melancholy when there's no need to explain", definitely not an upbeat work. Regarding the movie "Monster" these Rickie Lee Jones lyrics from "A Stranger's Car are most appropriate: There is no one here to beat out your brains there's no one who'll make you cry if your parents kill you year by years here's the time to say good bye - -Mark in Florida. On Mon, May 26, 2008 at 8:53 AM, patrick leader wrote: > hi folks- > > i didn't have to look, i knew what would show up. > > 1) hide and seek, the imogen heap song, as recorded by awaken, ucla's a > capella group. this is absolutely the most wonderful piece of recorded > music that has crossed my path in the last two years. i just can't get > enough of it. i thought 'hide and seek' was an amazing song when i first > heard heap's version (which is all done with manipulated overdubs of her > own > voice). but this arrangement opens out the song to pure beauty. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 10:53:38 -0400 From: "Mark Angelo" Subject: Re: Otis & Marlen The golden dive the fatted flake And sizzle in the mink oil It's all a dream She has awake Checked into Miami Royal Hi Michel. I too have wondered over the years about the loaded lines from Otis & Marlena. They are mesmerizing, even if you don't get every single reference, and there are loads of them. My current interpretation would be as follows, please jump in any or all as I am eager to hear your perspective (or what Joni has said in some review) as we sometimes miss out when we interpret things as viewed from our narrow individual "tunnel vision" perspective. I see the "fatted flake" as the leathery "dry skin flaking in the sun", which once again takes on a temporary plumpness as "mink oil" or cremes, lotions, are applied in or out of the sun to give them that young, plump, radiant look that the Ad Empires promise will be achieved for they "offer relief for the purchase price". The "golden dive" in the same sentence, I see as the dream realized of golden skin diving into "clear, cool, water" which rehydrates and "fattens". The "golden dive" could also be taken as yet another reference to The "Miami Royal", "that celebrated dump sleazing by the sea". My take, though I love new insights. - -Mark in Florida. On Mon, May 26, 2008 at 10:05 AM, Michel BYRNE wrote: > Thanks for bringing our attention to this great song. I've always loved it, > especially for its guitar line, but I must admit i've never understood 'the > fatted flake'. Is this skin flaking in the sun?... Probably a very stupid > question, but it's just one of those joni lyrics i've just gone along with > because it sounded so great, but never actually understood... :) > Mich > > _________________________________________________________________ > > http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/msnnkmgl0010000002ukm/direct/01/ > - -- - -Mark in Florida ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 10:56:51 EDT From: StDoherty@aol.com Subject: Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #58 In a message dated 5/26/2008 3:11:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time, owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org writes: http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-bk-brody25-2008may25,0,1706271.story All this talk about DJRD - **************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4&?NCID=aolfod00030000000002) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 11:12:10 EDT From: StDoherty@aol.com Subject: Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #58 In a message dated 5/26/2008 3:11:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time, owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org writes: http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-bk-brody25-2008may25,0,1706271.story All this talk about DJRD - how nice. I've always liked it. Someone described it as panoramic -- an apt description. I liked Otis, Off Night, all the percussion, and especially the title song. By the way -- that connects to another discussion thread. What song have I listened to on repeat many times - DJRD. I'm not so much a repeat kinda guy but put it on repeat because I like to run to music. DJRD is a perfect running song. It always gets me moving. (It works great with Bob Geldof's Love or Something Else and Steve Earle's Harlan Man, Eminen's First Single and Leftover Salmon's Lines Around Your Eyes as a running combo.) By the way - I found the copy of the b/w Joni silhouette that I asked someone on the list to resend. Don't need it again -- thanks anyway. **************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4&?NCID=aolfod00030000000002) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 11:43:51 -0400 From: "Mark Angelo" Subject: Amelia it was just a false alarm Ok along with Michel and his bewilderment over the "fatted flake" line, I too must confess to a line that has always puzzled me. It's all the more puzzling as it is one of my favorite Joni songs and one that I can most relate to - Amelia. WHAT is she referring to when at the end o every verse, when she states "Amelia it was just a false alarm". "And this is how I hide the hurt as the road leads cursed and charmed (totally relate to that), Amelia it was just a false alarm". "Dreams Amelia, dreams and false alarms" etc... I just seem to have a mental block when it comes to this obviously important reference in the song which is constantly repeated. The only thing I can come up with, is the anxieties and worries that prevent us (women in this case) from moving ahead and pursuing our dreams (referenced a number of times in the song), are these "false alarms", which only keep us from realizing our potential. Whether it be Amelia who almost realized her dream as the first female pilot to fly around the world and in so doing became an icon of one woman's foray into a traditionally male-dominated establishment or Joni who kept producing music and lyrics which increasingly fell into disfavor with the male-dominated recording industry as she felt the need to be true to herself as an artist and not some mercenary money-grabbing chart topper. In other words, Joni and Amelia lived and Joni inarguably still lives in a male-dominated culture, with alarms (one doesn't DO that type of thing!) that ring every time someone tries to counter established notions dictated by TPTB, but that to move beyond anxiety and worry and be autonomous and fearless - as challenging and difficult as that may be - is how the few like Amelia and Joni find significance in their lives. - -Mark in Florida ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 12:03:45 -0400 From: "Mark Angelo" Subject: Re: Lyric Database thanks Hi Ben and welcome to the JMDL. I'm also a relative "newbie". The discussions about Joni and her music and all things non-Joni are informative and entertaining and you are sure to learn quite a bit and there are many friends to be made here. A lot of like-minded Joniphiles contribute and politics are not normally a problem as most of us seem to gravitate towards a similar spectrum of things political. (And you can always just ignore or delete the NJC political posts). A lot of the "regulars" I'd say (intuitively) have been here for years and thankfully post giving the rest of us things to ponder and comment about, but it's refreshing to see new converts to the religion. Interesting that you chose the words "terrible beauty" about Shine. I suppose on a basic level there is a lot of truth in that. The songs are indeed beautiful, but the message is often one of terrifying CONSEQUENCE to those just tuning in as to the reality that humanity and life of all forms are facing as a result of man's interminable need to dominate and conquer, made possible by finite cheap fossil fuels and an "evolved" frontal lobe that has allowed him to develop all manners of toxic chemicals now in the environment and in our own bodies and that of every living creature and terrifying weaponry of mass destruction. "Night of the Iguana" and "Hana" were also the least palatable to me as well on "Shine" (and the remake of "BYT") as well as being the most up tempo, but Hana has won me over finally with it's get-over-it-and-get-on-with-life live-in-the-moment optimistic lyrics which are at odds with the rest of the album. "NIght of the Iguana" - I'm still not yet that fond of, maybe it will have more meaning to me after I see the movie and can relate more to the lyrics. Welcome, once again. - -Mark in Florida On Mon, May 26, 2008 at 12:14 AM, Ben Turner wrote in part: > I'm a relative newbie to the JMDL ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 16:20:53 +0000 From: Patti Parlette Subject: Woodstock and the Other Diva Jerry reported: CBS Sunday Morning had a story on Woodstock and the new museum opening up there. It ended, nicely, with a few chords of Joni's own playing of her composition. *** Unbelievable that our Joni wrote the anthem for that whole experience. She is stardust. She is golden! Did you check out the museum? http://www.bethelwoodscenter.org/Museum/ I've got the urge for going! One observer said it's more like a time-machine than a museum. I'd like to be westbound and rolling, taking refuge in the roads. "Trippin' down that old hippie highway....." (Neil) Traveling, traveling, traveling, returning to look behind from where we came. Love & Peace, Patti P. NPIMH: Neil's Roger and Out, appropriate for this Memorial Day You can see the video on the right at: http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/ And you know there may be more good stuff there for Neil fans and everyone who has a dream that the wars are done. _________________________________________________________________ Change the world with e-mail. Join the im Initiative from Microsoft. