From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2000 #98 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk onlyJMDL Digest Wednesday, March 15 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 098 Ashara has set up a "Wally Breese Memorial Fund," with all donations going directly into the upkeep of the JoniMitchell.com website. Wally kept the website going with his own funds, and it will now be up to Jim to continue. If you would like to donate to this fund, please make all checks payable to: Jim Johanson and send them to: Ashara Stansfield P.O. Box 215 Topsfield, MA 01983 USA ------- The Official Joni Mitchell Homepage can be found 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: Mean NME Review ["Kakki" ] Re: Cancelled BSN/LE orders from Reprise ["Kakki" ] Re: Cancelled BSN/LE orders from Reprise [MDESTE1@aol.com] Re: Cancelled BSN/LE orders from Reprise [Jerry Notaro ] Re: Mean NME review [Martin Giles ] Re: Globe and Mail Article [Brian Gross ] JC: re: Mean NME review [Kate Tarasenko ] Wirthless Reviews ["Michael Paz" ] Re: Cancelled BSN/LE orders from Reprise ["Kakki" ] BSN-Fixed Edition ["Jim L'Hommedieu" ] Re: Mean NME review; & Robert Christgau [David Wright ] Re: 7 Days To General Release ["Helen M. Adcock" ] Re: VH1 - the list ["Helen M. Adcock" ] Re: Globe and Mail Article [Phyliss Ward ] RE: Christmas Song Trivia ["patrick leader" ] Joni Web Interview [Penny ] Joni Web Interview [zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 00:52:02 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: Mean NME Review Mariana, Thanks for sending this - I'm LOL! I love unintentionally hilarious bitchy reviews. This is the paragraph that cracked me up the most: >'Both Sides Now', with its reek of bohemian opulence, is Mitchell's tribute to the great songwriters of >the 20th century; Rodgers and Hart, Harold Arlen and, oh yes, Joni Mitchell. Whether the inclusion of >reworkings of her own 'Both Sides Now' (which has a reasonable case for being a modern classic) and >'A Case Of You' (which doesn't) is an act of grotesque vanity or a dearth of ideas is anyone's guess. And this was the finishing touch that made me want to send him a box of strong laxatives: > Whatever. The arrangements are fluent reconstructions of a bygone sound and under such heavy >manners Mitchell sings like a singer - rather than warbling like a harpy - for the first time in her career. >It's still a stop-gap, though; an exercise in spending money before she gets round to writing some > new songs. That Bryan Ferry crashed and burned with the same idea on last > year's 'As Time Goes By' presumably escaped her notice. Nice enough, then, but a bit pointless. Mean Kakki NP: Joni - Chelsea Morning ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 01:59:32 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: Cancelled BSN/LE orders from Reprise Penny asked: >Have any others that ordered from Reprise, then cancelled those same orders, started to receive >these things anyway? I ordered mine 1/14 and cancelled it via phone 2/8, but it still showed up >today. It looks like they waived the shipping cost. Anyone else experiencing the same thing? I never canceled my two Reprise orders and did receive them last Saturday. This doesn't reply to your question but I wanted to share some package minutiae that may be helpful to those getting replacement orders. I compared the latest packages from Reprise to the one I received early on from Amazon.com and there is absolutely no difference in the packaging or CD holder among any of them. However, there is a difference in the CD disc itself. The print on the cover of the CD is much more vivid and darker in color on the new ones than on the original and the new discs themselves are a different type than the original. The original disc has transparent edges (where the cover print ends) and the new ones have solid silver edges. This may be a way for people to identify whether they are receiving the older "defective" discs as replacements rather than the new "improved" discs. The new ones played perfectly for me. Kakki ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 06:59:45 -0500 From: Deb Messling Subject: UK Times article The Globe and Mail reprints the recent London Times piece in the March 14 issue: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/gam/Arts/20000314/RVJONI.html No photos on the web site; don't know about the hard copy. Deb Messling messling@enter.net http://www.enter.net/~messling/ I love cats. They give the home a heartbeat. - Joni Mitchell ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 07:36:55 EST From: MDESTE1@aol.com Subject: Re: Cancelled BSN/LE orders from Reprise Sounds to me that the first product mailed was actually of inferior quality in spite of the much higher price. md ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 08:22:58 -0500 From: Jerry Notaro Subject: Re: Cancelled BSN/LE orders from Reprise I noticed that, also. My replacement came in less than a week, and they sent 4 stamps with it to pay for my shipping. I was impressed. But it has to be costing them some real coinage. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 08:58:41 -0500 From: James Leahy Subject: Globe and Mail Article Toronto's Globe and Mail today reprinted Alan Jackson's London Times article on Joni. It starts on the first page of the Review section and continues on page 3. Quite a major spread! Large photos of Joni (from the LA Times 1996 photo shoot) plus a front and rear view of her new album. If you want to see this online, here is the URL: http://www.GlobeAndMail.CA/gam/TopGlobeReview/20000314/RVJONI.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 18:28:47 +0000 From: Martin Giles Subject: Re: Mean NME review Strange how becoming a hack for the NME wipes out the brain cells. Presumably it is the leaky faucet of Wirth's ignorance and stupidity that led him to attack Mitchell's record of pre-rock'n'roll ballads with the acuteness of a cupful of yoghurt. The review, with it's reek of journalistic arrogance, is Wirth's attempt to demonstrate his knowledge of things he obviously knows nothing about. Mitchell's inclusion of reworkings of her own 'Both Sides Now' (which has a reasonable case for being a modern classic) and 'A Case Of You' (which undeniably does) shows a depth and maturity far beyond Jim Wirth's comprehension. Whatever. The review is a flawed reconstruction of a bygone era when reviewers had something useful to convey to their readers, rather than harping on like a wallaby - which he does for the Nth time in his career. It's a stop gap though; an exercise in fooling his editor until he gets around to doing something his intellect is more suited to, like sitting quietly and dribbling. That people have stopped buying NME in their tens of thousands in the last two decades, has presumably escaped the mags' owners' notice. Poor enough, then, and a bit pointless. 3/10 atb, Martin. Ahhhhhhh. I enjoyed that. Very therapeutic. Mariana in Argentina found this... > This review appeared on the New Musical Express site (http://www.nme.com/) > on March 10. I find it extremely foolish and gratuitously disrespectful, but > there it goes: > > Joni Mitchell > Both Sides Now > (Reprise) > > Strange how the ageing process tends to affect the brain cells. Just as > David Bowie decided it would be a good idea to work with Brian Molko it is > presumably from that same wellhead of boredom and late-career anxiety that > Joni Mitchell suddenly decided it would be wise to make a record of > pre-rock'n'roll ballads with the backing of a jazz orchestra. > > 'Both Sides Now', with its reek of bohemian opulence, is Mitchell's tribute > to the great songwriters of the 20th century; Rodgers and Hart, Harold Arlen > and, oh yes, Joni Mitchell. Whether the inclusion of reworkings of her own > 'Both Sides Now' (which has a reasonable case for being a modern classic) > and 'A Case Of You' (which doesn't) is an act of grotesque vanity or a > dearth of ideas is anyone's guess. > > Whatever. The arrangements are fluent reconstructions of a bygone sound and > under such heavy manners Mitchell sings like a singer - rather than warbling > like a harpy - for the first time in her career. It's still a stop-gap, > though; an exercise in spending money before she gets round to writing some > new songs. That Bryan Ferry crashed and burned with the same idea on last > year's 'As Time Goes By' presumably escaped her notice. > > Nice enough, then, but a bit pointless. > > 6/10 > > Jim Wirth > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 11:23:18 -0800 (PST) From: Brian Gross Subject: Re: Globe and Mail Article - --- James Leahy wrote: > Toronto's Globe and Mail today reprinted Alan Jackson's London Times > article on Joni. It starts on the first page of the Review section and > continues on page 3. Quite a major spread! Large photos of Joni (from > the LA Times 1996 photo shoot) plus a front and rear view of her new > album. > > http://www.GlobeAndMail.CA/gam/TopGlobeReview/20000314/RVJONI.html What a wonderful article, even with the couple of inaccuracies that only we anal Jonifans would pick up on. In the article, Joni says: "Someone coming up to me on the street and saying that they love what I do? That kind of reaction is not coming out of a sense of appropriateness. That is coming out of kindredness. Which is wonderful, if embarrassing for both parties. We're strangers, after all, and a lot of times those people are so earnest and overwhelmed that they look as if they're going to implode. "The only possible response is to give them a good hug, which I do. And that makes for a very real and sweet encounter. Those people whom I've hugged on the street -- they're the honours and the good reviews." Do you think that we can set up a "hug" line at the tour venues?? What a great JMDL-benefit that would be! Best to all, Brian ===== "No paper thin walls, no folks above No one else can hear the crazy cries of love" yeah, right __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 14:26:46 +0000 From: Kate Tarasenko Subject: JC: re: Mean NME review Philip wrote: "The NME review seems fine to me. Sure it's disrespectful. What's wrong with that?" My problem with it is that it attacks Joni the person almost more than her work -- for her choice of material, her motives (as if...!), even for AGING -- and that's where ANY review goes out of bounds for me. This critic should have stuck with attacking the performance and the work. By using this scattershot approach, along with the extremely tired "hip to be mean" tack, he's lost credibility with me. Just why is it okay to disrespect someone????? Kate in CO ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 13:22:06 -0600 From: "Michael Paz" Subject: Wirthless Reviews I don't know why we insist on re-publishing these wirthless reviews of Joni's recordings. It's bad enough that some of them may not have enough maturity to even understand the impact of them, but then again I MAY be biased. Who ever posted Mr. Wirth-less' review please keep an eye open for something he does like. My bet is, he's probably more impressed by Smashing Pumpkins or maybe even Hole. Michael NP-Allman Bros. Acoustic 6-11-92 (THANK YOU!!! JVT) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 13:46:15 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: Cancelled BSN/LE orders from Reprise Marcel wrote: > Sounds to me that the first product mailed was actually of >inferior quality in spite of the much higher price. md I don't know if the type of CD disc used makes a difference but it does seem that the problem occured somewhere in the manufacturing process. I wonder if my original, "first edition" disc that plays alright will have any obscure collectible value in the years to come? ;-) Kakki NP: Joni - Circle Game ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 16:05:10 -0700 From: Bounced Message Subject: Healing Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2000 20:08:36 -0800 From: Leslie Mixon Great article in 3-20-00 "People" magazine with Julia Roberts on the cover. I'm recovering from the nightmare of the past seven days. One thing I had to do today was send the following email to the People Mag Editor: Editor@people.com RE: Mailbag Thank you for the article, "Both Sides Now" (People, 3/20/00) about the reunion of Joni Mitchell with her daughter, Kilauren Gibb. Since Mitchell's 1970 release, "Ladies of the Canyon," I've been captivated by the quality and allure of her skill both as a composer and graphic artist. One important omission from the article is the way in which mother and daughter were reunited. Kilauren was advised, after years of searching, to look at Joni's website and the information found there matched with details from the adoption agency. Joni has personally thanked the late Wally Breese, creator of www.jonimitchell.com, for bringing the two together. Leslie Mixon Santa Cruz, CA My biopsies were negative, hallelujah. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 19:20:46 -0500 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: BSN-Fixed Edition Today I received my "Both Sides Now- Limited Edition" today from Reprise. I guess since some of them were damaged, even in the sealed condition, there's no special value attached to a _sealed_ copy. I'm sending mine, unopened, to my father who heard an early cassette copy and said, "It's beautiful". He's the one who played Brubeck, Hendricks, Lambert & Ross in the house when I was growin' up. From Brubeck, I jumped off to Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake & Palmer and Steely Dan. From Hendricks, Lambert & Ross I.... well.... you know. He can enjoy the Limited Edition while he's in this life. He turned 73 last week and I can wait. :) Is that sentiment sick or gentle? In the spirit of Our Lady Of Duality, I suppose it's a little of both. (Sad smile.) All the best, Jim L'Hommedieu near Cincinnati ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 20:26:22 -0500 (EST) From: David Wright Subject: Re: Mean NME review; & Robert Christgau Hello all, My opinion on the Wirth review is, so what? It seems to some extent as if he is being singled out for not liking the album better -- for having the "wrong" opinion about it. Many of the positive reviews have been no less uninformative and "arrogant." In my opinion, if you substituted rapturous praise for every negative comment in the review -- e.g., if Wirth had written that BSN stemmed from "the wellhead of genius and autumnal wisdom" or something (instead of "boredom and late-career anxiety") -- without amplifying those statements further, and gave it an 11 out of 10, the review would still be worthless (to me, at least). But would we then interpret it as a sign of low journalistic standards and the death knell of music criticism? I believe artists and the arts should be supported by the media, but such support does not (necessarily) take the form of unqualified praise, but in the form of the *depth* of the engagement with the work. Although shallow unqualified praise still feels nice! However -- incidentally -- I haven't heard BSN yet! I'm looking forward but I have no access to purchasing it at the moment (long story). And, Relayer211, I've read Robert Christgau's capsule review collections. (I don't recall what he said about Joni's albums though.) I think he can nail the spirit of an album in his thumbnail sketches as well or better than can most full-length reviewers (though the thumbnails still, inevitably, come across as glib, in a sense). He can also be compelling at essay length, as in his collection of articles (_Grown Up All Wrong_) -- where you can see more of the whole thought processes, the whole range of responses, that were effectively distilled in the capsule reviews. I find his reviews very dense (*not* in the sense of being stupid) because he responds to music so completely and with such immediacy on many levels -- intellectually, socially (politically), emotionally, physically, etc. -- and he tries to convey that whole complex response. That's one of the things I think makes him so good. (I don't think he has a full-length article on Joni, unfortunately.) And he has strong tastes but he's pretty upfront about them. I haven't found him petty or mean. Well, maybe, but only about bad albums. ;) Cheers, - --David ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 21:04:51 -0500 From: luvart@snet.net Subject: VH1 - the list Sorry if this has been posted before ....I don't know if this show was a rerun. Just saw this show 'The List' on VH1. The list subject was 'Best Singer/Songwriters'. For those of you who are not familiar with this show, they have four guest stars on the show that each come up with their top three selections. Then it is whittled down to the top three. One of the guests chose Joni Mitchell (of course) but then she was booted from the end top three!! The top three were Kurt Cobain, John Lennon and Bob Dylan. Sorry ... but Kurt is out and Joni is in! I don't know why I watch these things! ;-) Heather (watching tv when I should be Bowflexing) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 02:16:03 -0000 From: philipf@tinet.ie Subject: Re: re: Mean NME review Kate wrote : > My problem with it is that it attacks Joni the person almost more than > her work I don't intend defending the NME. I don't agree with a word in the review but I do think they have the right to publish a negative review if that's how they see it. I read stuff in the press all the time that I don't agree with. But I don't automatically assume the writer is a bad person or a bad writer just because their opinions don't fit with my view of the world. It would be fairly dull to only read stuff I agree with and to dismiss everything else. You're right disrespect is bad. Philip ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 22:29:45 -0500 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: 7 Days To General Release Wally/Jim's wonderful web page says the general release of "Both Sides Now" will be March 21, 2000. I guess it's 21/3/00 to the Brits (and Kiwis? and Australians?) All the best, Jim L'Hommedieu near Cincinnati ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 17:06:59 +1300 From: "Helen M. Adcock" Subject: Re: 7 Days To General Release Jim wrote: >Wally/Jim's wonderful web page says the general release of "Both Sides Now" >will be March 21, 2000. I guess it's 21/3/00 to the Brits (and Kiwis? and >Australians?) Well, in an ideal world, sure, the general release would be 21/3/00, but in "real" time, we're probably looking at 21/6/00! That's usually about how long it takes for stuff to get here from the US! Hell - languishing in the Antipodes (and pretty damn glad the Ltd. Ed. only took 3 weeks to get here!) _______________________________ "I don't believe in livin' in the middle with available extremes" - Carole King hell@ihug.co.nz ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 17:09:25 +1300 From: "Helen M. Adcock" Subject: Re: VH1 - the list Heather wrote: >For those of you who are not familiar with this show, they have four guest >stars on the show that each come up with their top three selections. Then >it is whittled down to the top three. One of the guests chose Joni >Mitchell (of course) but then she was booted from the end top three!! The >top three were Kurt Cobain, John Lennon and Bob Dylan. Sorry ... but Kurt >is out and Joni is in! I don't know why I watch these things! ;-) I'm curious - who were the guests? Anyone notable, or just members of the public? Hell _______________________________ "I don't believe in livin' in the middle with available extremes" - Carole King hell@ihug.co.nz ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 20:14:04 -0800 From: Phyliss Ward Subject: Re: Globe and Mail Article Brian Gross wrote: > -In the article, Joni says: > > "Someone coming up to me on the street and saying that they love what I do? > That kind of reaction is not coming out of a sense of appropriateness. That is > coming out of kindredness. Which is wonderful, if embarrassing for both parties. > We're > strangers, after all, and a lot of times those people are so earnest and > overwhelmed that they look as if they're going to implode. Yep, like I was going to implode, that's what I looked like for sure. Leave it to Joni to find the right words. Phyliss ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 23:45:15 -0500 From: "patrick leader" Subject: RE: Christmas Song Trivia 'christmas wrapping' by the waitresses (their one hit was 'i know what boys like'). i really love this song... p np - silence > > It's about 10 years old when the Go Gos, Belinda Carlisle, Suzanna >Hoffs, and the Bangles were on the charts. In this particular Christmas >song the female narrator / songwriter bumps into a former male friend in a >store where they share something in common (on their shopping list for >Christmas dinner?). It seems like the refrain goes "Christmas comes just >once each year," ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 22:06:34 -0800 (PST) From: Penny Subject: Joni Web Interview Sorry, in advance if you guys get this twice. My usual addy isn't sending right, (sigh) so this is the second time I'm sending it tonight. I wanted to get this to y'all pronto. ;-) Penny Joni Mitchell Gives Exclusive Internet Interview On Medium4.com's(TM) Year2000TV.com(TM) NEW YORK, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Medium4.com, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MDMM - news) has an exclusive interview with Joni Mitchell, the Canadian Folk Singer-Songwriter on its Year2000TV.com InternetOnlyTV channel (http://www.Year2000TV.com) broadcast on the NicheTV.com (http://www.NicheTV.com) network. Mitchell, known for her wonderfully descriptive lyrics and melodic voice, gave the interview as part of the Millennium Project produced by Kathryn Walker. During the nearly 10 minute interview, Mitchell says that the world needs the Dalai Lama to become a ``Benign Overlord创 because he cannot be ``paid off.创 She also feels that as most of the indigenous people磗 apocalyptic myths seem to be coming true that by the year 2020 ``many must die so that some may live.创 Mitchell's interview, along with interviews with Independent Spirit award nominee, Kelly Lynch, and Singer-Songwriter James Taylor can be accessed through the company's NicheTV.com(TM) Network, (http://www.nichetv.com) or, directly via http://www.Year2000TV.com -- an Internet address that is part of the company's large, comprehensive collection of TV.com domains. Jonathan Braun, CEO of Medium4.com said: ``Now that we are almost one quarter of the way through the year 2000 it is interesting to see what some of the most influential celebrities predicted for the new year and new millennium, and to see how accurate or inaccurate their predictions were.创 SOURCE: Medium4.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 20:40:38 -0800 (PST) From: zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny) Subject: Joni Web Interview Joni Mitchell Gives Exclusive Internet Interview On Medium4.com's(TM) Year2000TV.com(TM) NEW YORK, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Medium4.com, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MDMM - news) has an exclusive interview with Joni Mitchell, the Canadian Folk Singer-Songwriter on its Year2000TV.com InternetOnlyTV channel (http://www.Year2000TV.com) broadcast on the NicheTV.com (http://www.NicheTV.com) network. Mitchell, known for her wonderfully descriptive lyrics and melodic voice, gave the interview as part of the Millennium Project produced by Kathryn Walker. During the nearly 10 minute interview, Mitchell says that the world needs the Dalai Lama to become a ``Benign Overlord创 because he cannot be ``paid off.创 She also feels that as most of the indigenous people磗 apocalyptic myths seem to be coming true that by the year 2020 ``many must die so that some may live.创 Mitchell's interview, along with interviews with Independent Spirit award nominee, Kelly Lynch, and Singer-Songwriter James Taylor can be accessed through the company's NicheTV.com(TM) Network, (http://www.nichetv.com) or, directly via http://www.Year2000TV.com -- an Internet address that is part of the company's large, comprehensive collection of TV.com domains. Jonathan Braun, CEO of Medium4.com said: ``Now that we are almost one quarter of the way through the year 2000 it is interesting to see what some of the most influential celebrities predicted for the new year and new millennium, and to see how accurate or inaccurate their predictions were.创 SOURCE: Medium4.com :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Grace dies when it becomes us verses them......Philip Yancey ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2000 #98 ******************************** ------- Post messages to the list at Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe onlyjoni-digest" to ------- Siquomb, isn't she?