From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V1 #152 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk onlyJMDL Digest Saturday, August 14 1999 Volume 01 : Number 152 The Laborday JoniFest is happening this fall! For information: send a message to Join the mailing list at: ------- 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: -------- joni tribute [Nicholas Bates ] Joni frustration [Louis Lynch ] Re: Song to a Seagull (long) ["Mark or Travis" ] Re: Joni frustration ["Jennifer L. Nodine" ] Re: Song to a Seagull (long) [Scott and Jody ] Joni one-liners - Song to a Seagull ["Mark or Travis" ] Guitar programs ["Ken (Slarty)" ] Henley knows best [Bounced Message ] Re: Coyote ["P. Henry" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 17:29:37 +1000 From: Nicholas Bates Subject: joni tribute The Basement in Sydney is a longstanding jazz venue which was rebuilt in the late eighties. It's an intimate venue in the sense that its small but a long bar across the back wall is often propped up by drinkers with no discernible interest in the music happening up front and a love of the sound of their own voices. A couple of months ago I saw Taj Mahal there and pro that he is, he still seemed visibly fazed by the poor behaviour of the audience, many of whom carried on as if he was just wallpaper. There were similar problems with last night's Joni Mitchell tribute concert (The Best of Joni Mitchell Too). 10 local singer songwriters (less than coincidentally all women) backed by a sizzling band and introduced in pairs by an entertaining MC (she opened by pretending this was a tribute to Tony Mitchell, guitarist for Sherbet a defunct local glitter group from the seventies), worked their way through a wide spectrum of Mitchell's material from I had a King to Crazy Cries of Love. Sitting up front at the dinner and show tables may have given a different perspective on things but in the bar stools and standing room only section my concentrationn was torn between the performers on stage and a group of upstaging drinkers who had clearly just stumbled in off the street and had not the slightest interest in our SIQUOMB . How strange is it that people would pay $14 to then talk their way through a two hour concert and barely give the stage a second glance? Ok, Ok I will trrrrrry to block out my memories of the blockheads offstage and concentrate on what went on onstage. Well, it was good! Its kind of fun to hear songs live that JM couldn't get her voice around anymore or has little interest in performing such as 'Woman of Heart and Mind' (Sarah McGregor), 'The Last time I saw Richard' (Gemma Deacon) and 'I had a King' and 'Blue' (Robyn Dunn). Just about any version of 'For Free' reminds me of what a great song it is (Juliet Obsessed) and someone prepared to tackle 'Harry's House' (Sarah McGregor) and who manages to deliver with great confidence and verve, definitely wins votes. One person's highlight is another's cringe - but I really got off on a scorching version of 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' by a cool voiced Rachel Gaudry. Her version of 'In France they kiss......'was pretty groovy too and since it picked up the pace a little after 'I had a King' it helped drown out the drinkers. A rocking version of 'Woodstock' by Karen Jacobsen was perhaps a little off centre and her 'Case of You' was a not quite convincing, but hey, what a song! Tania Bowra, who has a gorgeous, clean voice had lots of fun with 'Carey' and made nice work out of 'Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody'. Louise Perryman opted for 'You Dream Flat Tires', a song which never really hits the mark, and 'Come in from the Cold' which wasn't quite suited to her rounded soprano but it was an accomplished and convincing performance nevertheless with full on back up vocals/dueting by Rachel Gaudry and Karen Jacobsen (i think) and the band in full control of the material. Early in the night Kristen Cornwell did versions of both Crazy Cries of Love (boy I love that song) and Dry Cleaner from Des Moines (the lyrics are always so cool - you can just see that guy popping in the coins) both of which were confident and fun. I'm not quite sure why Gemma Deacon bothered with Twisted (I love it but its not JM and everybody always sings it). Encore was, as in concert number one, BYT which didn't quite happen and Free Man in Paris which was better suited to the group voices and took off. And then it was time to go as it was waaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime. Nicholas in Sydney Nicholas in Sydney ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 07:06:34 -0700 From: Louis Lynch Subject: Joni frustration > True frustration is when you're shuffling your way through a too-busy > supermarket, and all of a sudden you hear "Edith and the Kingpin" on the > store radio. "Edith and the Kingpin?" you think!!!! What a rare choice, > what a wonderful diversion to the shopping cart jam in the pasta aisle! > > Just as the song is starting to return you to a state of humanity again, > the music is rudely interrupted for a long, long in-store ad in a > mean-sounding, nasal, raspy voice complete with bad grammar and diction. > The announcement finally stops, and when the music resumes, it's a lame > Phoebe Snow song, not even one of her better ones! > > Oh well, at least the pasta was priced as a "Bonus Buy." > > Don't you hate when that happens? > > Harper Lou > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 08:13:37 -0700 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull (long) David gives us these great comments about STAS: > "I Had a King" is one of my favorites on the album, with its melody and > the chorus's description of the broken relationship. ("You know my keys don't > fit the door/You know my thoughts don't fit the man/They never can.") There > is also one line that kind of makes me wince; it's "the broom of contempt." I > can't help but think, and did he sweep into the dustpan of avarice, or the > trash can of despair, or something? It's kind of a fine point, but maybe, by > way of what I said above about Joni's earlier vs. later styles, this could be > contrasted to her use of similar household items (dishwasher, coffee > percolator) in "The Last Time I Saw Richard"? In Richard, she picks on them > as telling details, as being symbolic in themselves (of materialistic > suburban culture); in I Had A King, the broom is just part of a poetic > conceit. It's funny. I was considering doing the Joni-one-liners game with 'STAS' and this was the line I would have chosen for 'I Had a King'. I agree that it is a poetic conceit and not as straight-forward as Joni's later lyrics but I think it works very well. The man in question seems to be doing some kind of mental or spiritual cleansing like a monk, removing everything from his life that is distracting or corrupting. Painting the pastel walls a neutral brown, removing all ornamentation or anything that is extraneous. I also find the rhyme scheme in this song interesting. In some of the couplets the rhyming words appear as the last word of the first line and then the second or even third word from the end of the next line. 'I had a king in a tenement CASTLE/lately he's taken to painting the PASTEL walls brown' and then you have 'and swept with the broom of CONTEMPT/and the rooms have and EMPTy ring/he's cleaned with the tears of an ACTOR/who fears for the LAUGHTER's sting' and so on. > I think "The Dawntreader"'s music is some of the early Joni's best. The > melody is terse and almost ominous (to me), but still romantic, and it's > tightly constructed and builds really well over the course of the verse. And > the guitar part contrasts the high strings (like the beautiful little figure > that opens the song) and low strings (the edgy scraping in the "The roll of > the harbor wake" part of the verses), creating this undercurrent of tension. > I like the line from the lyrics, "A dream that you tell no one but the grey > sea/they'll say that you're crazy." I find 'The Dawntreader' to be very soothing. The guitar reminds me of the rolling & swelling of the ocean on a sunny, fairly calm day. This is probably my favorite song from STAS but it has stiff competition from 'Sisotowbell Lane' and 'I Had a King' > > One interesting thing about this album for me is the contrast between the > "city" songs and the "seaside" songs. The city ("civilization") is usually > associated with noise ("an island of noise in a cobblestone sea"), chaos > ("the bedlam of the day"), modernity ("the blossoms hung false on their store > window trees"; "the city grated through chrome-plate"), busy-ness, etc. -- > though some of us *like* that about it -- while the country ("nature") is > relaxation and simplicity. Yet there's a lot more strangeness (or you could > say more freedom) and tension in Joni's music on the "seaside" songs than in > the "city" songs......snip..... Another contrast is between the lyrics' character portraits (Michael, > Marcie, to a lesser extent Nathan and maybe Joni herself) and Joni's flowery > fantasies (mermaids, seagulls, treasure, flashing colors, wars and wine, > etc.), even when the fantastic imagery is applied to everyday life -- like > observation (external) vs. imagination (internal). Interesting comments. To me it makes perfect sense that the the city songs are more out-wardly focused while the 'Down to the Seaside' songs are more internal. The city is full of things to distract us. There is so much going on around us that it is sometimes difficult to focus on our inner selves. In the more tranquil atmosphere outside the city the mind is allowed to relax and in the resulting mental quiet it is easier to contemplate our inner lives. Sometimes, depending on what we keep inside, that can cause tensions & anxieties that the outside world normally distracts us from. And sometimes it brings a measure of peace. Maybe the 'Down To the Seaside' half of 'STAS' was the forerunner of 'Hejira'. Joni has commented that the style of the artwork on this record reflects its lyrical style. The album cover is full of detail and ornamentation. Correspondingly, the lyrics are full of descriptive imagery that seems to be extraneous compared with Joni's later work. She has become a master of paring the words down to the bare bones she needs to put across her meaning but still make it sound fresh, poetic and beautiful. Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 13:44:44 CDT From: "Seth Garrison" Subject: long time, no see... Hello list~ I've just moved back to school so I didn't check my mail for about a week. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with interesting posts to read. Nevertheless, I read as much as I could and I decided I would ask you people a question. Being a typical almost-college-student, I love posters. I have Ani posters and Tori posters, but I can't for the life of me find any Joni posters. It's highly probable that there aren't any for me to find, but just in case, I was wondering if any of you know where I could possibly find one. Anything would do... just the presence of Joni in my room would make me feel better. Last year I resorted to putting record covers from my parent's collection on my walls, but that didn't work as well as it should have. I appreciate any feedback. And i'm still loving this list, even though my schedul prevents me from being able to keep up with it as well as I need to ( i have a college equivalent of 28 hours!!!). poor me, seth "everybody's in it for their own game you can't please them all there's always somebody calling you down" free man in paris _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 17:36:29 -0400 From: "Jennifer L. Nodine" Subject: Re: Joni frustration Louis, I thought I was actually the only person in the world that sings along to Joni in the frozen foods. I was also tickled by the fact that you cannot stand Phoebe Snow either. Yuk!!!!!:-) Jenny CT Louis Lynch wrote: > > True frustration is when you're shuffling your way through a too-busy > > supermarket, and all of a sudden you hear "Edith and the Kingpin" on the > > store radio. "Edith and the Kingpin?" you think!!!! What a rare choice, > > what a wonderful diversion to the shopping cart jam in the pasta aisle! > > > > Just as the song is starting to return you to a state of humanity again, > > the music is rudely interrupted for a long, long in-store ad in a > > mean-sounding, nasal, raspy voice complete with bad grammar and diction. > > The announcement finally stops, and when the music resumes, it's a lame > > Phoebe Snow song, not even one of her better ones! > > > > Oh well, at least the pasta was priced as a "Bonus Buy." > > > > Don't you hate when that happens? > > > > Harper Lou > > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 18:01:33 -0500 From: Scott and Jody Subject: Re: Song to a Seagull (long) Mark wrote: > I find 'The Dawntreader' to be very soothing. The guitar reminds me > of the rolling & swelling of the ocean on a sunny, fairly calm day. > This song has always been my calming source. Whenever I become stressed out beyond belief, I listen to this. I love Joni's guitar- on "the roll of the harbor wake-the songs that the rigging makes". I can just feel myself on a sailboat out at sea! btw - I enjoyed reading your entire post about STAS! Thanks, jody ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 19:16:11 -0700 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Joni one-liners - Song to a Seagull I Had A King He's taken the curtains down And swept with the broom of contempt And the rooms have an empty ring Michael From Mountains Yellow slickers up on swings Like puppets on strings Hanging in the sky Night in the City Music comes spilling out into the street Colors go waltzing in time Marcie Dust her tables with his shirt and Wave another day goodbye Nathan LaFreneer The cars and buses bustled through the bedlam of the day Sisotowbell Lane Sometimes it is spring Sometimes it is not anything A poet can sing Sometimes we try Yes we always try The Dawntreader Run down where the rain delights you You do not hide Sunlight will renew your pride Skin white by skin golden The Pirate of Penance The pirate he will sink you with a kiss He'll steal your heart and sail away And leave you drowning in the flotsam Of a broken promise in the bay Song to a Seagull My gentle relations Have names they must call me For loving the freedom Of all flying things Cactus Tree She has brought them to her senses They have laughed inside her laughter Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 10:28:57 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: Lilith Fair Well the 1999 Lilith Fair came to Cincinnati this week and I had a great time. It was very hot but with the right refreshments :) I was able to soldier on. I even got an autograph from Lilith herself..... I'll add it to my autograph collection from Crosby Nash and the one from Jethro Tull and Lynyrd Skynard..... - -- Hoping Kakki will explain to the JMDL lurkers where the jokes are in this post, Lama ** Get well Wally! ** Tolerance, tolerance, tol... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 23:08:45 -0400 From: "Ken (Slarty)" Subject: Guitar programs I found some interesting shareware and freeware programs for guitar at Harmony Central including tuners and a program that will show you the name of guitar chords from the notes you play (in any tuning, yet). The URL: http://www.harmony-central.com/Software/Windows/guitar.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 21:45:47 -0600 From: Bounced Message Subject: Henley knows best From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 18:18:17 -0400 I always thought Henley was saying "embrace the present". I never got any accusation toward Cadillac-owners. After all the next line is "Don't look back, You can never look back." > I think the point of Henley's lyric isn't attacking >wealth or convenience, but rather the ostentatious >"keeping up with the Jones" mentality. I imagine even >a wealthy hippie would frown on that sort of thing ... >yes? And I'm not sure what Don's driving these days, >but I have a feeling it's something a bit more plush >than a VW Microbus ... ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 21:06:22 -0700 From: "P. Henry" Subject: Re: Coyote Catherine wrote: all good questions, Cath. sorry, your guess is as good as mine, perhaps better, but, while we're on the subject of Coyote verses I thought I'd also throw this one out there... been listening to Hejira a lot lately and it just caught my attention... I've only been onlist for about 8 months and it may have been mentioned before but to me it's surprising that no one has ever, to my knowledge, remarked on these verses: "Now he's got a woman at home He's got another woman down the hall He seems to want me anyway..." thoughts? comments? flames? whatever? pat NP: Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire http://members.wbs.net/homepages/b/a/d/badwolff.html Angelfire for your free web-based e-mail. http://www.angelfire.com ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V1 #152 ****************************** The Song and Album Voting Booths are open! 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