From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V1 #295 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk onlyJMDL Digest Sunday, December 12 1999 Volume 01 : Number 295 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: more Joni paintings [dsk ] Be disturbed!... be very disturbed!! [Roman ] Blue HDCD [Malte.Peters@t-online.de (Malte Peters)] Mitchell MUSAK [Kleronomos@aol.com] Re: Blue HDCD [CaTGirl627@aol.com] Re: LA Weekly Art review (LONG) [David Wright ] Millennium Countdown [zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny)] Major Joni in the new RS [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] what's in a title? [Bounced Message ] Re: Millennium Countdown [Mark Domyancich ] The rest of Joni in RS [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: Millennium Countdown [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Shameless self-promotion, Chicago-style (JC in my soul, not in message) [] Re: Millennium Countdown [CaTGirl627@aol.com] Re: Millennium Countdown [CaTGirl627@aol.com] Re: Millennium Countdown [CaTGirl627@aol.com] Re: Millennium Countdown [CaTGirl627@aol.com] Texas plagiarism [Rob Jordan ] Re: Pronunciation please: 'Magdalene' [Rob Jordan ] The Hissing of Summer Lawns [Relayer211@aol.com] Re: The Hissing of Summer Lawns [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: Millennium Countdown ["Kakki" ] Re: The Angel Jimi and more Joni paintings ["Eric Taylor" ] Re: Millennium Countdown [zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny)] Re: The Angel Jimi and more Joni paintings ["Kakki" ] Millennium Countdown, Joni's bio [zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny)] Re: JMDL Digest V4 #557 ["Ryan Lantrip" ] Re: more Joni paintings ["Kakki" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 05:34:37 -0500 From: dsk Subject: Re: more Joni paintings Kakki wrote: > I went back to LACE this afternoon to *really* look at and smell the > paintings (thank God I was the only one there!) Hahahahahahaha... Great report Kakki. Thanks to you I'm looking again at TTT and seeing new things, like the reddish road and how blue the snow is... Joni painting what she actually sees instead of what she just thinks she sees (as in snow=white). The whole painting does have a very beautiful glow to it. And it's cold and warm at the same time... our lady of duality again? > What is really interesting about this painting is that what appears to be > the "blue T.V. screen light" smoky background is actually made up of many > Van Gogh-like swirls of various shades of orange, brown, blue and green. That comes across even on the computer screen. That area of the canvas has more life to it then Joni's pose does. Hmmm. > I must say that whether you like her style or not, there can be no dispute > that she is a very fine painter and her use of color is exceptional and very > creative. You can't really see this unless you see the paintings in person. > I've seen many of the "best" in person, and I'd say she ranks right up there > with them as far as technique in a number of her paintings. I agree with all of this. And she obviously loves painting and has great respect for the tradition and skill involved. (I still don't think she's the greatest, most innovative artist around, but so what? that seems completely unimportant at the moment.) > And they all smell and are all oil paintings! But the smell was more > pungent and almost harsher than any oils paintings I've ever smelled. If the paint's thick there's lots of oil in it. And she may have added a little drier to speed up the drying. Something like cobalt drier can be rather smelly, like the dirty oil smell in a garage. And then also include some turpentine to get the paint manipulatable, and you have a very pungent mix. > I also learned a bit more about Amy Adler. .... After > photographing the drawings, she destroys them and only exhibits the > photographs of the drawings. Oh that conceptual art thang. I can appreciate that intellectual approach, but I don't love it, and sometimes it just plain annoys me. Art about art can be so little. Phew, it's late. There's several other posts I want to respond to... tomorrow. Thanks Kakki for your many observations. I am even more than before really looking forward to seeing some of these paintings in person. DebraShea ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 11:30:38 +0100 From: Roman Subject: Be disturbed!... be very disturbed!! Dflahm@aol.com wrote > I've been disturbed reading the posts saying Blossom Dearie played "for > drinks" in England; she is a well-respected artist in the States and this is > a distressing and demeaning suggestion about her status. Then it dawned (or > dusked) on me that we could be in an American English/English English > confusion here. In America "playing for drinks" suggests she wasn't good > enough (or enough of an attraction) to be paid money, so they just poured > booze for her in recompense. But (lightbulb)...maybe in England it means "she > played in the early evenings while people drank cocktails before dinner." No, you were right the first time. It's "an American English/English English confusion" thing alrighty, but about humour, not showbiz. regards, Tube ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 14:07:32 +0100 From: Malte.Peters@t-online.de (Malte Peters) Subject: Blue HDCD Hello all, I recently bought the "Blue" HDCD Remaster. It was clearly marked as a remastered version but the cd itself was completely indentically. Now, to my ears there's no difference between the two versions, so it seems to me that they just packed an old cd with a new cd-inlay. Anyone knows about that? Is the cd really the same? Or is it just my ears :-)? cheers, thanks, Malte - -- Nur das besitzt man wirklich, was man bezahlt hat. (A. Camus) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 11:19:03 EST From: Kleronomos@aol.com Subject: Mitchell MUSAK Russ wrote: << After I beat him within an inch of his miserable, pusillanimous existence.......HE CALLED [JONI] MUSAK!>> I had to look up pusillanimous (an adj., of course): "...lacking courage and resolution: marked by contemptible timidity. See 'cowardly'." Regarding "Musak": Musak is a corporation, and its name has come to be used for all companies that acquire the rights to music and assemble songs for "background" or "mood" music for businesses. There are now several big companies that do this, though Musak has the name recognition, though it also has the stigma which is often expressed by the words "elevator music," which is thought to be banal symphonic regurgitations of classic compositions. They were indeed guilty of that, particularly in the past. But as has been noted here several times since I began lurking, Joni herself is popping up in the most surprising places these days. Sometimes a little shop or cafe simply uses a CD changer, and has a savvy owner who knows good music, but also, the Musak-type of companies are getting hip to what will sell their services to the big corporations. I can hear the negotiations now: Corporate buyer: "Boscov's is a progressive establishment. Our customers are sophisticated people, and while we don't want the music to be in-their-face, or to distract them from their shopping, we don't want to insult them with sleepy elevator music either." "Musak" salesperson: "We recognize that, Ms. Smith, and we've assembled a package that we think will be perfect for Boscov's: unobtrusive, but real music, fine music, from the original artists, and also fine adaptations of original works. However, your speaker system is rather dated. I'd like to show you a package that will update your system with Bose components and a playlist tailored to your clientele. It could cost as little as $50,000 per store." Malls and chain restaurants and stores actually do spend quite a bit on these programs, and I consider it a bright spot in an otherwise darkening world that some of these folks (corporate buyers as well as the providers of "musak") are catching on. And the artists are getting royalties from these companies. That is no small improvement over the way things used to be done! I think much of Joni's music is eminently suited to dine to, and for shopping and browsing! Her luscious, wide chords are sumptuous in themselves, and add to that her lilting voice and vocal phrasings, and even though someone might not recognize the artist (would that broadcast radio would wake up!), it is satisfying to the cultured ear. Granted, there is much more to her music which cannot be appreciated unless you sit down with it and attend to it without distraction (and perhaps even with the lyric sheet from the insert… I'm so glad she does that!). But Joni or Alex de Grassi or John Hiatt at McDonald's or Home Depot is a welcome break. Some merchandisers are not stupid! Another establishment that has good "musak" is Red Lobster (oh, leave me alone!.... I love their Sailor's Platter with Caesar salad for lunch!). Dan np: Stevie Wonder: "you and I" from Talking Book (Joni... take a look at this one! Streisand didn't do what you could do with it!) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 12:03:18 EST From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: Blue HDCD In a message dated 12/11/1999 9:07:22 AM Eastern Standard Time, Malte.Peters@t-online.de writes: << Hello all, I recently bought the "Blue" HDCD Remaster. It was clearly marked as a remastered version but the cd itself was completely indentically. Now, to my ears there's no difference between the two versions, so it seems to me that they just packed an old cd with a new cd-inlay. Anyone knows about that? Is the cd really the same? Or is it just my ears :-)? cheers, thanks, Malte >> YOUR CD pl.ayer needs to be a HD system otherwise you won't hear anything different. I did get BLUE on GOLD and it pretty much sounds the same but maybe not as much hissssssss. Catgirl ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 13:31:05 -0500 (EST) From: David Wright Subject: Re: LA Weekly Art review (LONG) On Fri, 10 Dec 1999, Mark or Travis wrote: > 'Alpert began painting in the early '70s, gradually evolving his own > version of gestural biomorphic abstraction, the transitional style > between Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism.' > > Now just what the hell does 'gestural biomorphic abstraction' mean? > Does anyone know? Does anyone besides the author of this article know? "Gestural biomorphic abstraction" conveys something to me, though it's hard to describe what, or how specifically it figures in Alpert's paintings since I haven't seen them. Gesture (and gestural) are terms in contemporary music too; it kind of refers to something where the specific notes or colors or whatever aren't as important as the overall shape and sound (the "profile") -- I can see how there might be an analogy in visual art. Biomorphic: bio=life, morph=form/shape...which could be "abstracted." Anyway, I would just say that "jargon" sometimes, or even often, does have meaning and can be worth figuring out. - --David ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 10:42:43 -0800 (PST) From: zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny) Subject: Millennium Countdown 30 Moody Blues    29 Bob Marley    28 Beach Boys    27 BB King    26 Billy Joel    25 JONI    24 Paul Simon    23 Beethoven    22 James Taylor    21 Aretha Franklin :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Grace dies when it becomes us verses them......Philip Yancey ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 13:44:45 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Major Joni in the new RS Hey Y'all, Was just lacing up for a jog when in comes the new Rolling Stone... It's called "Party 2000" and features bits from lots of artists. Page 51 is a full-page color caricature of Joni, with ciggy, beret, and guitar case with "stamps of many countries"...it's a drawing by Gary Kelley if any of you know his work. I can maybe scan it and share it later. Joni's "advice" for the world: "Keep a good heart. That's the nost important thing in life. It's not how much money or what you acquire or anthing. The art of it is to keep a good heart, because the streets are so mean now." She also shares her views on the century's most significant: 1. Political Event 2. Personal Event 3. Cultural Event And mentions what should be in the Time Capsule. I'll post the rest when I get back from my run! 65 degrees here in SC, windows are open, sun is shining... Bob NP: Tom Waits, "My Pony" (Live) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 11:49:35 -0700 From: Bounced Message Subject: what's in a title? From: "Mark S" Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 11:54:13 -0500 Here's a thought. Not much of a thought, but... Somewhere I read that THOSL was named the most pretensious album title of 1975. That title always made sense to this suburbanite golfer. But what must we think of "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" or the mess that Fiona Apple's latest goes by? Good music to be sure, but ladies, let the music do the talkin'! NP "Busted" Ray Charles ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 12:58:02 -0600 From: Mark Domyancich Subject: Re: Millennium Countdown >29 Bob Marley Can't think of anything but would be interested in what people come up with. >27 BB King Both performed during Bread and Roses 1980, Joni played/sung on his "The Thrill Is Gone." >24 Paul Simon Phoebe Snow sang on Paul's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover," Phoebe covered Joni's "A Case of You." >22 James Taylor Played together during those many BBC radio/tv shows. ___________________________________ | Mark Domyancich | | Harpua@revealed.net | | http://home.revealed.net/Harpua | | ICQ: 21619464 | |_________________________________| ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 15:48:42 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: The rest of Joni in RS Here's the rest of Joni's comments in the new Rolling Stone: Political Event: "The invention of the pill. It changed the man-woman relationship, for better or worse. It created a political controversy as to how much freedom a woman could have in that department." Personal Event: "The return of my family....Yeah, my kid coming back in 1997. It just filled a hole for me, grounded me. I need more discipline...I am a matriarch, now, you know, and I enjoy the role. It's very challenging. I said to my daughter one day, 'Aren't you glad I didn't raise you?' You know, I'm so picky. And she said, 'Well, you can still raise me', and it's true. She's in her mid-thirties, but that generation still hasn't come to maturity. I don't feel I came to maturity, really.There was a turning point at 50 where I thought 'I have patience for some things that I didn't before'." Cultural Event: "I just recently won a publisher's award and I watched the writers of the winning songs take the podium to receive their awards. Most of these songs are written by 4 to 8 people. And two of them were businessmen. Now, if you've got a guy that has added two words and he's got point on it, he's going to push that pice of shit, you know. Committees - even if you take a commiteeof Tom Petty and Bob Dylan and so on - don't make anything good." Time Capsule: "Jeep's Blues" by Duke Ellington; "Nefertiti" by Miles Davis with Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter & Tony Williams - one of the best drum solos of the 20th century. Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode", Rachmaninoff, anything by Paganini, Chopin's nocturnes. Isaac Mizrahi clothing, because it's astounding in its artistic construction." And I was successful in scanning the "cartoon" of Joni. I'll be glad to steal one from Phyliss the Shake and forward it to five people, or Anne can just take the one I've sent her and put it up on the website! :~) Bob, wheels spinning with Penny's "Millenium" post... NP: The Drifters, "White Christmas" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 16:06:48 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Millennium Countdown Penny lays down the gauntlet: << 30 Moody Blues Gotta think on THAT one...    29 Bob Marley : His "I Shot The Sheriff covered by Clapton, Clapton performs "Stone Free" on the Jimi tribute CD, Seal also has performed it, and Seal performs with Joni on "How Do You Stop".    28 Beach Boys: They have two songs on the American Graffiti Soundtrack, which also features "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" which Joni has done.    26 Billy Joel: His "River of Dreams" record is produced by Danny Kortchmar, other wise known as "Kootch", who played with JT on all his early stuff.    23 Beethoven: Beethoven had a selection in the original Fantasia in 1939. In that same film is a version of "Ave Maria". Tuck Andress plays a version of Ave Maria on his Christmas CD, Tuck and Patti cover a couple Stevie Wonder tunes, "I Wish" being one of them, and Stevie plays with Joni on Herbie Hancock Gershwin CD.    21 Aretha Franklin : Lots of potentials here, I'll go with Aretha singing the beautiful Stevie Wonder melody "Until I Come back to You", then trace as above... Bob, off to think about the Moddy Blues... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 17:08:35 EST From: FredNow@aol.com Subject: Shameless self-promotion, Chicago-style (JC in my soul, not in message) Howdy all. Dig ... got gigs. Please c'mon down and set a spell, y'all. FRED SIMON GROUP Fred Simon - keyboards • David Onderdonk - guitar • Jim Gailloreto - saxophone Bob Lizik - bass • Tom Hipskind - drums Wednesday, December 15, 1999 • (please call club for show time) Martyrs • 3855 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago - for information: (773) 404.9494 FRED SIMON TRIO (playing tunes from a new album, Dreamhouse, to be released in early 2000 on NAIM Records) Fred Simon - piano • Larry Kohut - bass • Tom Hipskind - drums Wednesday, December 29, 1999 • 8:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. Pop's For Champagne • 2934 N. Sheffield, Chicago • for information (773) 472.1000 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 18:19:26 EST From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: Millennium Countdown In a message dated 12/11/1999 2:00:02 PM Eastern Standard Time, Harpua@revealed.net writes: << 29 Bob Marley Can't think of anything but would be interested in what people come up with. >> Eric Clapton covered Bob Marley's- I shot the sheriff, Dylan and Clapton have played together at the Dylan 30th aniverary concert, joni opened for Dylan last year! Catgirl first one!! whoo-hoo!! Although someone might know of a shorter route..... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 18:20:53 EST From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: Millennium Countdown In a message dated 12/11/1999 2:00:02 PM Eastern Standard Time, Harpua@revealed.net writes: << >29 Bob Marley Can't think of anything but would be interested in what people come up with. >> Jackson played Redemption song and Joni has played with Jackson...Eric came up with this one! Catgirl And Mewsikmann~~ whoo-hooo~! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 18:23:34 EST From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: Millennium Countdown In a message dated 12/11/1999 4:10:35 PM Eastern Standard Time, SCJoniGuy@aol.com writes: << << 30 Moody Blues Gotta think on THAT one... >> They both played at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 Eric again!! Mewsikmann- another big Whoo-Hooooo!!!! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 18:25:24 EST From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: Millennium Countdown In a message dated 12/11/1999 6:24:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, CaTGirl627@aol.com writes: << In a message dated 12/11/1999 2:00:02 PM Eastern Standard Time, Harpua@revealed.net writes: << >29 Bob Marley Can't think of anything but would be interested in what people come up with. >> Jackson played Redemption song and Joni has played with Jackson...Eric came up with this one! Catgirl And Mewsikmann~~ whoo-hooo~! >> Browne that is!! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 00:15:02 +0000 From: Rob Jordan Subject: Texas plagiarism Hi again folks, While I've got a soft spot for Texas (Sharleen Spiteri's got a nice voice and a nice record collection), I've got to say they are the most blatant plagiarists. Not content with stealing that great Al Green/Teeny Hodges guitar riff in Say What You Want, they also raid Marvin: "When I get that feeling...". Yes, Sharleen, what do you need? So now their latest single (When We Are Together) is on the radio and I hear "you brush against a stranger and you both apologise". A tribute, I suppose? Rob ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 23:39:52 +0000 From: Rob Jordan Subject: Re: Pronunciation please: 'Magdalene' Hi Chuck, There certainly is a Magdalen College in Oxford and yes, it's pronounced like maudlin. I don't know about Cambridge, but this is the only context I've ever heard it pronounced maudlin... many churches named for Mary Magdalene are pronounced as written. While there may be some historical sense in which maudlin is the "right" pronunciation, I always thought it was typical Oxford pretentiousness to persist in this (speaking as a pretentious alumus!) Rob np: Dr. John - Sweet Home New Orleans / Anutha Zone Hmm... May 26th... well you never know ... At 06:12 PM 12/10/99 -0500, Chuck EIsenhardt wrote: >remarked >that there is a Magdalene College at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities >and that >in each case it is pronounced closer to 'maudlin'... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 21:59:11 EST From: Relayer211@aol.com Subject: The Hissing of Summer Lawns What does everyone think of this album?It's one of my favorite's of Joni's. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 23:40:08 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: The Hissing of Summer Lawns In a message dated 12/11/99 9:02:44 PM US Central Standard Time, Relayer211@aol.com writes: << What does everyone think of this album?It's one of my favorite's of Joni's. >> Well, you know, I would say that we all love this record a lot! What do YOU like most about it? Bob ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 21:22:53 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: Millennium Countdown 29 Bob Marley Can't connect him musicially but Joni did a really incredible painting of him that you can see in the background in the PWWAM video. It's one of the paintings that really made me gasp, it's so incredible. Kakki NP: JFBS - Paz - Just Like This Train (THANKS LES ;-D ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 00:22:33 -0500 From: "Eric Taylor" Subject: Re: The Angel Jimi and more Joni paintings Kakki sweetly shared: << I went back to LACE this afternoon to *really* look at and smell the paintings (thank God I was the only one there!) I noticed a small painting by the reception desk that I missed the other night. It is Jimi Hendrix posed in his famous kneel before the burning guitar, but he's kneeling on a billowy cloud up in a starry sky and has angel wings and is wearing a halo-like, starry crown. It's very cute. Inspired by Debra's posts, I studied and noticed a lot more of Joni's "tricks" this time (like who was really paying attention to the ahem, paintings last week?) The Snowy Landscape painting (on the back of the TTT CD) that looks so brilliantly white is really not white at all. The road is actually painted a flat magenta and the snow piled up along the side of the road is various shades and outlines of blue. Great trick - set off against the gold sky background... On the new album cover painting, all I could make out on the coaster was a doodle of a flower - maybe a rose - next to a fence or ladder-like doodle. What is really interesting about this painting is that what appears to be the "blue T.V. screen light" smoky background is actually made up of many Van Gogh-like swirls of various shades of orange, brown, blue and green. I must say that whether you like her style or not, there can be no dispute that she is a very fine painter and her use of color is exceptional and very creative. You can't really see this unless you see the paintings in person. I've seen many of the "best" in person, and I'd say she ranks right up there with them as far as technique in a number of her paintings... And they all smell and are all oil paintings! But the smell was more pungent and almost harsher than any oils paintings I've ever smelled... >> What a beautiful picture you paint with words Kakki! It warms my heart & makes me yearn to see Joni's work more than ever. Was there anything there from Mingus - my favorite period? Your description of Snowy Landscape is mind-blowing! Joni's genius in using the spectrum to create VIVID white shines through. I wonder if she thins the paint with scented oil? Would that be aromavision? Visualizing a world tour, E.T. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 21:28:33 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: Major Joni in the new RS Bob, Thanks for sending the excerpt and the caricature. > Joni's "advice" for the world: > "Keep a good heart. That's the most important thing in life. It's not how > much money or what you acquire or anthing. The art of it is to keep a good > heart, because the streets are so mean now." There it is - she says it all once again. Something neat occurred to me the other day. The Jonifest Box Set concludes with the song "My Funny Valentine". Even though there is no way we could have planned it that way, what a perfectly apt song to end it on considering her upcoming Valentine's Day release of the new album of love standards, the heart on her sleeve in the painting and now this comment above. Robbie told us that Joni originally wanted to make the special edition box in the shape of a heart, too, but they decided against it. I know - it's probably too cutesy - but I kind of like it ;-) Kakki NP: JFBS - Nikki - My Funny Valentine ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 11:18:54 -0800 (PST) From: zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny) Subject: Re: Millennium Countdown That was cute Mark! You got your's in while Bob was out for his jog! And if anyone wants the bio of what KINK broadcast every three hours on Joni's day, it's basically the same as All Music Guide. For those of you without internet access, I'll post it to the list. Penny :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Grace dies when it becomes us verses them......Philip Yancey ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 21:38:41 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: The Angel Jimi and more Joni paintings Eric wrote: > Was there anything there from Mingus - my favorite period? The paintings shown were all either new or from TTT, with a few TI-era paintnigs included. Although I suspect the Angel Jimi was done awhile ago. Now that I've had the chance to see the paintings up close, I would also really love to see the Mingus paintings in person. > I wonder if she thins the paint with scented oil? Would that be > aromavision? Gosh, you may be onto something - I wonder what effect that might have on the paints. But I bet she'd be willing to try it! Debra suspected that the harsh smell of the canvases may be due to her using a paint drier. I think she is right because the smell of turpentine or linseed oil when used as a paint thinner results in, as least to my nose, a smell that is not unpleasant (probably because they derive from natural substances) and these paintings had an unnatural, "chemical" smell. > Visualizing a world tour, That's the word out there. I hope so! Kakki ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 11:29:48 -0800 (PST) From: zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny) Subject: Millennium Countdown, Joni's bio When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century. Uncompromising and iconoclastic, Mitchell confounded expectations at every turn; restlessly innovative, her music evolved from deeply-personal folk stylings into pop, jazz, avant-garde and even world music, presaging the multi-cultural experimentation of the 1980s and 1990s by over a decade. Fiercely independent, her work steadfastly resisted the whims of both mainstream audiences and the male-dominated recording industry -- while Mitchell's records never sold in the same numbers enjoyed by contemporaries like Carole King, Janis Joplin or Aretha Franklin, none experimented so recklessly with their artistic identities or so bravely explored territory outside of the accepted confines of pop music, resulting in a creative legacy which paved the way for performers ranging from Patti Smith and Chrissie Hynde to Madonna and Courtney Love. Born Roberta Joan Anderson in Saskatchewan, Canada on November 7, 1943, she was stricken with polio at the age of nine; while recovering in a children's hospital, she began her performing career by singing to the other patients. After later teaching herself to play guitar with the aid of a Pete Seeger instruction book, she went off to art college, and became a fixture on the Alberta, Calgary folk music scene. After relocating to Toronto, she married folksinger Chuck Mitchell in 1965, and began performing under the name Joni Mitchell. A year later the couple moved to Detroit, Michigan, but separated soon after; Joni remained in the Motor City, however, and won significant press acclaim for her burgeoning songwriting skills and smoky, distinctive vocals, leading to a string of high-profile performances in New York City. There she became a cause celebre among the media and other performers; after she signed to Reprise in 1967, David Crosby offered to produce her debut record, a self-titled acoustic effort which appeared the following year. Her songs also found great success with other singers: in 1968, Judy Collins scored a major hit with the Mitchell-penned "Both Sides Now," while Fairport Convention covered "Eastern Rain" and Tom Rush recorded "The Circle Game." Thanks to all of the outside exposure, Mitchell began to earn a strong cult following; her 1969 sophomore effort Clouds reached the Top 40, while 1970's Ladies of the Canyon sold even better on the strength of the single "Big Yellow Taxi." It also included her anthemic composition "Woodstock," a major hit for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Still, the commercial and critical approval awarded her landmark 1971 record Blue was unprecedented: a luminous, starkly confessional set written primarily during a European vacation, the album firmly established Mitchell as one of pop music's most remarkable and insightful talents. Predictably, she turned away from Blue's incandescent folk with 1972's For the Roses, the first of the many major stylistic turns she would take over the course of her daring career. Backed by rock-jazz performer Tom Scott, Mitchell's music began moving into more pop-oriented territory, a change typified by the single "You Turn Me On (I'm a Radio)," her first significant hit. The follow-up, 1974's classic Court and Spark, was her most commercially-successful outing: a sparkling, jazz-accented set, it reached the Number Two spot on the U.S. album charts and launched three hit singles -- "Help Me," "Free Man in Paris" and "Raised on Robbery." After the 1974 live collection Miles of Aisles, Mitchell emerged in 1975 with The Hissing of Summer Lawns, a bold, almost avant-garde record which housed her increasingly complex songs in experimental, jazz-inspired settings; "The Jungle Line" introduced the rhythms of African Burundi drums, placing her far ahead of the pop world's mid-1980s fascination with world music. 1976's Hejira, recorded with Weather Report bassist Jaco Pastorius, smoothed out the music's more difficult edges while employing minimalist techniques; Mitchell later performed the album's first single, "Coyote," at the Band's Last Waltz concert that Thanksgiving. Her next effort, 1977's two-record set Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, was another ambitious move, a collection of long, largely improvisational pieces recorded with jazz players Larry Carlton and Wayne Shorter, Chaka Khan and a battery of Latin percussionists. Shortly after the record's release, Mitchell was contacted by the legendary jazz bassist Charles Mingus, who invited her to work with him on a musical interpretation of T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets. Mingus, who was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, sketched out a series of melodies to which Mitchell added lyrics; however, Mingus died on January 5, 1979 before the record was completed. After Mitchell finished their collaboration on her own, she recorded the songs under the title Mingus, which was released the summer after the jazz titan's passing. Following her second live collection, 1980's Shadows and Light, Mitchell returned to pop territory for 1982's Wild Things Run Fast; the first single, a cover of the Elvis Presley hit "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care," became her first chart single in eight years. Shortly after the album's release, she married bassist/sound engineer Larry Klein, who became a frequent collaborator on much of her subsequent material, including synth-driven 1985's Dog Eat Dog, co-produced by Thomas Dolby. Mitchell's move into electronics continued with 1988's Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm, featuring guests Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty and Billy Idol. Mitchell returned to her roots with 1991's Night Ride Home, a spare, stripped-down collection spotlighting little more than her voice and acoustic guitar. Prior to recording 1994's Turbulent Indigo, she and Klein separated, although he still co-produced the record, which was her most acclaimed work in years. In 1996, she compiled a pair of anthologies, Hits and Misses, which collected her chart successes as well as under-appreciated favorites. A new studio album, Taming the Tiger, followed in 1998. -- Jason Ankeny, All-Music Guide :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Grace dies when it becomes us verses them......Philip Yancey ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 00:20:38 CST From: "Ryan Lantrip" Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V4 #557 I don't know if this still works since cdnow and music boulevard merged, but at certain free web email services, if you sign up for an email account you get $10 off a purchase at Music Boulevard(I believe that they used to take ten dollars off your first item bought anyway). Me and a friend signed up to get email accounts quite a few times and got away with a king's ransom of singles and low price cds. That's how I got DED and the Big Yellow Taxi single from the Friend's soundtrack. >Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 01:44:36 -0500 (EST) >From: some millers >Subject: dog eat dog (was blue cd) > >howdy strangers- >de-lurking long enough to add that the DED cd is presently only $5.99 at >the >same site. note that the shipping is free with purchase of 3 or more cd's, >and that you can also get $10 off a purchase of $24.99 or more until the >morning of dec. 14th. however, even this particular purchase won't be "tax >free." >buenas noches- >paul >s.bethlehem, ny ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 22:27:00 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: more Joni paintings Debra wrote regarding the new album cover painting: > That comes across even on the computer screen. That area of the canvas has more > life to it then Joni's pose does. Hmmm. This is an unusual one up close. All of the painting is smooth and flat (as far as paint application) except for her face, which not only appears rather ghostly, but the paint is heavily textured with a lot of little bumps! I swear it either looks like she has one of those exfoliating facial masques on that have little abrasive bits of stuff in it, or a bad case of adolescent pimples! I can't figure whether she did this so that the light would reflect off the surface or whether there is some other symbolic sub-text going on here. I see a lot of messages in her paintings. The "Yellow Roses" painting with the Klein snapshot makes me think she is inferring "we are dear friends now" (yellow roses being the traditional symbol of friendship) and the candle burning may mean that he will always hold a special flame in her heart. I noticed that the candlestick is the same one that can be seen in the photo on the back of the TTT booklet. In another painting of Donald and her vigorously paddling a canoe at sunset, I see a message of living life to the fullest and most active even though they are now in the second half of their lives. I've been promising to relate some of the comments made by the attorney I work with, but want to be careful to pass along "hearsay" ;-D (If he's listening out there, please know I only mean the best!) When I saw him the opening night he was rather unfamiliar with Joni and said he was there to see Amy who had been away in New York. But when I saw him the next day, he seemed totally transformed! We both found ourselves repeatedly ending up in the smoking room at the same time throughout the day and it seemed like neither of us were being very productive ;-) He was obviously quite bowled over by Joni after having dinner with her and kept saying "I *really" like her." I asked him how he liked the paintings and he said "it's not about the paintings, it's not about *rectangular* paintings, it's about her *ideas* in the paintings. She is just....." (and then he couldn't find the words to describe it, but he meant fantastic, wonderful, etc., etc). Of course, I just beamed knowingly ;-) He also said cutely, "You know what I like about her the most? She smokes even more than I do!" > Oh that conceptual art thang. I can appreciate that intellectual approach, but > I don't love it, and sometimes it just plain annoys me. Art about art can be so > little. It's funny, some conceptual art I totally adore while other examples annoy me mightily. I like it when it is humorous, whimsical, or profound, but I don't care for it when it seems overly or obviously contrived. I like Adler's idea of photographing the drawings but got bugged at the idea of then destroying perfectly good drawings! I know, I know, it's all part of the "concept" but it still bugged me ;-) Kakki NP: Pink Martini - Amado Mio ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V1 #295 ****************************** The Song and Album Voting Booths are open! Cast your votes by clicking the links at http://www.jmdl.com/gallery username: jimdle password: siquomb ------- Don't forget about these ongoing projects: Glossary project: Send a blank message to for all the details. FAQ Project: Help compile the JMDL FAQ. Do you have mailing list-related questions? -send them to Trivia Project: Send your Joni trivia questions and/or answers to Today in History Project: Know of a date-specific Joni fact? - -send it to ------- Post messages to the list at Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe onlyjoni-digest" to ------- Siquomb, isn't she?