From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2010 #213 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 Sunday, July 18 2010 Volume 2010 : Number 213 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- "Blue" in "The Kids Are All RIght" [Norm Gregory ] Re: thirtysomething, paternal firearms [Catherine McKay ] Re: thirtysomething, paternal firearms ["Mark" ] Re: Questions for musicians (and Hi, Barry) [Walt Breen Subject: "Blue" in "The Kids Are All RIght" In the new movie, "The Kids Are All Right" there is the best incorporation of music into a movie scene that I can recall. It is based on Joni Mitchell's "Blue." We don't hear Joni. All we see is the "Blue" album cover; all we hear is Mark Ruffalo's and Annette Bening's characters singing / harmonizing a cappella at the dinner table. It's a scene I won't forget for a while. The rest of the movie is very good too. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:06:15 +1000 From: Mark-Leon Thorne Subject: Re: thirtysomething, paternal firearms NJC Hi Walt. Nice to see you back. My sympathies for your computer trouble. I have also recently had a major computer meltdown. I lost over 100GB of music. The worst part was all of my Joni covers that I have been saving from Bob are gone now. As for thirtysomething, as soapy as it was, I still could relate to it even though I was slightly under that age bracket. The show made me think which is the first criterion for my patronage of a show or movie. Realistic characters is next and it fulfilled that one too. It doesn't hurt to have some eye candy like Ken Olin or Peter Horton. I was not aware those other shows were by the same creators but, it doesn't surprise me. Brothers and Sisters is hugely popular in Australia but I haven't caught it yet. I heard that it stars Aussie actress, Rachel Griffiths. I'm ot one for soap operas. thirtysomething was an exception. Enjoy. Mark in Sydney ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:49:22 -0700 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: Questions for musicians Its been a long while but hi everyone! BG asked >What is your favorite Joni Mitchell song to play?< Midway because of the melody, lyrics & the way the chord shapes move down & up >What, in your experience, is the easiest Joni song to play?< Night ride home but I've cheated & changed the tuning >Which song, while playing it, is most likely to make you cry?< Amelia but haven't played it for a longer while Kate ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 04:25:27 -0700 (PDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: thirtysomething, paternal firearms It has been discussed, but what the heck. There's always something new to learn or a new person's take on it. I believe "The Priest" is about Leonard Cohen. The name Cohen means priest. I understand LC's father died when Leonard was quite young and that he owned a "substantial" clothing store in Montreal. I'm not sure about the "golden factories," but I understand LC's family was well-off, although not immensely rich, so maybe it's a reference to the factories where the clothing was made (?) According to Wikipedia (and it seems like a pretty good and in-depth entry for LC at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen, he was left with a trust income,"sufficient to allow him to pursue his literary ambitions, without having to worry about where his rent would come from." ________________________________ From: Walt Breen To: Jonilist Digest Sent: Sat, July 17, 2010 12:45:48 AM Subject: Re: thirtysomething, paternal firearms My apologies if all this has already been mentioned... Oh, one thing that occurred to me weeks ago when I was off-line, listening to Robin and the Mutts' wonderful version of Rainy Night House. I've wondered about this over the forty years since I first heard the line, "She went to Florida/and left you with your father's gun alone": what exactly was meant? I mean it's a really funny song all around, and for the most part I've assumed some kind of phallic thingy was meant (altho, then, why his *father's* gun?) Was she talking about Graham, another boyfriend, someone fictional? Did one of her beaux' fathers have golden factories of some kind, or is that a metaphor, too? I'm sure this has all been hashed out before, but if those of y'all in the know wouldn't mind one more go-around... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:26:04 -0700 (PDT) From: Mags Subject: Re: "Blue" in "The Kids Are All RIght" now clips from the sound track Just found this ... clips from the sound track, including Joni singing All I Want... cant wait to see the movie, it looks fab Mags http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzNbXjArp2g ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:16:02 -0700 (PDT) From: Monika Bogdanowicz Subject: Re: Questions for musicians I most love playing "Just Like Me" on guitar. It is a great song, fun to play on the guitar and not too complicated. Once you figure out the tunings (which is available online!) and get a handle on the fingering of the chords, I don't think any Joni song is too difficult to play. Some chords are a bit awkward since Joni uses such different structures but once you get it, no worries. No Joni song, or any song for that matter, could make me cry while playing it. I do believe that music is indeed like a catharsis, a release though. After I play a show, I always feel more open and comfortable than I was before. I'm not sure if I can even explain the feeling. Perhaps it is what a devout Christian feels like after going to confession? I'm not even saying every song has to be confessional but every song, after I play it, I get that release. I feel like a load has been lifted. It is strange and something I should ask of other musicians.... Anyhow, I'd love to learn some Joni songs on the piano. My primary instrument is guitar though I love to dabble. I just need to sit down, concentrate, learn it, and stay away from the guitar. The hardest part is staying away long enough from the guitar. - -M ________________________________ From: Barry Swimar To: joni@smoe.org