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=EML_WL_ChangeWorld ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 10:10:55 -0700 From: "Mark Scott" Subject: Re: last album listened to all the way through - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Laura Stanley" > Hi Mark, > > I just drove through the Ozark Mountains about 4 hours and > listened to "The Dawntreader" on repeat the whole way... from Song > to a Seagull. Cool Steven Stills bass on this version of the song. > I don't have Travelogue... is the song different on it? > Hi Laura, The Travelogue version of 'The Dawntreader' is different and yet you can hear the echoes of the orignal STAS version all through it. The orchestration for the Travelogue 'Dawntreader' is largely a fleshing out of the guitar part of the original, breaking it down and using various instruments for different parts. Joni's voice is deeper and more mature. She makes small changes to the language here and there, making it simpler and more direct but, perhaps, less poetic. For instance, where in the original she sings 'city satins left at home, I will not need them' on Travelogue she sings 'I won't need them'. To me the latter sounds more natural. And then instead of 'I believe him when he tells of loving me' becomes 'I believe him when he says he loves me'. Less poetic but more natural and direct. And I here a definite sexual connotation in the way she sings 'Leave behind your streets he said and come *here* to me' in the Travelogue version. This was my choice for most beautiful Joni song. Either version qualifies. It is a lovely, dreamy melody with beautifully evocative lyrics. I'm not sure I could listen to it repeatedly for 4 hours, but I think I can understand why you would want to do that while driving through the Ozarks. For me the song is like comfort food or the company of a beloved friend. It is a balm that soothes me and often helps take the edge off of some of the stress of day-to-day life. Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 17:24:22 +0000 From: Patti Parlette Subject: njc, Teach the children well I had to pop back in to share an article I just read about a wonderful program for children (love is a story told): Rock Around The Tots Hall of Fame Uses Music To Introduce Preschoolers To Learning http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/hc-mondayrocked.artmay26,0,6343664.story Shine on a safe place for kids to play, and to learn about music. Because you *know*, life is for learning. And songs are like tattoos. Since the Joni Tribute at Carnegie Hall was to benefit a children's music education program, and since it is campaign season in the U.S., I am going to sign off by saying: I'm Patti Parlette and I think Joni Mitchell would approve this message. ; ) _________________________________________________________________ Change the world with e-mail. Join the im Initiative from Microsoft. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=EML_WL_ChangeWorld ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 13:57:44 -0400 From: Victor Johnson Subject: Re: NJC Suggestions? (long) from a website on how to detect music scams: Contests and Competitions This is a popular category for scams because its just so appealing. For a low fee, you can enter your music into a contest and win something amazing. Sure, there are honest competitions out there, such as the International Songwriting Competition and John Lennon Songwriting Contest, but there are just as many (if not more) bunk ones. If you are invited to a contest, or youve heard of one and are interested in submitting, you must find out the following * How long has the contest been around? The longer, the better. * Who were the previous winners? Can they be contacted to verify they received their prize? See the References? section, above. * Exactly how is the contest being judged? Is it a popular vote, are there judges? Who are the judges? Legit competitions tend to attract and make use of established artists and industry pros, and do not vaguely allude to a panel of experts or something similar. * Who is sponsoring the contest? Real competitions should be backed by prominent music-related organizations and manufacturers. Contact the sponsors and ask them for more info, too! * Do you lose any rights to your music if you submit? Youd be surprised at some of the legalese in contests even with major TV network names attached! In several cases, Ive seen contests where all entrants automatically forfeit all rights to their music - the people running the contest could use the music however they wanted and not owe the artists a dime. Read the terms of any competition very carefully, or you might regret it. http://soundtempest.net/how-to-detect-and-avoid-music-scams/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 11:37:04 -0700 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: Re: starbucks cutting back on their music division my 2 cents (worth about 1/2 cent in this economy!) is that the starbucks label most likely has much lower marketing costs than a traditional label because the cds are right there in the store for people who come in to purchase coffee & oh, some music too! marketing costs are by far the biggest part of a label's budget, the cost of music production is minimal by comparison... I'm guessing this won't affect a second album from joni though I have no idea how well shine has sold kate ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 11:44:34 -0700 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: Re: American Idol, SJC I'd say Jeff Buckley is the one who made that song more widely known. Kate >Is it Rufus Wainwright or Shrek that we have to thank for the popularity of 'Hallelujah'. I think k d lang's version is heartbreakingly gorgeous.< ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 18:48:53 +0000 From: Patti Parlette Subject: njc, Shine on dying soldiers (and their families) in patriotic pain Warning: heavy company There's a poppy wreath on a soldier's tomb There's a poppy snake in a dressing room Poppy poison poppy tourniquet Bush and Cheney slither away on brass like mouth piece SPIT.... Thinking of poppies today -- flowers of deep feeling -- and the patriotic pain they represent. As a garden poppy, burst into red bloom, bends Drooping its head to one side, weighed down By its full seeds and a sudden spring shower So Gorgythions' head fell limp over one shoulder, Weighed down by his helmet. - -- Homer, "The Illiad" Looking for some bittersweet inspiration: "This Memorial Day, as we mourn those who have been killed during wartime, we are inspired to work even harder to bring our troops home and stop the next war now. Our hearts break for the thousands of family members who have lost loved ones in this senseless war. May the words of Gilda Carbonaro whose only child, Alessandro, died from injuries received in Iraq, move us to take action this Memorial Day weekend: "It still seems unreal that Alex did not return from Iraq, that his bright future was cut short, that his young bride was left a widow. A silent scream wants to break out of my chest as I contemplate his stark absence and think of the young men and women who will die today and tomorrow to fill the other graves that have been prepared at Arlington. We do not honor our loved ones by accepting the continued loss of life in a reckless, irresponsible war that has no military solution. We do not honor the troops by standing by indifferently as members of the Congress give their sneering Commander-in-Chief a blank check to continue a war based on a tidal wave of lies and hubris. We honor the fallen by beginning an immediate redeployment from Iraq and by showing our determination to stop a new war with Iran. We honor the fallen by making sure that those who return from Iraq and Afghanistan receive all the help they need for their education, and their physical and mental health. We honor the fallen by taking action, by making peace." Love, Patti, off to a valley barbecue across town, where I will be talking to a young man (my "other son") who is still bleeding from the war _________________________________________________________________ E-mail for the greater good. Join the im Initiative from Microsoft. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=EML_WL_ GreaterGood ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 12:12:06 -0700 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: NJC Suggestions? (long Monika, this definitely smells like a scam to me. Never send you money anywhere before first verifying the authenticity of a person, contest, etc. There are so many scams out there for musicians. There are some legit contests but in all my years in the 'indie' business I've never heard of the one you mentioned. You might consider joining the discussion group Indiegrrl http://www.indiegrrl.com/ Lots of good info on how to avoid the multitude of scams both online & realtime. Kate > Perhaps some of you folks could be of assistance to me. Let me tell you the story. I was very excited about entering this contest titled "Guitar Goddess" (www.guitargoddess.com). I want to find out if this is a legitimate contest. Any suggestions on what else to do? Do you think the contest is a scam? -Monika< ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 11:13:06 -0700 From: "Mark Scott" Subject: Re: Otis & Marlen - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Angelo" > The golden dive the fatted flake > And sizzle in the mink oil > It's all a dream > She has awake > Checked into Miami Royal > The "golden dive" could also be taken as yet > another reference to The "Miami Royal", "that celebrated dump > sleazing by > the sea". For years this lyric was a puzzle to me and I interpreted 'the golden dive' as a reference to the Miami Royale. Finally at some point I had an epiphany and it all fell into place. I think your first interpretation is correct, Mark. Dive is a verb here, not a noun. The 'golden', the sun-tanned bodies, dive into the pool while the over-fed and overweight lie by the pool, getting sunburn with the resulting flaking skin. So they apply a little mink oil and sizzle some more. I also used to think of 'flake' as a noun. Don't ask me why, it doesn't really make any sense. What is a fatted flake? A spacey person who's overweight? lol! But for years that was how I thought of that line. Maybe I was thinking of Paul Simon's line from 'Punky's Dilemna' - 'wish I was a Kellogg's cornflake, floating in my bowl taking movies'. In that context, the 'and sizzle in their mink oil' seems incongruous. What was I thinking? Or maybe it was more a case of what was I smoking? ;-) This song has lyrics that are maybe second only to 'The Windfall' in some of their rather unflattering descriptions of humans. You can't get much more uncomplimentary than 'always the grand parades of cellulite, jiggling to her golden pools'. Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 12:02:22 -0700 From: "Mark Scott" Subject: Re: Amelia it was just a false alarm - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Angelo" To: "jonipeople" Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 8:43 AM Subject: Amelia it was just a false alarm > Ok along with Michel and his bewilderment over the "fatted flake" > line, I > too must confess to a line that has always puzzled me. It's all the > more > puzzling as it is one of my favorite Joni songs and one that I can > most > relate to - Amelia. > > WHAT is she referring to when at the end o every verse, when she > states > "Amelia it was just a false alarm". > This is another song that it took me years to fully comprehend the very conundrum that puzzles you, Mark. Disclaimer: This is my take on it. You will probably get more than one. Everybody sees Joni's songs in their own way. And again, my apologies to those who have seen my take on this before. To me, the song 'Amelia' is all about searching for meaning or fulfillment or happiness or whatever you want to call it. Joni begins the song with a description of the 6 jet planes, seeing them as a possible signpost or omen, 'the hexagram of the heavens'. But in the end, they are only 6 jet planes. Not a sign drawn in the sky pointing in a particular direction or representing the strings on her guitar. It is a random occurrnence. A false alarm. The song continues with Joni describing how travelling around (or running way, depending on your point of view) may find some answers to her quest. But 'life becomes a travelogue of picture postcard charms' and 'where some have found their paradise, others just come to harm'. So wandering around from place to place is not an answer either. Another false alarm. Romantic love looks like a good road to happiness and fulfillment. Maybe she will find some meaning to her life in love. But, again, even though she wishes that her lover 'was here tonight', he has asked her to 'kindly stay away' forcing her to 'hide the hurt as the road leads cursed and charmed'. Later she says that 'looking down on everything' she 'crashed into his arms'. Romantic love seems almost like an accident here, a random occurrence that she latched onto in a desperate attempt to find meaning and prove that she could love. 'Maybe I've never really loved, I guess that is the truth, I've spent my whole life in clouds at icy altitudes.' But it has failed to give her the answers or happiness she is looking for. Yet another false alarm. As far as Amelia is concerned, her bid for fame and immortality, though successful, ends with her becoming 'a ghost of aviation' having been 'swallowed by the sky'. 'Like Icarus ascending on beautiful foolish arms' her wings somehow melted and she disappeared, never to be heard of again. Her attempt at trying to circle the globe failed and cost her her life. Is immortality, that 'dream to fly' that Joni shares with her, worth that sacrifice? 'Oh Amelia, it was just a false alarm.' Finally, Joni dreams 'of 747s over geometric farms' while sleeping on the 'strange pillows of my wanderlust' at the Cactus Tree Motel. The dreams, the name of the motel are not, in reality, any kind of pattern or sign. They are just dreams and false alarms. She has not found fulfillment, she has not discovered any pattern or thread of meaning in her life. No magical signposts to point the way or tell her she is on the right track. Her wanderlust and her desire to love have only brought her false alarms. Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 17:22:09 -0400 From: "Richard Flynn" Subject: Girls Like Us I don't know if any one noticed, but the Weller book is #13 on this week's New York Times Nonfiction Bestseller's List http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/books/bestseller/0525besthardnonfiction.ht ml?_r=1 &emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&oref=slogin ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 17:50:32 -0400 From: "Mark Angelo" Subject: Re: Amelia it was just a false alarm Hi Mark, I really like your interpretation of the song "Amelia" and in that perspective the words "false alarm" make more sense. It is as in a sense an updated version of "All I Want" (Blue) given a little more time and wisdom. "I am on a lonely road and I am traveling, traveling, traveling, traveling, looking for something, what can it be?". Hejira becomes the album where she answers that question and the answers she finds are disconcerting to her, as you note. The way in which you interpret the song as essentially saying "She has not found fulfillment, she has not discovered any pattern or thread of meaning in her life. No magical signposts to point the way or tell her she is on the right track. Her wanderlust and her desire to love have only brought her false alarms." makes a lot of sense when you take the album "Hejira" itself as a whole and reflect on the totality of the songs. She has sought "refuge in the roads", becoming "a defector of the petty wars that shell shock love away". She disparages when she finds that the shackles which inevitably accompany her romantic ideal of love at that time, or the love (commitment) vs. freedom theme which is omnipresent in Joni's earlier works (Cactus Tree, etc.) only lead to another type of captivity, that being "a prisoner, of the white lines, of the free, freeway". She has grown weary and uncomfortable in the realization that that she has herself been indoctrinated like so many others that fulfillment of the ego "diving down to pick up every shiny thing" can bring happiness or lasting satisfaction. The song, and the album for that matter are not so much answers to her questions, but are more observations and questions themselves she is vocalizing - "and it made most people nervous, they just didn't want to know what I was seeing in the refuge of the roads". She has respect for her friends such as Sharon, who have found their purpose in choosing to settle down and raise a family, but nonetheless she still has "the apple of temptation and a diamond snake wrapped around my arm" which are fulfillment of the ego in dreams and hopes but that will ultimately still lead her to places where as you note she finds on closer inspection they are "false alarms" as she sees her mission as one "in search of love and music" and "illumination" through that music which inevitably exposes "corruption" and still she is "diving, diving, diving, diving, diving down to pick on every shine thing". It is like some form of repetition-compulsion, whereby the protagonist must continue repeating these same patterns of behavior in the hopes of finding that idealized (love, "house, car, bottle, jar", whatever) only to find once again they are left bereft of happiness and disillusioned in the end. She eventually finds answers to these questions, they certainly are not all pleasant, as revealed in rather acerbic songs such as "Sire of Sorrow", etc., but many are comforting in their honesty and her return to using the "warm" major chords in the key of C in which the songs of NRH were written (which interestingly uses the same tuning as does Hejira with only one string tuned differently) rather than her trademark minor chords. The song "Shine" with it's closing lines "Seeking simplicity..." perhaps is her most profound answer to her endless quest for truth in music, love, and life, but that's a topic for another discussion. :-) - -Mark in Florida On Mon, May 26, 2008 at 3:02 PM, Mark Scott wrote: > > To me, the song 'Amelia' is all about searching for meaning or fulfillment > or happiness or whatever you want to call it. She has not found fulfillment, > she has not discovered any pattern or thread of meaning in her life. No > magical signposts to point the way or tell her she is on the right track. > Her wanderlust and her desire to love have only brought her false alarms. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 13:23:34 -0700 From: "Randy Remote" Subject: Re: NJC Suggestions? (long) Yes I absolutely think it is a scam. I emailed them with a nothing question about their contest, and they got back to me within 3 hours, despite it being 11pm Sunday night. Their prizes include a "Victress Goddess" guitar. Victress is the name of their corporation, but even though they have a myspace under that name, there is not a single pic of a Victress guitar, and Victress Guitar.com is a parked page with nothing on it. Their supposed record company is Fahrenheit-the same name as an indie label in Philly, but again, no web presence whatsoever, no artists, no label basically. Their supposed mission is to review female guitarists, gear, etc etc starting in March 08 on the guitargoddess website, but there is nothing of the sort there, just links that keep taking you back to entering the contest. They also ask for donations for educational programs, again, I'm sure it is bogus, as there is no documentation of where any money has actually gone. None of their business or charity names are listed with the Better Business Bureau. The sponsors and prizes are not mentioned by name, (except the guitar); nor are the recording studio or the "industry professionals" who will be judging. Their rules and regs say that they will select the winner in June, but if you want to know who the winner was 'check back on the website after August'. They also say they can cancel the contest if their phones malfunction! I don't know about you, but my phone malfunctions frequently. No refunds. This kind of stuff really burns me up. Here's what I would do. Get a male friend to call their ph no posing as director of some kind of an artist's legal advocacy group (it's probably illegal to say you are a lawyer) and tell them that someone (Monika Bogdanowicz) has come to them with a complaint and they have 7 business days to refund your $25, or they will get their interns to start an investigation into their operation. Leave your address. I'll call them if you want. Fk em. Maybe you will get your money back, and after you do, contact the Better Business Bureau and the fbi and tell them you think they are bilking people with a fake contest, so others don't get scammed. Unfortunately there are plenty scam artists preying on novice musicians. One of the good ones is to tell you that they want to sign you to their record company. Great! We all want to be signed, right? Then they tell you that they need money for a compilation album, and all the artists on the album need to pay a nominal fee (say, $500-$1000) to get on the album. I've had that one tried on me before. Or the classic 'we'll record your song/poem with professional musicians' for immediate release', bla, bla, bla, you pay. RR ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 18:54:48 -0400 From: "Mark Angelo" Subject: Re: Amelia it was just a false alarm Correction: The following should read "Hejira becomes the album where she attempts to answer these questions and the observations she makes are disconcerting to her, as you note": On Mon, May 26, 2008 at 5:50 PM, Mark Angelo wrote: > Hejira becomes the album where she answers that question and the answers > she finds are disconcerting to her, as you note. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 16:16:05 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeannie Subject: Re: Chief Seattle's Letter/The Beginning of Survival This is a video version of Chief Seattle's letter to the President printed on Joni's record, 'The Beginning Of Survival.' It sounds as if it is being read by Peter Coyote. (I think Peter Coyote is so handsome...he still makes me weak in the knees) A few of the messages written by you-tube members down below the you-tube video sound so whiney, saying, "It's fake," too apathetic to listen to Chief Seattle's true message and forgetting to remember all the suffering Chief Seattle's people had to go through, as if it was all written and mass produced in Red blood in Hollywood. Jeannie watch video Video Description Chief Seattle's Letter to the President - 1852 2008 YouTube, Inc. ~nj~ ~nj~ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 16:27:55 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeannie Subject: Fwd: Re: Chief Seattle's Letter/The Beginning of Survival This is a video version of Chief Seattle's letter to the President printed on Joni's record, 'The Beginning Of Survival.' It sounds as if it is being read by Peter Coyote. (I think Peter Coyote is so handsome...he still makes me weak in the knees) A few of the messages written by you-tube members down below the you-tube video sound so whiney, saying, "It's fake," too apathetic to listen to Chief Seattle's true message and forgetting to remember all the suffering Chief Seattle's people had to go through, as if it was all written and mass produced in Red blood in Hollywood. Jeannie watch video Video Description Chief Seattle's Letter to the President - 1852 2008 YouTube, Inc. ~nj~ ~nj~ ~nj~ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 19:21:28 -0500 From: "T Peckham" Subject: Re: Girls Like Us Thanks for the link. I find it interesting that GLU debuted at #7 on the list, went to #6 for a couple of weeks, then fell to #11, and now appears to be hanging in there at #13---while two other books that came out at the same time, Julie Andrews' (brava!) memoir and Cokie Roberts' (bleccchhh) history bio are still bouncing around the top of the list. (Note: I'm not dissing Cokie's book, just her.) :-P I suppose it's encouraging in a way that a history of influential women in early America is garnering such interest---I guess I was hoping that Weller's book would generate more than passing discussion of the difficulties that still exist for women artists, and that when it comes to sexism in this country, at least, it would seem the more things change, the more they remain the same. I suspect the author--who, as James (Leahy) posted here, responds to questions personally--would welcome an expanded discussion such as this one at her blog (on her website.) I was hoping that people who love the music (of one or all of the "girls") might get some in-depth conversations going there. Anyone? :-) http://girlslikeusthebook.com Terra On 5/26/08, Richard Flynn wrote: > > I don't know if any one noticed, but the Weller book is #13 on this week's > New York Times Nonfiction Bestseller's List ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2008 #81 **************************** ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe -------