From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V1 #18 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk onlyJMDL Digest Wednesday, April 21 1999 Volume 01 : Number 018 Join the Joni Mitchell Internet Community Glossary project. Send a blank message to for all the details. ------- The Official Joni Mitchell Homepage is maintained by Wally Breese at http://www.jonimitchell.com and contains the latest news, a detailed bio, original interviews and essays, lyrics, and much more. ------- The JMDL website can be found at http://www.jmdl.com and contains interviews, articles, the member gallery, archives, and much more. ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: Painting with words... [M.Russell@iaea.org] Re: Court & Spark [M.Russell@iaea.org] Re: Jazz Takes On..>A review [Dflahm@aol.com] TTT songbook, clicking noises on Blue [Howard Wright ] Joni's fingernails [Howard Wright ] Re[2]: Court & Spark as a song cycle (Long & Twisted) ["P. Henry" ] Re[4]: Court & Spark as a song cycle (Long & Twisted) [Bob.Muller@fluorda] Painting With Words And Music [simon@icu.com] Bootleg of MSG? (Not!) [simon@icu.com] Aloha from Eric Taylor [simon@icu.com] PWWAM Taping (Full Track Listing) [simon@icu.com] the JMDL TapeTree FAQ [simon@icu.com] Re: Jazz Takes On..>A review [Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com] Re: Aloha from Eric Taylor ["Jerry Notaro" ] Re: Bootleg of MSG? (Not!) ["Don Rowe" ] Re: C&S [Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com] Re[4]: Court & Spark [Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com] Re[2]: Court & Spark [Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com] Blue, Redux ["Gerald Notaro (LIB)" ] Joni & Jackson Browne (i'm Not To Blame) [simon@icu.com] Re: Bootleg of MSG? (Not!) [simon@icu.com] Re[3]: Court & Spark as a song cycle (Long & Twisted) [Bob.Muller@fluorda] Trouble Child - Crosby? [Howard Wright ] Re: colorado--little jc [Debra Kaufman ] RE: Peaks and valleys (SJC) [mwyarbro@zzapp.org] RE: Re: Re[2]: Court & Spark [mwyarbro@zzapp.org] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 09:01:43 +0200 From: M.Russell@iaea.org Subject: Re: Painting with words... paul tyrer wrote: > > ...I hated PwWaM. I watched this video for the first time the night before last and I really enjoyed it very much! I smiled so many times during the 99 minutes. I loved the shots of Joni's canvases, loved seeing Pearl and WallyB, loved the close-up shots of Joni's guitar playing, and most of all, I loved Joni's singing. I think her voice is more expressive than ever before. But even if I found the video disappointing, I could never take it back to the store - that seems rather mean and I think you should do penance for your transgression! Marian Vienna ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 09:26:07 +0200 From: M.Russell@iaea.org Subject: Re: Court & Spark In a message dated 4/20/1999 4:07:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time, dskARTS@concentric.net writes: << I never thought this was about Joni. I picture her visiting << someone in a psychiatric hospital who's medicated and << maybe even in restraints. I always thought that Trouble Child was a song for a rebellious adolescent - maybe a message for Kilauren. The song mirrors how this child feels. It doesn't give any answers. Twisted lightens the mood - makes craziness seem funny. Marian Vienna ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 04:24:58 EDT From: Dflahm@aol.com Subject: Re: Jazz Takes On..>A review Bullseye, Michael. The vibes lead on "...Sharon" is the "keep my cool" chorus. As I think I said before, your reaction is exactly what I foresaw as a possibility when I began seriously thinking about doing this quite a few years back. Your generous and expansive expression of it is very gratifying. Ciao for now. LAHM ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 10:35:26 +0100 (BST) From: Howard Wright Subject: TTT songbook, clicking noises on Blue From: CaTGirl627@aol.com >Does anybody know if a songbook >came out for TTT? I called around but I don't think this has happened. The last I heard, the TTT songbook was due out in the shop on April 23rd, so not long to wait! Having said that, it has been delayed many many times already. I'm hoping that it really will be out soon! It will be in pretty much the same format as the last few songbooks - music arranged for vocal line and piano, with guitar chords above. The right tunings are included - only Man From Mars and Here's to You are arranged for standard tuning. The book will also (I hope) have some technique tips, giving a little info on picking style etc for the songs. >I was listening to Blue on my CD player in the car. When *Last time I >saw Richard* came on a noticed some clicking noise in the piano intro. Boy, >was I mad. I mean I spend more money on this Cd then the original and yet it >had noise on it?!?!? Well, when I got home I listened to it again on >my sterio..it was still there. I then pulled out my other CD, and it was still >there. Then I pulled out my Jap. import, and guess what?.. it was still >there. Apparently the original master tapes had some backround noise on >them. I'm pretty sure these clicking noises are Joni's nails hitting the piano keys. I've noticed this sound on a couple of the Blue songs before, and on some other albums as well I think. So it will be on all the Blue CDs - HDCD, Gold or whatever. Howard ******************************************************* Howard.Wright@ed.ac.uk Well it's a cold bowl of chilli When love lets you down Neil Young ******************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 10:51:51 +0100 (BST) From: Howard Wright Subject: Joni's fingernails From: CarltonCT@aol.com >Anyway, had a question for all the guitarist's in the group. What are >your fingernails like? I keep mine very short, but noticed Joni's are >long, as are most women's. Are the ones on her left hand shorter so she >can press down on the frets? Does she leave the ones on right hand >longer so she can pluck the strings ? To answer the last two questions: yes and yes! The left hand nails (or perhaps I should say fretting-hand nails) have to be reasonably short, otherwise fretting chords becomes awkward. But the right-hand (plucking hand) nails have to be pretty long to get an authentic Joni sound. The times I have seen close-up shots of Joni's right hand, her nails look pretty damn long! This is something I've realised with time ... I've been playing Joni stuff on the guitar for a long time, but it's only in the last 3 years or so that I realised that having decent length nails makes quite a big difference to the sound of the guitar. The sound you get from nail-on-string is quite a bit stronger and richer than the sound of flesh-on-string. The percussive "clicks" and slaps Joni throws in also work better with long nails. I would urge all Joni-guitarists to grow their nails a little! Howard ******************************************************* Howard.Wright@ed.ac.uk Well it's a cold bowl of chilli When love lets you down Neil Young ******************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 21:31:31 -0800 From: "P. Henry" Subject: Re[2]: Court & Spark as a song cycle (Long & Twisted) Bob said: >Hoping this discussion isn't ending but only beginning,> not that I necessarily want to interrupt this C&S-Hejira connection... (as we venture deeper and deeper) but, btw, keying off marcel's thought of C&S as a 'cap', am I the only one who thinks that perhaps PP belongs on HOSL??? (maybe? probably?) just curious... pat NP: Just Like This Train http://members.wbs.net/homepages/b/a/d/badwolff/badwolff.html Angelfire for your free web-based e-mail. http://www.angelfire.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 07:35:51 -0500 From: James Leahy Subject: Painting Sound Quality When PwWaM was shown on the CBC last November, the same problem with the sound was evident: Joni's voice was practically inaudible on certain songs (Amelia being the most aggravating example). I, too, was less than pleased with this concert. I've heard better live versions of most of these songs in other venues. While Joni certainly was more relaxed than I've ever seen her, perhaps this relaxation diminished the intensity of her singing. Jim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:11:00 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Subject: Re[4]: Court & Spark as a song cycle (Long & Twisted) Catgirl quotes me: ***In a message dated 4/20/1999 9:49:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com writes: << And while I know the Geffen connection here, I think we can shortchange ourself by saying "OK, I know what this song's about, on to the next one". I admit it's the weakest link in the song cycle, though..I'd love to hear what other folks think about the placement of Free Man on the record...*** And responds with: **NoWAY!!!! I love that song. It is one of the few I play off of the album.. It is so much fun!** To which I respond: Cat, my statement was in reference to FMIP as the weakest link in the SONG CYCLE concept of C&S, I didn't mean to infer that there's anything weak about the song itself...my comments were about the song SEQUENCING... Bob ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:39:04 -0800 From: simon@icu.com Subject: Painting With Words And Music Don Rowe recently commented ... >__________________________________________________________________________ >Having reviewed the recent discussions of PWWAM, there are just a couple >of things I'd like to point out. First of all, I've played my copy >three or four times, and find the sound wanting. Hi-Fi VHS is pretty >darned good, as tape goes, so I don't think this is a format issue. But >this begs my first question ... are we talking about the DVD issue as >well? I'll stay out of that corner, since I'm still in 'wait and see' >mode on the whole DVD marketing blitz. > >So that being said, what I do know is that all VCRs are not created equal >... and this is even more true when you start talking about audio >playback. >Only at the highest end do you get audio playback that even >approaches the >quality of the video. So it is quite likely that many are >actually NOT >HEARING the entire audio track on their tapes. And if you're listening >on just your TV speakers ... well I'm no audiophile, but what are you >>expecting? >__________________________________________________________________________ Don is absolutely! correct here. VHS Hi-Fi (or Beta) is an excellent Audio format producing recordings that are certainly better than a non-dolby cassette recording. in fact, the audio-quality approaches the level of DAT recordings. However the quality of *your* playback does depend on the quality of the VCR being used as well as the rest of your stereo system. as far as PWWAM is concerned ... both the Digital and Analog soundtracks on the (12") LaserDisc are 1st rate with a wide soundstage, imaging that projects the musicians *into* the room, and a rich supple sound thats pleasant and natural sounding. i find no fault with the audio quality of the VHS Hi-Fi edition. i have no observations or opinions on the DVD edition. i'm waiting on further developements before purchasing a DVD player. BTW: the credits state, Music Mixed by Joni Mitchell. i assume SHE is satisfied with the results. for now ~ take care, - ------- simon - ------- * Remember, there's a difference between kneeling down and bending over -- FZ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:41:16 -0800 From: simon@icu.com Subject: Bootleg of MSG? (Not!) re: 'Painting With Words And Music' Don Rowe also commented ... >__________________________________________________________________________ >It seems far more attention was paid to video editing, smoothing and >enhancement -- which so far, no one's complained about! The audio >shortcomings, at least the ones I hear, seem a product of engineering, >mixing and mastering decisions -- as opposed to any deteriorating of >Joni's voice or her band's playing. > >I say this for a couple of reasons. First off, the recent concert tour. >If Joni's lost her voice, she sure got it back in a hell of a hurry. >Some can, and will carp about the 30+ years of smoking, but if it's really >done that much damage, you sure couldn't tell at the United Center in >Chicago -- or the recent bootleg of Madison Square Garden that Bob Muller >was so kind as to copy for me. Voices don't just "come back" like that >-- unlike video sound, which can be manipulated as easily as the text of >this rambling missive of mine. >Thanks for putting up with it! > >Don Rowe >__________________________________________________________________________ Don, i really don't hear any audio shortcomings. perhaps some just don't care for the 'concert' sound of the Parker Fly/VG-8 combination Joni uses these days. but i want to make another point. Bootleg, as used today, is a term that refers to an Illegally produced LP or CD sold *for profit*. an LP or CD $old with all Profit$ going to the Bootlegger$. no royalties are paid to the performer, songwriter or publisher. you have a cassette copy of a DAT 'Concert' recording circulated freely and *not* sold for personal profit. here on the JMDL we believe in sharing this music on a non-profit basis, thru privates trades as well as the JMDL TapeTreeS. the only cost involved is your cost for blanks 'n' postage. after returning home from the MSG concert last november i immediately began dubbing off copies of the recording I'd made. 10-copies were mailed out on tuesday evening to various friends and list members. additional copies were sent later in the week. the tape seems to have circulated widely since then. i like that. i hope everyone likes the music. Bob Muller writes ... >__________________________________________________________________________ >Don mentions: > >>or the recent bootleg of Madison Square Garden that Bob Muller was >>so kind as to copy for me. > >Only passing on the kindness of the 'Branch' that provided it to me ... >I will add that Don made and sent me a great J-card for the tape with a >color photo & everything. I'm assuming this show will be a part of TT#8? >It's significant as it contains a live version of DJRD ... > >Bob >__________________________________________________________________________ No this show isn't included on TapeTree #8. However, you *won't* be disappointed. full details will be posted later tonight or sometime tomorrow (4-22-98). for now ~ take care, - ------- simon - ------- * Remember, if you don't stand for something ... you'll go for anything. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:42:59 -0800 From: simon@icu.com Subject: Aloha from Eric Taylor Eric Taylor >__________________________________________________________________________ >Aloha means many things: hello, goodbye, love ... I use it now to say >goodbye. The JMDL has meant a lot to me my first year online. I've met >many wonderful people and have had fun reading and writing posts. I've >also learned a great deal about Joni, her fans, and netiquette. I feel >that I've said all I can say on the subject and lately think my passion >has caused too many flaps. The last thing I want to do is turn off newbies >with my blunt opinionation. Some days I anguish over things that I've >posted (and today is one of those days). I don't know what causes me to >get so fired up over subjects like Joni's "lost" voice or political >correctness. Whatever it is I need to avoid it for a while. > >I will miss you guys & gals! & when Joni releases her next CD you will >definately be hearing from me! > >Aloha, E.T. >__________________________________________________________________________ hey Eric, don't be driven away by the rude few. please stay. you're as much a part of what goes on here as anyone else. for now ~ take care, - ------- simon - ------- PS: two letters from children. DEAR GOD, thank-you for the baby brother, but what i asked you for was a puppy. (from a 7-yr.old) DEAR GOD, i'm doing the best i can! (from a 6-yr.old) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:42:31 -0800 From: simon@icu.com Subject: PWWAM Taping (Full Track Listing) Kakki writes ... >__________________________________________________________________________ >Re: Painting With Words And Music > >What you see on the video is not what happened in real time. The video >contains snips all over the place from both nights of the taping, pieced >in an order that rarely coincides with the sequence in which it actually >took place. Maybe the editing was not superior. Joni herself re-edited >the tape after being displeased with the way it was originally edited. >I've heard she did wonders with it compared to its original incarnation. >But I have not noticed too much choppiness - probably because when I view >it all I think of is the magic of it all and also because I know TV shows >are always edited and don't follow a straight, unbroken line. >__________________________________________________________________________ as is usually the case my good friend Kakki is correct here. the recent VHS/DVD/LD release 'Painting With Words And Music' was taped during two 3-4 hour sessions on two evenings last may (1998). here's the track listing for the two concerts (in chronoligical order). i'm still waiting for a reply from Eagle Rock Entertainment regarding which songs (on the Video release) are from which evening. i'll post it here when i have the information. for now ~ take care, - ------- simon - ------- JONI MITCHELL Warner Brothers Studios (Stage 22) Burbank, Ca. may 29, 1998 1. Night Ride Home 2. The Crazy Cries Of Love 3. Love Puts On A New Face (false start) 4. Love Puts On A New Face (incomplete take) 5. Love Puts On A New Face 6. Harry's House 7. Slouching Towards Bethlehem 8. Just Like This Train 9. Black Crow 10. Amelia 11. Hejira 12. Refuge Of The Roads 13. Facelift 14. Sex Kills 15. The Magdalene Laundries 16. Moon at the Window (false start) 17. Moon at the Window 18. The Three Great Stimulants 19. Big Yellow Taxi 20. Woodstock 21. Comes Love 22. Why Do Fools Fall In Love 23. Why Do Fools Fall In Love 24. Trouble Man 25. Song For Sharon JONI MITCHELL Warner Brothers Studios (Stage 22) Burbank, Ca. may 30, 1998 1. Big Yellow Taxi 2. Comes Love 3. Why Do Fools Fall in Love 4. Why Do Fools Fall in Love 5. Trouble Man 6. Trouble Man (incomplete) 7. Trouble Man (false start) 8. Trouble Man 9. Night Ride Home (incomplete) 10. Night Ride Home 11. The Crazy Cries Of Love 12. Harry's House 13. Slouching Towards Bethlehem 14. Just Like This Train (false start) 15. Just Like This Train 16. Black Crow 17. Amelia 18. Hejira 19. Refuge Of The Roads (incomplete) 20. Refuge Of The Roads 21. Facelift 22. Sex Kills 23. The Magdalene Laundries 24. Moon At The Window 25. The Three Great Stimulants 26. Woodstock _______________ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:44:29 -0800 From: simon@icu.com Subject: the JMDL TapeTree FAQ Coming Soon! To the JMDL Community ~ TapeTree #8, for YOUR enjoyment. but first for the benefit of our new members, the TapeTree FAQ. take care, - ------- simon - ------- TapeTree 101 My thanks & apologies to Randy Schechter and David Lybrand from the Neil Young List for the text of this document. ___________________________________________________________________________ MOTIVATION A little propaganda as to the motivation for running trees ... First and foremost it is to share with others quality Joni Mitchell music that others have been lucky enough to obtain. Trees also serve the purpose of helping new tape collectors to get their collections going. People who are new to tape collecting (or to Joni Mitchell's music) are welcome and encouraged to sign up for the tape trees. Another motivation for running trees is to try to discourage people from feeling the need to partake of the large commerical bootleg market out there. Commercial bootleg producers are largely seen to be disrespectful of an artist's rights by cashing in on the artist's music without any consideration for the artist. ___________________________________________________________________________ The TREE SEED The first step in the Tree process is finding the seed tape. A seed tape is the tape that will ultimately be used to make everyone's copy. These days recording equipment has gotten so small that almost every show gets taped one way or another. So it's important to seek out a tape worthy to seed the tree. The qualities that are important for a seed tape is that the sound quality be very good to excellent - or that the tape be of a critical event - regardless of quality. The sound quality for tapes degrades with each generation as hiss is introduced in the copying process (This is only true for analog tapes - DAT tapes do not suffer from that kind of degradation). So if we start off with a poor sounding seed tape, the leaf tapes (see below) will be unlistenable. Basically, the standards one uses to decide if a seed tape is "tree worthy" are subjective. They might therefore be lower if the seed is from an older show, or a show where no other copy exists - especially if the particular show includes a "rarity" of some kind. ___________________________________________________________________________ BRANCHES and LEAVES Once the seed is in hand, the next step is to select the branch leaders. The branch leaders are the folks who volunteer to spin 3 or 4 (up to 10!) copies of the show for the "Leaves", as in this inverted tree structure: Seed Tape | +----------+------------+----------+----------+ | | | | | Branch Branch Branch Branch Branch | | | | | | | +---------+----------+ | | | Leaf Leaf Leaf ___________________________________________________________________________ BRANCH LEADER SELECTION It would be nice if a tree only required the tree administator to make branch copies and the branch leaders make the leaf copies. However in practice there's more to it, since the tree administrator has to select the branch leaders. The criteria for branch leader selection is most heavily dependent on the quality of the dubbing equipment. In the best of worlds, all branch leaders would have two top of the line single decks (as opposed to dubbing decks) with 3 heads in the tape transports. This would ensure the best copies for everyone. In practice this is not likely, since most of us are not wealthy. Thus the tree administrator tries to ensure that the branch leaders have at least fairly good recording equipment. Another factor for branch leader selection that sometimes is used is to consider the track record of the branch volunteer in previous trees/trades. Ideally, again, we choose people who take the responsibility of being a branch leader seriously over those who have repeatedly caused delays. There are two ways the a tree gets going: The first is to find the seed, spin the branch tapes, open up the tree to everyone for sign-up, and THEN select the branch leaders from the general sign-up population. Another method is to have a separate call for branch leader volunteers BEFORE the tree is opened up for leaf sign-up. This makes the administration a bit easier, and in some cases gives the branch leaders a little breathing room because they can get their copies before the full tree structure gets posted. ___________________________________________________________________________ DISTRIBUTING BRANCH TAPES Once the branch leaders are chosen, the tree administator makes arrangements to send the branch tapes to the branch leaders. This can be accomplished by either arranging a tape trade for the branch tapes, sending blanks plus return postage, or in some cases sending cash ONLY for the price of the blank tapes and postage. The practice of sending "double blanks" for TreeTapes is not allowed! If you are asked to 'PAY' in any way for the music - please blow the whistle on the culprit. You should be willing to make your fellow Joni fans a copy of the show for just the blanks it would take to make the copy, plus return postage. Not everyone agrees with this practice but it will true for all Trees "sanctioned" by the Joni list. _________________________________________________________________________ GATHERING LEAVES Now that the branch leaders have their tapes, the next step is to open the tree for general sign-up. Trees are run in a spirit of international cooperation, so it may be necessary to have branches in Canada, Europe, Australia and elsewhere. The branch leaders from each nation take care of the leaves from their particular regions, where possible, to simplify mailing and currency transactions (where necessary). However sometimes there will be a fan from another nation on a branch. The tree administrator should get the okay from the branch leader before assigning such leaves to them, though. The tree is generally open for sign-up for 2-4 weeks. After the sign-up is closed, the tree structure is designed and then posted to the list. ___________________________________________________________________________ The BRANCH - LEAF Connection Note: Leaves are responsible for contacting their branch leader to make arrangements for obtaining their tapes! If you, the leaf, have something to trade for your tape(s) then by all means set up a trade. If you have nothing to trade, just send blanks and return postage. After all, one of the motives for running trees is to help beginners get started. Note that it's not cool to trade for blanks just to save yourself some trouble. If you've got trade material, take the effort to make a trade with the branch leader - after all, that branch leader's got a lot more work to do than you do, so help to make him or her happy (so that they will do it again and again and keep the trees going!) Branch leaders and leaves should arrange recording criteria (i.e. Dolby) amongst themselves. Sometimes the tree administrator will arrange to have certain branches that are "Dolby only" or "No-Dolby only". But generally the Branch leader gets a Dolby-B tape unless special arrangements are made. ___________________________________________________________________________ DISTRIBUTING LEAF TAPES If you have set up a trade with your branch leader, this part is easy. Just mail your trade tape to the branch leader and then they will mail you the Tree tape. If you are trading for blanks, send the blank tapes in a padded envelope (suitable for sending your tape back to you) and enough postage to cover the cost of mailing the tape back to you. That's generally about $1.00-$1.25, for a single tape (in the US). Please include your name, address, and email address with any blank tape you send, along with a note specifying what tree the blank tape is for. Since tree administrators and branch leaders have several trees/trades going on at once, this is very important! ___________________________________________________________________________ PET PEEVES * Branch leaders who don't take their responsibilities seriously. Don't volunteer to be a branch leader if you're not going to have the time to make the copies you VOLUNTEERED for. * Leaves that disappear. Please don't sign up for the tree if you're not serious about wanting a copy. Sure, legitimate reasons arise that can cause you to be unable to fulfill your committments. If this is the case, you should contact the involved parties to alert them. * Lack of feedback from leaves. If you have trouble arranging to get your tapes from your branch leader, or if you think your copy sounds like crap, please inform the tree administrator. On the other hand, please make a good faith effort to resolve your difficulties with your branch leader. * Lack of Return Postage when trading blanks. Lots of folks forget this! ___________________________________________________________________________ CAVEATS * If you know you are going to be away in the next few weeks after tree sign-up, (e.g., for Spring Break, vacation, etc.) please let your branch leader (or your leaves, if YOU are a branch leader) know. If necessary, let the tree administrator know. Inevitably some people just up and disappear after they sign up for a tree. * Important! Leaves are responsible for contacting their branch leader to arrange to get their tapes! ___________________________________________________________________________ End of FAQ. One Final Point Leaves, Please Note Re: Blanks 'n Postage Although it may be easier for YOU to send your Branch a money order to cover the *costs* of your copies, it is *not* necessarily easiest for your Branch. Remember this means the Branch has to buy cassettes, mailer, address a package, and take it to the post office. All this is in addition dubbing up to 5-Sets of Tapes. The fairest method is for YOU to purchase your own cassettes. Enclose your cassettes in a padded envelope. This envelope should be *self-addressed* *with* postage. This self-addressed, padded envelope w/Your cassettes can then be placed in a slighly larger envelope and mailed off to your Branch, who can now just drop your package in a mailbox once your copies are dubbed. Clean and Simple. In the end though, work it out with your BranchLeader. There are some really nice folks here on the JMDL and they will be happy to work with you and ensure that you receive your copies as quickly as possible. That's about all for now folks. I DO hope that everyone enjoys this group of recordings. I'm sure you will. There's some truly wonderful music included this time. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:44:20 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Subject: Re: Jazz Takes On..>A review Michael adjuticates: >> While I do not consider myself a "music critic" or "writer" by any stretch of the imagination, I wanted to submit a review of this record because of my heartfelt feelings for the music.>> Michael, thanks for the detailed review...my copy's either still on backorder or on it's way to me. And wouldn't it be nice if ALL reviews were written by folks with heartfelt feelings for the music. Remember, "Professional" means their paid, "Amateur" (Root "Amor") means it's done out of love. I'd rather read an amateur record review anyday!! Bob, my heart reaching out to those in Denver... NP: Guided by Voices, "striped white jets" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 09:29:29 -0400 From: "Jerry Notaro" Subject: Re: Aloha from Eric Taylor Would hate to see you go Eric. Oh won't you sta-a-a-a-ay, just a little bit lo-o-o-o-nger..... Do I sound like Jackson Browne? I knew I'd get Joni content somewhere! Jerry np: Gold Blue ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 07:06:00 PDT From: "Don Rowe" Subject: Re: Bootleg of MSG? (Not!) Dear Simion ... So sorry. I guess my age is showing, as I used the term "bootleg" to refer loosely to "any unauthorized recording" ... it was never my intention to imply that you, or anyone else on the jmdl would ever consider profiteering on joni material of any kind. So would something like "shareware" be a little more PC? ;-) Don Rowe _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 10:04:53 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Subject: Re: C&S Evian pondered: <> Me too bro, and that's why I'm yakkin' it up now! :~) <<(I refuse to call him "the Artist"... just simply annoys the hell outta me to do so)>> Funny you bring that up, my son & I were going to baseball practice last night and 'My Computer' by that guy was playing, and my son asked me "Dad, what's he gonna be next...The Artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince"? I said "Whatever, but I'll still call him Prince!" :~) <> Yes it is, and our lady of duality counters the catchy tune with one of her most poignant lyrics, "He makes friends easy, he's not like me..." Bob NP: AC/DC, "Shake A Leg" (need to put that C&S back in...) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 10:30:33 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Subject: Re[4]: Court & Spark Mark makes his Mark with: < Could the title 'Court and Spark' be translated to 'Love and Madness'?>> Absolutely Mark, but then if she had called it that, or translated it FOR us, we wouldn't have all this fun figuring it out, would we? :~) We have to personalize it and figure it out for ourselves...let's all click our heels three times & say "There's no one like Joni..." :~D And it's funny how the album is so pretty in places and so fun in places and so "get-up-and-dance-rockin'" in places yet taken as a whole is a very serious work about some REALLY HEAVY issues, a lot like WTRF (but I'll table that discussion for now). And Kakki, I love that you're a "word nerd", me too...and looking at the words "Court and Spark", they both conjure up some of the same things - what do sparks start? Fires, as in flames, as in old flames, hunka hunka burnin' love, etc...also how the "courting" experience sets off the same fires. "We were newly lovers then, we were "fire" in the stiff blue-haired house rules"... Bob NP: People's Parties ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 10:42:15 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Subject: Re[2]: Court & Spark Marian says: <<>> This almost holds true, except for the line "Where is the lion in you to defy *HIM* when you're this weak and this spacey". I think if it was a troubled adolescent, the sterilized room becomes a child's bedroom etc, all the images work but it would be *THEM* and not *HIM*. Sounds like I'm splitting hairs but I think it's significant... Bob ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 11:02:51 -0400 (EDT) From: "Gerald Notaro (LIB)" Subject: Blue, Redux This is my fifth incarnation of Blue. While not as enthusiastic as Kakki (no one is now that Marsha is gone :), I'll agree with Wally B. that is is excellent and well worth buying. The note deliveries of both Joni's voice and the instruments are a revelation. And the clarity of her lyrics are superior to any other version I've listened to. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 10:58:35 -0800 From: simon@icu.com Subject: Joni & Jackson Browne (i'm Not To Blame) CaTGirl627@aol.com wonders ... >__________________________________________________________________ >Do you actually think Joni would ever tour with Jackson Browne or >visa-versa? I don't know if there is a feud going on but I kinda >thought there was. > >Catgirl ... the story hit the news from coast to coast ... >__________________________________________________________________ No, this ain't gonna happen. as for the (so-called) feud? ... there is no feud between Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne. the feud is between Jackson Browne and the Truth. the feud is between Jackson Browne's public persona and private behavior. Joni has *never* commented publically about Jackson Browne and his connection (as inspiration) to the song "Not To Blame". however make no mistake about this, the song *is* Jackson. his own whiny, pathetic public complaints and denial only confirm that *he himself* sees the connection. check out the following from the Jackson Browne FAQ. __________________________________________________________ FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for Jackson Browne Fans Version 4.7.5 V4.0 January 1, 1998 (V1.0 July 18, 1995) Website URL: __________________________________________________________ 2.6 THE TOP 10 MOST ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT JACKSON BROWNE 10. Did Jackson Browne really beat up Darryl Hannah? (Also known as "the question that won't go away".) Answer: NO. Both Jackson and Darryl have denied those old tabloid reports at one time or another. The fact is that Jackson telephoned the police that night. The details of that infamous night will never be known by anyone except for the two parties involved. Jackson is a very private individual and we should all respect his desire for privacy. Whatever really happened that night is none of our business. To those that are stuck for an answer when someone raises the question, I usually respond with a statement about not believing what you read in the tabloids and being amazed how otherwise intelligent people can believe the kind of trash they read there. This whole issue was raised again with respect to questions about Joni Mitchell's song "Not To Blame" from her 1994 album TURBULENT INDIGO, which not only accused Jackson of beating up Darryl Hannah but implies that he drove his first wife to suicide. Jackson's public response was that Joni hasn't been very well and has lots of problems. The fact that she wrote such a song should make that fairly obvious. ___________________________________________________________________________ well, isn't that special? 1. this wasn't just some tabloid story. as CaTGirl points out, "the story hit the news from coast-to-coast". i remember reports on 'Entertainment Tonight' as well as stories in the NY Times, the Boston Globe and other newspapers. 2. the only time i saw/heard Darryl Hannah asked about the incident(s), her answer was a very terse "No Comment!" 3. Jackson Brown and JFK Jr. almost came to blows once over his treatment of Darryl Hannah. this was also widely reported. if Jackson Browne really wants to deny all this, so be it. but that's no reason for his insulting, condescending comments about Joni Mitchell. a joint Tour? not likely. for now ~ take care, - -------- simon - -------- * Remember, if you don't stand for something ... you'll go for anything ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 11:01:04 -0800 From: simon@icu.com Subject: Re: Bootleg of MSG? (Not!) Don Rowe replies ... >__________________________________________________________________________ >Dear simon ... > >So sorry. I guess my age is showing, as I used the term "bootleg" to >refer loosely to "any unauthorized recording" ... it was never my intention >to imply that you, or anyone else on the jmdl would ever consider >profiteering on joni material of any kind. So would something like >"shareware" be a little more PC? ;-) > >Don Rowe >__________________________________________________________________________ hey Don, no problem here. i often see the word Bootleg used rather 'loosely' in cases where it doesn't apply. it's not a case of PC either, just using the appropriate word. Concert Recordings (ie: tapes), Radio Broadcasts (ie: airchecks) or PROMO recordings are all more accurate descriptions. for now ~ take care, - ------- simon - ------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 11:02:32 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Subject: Re[3]: Court & Spark as a song cycle (Long & Twisted) Pat asked: <> I would say "belongs" is a little strong, it would certainly fit on HOSL as another empty unfulfilling suburban moment, but it fits just as nicely on C&S as a condemnation of a typical phony-baloney celebrity party. Besides, it it got bumped to HOSL, then Jungle Line gets bumped to DJRD, and then lots of folks are upset! :~) Bob NP: FMIParis ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 16:31:17 +0100 (BST) From: Howard Wright Subject: Trouble Child - Crosby? In a message dated 4/20/1999 (AD) 4:07:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time, dskARTS@concentric.net writes: << I never thought this was about Joni. I picture her visiting << someone in a psychiatric hospital who's medicated and << maybe even in restraints. Marian wrote: >I always thought that Trouble Child was a song for a rebellious >adolescent - maybe a message for Kilauren. I have always had a strong feeling that Trouble Child was written, at least in part, about David Crosby. He ran in to all sorts of problems during the 70s and 80s - I think he has had several periods where he was confined to a psychiatric hospital. Crosby is a Leo - hence "Where is the lion in you to defy him?" The "Dragon shining with all values known" is most likely a drug reference. Crosby certainly had more than his fair share of drug problems. There are also quite a few sea and sailing references ("breaking like the waves at Malibu", "Only a river of changing fortunes looking for an ocean"). Crosby was a keen sailor who had his own boat, so this could fit him too. Howard ******************************************************* Howard.Wright@ed.ac.uk Well it's a cold bowl of chilli When love lets you down Neil Young ******************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 12:01:23 -0500 From: Debra Kaufman Subject: Re: colorado--little jc >There is a clear and obvious answer to this: >It is the gun culture being an inherent element of your society. You >must ban guns in order to stop this. The easy availability of guns means >that every existential crisis (not only among adolescents) has the >potential of turning into a deadly tragedy. Winfried, I couldn't agree more. The sadness I feel is mixed with such fury about US culture. Violence has always been part of our ethos, unfortunately; our country was built on it. Yet it's been in the last few years that we've had these horrible gun incidents, mass killings, and in the last year or so so many in the schools. Get rid of these guns, assault rifles, automatics, handguns, etc. It's that simple. If as a society we can make bartenders responsible for selling drink to an obviously drunk person who then drives away and kills someone in an accident, or make cigarette companies liable for lung/heart disease that kills, why not make the gun companies who manufacture these kinds of weapons liable. That is the next movement we'll see in the courts (we're beginning to already). We have to do something. I urge all of us in the US to write to members of Congress, the President, etc.--to legislate some kind of action dealing with guns. If the Brady Bill can pass when Reagan was President, surely we can get the momentum going for this. Yes, the National Rifle Association if incredibly dangerously powerful, but everyone said you could't fight the tobacco companies too, and look what happened. There's much more than this, of course--our kids see violent movies and tv shows and play stupid bloody video games with killing. That violence is glorified and made unreal or surreal is also something we must address. But first things first. Take the guns away. We could have public meltdowns: Turn the metal into jewelry or cooking pots or some other constructive use. The little Joni content: I couldn't bear to hear the radio news story this morning about the incident, so I popped in the tape that was halfway in the player. What came on: "Slouching Towards Bethlehem." The words so appropriate as they were when Yeats wrote them at the turn of the century. "A blood-dimmed tide is loosed upon the world... The center cannot hold... Innocence is drowned in anarchy. The best lack conviction and the worst are full of passion without mercy... Surely some revelation is at hand." It made me cry. We have to turn our distress, grief, anger into action or else what good are we? Debra > **************************************************************** "The end is nothing. The road is all." -- Willa Cather ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 09:01:59 -0800 From: mwyarbro@zzapp.org Subject: RE: Peaks and valleys (SJC) Evian wrote: <<>> You know, I've been thinking about Prince lately and have come to the conclusion that he's really a singles (or more accurately, songs) artist stuck in the album form. I own all but 2 or 3 of his albums, and when I think about his work it's individual songs that stand out to me rather than albums. Even the albums which I like the most (_Purple Rain_, _Sign of the Times_, _Gold Experience_) are more a collection of good songs than a good album to me. I say that because I have discerned a much less dramatic drop in quality in his '90s work than other people seem to have. On balance I would agree that he's not quite as exciting as he used to be, but both _Gold Experience_ and _The Truth_ (from the 4-disc _Crystal Ball_ set) rank with his freshest and most fun work IMO. I agree that _Graffiti Bridge_ mostly sucked and that a lot of other stuff since then isn't so great, but if you want to give The Artist of the '90s a chance, pick up _Gold Experience_. I think you won't be disappointed. For a little Joni content, I would put the quality of his work now on a par with Joni's now--not always the most groundbreaking or consistent, but still peppered with jewels. I rank NRH above most of her '70s stuff and _Gold Experience_ above most of his '80s stuff. We may not have a _Blue_ through _Hejira_ run again from Joni, but she's still putting out stuff worth hearing. Same for Prince, IMO. - --Michael NP: Who, _Who Sell Out_ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 09:42:08 -0800 From: mwyarbro@zzapp.org Subject: RE: Re: Re[2]: Court & Spark Mark in Seattle wrote: <<<'Down to You' & 'Just Like This Train' are about how you can drive yourself crazy when you're falling out of love.>>> Thank you so much Mark for pointing this out. "Down to You" has long been my favorite song off of C&S, and one of my favorites of Joni's ever. But, somehow, I never realized just what it was about until moments ago. I'm one of the music-first people, and I've always been captivated by "Down to You"'s wandering melody and the occasional well-turned phrase without really paying attention to the gist of the song. So when Mark wrote this I immediately headed to jonimitchell.com to fix that. This is something that's been happening quite a bit to me given my unusual emotional state lately. I've been listening to songs I've known and loved for years and suddenly realized that they contained a kernel of the truth I've been experiencing. I never realized what a wealth of break-up songs there are out there in the world. ;-) Frankly, I used to dismiss many of these (not Joni's, but in general) as somewhat Hallmark-ish and superficial. Really listening and realizing just what a wide variety of specific and complex relationship-ending songs there are has truly been a whirlwind emotional experience for me. The songs that have resonated most for me have been the ones threading different positive and negative feelings together into a complex quilt of emotion. Madonna's "I was your fortress you had to burn," Bonnie Raitt's "When morning comes / I'll do what's right / Just give me 'til then / To give up this fight," (which she probably didn't write, but she sings it so well I'll give her credit anyway) and others like them are speaking to a whole world of BITTERSWEET. You don't get that in the movies, folks. I don't know if this makes any sense, but one of the most difficult things I've been dealing with is an end that's not a catastrophe--a way to resolve that tension between freedom and commitment, friendship and sex, logic and emotion. It's just now becoming clear to me that many artists--including, not coincidentally I'm sure, most of my favorites--have wrestled with this very thing. And who more than the lady of duality herself? "Down to You" doesn't speak to my situation precisely (I see rejoining the singles scene as a silver lining instead of a drawback), but it ends with this note of hope and independence that is just exhilirating: You're a brute-you're an angel You can crawl-you can fly too It's down to you It all comes down to you Wow. Man, this is unexplored territory for me. So many people have posted before about Joni's lyrics resonating *personally* for them, and that's an experience that, frankly, I hadn't had until very recently. I hope this post makes sense. I'm much more used to formulating arguments than pouring reaction onto the page, but, well here it is. :-) I'll go ramble off somewhere else now... - --Michael NP: Cassandra Wilson, _Traveling Miles_ ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V1 #18 ***************************** There is now a JMDL tape trading list. 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