From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2000 #287 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk Archives: http://www.smoe.org/lists/onlyjoni Websites: http://www.jmdl.com http://www.jonimitchell.com Unsubscribe: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe onlyJMDL Digest Monday, July 10 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 287 The 'Official' Joni Mitchell Homepage, created by Wally Breese, can be found at http://www.jonimitchell.com. It contains the latest news, a detailed bio, Original Interviews, essays, lyrics and much much more. --- The JMDL website can be found at http://www.jmdl.com and contains interviews, articles, the member gallery, archives, and much more. --- Ashara has set up a "Wally Breese Memorial Fund" with all donations going directly towards the upkeep of the website. Wally kept the website going with his own funds. it is now up to US to help Jim 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 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: Saskatoon Magic ["Helen M. Adcock" ] Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) ["Helen M. Adcock" ] Re: Mendel Pictures ["Helen M. Adcock" ] Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) [Deb Messling ] Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) [catman ] Re: Mendel Pics [philipf@tinet.ie] Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) SJC [philipf@tinet.ie] Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) SJC [Jerry Notaro ] Re: Miles of Aisles and Rolling Stone ["Gerald Notaro (LIB)" ] P.M. Dawn question [Emily Kirk Gray ] Re: Mingus [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: Pictures of Saskatoon [AsharaJM@aol.com] Re: Mingus ["James L. Leonard" ] Re: P.M. Dawn question [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] "voices" report up at JoniMitchell.com ["c Karma" ] Re: Mingus the album ["M & C Urbanski" ] Re: Lead Balloon ["M & C Urbanski" ] Thanks for Joni&Taylor replies ["Vadim Litvin" ] Mendel reports ["Kakki" ] Incredible report from Joni's childhood friend - Part 1 ["Kakki" ] Re: Mendel Report from Joni's friend - Conclusion [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: Mendel reports [FMYFL@aol.com] Re: Top 5 Songs [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: Top 5 Songs [RickieLee1@aol.com] Joni and P.M. Dawn [Merk54@aol.com] Re: Mingus the album ["Jamie Zubairi" ] Re: Mendel Report from Joni's friend/top fives ["Alison Einerson" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 22:10:46 +1200 From: "Helen M. Adcock" Subject: Re: Saskatoon Magic CC wrote: >After meeting him, it's suddenly so clear why Joni is so special. Bill's >spirit is THAT BIG! I'm happy to say that after meeting him, I didn't want >to stay in Saskatoon. I wanted to get home to my family since somehow, I >felt I'd just learned how to be a better father. Thanks, Bill. What a great story - meeting the legend that gave us the legend! Welcome to the list, and thanks for sharing this! Hell _____________________________ "To have great poets, there must be great audiences too." - Walt Whitman hell@ihug.co.nz Visit the NBLs (Natural Born Losers) at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hell/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 22:20:33 +1200 From: "Helen M. Adcock" Subject: Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) Simon gave us the list of songs about Joni: >MCA Records #MCAD-31251, 1975 >DAVID CROSBY/GRAHAM NASH "Wind On The Water" > Mama Lion Well, roll me in flour and bake me for 40 minutes (with apologies to "Blackadder")! I've been listening to this song for years, and never made the connection - picture me now smacking my forehead with a big Homer Simpson "DOH!" And how many times have I heard "See You Sometime" (I spring from the boulders like a mama lion)? Too many to count, and I'm now feeling very dumb. Here are the lyrics for those interested: Mama Lion (Graham Nash) The horns in the fog could be heard if not seen Helping to guide the blind in a dream And down by the seashore, a banquet she gave She was feeding and needing a soul she could save Mama lion, mama lion, I'm starting to sink Beneath the sunshine and the icicles in the things that you think There's a hole in my destiny and I'm out on the brink Mama lion, mama lion She bounces off the boulders, she runs on the rocks She's taking her time from her grandfather clocks And over the border, and down on the land She's living in the future and it lies in her hand Mama lion, mama lion, I'm starting to sink Beneath the sunshine and the icicles in the things that you think There's a hole in my destiny and I'm out on the brink Mama lion, mama lion Mama lion, mama lion, I'm starting to sink Beneath the sunshine and the icicles in the things that you think There's a hole in my destiny and I'm out on the brink Mama lion, mama lion Hell _____________________________ "To have great poets, there must be great audiences too." - Walt Whitman hell@ihug.co.nz Visit the NBLs (Natural Born Losers) at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hell/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 06:24:37 -0400 From: Deb Messling Subject: Re: the legend of the housekeeper Joni kicked her housekeeper in the shin, and the housekeeper sued her. Apparently, the housekeeper at one point painted Joni's piano, and some say that was the provocation for the kicking, but Joni has said simply, "she was ripping me off." Do a search in the JMDL article archives on "kick and shin" and you might find ore details. At 05:11 PM 7/9/00 -0500, you wrote: >Would any patient soul out there be kind enough to recount the "housekeeper" >legend for those of us (me!) who don't know the story? (Or point us to an >appropriate article in the web archives or some such). > >All I know is that this diabolical housekeeper was the inspiration for "The >Windfall" from NRH, and there was kicking involved? > >Nickel Chief Deb Messling messling@enter.net http://www.enter.net/~messling/ ~I like cats. They give the home a heartbeat. / Joni Mitchell ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 22:27:26 +1200 From: "Helen M. Adcock" Subject: Re: Mendel Pictures Ken wrote: >This is where they will end up. >http://millennium.fortunecity.com/sherwood/452/mendel.html Thanks for making these available to the masses - I can now see that Joni gets her looks from her father, the similarity is pretty obvious. But her mother could be my (late) grandmother's twin! It's very strange to look at Myrtle, and see Christina! And so now my over-active imagination is thinking "Could I be the long-lost granddaughter, or great-niece of Myrtle and Bill?" Obviously I don't have Joni's cheekbones, figure, hair, face, body, musical talent, artistic talent or poetic talent. But her mother looks just like my grandmother! Hell _____________________________ "To have great poets, there must be great audiences too." - Walt Whitman hell@ihug.co.nz Visit the NBLs (Natural Born Losers) at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hell/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 06:45:09 -0400 From: Deb Messling Subject: Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) I can't find any confirmation on "Sweet Bird," and don't trust my geezer memory. Doing a Google search on <"P. M. Dawn" Joni> I did find this snippet of a P. M. Dawn lyric: ("The camera pans the cocktail glass / Behind a blind of plastic plants / I found a lady with a fat diamond ring / and after that I can't remember a damned thing.") BTW, re geezer memory: a friend commented recently about reaching 50: "We have no energy; our memory is shot; all we want to do is sit around and eat -- we might as well go back to smoking pot!" Simon says: >earlier today Deb Messling wrote (regarding P.M. Dawn): > >I'm 80% certain they also sampled "Sweet Bird" on some record or other. >if anyone can confirm this and identify the Album, >i'll have a friend send it to me. Deb Messling messling@enter.net http://www.enter.net/~messling/ ~I like cats. They give the home a heartbeat. / Joni Mitchell ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 12:12:26 +0100 From: catman Subject: Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) > > > BTW, re geezer memory: a friend commented recently about reaching 50: > "We have no energy; our memory is shot; all we want to do is sit around > and eat -- we might as well go back to smoking pot!" > Thanks for the giggle!(by the way, here a geezer is a bloke is a man so unless there is something you aren't telling us....) Outside it is pissing down, or more politley, raining heavily. It has rained almost daily now since March. It is also chilly. We had three days of 90 degree heat a couple of weeks ago and that was it. This is definately the worst summer I can recall for many years. Tho as I used to smoke, that may not be reliable! So i have an excuse just to hang around and listen to Joni and others all day long. ps rain and 7 hairy dogs are not a good mix. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 08:03:38 EDT From: RoseMJoy@aol.com Subject: Mendel report Hey JMDLer's The moment you've been waiting for... Jim Johanson has the Mendel Report up on the JM.com site. I hope that there are lithographs available before she sells these paintings. My favorite "40 below 0." Rose Marie Joy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 06:17:28 -0400 From: "M & C Urbanski" Subject: Re: Mingus the album > >WOW! I think you're the first with Mingus and BSN in the top 5 list. Is > >Mingus your #1 favorite?? > > > >Marilyn > > Mingus is a favourite of mine. I should of said not nessarily in order > though:) But Mingus does rank high in my book as Joni took a chance with > that album, I think. I mean, she risked her core audience to introduce > Mingus to people that would never have heard of him. I'm only 25, but if it > wasn't for Joni's Mingus album, I'd never would have heard of Charles > Mingus. I have several of his own recordings becaues of her album. > > JOP I know what you mean about Mingus! I like the LP too, however, I enjoy the songs more on S&L (live version). I also have 3 Mingus CD's because of Joni and I love them. She has done a lot to keep his music alive and to widen his audience! Marilyn ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 13:20:30 +0100 From: philipf@tinet.ie Subject: Re: Mendel Pics Thanks for posting these. There's something strangely moving about sseing her parents. They must be very proud. Philip ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 13:21:10 +0100 From: philipf@tinet.ie Subject: Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) SJC I was wondering when the name Ronee Blakley would crop up. Her second album, Welcome is one of the great lost albums of the 1970's. It's a brilliant record and I could never understand why it failed. She seemed to have everything - great looks, great songs, famous friends. She quit music to concentrate on acting. I remember seeing her in some dreadful made for TV movie in the 1980's and thinking what a waste of talent it was. The album was produced by Jerry Wexler and this short comment about it in his book provides a clue about why things went wrong " My next trip south was a little different. I was so intrigued with Ronee Blakley's singing in the movie Nashville that I called Joe Smith at Elektra, made a deal, and took her to Muscle Shoals. But there were conflicts; the magic never happened. In fact, during this session-for the first and only time-I lost it in the studio. When Ronee called one of my Iyric suggestions stupid," a dead silence fell upon the session. The musicians looked down at the floor. A red rage started in my shoes and crawled all the way up my spine. I started to walk-but Ronee capitulated and persuaded me to stay. The Sturm and Drang was wasted; the record bombed. " - ----- Original Message ----- From: > I wonder if she wrote "She Lays It On > The Line" after being on the road with Joni. No it came out after Nashville and before Rolling Thunder. Philip ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 08:34:48 -0400 From: Jerry Notaro Subject: Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) SJC philipf@tinet.ie wrote: > I was wondering when the name Ronee Blakley would crop up. Her > second album, Welcome is one of the great lost albums of the 1970's. > It's a brilliant record and I could never understand why it failed. She > seemed to have everything - great looks, great songs, famous friends. > She quit music to concentrate on acting. Having worked with her in the theatre in the early 80's, I can tell you she was a dreadful actress, and stoned all the time. That would probably explain a lot. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 09:01:20 EDT From: Dflahm@aol.com Subject: Re: Mingus the album What are our top 3 Mingus albums? MIngus ah um Blues and Roots Jazz at Massey Hall (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Mingus & Max Roach) DAVID LAHM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 09:03:46 EDT From: Dflahm@aol.com Subject: Re: Songs For & About JONI (The List) SJC I saw RB do a cabaret act in the 70s, post NASHVILLE. Not that much going on, as I recall. D LAHM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 09:30:20 -0500 From: "kerry" Subject: Miles of Aisles and Rolling Stone I was listening to the radio yesterday in my car and was surprised to hear ACOY playing in the background. The DJ was saying that Rolling Stone announced a list of the worst live albums ever. I assumed "Miles of Aisles" was included on that list since they were playing Joni. I didn't hear the whole thing - I couldn't sit in my car and listen since I was going out to brunch!!! ;>) Has anyone heard anything about this?? How can they pick on MOA?? I played that album until it was absolutely worn out! Kerry ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 10:35:36 -0400 (EDT) From: "Gerald Notaro (LIB)" Subject: Re: Miles of Aisles and Rolling Stone The DJ knows nothing. Rolling Stone named named The Hissing of Summer Lawns worst album title of that year. Jerry On Mon, 10 Jul 2000, kerry wrote: > I was listening to the radio yesterday in my car and was surprised to hear > ACOY playing in the background. The DJ was saying that Rolling Stone > announced a list of the worst live albums ever. I assumed "Miles of Aisles" > was included on that list since they were playing Joni. I didn't hear the > whole thing - I couldn't sit in my car and listen since I was going out to > brunch!!! ;>) Has anyone heard anything about this?? How can they pick on > MOA?? I played that album until it was absolutely worn out! > > Kerry > > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 10:35:52 EDT From: SMEBD@aol.com Subject: Re: Lead Balloon In a message dated 7/9/00 11:44:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time, johndownes@home.com writes: << I am curious to know about the situation which is portrayed in the song Lead Balloon from Taming the Tiger. Does anyone know the background of this song? >> It is my understanding that this song is about Jan Wiener (sp.), the editor of Rolling Stone Magazine. Their feud is famous and began sometime in the '70's when Rolling Stone printer a genealogy of Joni and her relationships. Apparently Joni did NOT find this funny and for years Rolling Stone had an "Unofficial" policy of not liking Joni (or at least this is what I've read). Jan lives on my street in NYC and I sing this song every time I walk by his house--just a nice little Joni moment of revenge for me! :-) Stephen ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 11:20:31 -0700 From: "James L. Leonard" Subject: Re: Mingus Here's the music I love and would highly recommend to any lister interested in a real good look at Mingus: The Historic 1956 Columbia Records Sessions (includes *the* version of "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" which Joni based hers upon, plus all the other 'Mingus Ah Um' album tracks that David Lahm recommended, plus much, much more classic, must-have material). Passions Of A Man: The Atlantic Records Anthology (exciting, explosive post-Columbia Sessions growth). These were multiple-record vinyl sets in the 70's, but both are now available in expanded, beautifully packaged and annotated CD box set reissues. These are the periods (imho, although I defer to Lahm) when Mingus was at the height of his powers. The influence of Duke Ellington was more than profound in Mingus' composing, arranging and bandleading, and the melding of the two personas made for some powerful and compelling music. As for Mingus' early years with Dizzy and Bird, etc...although it's important to know that he was involved on the front lines of the creation of bebop alongside the masters, (imho, again) his role then was purely supportive, and, sonically, his bass playing was not all that well recorded, as was the unfortunate case in many recordings from that era. My 2 cents. Thanks. :-) "Boston Jim" > What are our top 3 Mingus albums? > > MIngus ah um > Blues and Roots > Jazz at Massey Hall (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Mingus & > Max Roach) > > DAVID LAHM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 11:22:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Emily Kirk Gray Subject: P.M. Dawn question hi everyone! i was wondering, with the recent thread about P.M. Dawn, how it is that they "performed" "I's A Muggin'" at the Joni's Jazz concert in NYC. isn't this "song" really only a few seconds of messing around between joni and mingus? did they stretch it into a longer version? i'm confused...any clarification appreciated. the weird thing is that i was AT the joni's jazz thing last summer and don't even recall them doing this...i think i must have just been bowled over by their lovely, spooky rendition of "song for sharon" to remember their other performance! - -- emily NP: ron sexsmith, "several miles" off his self-titled album... this song is haunting and achingly brilliant -- go get this record, i urge! ------------------------------ Date: Mon Jul 10 11:34:53 2000 From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Mingus <> I'll plead my ignorance here, I've done a little looking and was wondering if Mingus had any of his own recordings of the "Mingus" songs, so thanks a ton for pointing me in the right direction. Since LH&R' original of "Centerpiece" and "Twisted" is on the JMDL 'Covers & Contributions', maybe this Mingus recording should be archived there too...thoughts? Bob NP: Crash Test Dummies, "Here On Earth (I'll Have My Cake)" ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 11:37:54 EDT From: AsharaJM@aol.com Subject: Re: Pictures of Saskatoon In a message dated 7/8/00 10:01:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time, johndownes@home.com writes: << PS - I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the story which was told by one of the presenters that evening about the fellow with AIDS travelling to Vancouver to meet with fellow Joni Mitchell enthusiasts. What was the last line she said that obviously touched Joni so? Something like "AIDS is the reason for the.......(?), but Joni is the reason for the friendships". If anyone can remember what it was I'd like to hear it. I thought Joni looked pretty choked up by that. Can you imagine having such a far reaching effect in this world like Joni does? It must blow her and her parents away sometimes! >> John and all, I have the whole story on video, as well as all the other opening speeches, and everything else I've already mentioned, and "if" (and I DO mean"if") we ever decide to leave Canada and come home, I will make this a top priority to get this into everyone's hands! I truly have never seen such a beautiful country. We have spent every single day in absolute wonder and awe. I was so sorry I didn't video the remarks at the VIP reception where this woman first told the story, and was SO happy when she repeated it at the general opening remarks so I could get it on tape. A reminder....anyone who is willing to be a branch for the the next set of video trees, please send 2 blank video tapes to me right away so I can get started when I get home. Ashara Stansfield P.O. Box 215 Topsfield, MA 01983 Please remember to include a note with your e-mail address letting me know how many dubs you are willing to make. Thanks! Hugs, Ashara www.photon.net/lightnet ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 12:04:21 -0700 From: "James L. Leonard" Subject: Re: Mingus The track is on the classic album David recommended, Mingus Ah Um, so you'd be able to pick it up (cheap, via Columbia mid-line) easily without investing in the whole shebang. As for including it in Covers, I vote "Yessirree, Bob!" :-) "Boston Jim" I wrote: > < "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" which Joni based hers upon, >> Bob wrote: > Since LH&R' original of "Centerpiece" and "Twisted" is on the JMDL 'Covers & Contributions', maybe this Mingus recording should be archived there too...thoughts? ------------------------------ Date: Mon Jul 10 13:08:54 2000 From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: P.M. Dawn question <> Hello confused - I'm Bob! Pleased to meetcha! :~) No need to be confused, Emily. What they did was take the bit and sample it and build a rap around it. I think they intended for the sample to repeat but I lose it after the first couple times and the whole thing breaks down into an almost unlistenable mess. I agree with you about their take on "Sharon". And like I said in my earlier post, PM Dawn are brilliant artists, and the creativity they display here is exemplary. It's only in the execution that they fail, but even then it beats the heck out of another version of BSN or BYT! :~) PS - Joni's Jazz was recorded and is available if you're interested... Bob NP: Crash Test Dummies, "At My Funeral" ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 10:12:21 PDT From: "c Karma" Subject: "voices" report up at JoniMitchell.com Hey, folks! Just noting here that the "voices" report is up on JoniMitchell.com, Jim Johanson reporting with David Rolls' photos assisting. One particularly striking photo of Joni leaving the podium at the public opening was the cover of the local Saskatoon paper the following day. The headline that appeared above it was, "Just a hometown girl." A flatlander for sure! Enjoy, all. CC ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 15:39:00 -0400 From: "M & C Urbanski" Subject: Re: Mingus the album - ---------- > From: Dflahm@aol.com > To: artwear@ncweb.com > Cc: joni@smoe.org > Subject: Re: Mingus the album > Date: Monday, July 10, 2000 9:01 AM > > What are our top 3 Mingus albums? > > MIngus ah um > Blues and Roots > Jazz at Massey Hall (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Mingus & > Max Roach) > > DAVID LAHM I have ah um, Mingus Dynasty & Alternate Takes Marilyn ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 15:44:32 -0400 From: "M & C Urbanski" Subject: Re: Lead Balloon > << I am curious to know about the situation which is portrayed in the song > Lead Balloon from Taming the Tiger. > Does anyone know the background of this song? >> > > It is my understanding that this song is about Jan Wiener (sp.), the editor > of Rolling Stone Magazine. Their feud is famous and began sometime in the > '70's when Rolling Stone printer a genealogy of Joni and her relationships. > Apparently Joni did NOT find this funny and for years Rolling Stone had an > "Unofficial" policy of not liking Joni (or at least this is what I've read). > Jan lives on my street in NYC and I sing this song every time I walk by his > house--just a nice little Joni moment of revenge for me! :-) > > Stephen Thanks for clearing that up. I though it was about David Geffen and why she changed recording labels (back to reprise). Marilyn ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 23:10:54 +0300 From: "Vadim Litvin" Subject: Thanks for Joni&Taylor replies Thanks for all replies to my Joni/Taylor bootleg question!! Best wishes, Vadim. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 13:22:07 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Mendel reports Wow! Thanks so much to Jim J. for the wonderful JM.Com report and beautiful photos. Thanks also to Ken Slarty for posting John Downe's photos - they are astounding - and to Rick from Belcarra for the photos he has shared on the Catgirl JoniMitchell Fans list. All the joy and happiness just jumps right off these photos. I can't wait to see more! Kakki ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 13:29:24 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Incredible report from Joni's childhood friend - Part 1 A shy jmdler has forwarded to me the most wonderful report from the CBC web site written by a childhood girlfriend of Joni!! The link with beautiful and vintage photos is http://cbc.ca/news/indepth/joni/# I will also post the story here for those without web access. These "insider" accounts are fascinating. Wonder if we will eventually hear from Sharon and Betsy and Ray's Dad, too? ;-) Kakki ***************** Anne Bayin, a childhood friend of Joni Mitchell, attended the gala opening of Mitchell's first-ever Canadian art show on June 30, 2000. Flying into Saskatoon for the Mendel Art Gallery opening of voices: Joni Mitchell, the first retrospective of the singer/songwriter's visual art, the "feathered canyons ev'rywhere" aren't much in evidence. It makes it easy to see the pretty geometric farmlands below, and follow the pencil straight lines of those highways that go on and on and appear to end nowhere. But I'm a Prairie girl; I know differently. Those roads arrive. As the landing gear drops, a familiar quickening tells me I'm home. Photo by Anne Bayin Funny, I've always associated Joni with planes, long before she grew up to write beautiful lyrics like Amelia, and paint and sing to the world about her private flying dreams. In fact, she was my first girlfriend who actually did fly. The circumstances were nearly tragic. One October day in 1952, when Joni didn't show up for Miss Fulford's Grade 5 class, there were rumours she'd been taken away on a "mercy flight" to the polio clinic in Saskatoon. When the rumours turned out to be true, it was so dramatic, so Joni, it took my breath away. At the age of nine, I confess, my first unforgivable reaction was one of envy, before reality and fear set in. Joni says she got up one day, looked in the mirror, and a woman looked back. "I looked older," she says. Walking to school, she got winded, and had to sit down for a rest. Her bones were aching and she was convinced she had early rheumatism, like her grandma. Next day, she was paralysed. This was at the height of the 1950's polio epidemic, and it soon became clear something was terribly wrong. She spent six scary weeks in St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon, listening to the wheezing of the iron lungs at night, determined not to be crippled, determined to walk again. She made a vow to the little Xmas tree that decorated her hospital room that if she got better, she'd do something special in life. She got better, the rest is history. At least that's the way I remember it. Roberta Joan Anderson, Joan, as she was known then, is an artist who celebrates her prairie roots. "I'm a flatlander," she says. Our families both moved around a lot when we were young. Eventually, my family settled in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, where Joan and I became friends. She was the grocer's daughter; I was the preacher's kid. She liked me anyway. As a young girl who loved crayons and words and pressing flowers in scrapbooks, I was attracted to Joan. She was magnetic and daring and inventive. She had the best husky laugh, even before cigarettes. As far as I was concerned, she had other major things going for her: she was blonde and she was an only child with her own bedroom. Art was our refuge from boredom, before boys, before rock and roll. I still find it amazing what transpires in the heads of nine-year-old girls. God had yet to invent the multi-channel universe, so we did stuff to entertain ourselves: we sketched animals and forests sitting at the Anderson's kitchen table; we dressed up in fancy clothes; we made angels in the snow in the schoolyard. Family albums show similar phases from our early black and white period: the "smiling cowgirl" phase - in my case, Annie Oakley, in a local parade; the "bride" phase- decked out in veils for backyard mock marriages inspired by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Escape from mundane existence to glamour was always a factor in those days. Joan's mother was a school teacher, who made beautiful Halloween costumes for her daughter; Joan's dad played a good trumpet. My mother was also musical, a community theatre director, with an endlessly entertaining trunkful of exotic silks and Elizabethan blouses with lace cuffs; my dad, when not in the pulpit, wrote wry verse. - -------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 13:34:20 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Mendel Report from Joni's friend - Part 2 Part 2 of report from Anne Bayin for the CBC Saskatoon was Joni's hometown from age 11 until she left high school for Art College. Although our paths have never crossed at the airport, I often think of her when I'm coming down the escalator. We've both arrived and departed from here hundreds of times, coming home for family visits. I'm wondering how many people off my Toronto flight are here for Joni's opening tomorrow. I've seen some of her wonderful paintings before, but casually propped on the floor of her studio in L.A., not properly hung in a gallery. I'm looking forward to this. For those of us who grew up with her, it's a special thrill and a homecoming. My mum, in her 80s, is driving down with my sister and brother-in-law from North Battleford. Of course, Joni will be here. It's not every day you get to see a collection of 87 of your paintings, photographs, drawings representing 35 years of work displayed in the major gallery in your parents' hometown. "I'm a painter first," she has said many times, and "I sing my sorrow and I paint my joy." Well, the painting part I never doubted. It was the singing that caught my whole family by surprise. I'll never forget my mother's reaction, when we first saw Joni perform on Prince Albert television in the early 1960s. By this time, my mum was conducting choirs and composing music, as well as doing her theatre work. She knew her music. I was away at university, but home for the holidays. When we got wind that 19-year-old Joan Anderson was to sing on local TV that night, we were glued to the set. Suddenly, there she was, on the flickering screen in our living room, looking like a movie star. She sat on a stool and sang several songs in a lovely, lilting soprano, accompanying herself on a baritone ukulele. We were blown away. "Well," said my mother, astonished. "Well." We waited for it. "She's good", she pronounced. "Joan can sing". When Joni moved to Saskatoon, I knew she had it made. Saskatoon was "where it was at," a happening place, compared to North Battleford. We deferred to it as "the City." In fact, this prairie version of urban sophistication was only 100 miles to the south, but it might as well have been Mars. Occasionally, when we were in our teens, I'd get to travel down for a weekend visit. On those smoky bus rides, where I was doing most of the smoking, I'd repeat the names of the passing towns like a mantra: Brada, Denholm, Ruddell, Maymont, Fielding, Radisson, Borden, Langham, Saskatoon. It was my ride to freedom, more than the sum of the towns. Away from the strictness of the manse and church twice on Sunday. "Why did we get such square parents?" I asked Joni who not only had perfect hair but the answers to life's big questions. "We needed something to rebel against," she explained, laughing. In retrospect, Joni's parents were anything but square. They may have been mystified by their irrepressible daughter, but they were always there to support her. Somehow, they had created an adventurer, a non-conformist. I remember her mother allowing her to paint a tree on her bedroom wall, with wide branches from which she'd hang things. I loved staying over, swapping clothes, hanging out at the Commodore Café, reminiscing about James Dean. Once, Joni bought sparklers, poked them in the grass around the front lawn, and lit them in unison. When I hear the words "The Hissing of Summer Lawns," I don't think sprinklers. I think sparklers. There were layers to Joni. "She has a real interior," I told a friend. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 13:39:10 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Mendel Report from Joni's friend - Conclusion Part 3 of report by Anne Bayin for the CBC. (this stuff is tooo neat!! - much thanks to the shy and generous jmdler who asked me to send this to you all!) Kakki ________________ This morning's headline in Saskatoon's The Star Phoenix reads, "Mitchell-Mania Takes Hold." I surf the story with interest while sipping cappuccino in a cafe called Calories. It's on Broadway Avenue, and suddenly, it's there — in the paper. "Did you realize," I ask the two young waitresses on my way out the door, "Calories is the site of the old Louis Riel, the coffee house where Joni Mitchell got her start?" "Really?" one says, blankly. "No, we didn't know," says the other. Saskatoon, I discover, is still refreshingly low key about celebrity. Yesterday, the ad for Joni's show appeared on Page A12 near one for "Sizzling Hot Specials" at the Co-op Home Centres. There's a special preview tour for the press this afternoon. Aptly, a musical carousel is going "round and round, and the painted ponies go up and down" in the Kinsmen Park across the street. Media vans, cameras, loudspeakers, and lights are setting up for the party. The Mendel is as ready as it gets: its lobby spiffed up with urns of exotic flowers, chairs for dignitaries, who will include Joni's parents and Premier Roy Romanow, are set up out front for the anticipated crowd of 5,000. Barricades are everywhere, ready to cordon off Spadina Crescent. Pitched behind the gallery, overlooking the scenic Saskatchewan River, is a multi-peaked reception tent. Looking very Camelot. Joni, I think, will approve. An unfettered imagination and love of freedom is what you see in the paintings on these walls. As an artist, she explores and changes styles as often as in her music. Sometimes this ticks critics off. She doesn't care. She paints for herself and refuses to be pigeonholed. Everywhere, there's humour. There's the famous Van Gogh take-off, Joni sans ear, which became the cover of Turbulent Indigo. A piece called Canadian Bacon, where the sky and the lake look like — well, bacon. Collages. Photographs of Joni's face superimposed with prairie imagery: elevators, old farm houses, wheat fields. Oil paintings of lovers. Snowscapes. A witty homage to Rousseau depicting the artist and a deer. There's a buzz of excitement as Joni glides in, smiling broadly, wearing beige and a straw hat and a backpack. No, she's not at all nervous she tells the small crowd of perhaps 100. Yes, she explores many styles, but isn't that something to celebrate? She paints pure, doesn't want to be shocking or play the art world game. She saw her first Picassos and Matisses at the home of Papa Mendel, the man who donated this gallery. Above all, she loves truth and beauty. She gives better than she gets. Did she ever dream one day her art would hang in a gallery like this? Never, she says. Her big dream was to have a bowling alley in her basement. What's behind the name of that elegant abstract painting The Stranger? "Well, actually, when Gilles (the curator) pulled the painting out of the warehouse, I looked at it and didn't remember it at all. I said, 'Who did that?'" She laughs. Joni's having a good time. A few hours later, Mendel director Gilles Hebert is at the podium, facing the biggest crowd of his career. "Ho-hum," he deadpans. "Another typical opening at the Mendel Art Gallery." After the speeches, 500 people are allowed into the gallery at a time. It's a rare sight to see people struggle to get inside a building to see art. But Joni's celebrity status has pulled fans in from Santiago, Chile; New Orleans; and Los Angeles. A woman from Vancouver, who knows the words to every song Joni's ever written, tells me she ran into Joni by accident the day before. She's thrilled. "I told her I'd had a dream we were jiving, and she took my hand and we started dancing," she says. Next day, Joni and I grab lunch at the Bessborough. First thing I do is try on the hat; it doesn't suit me. She's hoarse from talking too much the night before, but still floating. We do the catch-up thing, agree it's the best time of our lives, and we'll stave off the facelifts. I tell her about the four guys I met standing around her oil painting Middle Point, 1995, all excited because they were sure they'd spotted the cat hair in the brush work around the ocean. She cops to the cat hair and says she hopes they also checked out the painting of Georgia O'Keefe's Rainbarrel. "My cat peed on that one," she laughs. People stop by for autographs, and she handles it with grace. Old pals from high school appear and the memories start jumping. I drive by Joni's old high school, on my way over to see her parents. Take some pictures of colourful chalk drawings on the sidewalk in front. Then, I'm at the house, saying hi to the Andersons, like decades haven't really gone by. I can't believe things are so unchanged. The black tree is gone from the bedroom wall though, and there's a new patio out back. Down in the rumpus room, Joni's cousin, Dave, his wife and family are sitting in easy chairs watching a tape of the All-Star Tribute to Joni Mitchell, which was held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and first broadcast by the TNT cable network in April. The musical celebration featured stars like James Taylor, Bryan Adams, Wynonna Judd. Posters for the event said, "Pop, Rock, Jazz and Soul: One Woman Changed Them All." Meanwhile, I've asked Joni's mum to show me the scrapbook she's made, entitled "The Life and Times of Roberta Joan Anderson." I want to tweak my memory as to when this talent first showed up. And it's here, I find, in the early sketches of deer and landscapes, the pastels of dogs and vases, the pencil drawing of a teacher, a Happy Birthday Ode to her father, clever poems like "Sub Marine Symphony — The Lobster's Ball," written in Grade Seven. On TV, Elton John has taken his bows for Free Man in Paris, and is gesturing towards Joni from the piano. "I've sung for the Queen, but it's not so intimidating as performing Joni Mitchell songs in front of her," he quips. Here, in the family room, we laugh along, the kids, the parents, and then it goes quiet as we wait for Joni, who's up next, and we know, because her mum told us, that she has to sing and she's only had a banana for supper. She's doing a stunning torchsinger rendition of Both Sides Now, when I find the report cards. I don't expect humourless Miss Bready, Grade Four, to weigh in on the complimentary side, but she does. "Original in ideas", she says, and "a gift of interpretation." It's our Grade Six teacher who disappoints. "Joan should pay more attention to other subjects than art," he scolds. Lucky for Joan, I say, that she moved to Saskatoon when she did, in time to meet the inspired Mr. Kratzman, a Grade Seven teacher who encouraged her renaissance ways, and told her to "write and paint in her own blood." Lucky she had parents who stayed calm while she was "busy being free." It's no accident that Mendel director Gilles Hebert has chosen to display, alongside the Joni exhibit, a show called School Art, 2000, which is joyful, wild, colourful, unrestrained. Back at the gala in New York, everyone's on stage now for the rousing finale, led by the a capella group Sweet Honey In The Rock. All these famous musicians surrounding Saskatoon's Joni Mitchell, singing The Circle Game as the credits roll. Then the TV world gets switched off. In the real world, Joni's parents, now in their late 80s, have to get ready to go to a local production of Hello Dolly with their daughter. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- An estimated 75,000 people will attend voices: Joni Mitchell at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, before the exhibition closes September 17th, 2000. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 17:10:31 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: Top 5 Songs The Last Time I Saw Richard, the flat out best song ever about relationships, adulthood, and responsibility. California, the "BBC live" version w/JT on guitar, even though jt has a couple mis-starts. Amelia, the "Shadows and Light" version, including Pat's Solo Black Crow, the "A Day In The Garden" version. It's over way too soon. Ludwig's Tune, from the "BSN" tour, rumored to be on the next album. All the best, Jim L'Hommedieu near Cincinnati BTW: When ever I hear Carly's "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be", it reminds me of "The Last Time I Saw Richard". They both have that "I may be only 24 years old but I've seen it all, buster, and I'm here to tell you- love stinks" attitude. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 17:31:53 EDT From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Mendel Report from Joni's friend - Conclusion << (this stuff is tooo neat!! - much thanks to the shy and generous jmdler who asked me to send this to you all!) Kakki >> I totally agree, Kakki - thanks so much for your efforts to pass it along to us. Reminds me of the 4th grade report card I still have where Mrs. Klemkowski said "Bob sometimes gets lost in foolish behavior - I'm sure he will outgrow this" :~D And THIS (below) has to be the understatement of the century... <<"She's good", she pronounced. "Joan can sing".>> Bob NP: Joni, "Answer Me, My Love", from Camden show ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 17:37:12 EDT From: FMYFL@aol.com Subject: Re: Mendel reports Kakki writes: << Wow! Thanks so much to Jim J. for the wonderful JM.Com report and beautiful photos. >> That's a big me too Kakki!!! I just got back from vacation, and since I un.subbed from the list, I at least had the pleasure of seeing J.J.'s report and the great pics on Catgirl's list upon my return. I missed the JMDL while I was gone, so now I'm gonna have to check the archives to see what's been going on. I'm just so happy for the Saskatooners! Jimmy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 17:44:37 EDT From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Top 5 Songs << Ludwig's Tune, from the "BSN" tour, rumored to be on the next album. >> Surely you're being tongue in cheek here, Jim...you think she'd have Vince Mendoza work up the arrangements and then discard them? I'll bet a limb that ALL the "bonus" songs from the concert are on the next record, excepting Trouble Man. And I'll add this from Downbeat's article: "And Mitchell, Klein and Mendoza aren't stopping now. They're currently working on two follow-up orchestral albums, one focusing promarily on Mitchell's compositions, and one covering various Christmas-themed material. So far arrangements are in the works for "For The Roses" and "Judgment Of The Moon And Stars." So, no rumor to it; as Edith Ann would say, it's the trubplftth!" Bob, who still hopes she changes horses in mid stream anyway and has a major muse attack inspiring her to compose new gems! ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 17:55:29 EDT From: RickieLee1@aol.com Subject: Re: Top 5 Songs In a message dated 7/10/00 5:52:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time, SCJoniGuy@aol.com writes: << Bob, who still hopes she changes horses in mid stream anyway and has a major muse attack inspiring her to compose new gems! ;-) >> here here! i second that emotion brother! this is all just busy work, (IMHO) if it is not too heretical of me to say it out loud. peace, ric ------------------------------ Date: Mon Jul 10 19:34:06 2000 From: Merk54@aol.com Subject: Joni and P.M. Dawn I haven't had a chance to read all of the postings as of late, so I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for, but P.M. Dawn sampled Don't Interupt the Sorrow. He does give Joni a writer's credit for it in the liner notes of the CD. I know it's on Jesus Wept, but I can't recall the song off the top of my head - I believe it might be Forever Damaged (the 96th). If need be, I can check it out tonight, and let you know for sure. I hope this helps, Jack ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 00:47:34 +0100 From: "Jamie Zubairi" Subject: Re: Mingus the album Hello David Here are mine. It is thanks to Joni that I have been introduced to the wonder that is Charles Mingus. His Big Band are playing in London this week and I hope to go see. Sue Graham-Mingus might be there.... she might not. Mingus Dynasty Ah Um Black Saint and The Sinner Lady Jamie Zoob - ----- Original Message ----- > What are our top 3 Mingus albums? > > MIngus ah um > Blues and Roots > Jazz at Massey Hall (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Mingus & > Max Roach) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 18:06:19 -0600 From: "Alison Einerson" Subject: Re: Mendel Report from Joni's friend/top fives wow! thanks kakki and the "shy" jmdler for the effort on this! it was a FANTASTIC read!!! o.k., and while i am here... top five albums: (in no real order) Hejira Blue Night Ride Home Don Juan's For the Roses top five songs: "the last time i saw richard" "strange boy" "off night backstreet" "lakota" "two grey rooms" this would probably be different if i was ever asked to repeat it...it's all so relative to what's going on in life, i think. take care all, alison e. in slc. np: all things considered, npr - ---------- >From: "Kakki" >To: >Subject: Mendel Report from Joni's friend - Conclusion >Date: Mon, Jul 10, 2000, 2:39 PM > >Part 3 of report by Anne Bayin for the CBC. (this stuff is tooo neat!! - >much thanks to the shy and generous jmdler who asked me to send this to you >all!) Kakki ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 20:28:58 -0400 From: "patrick leader" Subject: RE: Songs For & About JONI (The List) bob wrote: > >And "Luke" Bloom on your list is actually "Luka", although it's >not his real >name. He's the brother of Christy Moore, a very famous singer and >writer in >his own right, but didn't want to be in his shadow, so he took his >name from >Suzanne Vega's song and the character in Ulysses by James Joyce. >You probably >knew all that but maybe it will interest somebody else. > well i think luka bloom is a huge talent, with one of the sexiest voices in the world and a fascinating songwriter, but i didn't know that he was related to christy moore, or the sources of his pseudonym (or even that it was one). i love the tribute to vega, a great, undersung artist. i've heard, but don't own the joni-related song. just love when the list kicks up these little pieces of trivia. patrick np - luka bloom - your country ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 21:15:36 -0400 From: "patrick leader" Subject: RE: P.M. Dawn question hey emily, as bob has said, pm dawn's version of "i's a muggin" is just a rap based on a the sample, just after his ska version of 'free man in paris' in the first half of the concert. not a particularly high point in the concert. i'd be happy to dub a copy of this concert for you, please contact me offlist. it's been one of the greatest gifts that has come to me by being on this list, this particular concert. it's not surprising that you don't remember 'muggin', in a four-hour show. there is a tremendous amount of gold in the concert that you could hear again. it wasn't, apparently, so special, to those who weren't there, but i relive my excitement every time i listen to the tape. btw, danny kapilian, producer of joni's jazz, is at it again. the BAM next wave season has been announced, and one event is a recreation of the bill evans orchestra 1974 tribute to hendrix at carnegie, with martin, medeski and wood, chris whitley, vernon reid, some other artists i admire. kapilian's got a good track record on these; his live replay of prince's '1999' at BAM just before new years was a satisfying musical event, especially the reprise of the title song, where toshi reagon came out and sang each verse as a blues holler. patrick jfp - prefab sprout - carnival 2000 >-----Original Message----- >From: owner-joni@jmdl.com [mailto:owner-joni@jmdl.com]On Behalf Of Emily >Kirk Gray >Sent: Monday, July 10, 2000 11:22 AM >To: joni@smoe.org >Subject: P.M. Dawn question > > > >hi everyone! i was wondering, with the recent thread about >P.M. Dawn, how it is that they "performed" "I's A Muggin'" >at the Joni's Jazz concert in NYC. isn't this "song" >really only a few seconds of messing around between joni >and mingus? did they stretch it into a longer version? >i'm confused...any clarification appreciated. > >the weird thing is that i was AT the joni's jazz thing last >summer and don't even recall them doing this...i think i >must have just been bowled over by their lovely, spooky >rendition of "song for sharon" to remember their other >performance! > >-- emily > >NP: ron sexsmith, "several miles" off his self-titled album... >this song is haunting and achingly brilliant -- go get this >record, i urge! > > > > > > ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2000 #287 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list at ------- Siquomb, isn't she?