Sent: Fri, July 16, 2010 1:20:30 PM Subject: Questions for musicians Forgive me if this is redundant, but I have some questions for you guitarists out there--replies from pianists, dulcimerists, oboeists, skeptics and zebras also invited: What is your favorite Joni Mitchell song to play? What, in your experience, is the easiest Joni song to play? Which song, while playing it, is most likely to make you cry? Oh, and did I mention how important this list is to me? BG ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:51:34 -0700 From: "Mark" Subject: Re: thirtysomething, paternal firearms This might be a clue as well. It's part of the lyrics to Cohen's song 'Night Comes On' We were fighting in Egypt When they signed this agreement That nobody else had to die There was this terrible sound And my father went down With a terrible wound in his side He said, Try to go on Take my books, *take my gun* Remember, my son, how they lied And the night comes on It's very calm I'd like to pretend that my father was wrong But you don't want to lie, not to the young I'm not sure when this song was written. I think 'Rainy Night House' was written first. Mark in Seattle - -------------------------------------------------- From: "Catherine McKay" Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2010 4:25 AM To: "Walt Breen" ; "Jonilist Digest" Subject: Re: thirtysomething, paternal firearms > It has been discussed, but what the heck. There's always something new to > learn > or a new person's take on it. > > I believe "The Priest" is about Leonard Cohen. The name Cohen means > priest. > > I understand LC's father died when Leonard was quite young and that he > owned a > "substantial" clothing store in Montreal. I'm not sure about the "golden > factories," but I understand LC's family was well-off, although not > immensely > rich, so maybe it's a reference to the factories where the clothing was > made (?) > According to Wikipedia (and it seems like a pretty good and in-depth entry > for > LC at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen, he was left with a trust > income,"sufficient to allow him to pursue his literary ambitions, without > having > to worry about where his rent would come from." > > > > ________________________________ > From: Walt Breen > To: Jonilist Digest > Sent: Sat, July 17, 2010 12:45:48 AM > Subject: Re: thirtysomething, paternal firearms > > My apologies if all this has already been mentioned... > > > Oh, one thing that occurred to me weeks ago when I was off-line, listening > to > Robin and the Mutts' wonderful version of Rainy Night House. I've > wondered > about this over the forty years since I first heard the line, "She went to > Florida/and left you with your father's gun alone": what exactly was > meant? I > mean it's a really funny song all around, and for the most part I've > assumed > some kind of phallic thingy was meant (altho, then, why his *father's* > gun?) > Was she talking about Graham, another boyfriend, someone fictional? Did > one > of her beaux' fathers have golden factories of some kind, or is that a > metaphor, too? I'm sure this has all been hashed out before, but if those > of > y'all in the know wouldn't mind one more go-around... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:53:43 -0600 From: Walt Breen Subject: Re: Questions for musicians (and Hi, Barry) Hi gang, Barry asked >>What is your favorite Joni Mitchell song to play? I'm a keyboardist, sort of, and in the past I liked published versions of her songs that did a good job of transcribing what Joni actually played; quite a few songs from Blue and For the Roses come to mind (Blue, My Old Man, Blond in the Bleachers, Judgement of the Moon and the Stars) Some of the songs in the books to C&S and HoSL are well-transcribed, too. Ah, and the piano part -- all 15 pages of it -- of Paprika Plains in DJRD. In more recent years, I've worked on my own piano arrangements of some songs, like Jericho, The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey, Facelift, and most recently, Moon at the Window, that were primarily transcribed for guitar, as several others here have mentioned doing the reverse. >>What, in your experience, is the easiest Joni song to play? I'm surprised no one has mentioned Circle Game. And as many have mentioned, some songs that are complex in sound are played in very interesting tunings which make them easier to play than they sound. >>Which song, while playing it, is most likely to make you cry? Job's Sad Lament, Cherokee Louise, Beat of Black Wings, and perhaps oddly, perhaps not, all three of her published Christmas-Depression Songs: River, Chinese Cafe, and Facelift, which isn't even really depressing, but when Joni sings: For God's sake! I'm middle aged, Mama, And time moves swift And you know, Happiness is the best Facelift, I fall to pieces. >>Oh, and did I mention how important this list is to me? You are definitely not alone, jmdl-brother!! Best, Walt "Little" Breen Let the walls come tumbling down Let them fall right on the ground Let all the dogs go running free The wild and the gentle dogs Kenneled in me (Joni Mitchell, Jericho, 1974) Visit my websites: www.learninginsights.info and www.booksbywalt.com _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL :en-US:WM_HMP:042010_3 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:17:44 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: Laurel Canyon and other snippets Comments interspersed. Lieve said, >While I hate getting older in terms of wrinkles and brittle bones, my goodness I am so excited by the capacity of the mind to keep learning and understanding a wider and wider field as we get older, because we realise how we are an integral piece of it all in terms of time and space.> "We are a way for the universe to be aware of itself." Dr. Carl Sagan Lieve said, >I hope this makes sense, because I am writing so fast that I am making big leaps with my thoughts.> I'll say. Jim L'Hommedieu ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2010 #213 ***************************** ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe -------