From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2013 #1680 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 Friday, November 22 2013 Volume 2013 : Number 1680 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- RE: onlyJMDL Digest V2013 #459 [Mike B ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 14:21:12 +0000 From: Mike B Subject: RE: onlyJMDL Digest V2013 #459 Re: A Strange Boy A Strange Boy... I've always been mesmerised by that song, since I first discovered Hejira in the late 70s. It was probably the first song on Hejira to really work its magic on me (after my initial panicked WTF, this album all sounds the same! Where are the melodies??). I still think its power is beyond analysis is it a mixture of the hypnotic guitar riff (and that long fade-out), the incredibly rich imagery (every verse and chorus contains an utter gem), the strangely rambling lyrics that somehow connect in a deeper truth?...I've always loved the clearing smoke lines: not knowing that Joni smoked like a chimney, I imagined the smoke was from a metaphorical gun, after the singer fires her Grow up! shot. High noon, but the guys still standing there as the smoke clears... J Then theres the fantastic opening image of the yellow skateboard surfing the traffic (and the initial ambiguity: is this her lover, or just a young passing stranger whos a metaphor for the immature boyfriend?). The light-touch but sobering mention of the Vietnam war. The jaw-droppingly good surf rising/parched ribs of sand lines. The eerieness of the staring dolls down in that cellar, as the sweet piano chords rise... oh god, where to stop! Its a miraculous song, for me definitely one of those where Joni was touched by the hand of God (cocaine-fuelled or not...). If somebody knows of an immature boyfriend song that comes anywhere close to this one for depth, truth and beauty, Id love to hear! Hejira... pure genius.Greetings to all, and thanks for the Kay Ashley cover.Michel I always loved the clearing smoke lines: not knowing that Joni smoked like a chimney, I imagined the smoke was from a gun (metaphorical!), after the singer fires her Grow up! shot. Dual at dawn, cowboy style, but the guys still standing there as the smoke clears... J Then theres the fantastic opening image of the yellow skateboard surfing the traffic (and the initial ambiguity: is this her lover, or just a young passing stranger whos a metaphor for the immature boyfriend?). The light-touch but sobering mention of the Vietnam war. The jaw-droppingly good surf rising/parched ribs of sand lines. The eerieness of the staring dolls down in that cellar, as the sweet piano chords rise... oh god, where to stop! Its a miraculous song, for me definitely one of those where Joni was touched by the hand of God (cocaine-fuelled or not...). If somebody knows of an immature boyfriend song that comes anywhere close to this one for depth, truth and beauty, Id love to hear! Hejira... pure genius. > Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 03:00:03 -0500 > From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org > To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org > Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2013 #459 > > onlyJMDL Digest Friday, November 22 2013 Volume 2013 : Number 459 > > > > ========== > > TOPICS and authors in this Digest: > -------- > RE: A Strange Boy [Bob.Muller@Fluor.com] > Re: A Strange Boy [Anita ] > A Strange Boy [Bob.Muller@Fluor.com] > Re: A Strange Boy [Bob.Muller@Fluor.com] > Re: A Strange Boy [Dave Blackburn ] > Re: A Strange Boy [Anita ] > RE: A Strange Boy ["Susan E. McNamara" ] > Re: Hejira in HD [Jack Merkel ] > Re: A Strange Boy [Dave Blackburn ] > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 13:54:26 -0500 > From: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com > Subject: RE: A Strange Boy > > That's correct, Sue - we have the bootleg of it but it was never released. > She stops at the "we were fire in the stiff blue-haired house rules" part > just to share how good a lyric that is. Our friend Patrice Moerman has a > recording of it up on her website too. > > Bob > > NP: Ani Difranco & Utah Phillips, "The Saw Playing Musician" > > > > > From: "Susan E. McNamara" > To: "Bob.Muller@Fluor.com" , Anita G > , > Cc: joni > Date: 11/21/2013 01:42 PM > Subject: RE: A Strange Boy > > > > Didn't Jane Siberry sing it at the Central Park Tribute? I guess that > never made it on to a CD though ... > > Susan Tierney McNamara > email: sem8@cornell.edu > > > - -----Original Message----- > From: owner-joni@smoe.org [mailto:owner-joni@smoe.org] On Behalf Of > Bob.Muller@Fluor.com > Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2013 1:34 PM > To: Anita G > Cc: joni; Susan E. McNamara > Subject: Re: A Strange Boy > > I remember a really stunning version that Kay Ashley performed> > > Yes, Kay totally kills it, have heard her perform it a number of times. > Sadly, there's only been ONE *released* cover of the song, a 1996 > recording by a bizarre-sounding group called Sisterboy. > > Bob > > NP: Gomez, Rhythm & Blues Alibi" > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to > which it is addressed and may contain proprietary, business-confidential > and/or privileged material. > If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby > notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, > distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this > message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the > sender and delete the material from any computer. > > Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and > may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > The information transmitted is intended only for the person > or entity to which it is addressed and may contain > proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. > If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are > hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, > distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon > this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please > contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. > > Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual > sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:52:02 +0000 > From: Anita > Subject: Re: A Strange Boy > > A Master Chef indeed! Fabulous, > > Anita > > On 21 Nov 2013, at 19:44, Dave Blackburn wrote: > > > No, I just used a wooden spoon and a bowl. > > > > > > On Nov 21, 2013, at 11:40 AM, Anita wrote: > > > >> On 21 Nov 2013, at 19:30, Dave Blackburn wrote: > >> > >>> Herebs Kaybs version again, as recorded for the 2010 fundraiser. I mixed it for her. > >>> > >>> http://tinyurl.com/km3bjj6 > >>> > >> > >> Dave, when you mixed it, did you sample at 192 KHz (more than quadruple the rate of a CD which runs at 44.1kHz) and make it work by simply substituting better written code for the Macs audio engine Core Audio? > >> > >> Anita :-)) > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 10:28:08 -0500 > From: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com > Subject: A Strange Boy > > Over on the JMDL Facebook page, there's a mini-discussion about this song > and I feel compelled to bring it to a wider audience. > > Particularly still basking in the glow of The Mutts wonderful San Diego > Hejira show, this song (like all of the album) has always resonated with > me, and like so many if not all of the songs on the record features one > great line after another. > > Back in the day when I'd make mix tapes for people, I'd typically start > with A Strange Boy, because: > > a) I felt like a strange boy myself > b) It's a brilliant song > c) It's a great Joni deep track that casual fans may never hear > > I remember that the first line that really floored me was his response to > grow up, saying "give me one good reason why". There have been others > since. > > Would like to hear from others about what the songs means to you, what > parts have been significant, etc. > > Bob > > NP: Beth Orton, "Stolen Car" > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > The information transmitted is intended only for the person > or entity to which it is addressed and may contain > proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. > If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are > hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, > distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon > this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please > contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. > > Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual > sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 13:34:21 -0500 > From: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com > Subject: Re: A Strange Boy > > I remember a really stunning version that Kay Ashley performed> > > Yes, Kay totally kills it, have heard her perform it a number of times. > Sadly, there's only been ONE *released* cover of the song, a 1996 > recording by a bizarre-sounding group called Sisterboy. > > Bob > > NP: Gomez, Rhythm & Blues Alibi" > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > The information transmitted is intended only for the person > or entity to which it is addressed and may contain > proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. > If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are > hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, > distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon > this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please > contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. > > Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual > sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:44:39 -0800 > From: Dave Blackburn > Subject: Re: A Strange Boy > > No, I just used a wooden spoon and a bowl. > > > On Nov 21, 2013, at 11:40 AM, Anita wrote: > > > On 21 Nov 2013, at 19:30, Dave Blackburn wrote: > > > >> Herebs Kaybs version again, as recorded for the 2010 fundraiser. I mixed it for her. > >> > >> http://tinyurl.com/km3bjj6 > >> > > > > Dave, when you mixed it, did you sample at 192 KHz (more than quadruple the rate of a CD which runs at 44.1kHz) and make it work by simply substituting better written code for the Macs audio engine Core Audio? > > > > Anita :-)) > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:10:57 +0000 > From: Anita > Subject: Re: A Strange Boy > > Just reading the line "we were fire in the stiff blue-haired house rules" just blows me away in terms of the imagery so carefully conjured. > > Good to hear you remember Kay's version. Joniesque, but with something Kay, too, > Anita > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 16:24:37 +0000 > From: "Susan E. McNamara" > Subject: RE: A Strange Boy > > I just had this idea while I was reading your post, Bob. Just in the way Dylan killed with Just Like A Woman's line "and she breaks just like a little girl," Strange Boy hits me in that place where sometimes we revert to that inner child place in relationships where, either a woman or a man, we have our toddler tantrums and it frustrates love ... (listening to the travelogue version of YDFT this morning "what are you going to let love be? Just a vague flirtation or extra special company.") ... > > Joni writes this song in much the same theme as the rest of Hejira ... the transitory nature of love and life ... what is she getting out of this relationship? "See how that feeling comes and goes, like the pull of moon on tides, now I am surf rising, now parched ribs of sand at his side ..." It ebbs and flows ... he sees the damage in my face ... I gave him power over me ... we were fire in the stiff blue-haired house rules ... (I seen some hot hot blazes, come down to smoke and ash ...) > > Susan Tierney McNamara > email: sem8@cornell.edu > > - -----Original Message----- > From: owner-joni@smoe.org [mailto:owner-joni@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Bob.Muller@Fluor.com > Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2013 10:28 AM > To: joni > Subject: A Strange Boy > > Over on the JMDL Facebook page, there's a mini-discussion about this song and I feel compelled to bring it to a wider audience. > > Particularly still basking in the glow of The Mutts wonderful San Diego Hejira show, this song (like all of the album) has always resonated with me, and like so many if not all of the songs on the record features one great line after another. > > Back in the day when I'd make mix tapes for people, I'd typically start with A Strange Boy, because: > > a) I felt like a strange boy myself > b) It's a brilliant song > c) It's a great Joni deep track that casual fans may never hear > > I remember that the first line that really floored me was his response to grow up, saying "give me one good reason why". There have been others since. > > Would like to hear from others about what the songs means to you, what parts have been significant, etc. > > Bob > > NP: Beth Orton, "Stolen Car" > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. > If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. > > Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. > - ------------------------------------------------------------ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 18:24:55 -0600 > From: Jack Merkel > Subject: Re: Hejira in HD > > I did buy this last night and had some PC problems resulting in some skipping issues with Song For Sharon. Contacted HdTracks and they reflagged my order so I can re-download it tonight. Hopefully it was just an issue with the download and not the actual file on their system. > > I am fortunate enough to have a home system with all the things Dave discussed in his email, so I am able to the sonic improvements. For me, I felt this version really shone on Amelia and Hejira - especially Amelia. The guitars and background vocals are almost hallucinatory, or should I say even more hallucinatory. > > Whenever I do a "serious" listening of this album, I am always amazed at how abstract yet totally cohesive the instrumentation is. Random sounds come out of nowhere, but they all fit perfectly, and every note seems totally essential. As I was listening last night, I couldn't help but wonder if they had any idea at the time that they were creating something so magical. Truly one of greats, lyrically, musically, and now sonically! > > Jack > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Nov 20, 2013, at 10:44 PM, Dave Blackburn wrote: > > > > I think itbs wonderful that great music is being made available in higher quality formats than have been available. > > > > It should be said however that only some of the higher quality will be heard by most people. The transfer of the analog master tape to 96kHz/24 bit is definitely going to sound better (smoother, more open, better soundstage, more depth of field) BUT the playback equipment that many listeners have will not allow those benefits to be heard. If you have D to A converters in your playback system that only go to 48khz then fully half of that resolution canbt be reproduced, and the longer word length of 24 bits over 16 bits only makes a difference in the softest parts of the music like fadeouts and reverb tails. So unless you have an audio interface attached to your computer that has 96 or 192kHz converters and fine studio monitors you wonbt hear the resolution you paid for. If you use an iPod or listen to music in the car you will hear almost none of the improvements, Ibm afraid. Same thing for earbuds, cheap headphones and laptop speakers. The video equivalent is Blu-Ray; y! > ou only see the resolution of the medium when you have a Blu-Ray player. > > > >> On Nov 20, 2013, at 6:54 PM, Jim L'Hommedieu wrote: > >> > >> Yeah, I got an email from them on 11/19 with the announcement. Get 10% of Hejira when you use this discount code: HDBLUE10. > >> > >> I didn't buy "Hejira" last night but I did get a 96/24 edition of "Graceland" and it's worth the money. It's funny- high rez digital is cheaper than premium quality vinyl. I got 15% of "Graceland" with this discount code: HDALLNEW15. > >> > >> Jim > >> > >> Dave B said, > >> Hmmm, that IS enticing. The clips sound very clean and lush. If it was a 5.1 remix Id be really jumping up and down. > >> > >> > >> From: Jack Merkel > >> This must have just been released because I just bought MOA from them three days ago, and there was no Hejira offered at the time. I know what I'm doing tonight! Thanks for the heads up, Les. > >>> lesirvin@gmail.com wrote: > >>> > >>> Hejira in audiophile 192kHz/24bit & 96kHz/24bit: > >>> http://www.hdtracks.com/hejira-147260 > >> > >> --- > >> This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. > >> http://www.avast.com > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 18:31:27 -0800 > From: Dave Blackburn > Subject: Re: A Strange Boy > > We just watched a wonderful Netflix documentary on Chogyam Trungpa called.wait for it.. Crazy Wisdom: The life and times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. > > http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/70247854?strkid=1294164915_0_0&trkid=222336 &movieid=70247854 > > Having just watched it it seems entirely plausible that Joni conflated her time with him to her time with the strange boy. "He asked me to be patient, well I failed could totally be something she experienced with the Buddhist master, as could his crazy wisdom holding on to something wild of course. > > There is lots of 60s and 70s footage though no mention of Joni. Highly recommended for us Hejira scholars. > > Dave > > > > On Nov 21, 2013, at 7:28 AM, Bob.Muller@Fluor.com wrote: > > > Over on the JMDL Facebook page, there's a mini-discussion about this song > > and I feel compelled to bring it to a wider audience. > > > > Particularly still basking in the glow of The Mutts wonderful San Diego > > Hejira show, this song (like all of the album) has always resonated with > > me, and like so many if not all of the songs on the record features one > > great line after another. > > > > Back in the day when I'd make mix tapes for people, I'd typically start > > with A Strange Boy, because: > > > > a) I felt like a strange boy myself > > b) It's a brilliant song > > c) It's a great Joni deep track that casual fans may never hear > > > > I remember that the first line that really floored me was his response to > > grow up, saying "give me one good reason why". There have been others > > since. > > > > Would like to hear from others about what the songs means to you, what > > parts have been significant, etc. > > > > Bob > > > > NP: Beth Orton, "Stolen Car" > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > > The information transmitted is intended only for the person > > or entity to which it is addressed and may contain > > proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. > > If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are > > hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, > > distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon > > this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please > > contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. > > > > Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual > > sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > > ------------------------------ > > End of onlyJMDL Digest V2013 #459 > ********************************* > > ------- > Post messages to the list by clicking here:mailto:joni@smoe.org > Unsubscribe by clicking here: > mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2013 #1680 ****************************** ------- To post messages to the list, sendtojoni@smoe.org. Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe -------