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onlyJMDL Digest       Friday, January 12 2001       Volume 2001 : Number 011



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.
==========

TOPICS and authors in this Digest:
--------
  The Ghostly Garden                                      [SCJoniGuy@aol.com]
  Re:Republicans and musicians     ["Blair Fraipont" <jahwaka80@hotmail.com>]
  Nathan La Franeer                                [jgaertner@mindspring.com]
  re: Ghostly Garden                         ["c Karma" <ckarma@hotmail.com>]
  Re: Nathan La Franeer                                   [SCJoniGuy@aol.com]
  nyc jmdl gathering tonight!                 [Alison E <alisone4@yahoo.com>]
  delayed greeting              [christopher blake <nymets69_2001@yahoo.com>]
  Re: Portland JMDL group gathering?  ["Diane Evans" <diquintevans@hotmail.c]
  Joni photo [was nyc jmdl gathering tonight!]  [dsk <dsk11@bellatlantic.net]
  Re: Covers, Volume #13 (Long)                               [FMYFL@aol.com]
  RE: rufus                                               [SCJoniGuy@aol.com]
  yellow taxi drive thru ghostly garden  ["BRIAN SYMES" <briansymes@office.c]
  Borders Bargains                 ["Paul Pennington" <paulpenn@knology.net>]
  Re: Joni photo [was nyc jmdl gathering tonight!]         [RoseMJoy@aol.com]
  Joni's Presidential Performance ?  ["Paul Headon" <paul.headon@ntlworld.co]
  Joni Video Tree 1 & 2 Available     ["Jim L'Hommedieu" <jlamadoo@home.com>]
  Re: Joni's Presidential Performance ?                    [IVPAUL42@aol.com]
  mother's day thread                         [evian <evian@sk.sympatico.ca>]
  Re: Joni's Presidential Performance ?  ["Victor Johnson" <waytoblu@mindspr]
  ghostly gardens                  ["Patrick Willoughby" <pwillow@axion.net>]
  Stood up at the Fez/Mingus band (vljc)       [dsk <dsk11@bellatlantic.net>]
  Volume 13;  European orders welcome  ["John van Tiel" <john.van.tiel@wxs.n]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 08:54:51 EST
From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com
Subject: The Ghostly Garden

Thanks to everybody who responded to my question about the "ghostly garden", 
and please if there are more opinions, speak up! While it may be obvious to 
some, it was vague to me. I wonder why she used the term 'garden' instead of 
calling NYC a "ghostly graveyard" (with the high-rise headstones)? Maybe she 
was saving that metaphor for "Harry's House" with the dragonfly on the tomb.

Along the same lines, I received an excellent reply from Sheldon, and when I 
asked him to forward it to the list for others to read, he confessed that he 
didn't know how to do that, and asked me to help out...

<<you have my permission to forward it
from your computer >>

So hopefully I won't get bounced from the list, but if I do, at least it was 
for a good cause! ;~)Here's what Sheldon shared with me and now I'm sharing 
with you:

<<the ghostly garden grows
the ghostly garden grows
great line.
to me, yes, it does mean the world
but more specifically the concrete urban world
of modern man that grows and grows unheeded
like a cancerous tumor fed by greed, ignorance and
indifference and is not self-sustaining but rather 
feeds on the other garden, the garden of the natural
world or the mythological eden that i believe she's
referring to in 'woodstock'.  the ghostly garden is
the residue of "the devil's bargain" that humankind is
snagged in and that seems to be hurling us toward
certain self-annihilation.  this theme runs throughout
mitchell's work.  i'm thinking of the obvious "they
pave paradise and put up a parking lot"  or that line
from 'furry sings the blues',  "history falls to
parking lots and shopping malls" and the song 'sex
kills' really expands on this theme "this massive mess
we're in".  there are myriad examples i could draw
from throughout her body of work as i'm sure you well
know.  the ghostly garden grows.  it reminds me of
t.s. elliots "the waste land".  its beyond just a
question of ecology, the ecology seems to me but a
symptom of a greater collective dis-ease or trick that
we've all fallen for.  it can seem a bit overwhelming
and depressing if one really looks at it hard.  i
think that's why i'm so drawn to her work.  she has
been a relentless and profound observer of our sad
state of affairs for decades but i also love the side
of her that's "alive, alive i wanna get up and jive,
wreck my stockings in a juke box dive".  she's a
haunting prophet and an irrepressible  and hopeful
dancer in one.  always shaking things up and waking us
up.  well, i've got a regular essay going here and i
could go on and on  "talk to me, talk to me"  
in closing i would add that that ghostly garden could
be a bit of a metaphor for the accumulated lived
experience of the speaker in the song.  the ghostly
garden of experience and memory grows and grows and
grows.  i think what makes a great poem is that it
works on many different levels>>

Nice, huh? And great food for thought and discussion...

Bob

NP: Fat City, "Just A Little Bit"

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 10:37:27 -0500
From: "Blair Fraipont" <jahwaka80@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re:Republicans and musicians

     Yes, i agree with bob, you are all wacky.  Music is music.. Just like, 
you dont stop thinking Sammy Davis Junior is funny just because you found 
out he was a part of the Church of Satan.. I mean Bing Crosby beat his 
children supposedly and he had the biggest selling single for the longsest 
time.
    Personally, I like alot of Frank Zappa's views on Republicans and 
Democrats, I think it would have been great if Zappa had been able to run 
back in 92, except that he got sick.
blair
np:"NEver" Heart
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 10:40:07 -0500
From: jgaertner@mindspring.com
Subject: Nathan La Franeer

There has never been a doubt in my mind that, despite all the exotic images conjured by Joni's lyrics, she was making poetic reference to the imposing old Madison Square Garden venue to which her taxi was taking her for a performance.  She told me so.  :-)

Jim

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 15:55:28 
From: "c Karma" <ckarma@hotmail.com>
Subject: re: Ghostly Garden

"Nathan LaFraneer" starts with mapping the route, "from confusion to the 
plane."  I always thought of the cab ride taking a path from Manhattan 
through Queens where I grew up to either JFK (maybe called Idlewild, then -- 
the same name of the current SASKATOON airport!) or LaGuardia airports.  The 
route to either can take one past several large, crowded graveyards, 
although recent highway construction has hidden them behind privacy walls.  
I always associated the "ghostly garden" partly with those gloomy sites.  In 
fits of youthful ennui, I often remarked dryly that the only reason people 
came to Queens from Manhattan was "to fly or to die."  On the up side, We of 
Queens DID have the '64-'65 World's Fair (Michaelangelo's Pieta was there, 
even the POPE came!), the '69 Mets, and Louis Armstrong. So there was also 
color and sun, glinting smiles and chrome plate.

CC

"Anima rising, queen of Queens." -- JM


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 11:04:04 EST
From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com
Subject: Re: Nathan La Franeer

<<she was making poetic reference to the imposing
old Madison Square Garden venue to which her taxi was taking her for a
performance.>>

But Jim, NLF was from STAS, which was when she was still playing glorified 
coffeehouses...I don't know, but I'd be real surprised to see that she played 
MSG prior to the release of STAS.

Was she part of some folk festival at MSG or something, and the REAL 
question, do you have a tape of the performance to share? ;~)

Bob

AC/DC, "Back In Black"

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 08:44:43 -0800 (PST)
From: Alison E <alisone4@yahoo.com>
Subject: nyc jmdl gathering tonight!

hello everyone, 
being the event coordinating master that i am,
i wanted to post to the list that several of us will
be getting together tonight at Fez to hear the Mingus
Big Band live. Those scheduled to attend include the
lovely debra shea, patrick, roberto and myself. emily
has regretfully declined due to illness. we love her
anyway. 
information on the show, location and cost are below. 
please feel free to attend if you are a lurker or
seldom-poster. we would love to have you!
i made a reservation for 6, and it looks like we only
have four right now. 
thanks, and see ya there.
alison e. 

Fez (Under Time Cafe)
18.00 (cash only)
show starts at 9:30, we are meeting at 8:30
380 Lafayette St (at great jones st)
New York, NY 10003  
Phone:   (212) 533-7000  
http://www.feznyc.com/
Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online!
http://photos.yahoo.com/

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 09:00:33 -0800 (PST)
From: christopher blake <nymets69_2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: delayed greeting

hi. i am newly acquainted with you all but like what i
have been reading. i love joni's music and enjoy it
even more now that i know her tunings. any new
englanders? 
Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online!
http://photos.yahoo.com/

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 13:32:08 -0500
From: "Diane Evans" <diquintevans@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Portland JMDL group gathering?

Hey, Rev!

Now, it would be great to see a Midwest (any where) gathering!  But, could 
we include the *rest* of the midwestern states? :-D

Diane, In Indiana



>If this Portland gathering is held in Portland, Michigan, it would be
>only 45 minutes from me, and all the Michigan and Ohio people could come
>too!  Just a thought...
>
>(the Rev) Vince

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 14:18:15 -0500
From: dsk <dsk11@bellatlantic.net>
Subject: Joni photo [was nyc jmdl gathering tonight!]

Alison E wrote:

> information on the show, location and cost are below.
> please feel free to attend if you are a lurker or
> seldom-poster. we would love to have you!
> i made a reservation for 6, and it looks like we only
> have four right now.
> thanks, and see ya there.
> alison e.
>
> Fez (Under Time Cafe)
> 18.00 (cash only)
> show starts at 9:30, we are meeting at 8:30
> 380 Lafayette St (at great jones st)
> New York, NY 10003
> Phone:   (212) 533-7000
> http://www.feznyc.com/

I second Alison's invite. And, for those too far from the center of the
universe to attend (ok, so I'm being an obnoxious New Yorker), there's a
very dramatic photo of Joni when she played at the Fez. Click on the
link above and go to History & Photos.

What a great time that would have been... Joni and guitar from 25 feet
away at the most!!! No wonder Chrissie Hynde was so excited.

See you guys soon.

Debra Shea

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 16:06:58 EST
From: FMYFL@aol.com
Subject: Re: Covers, Volume #13 (Long)

Just got my Covers Vol. #13 in the mail today, and have been listening to it 
all afternoon.  Bob, no wonder you were so excited about this one. I think 
it's the best compilation of all the covers so far, and there's no cheese to 
be found!!!  I already had Shawn Colvin's "River" and Bette Midler's 
"Twisted" which are wonderful.  As for the rest of the CD, all of the songs 
are great especially since there's no Dave Van Ronk (sorry Bob Murphy :~) )  
My other favorites were Chaka Khan's "Man from Mars" and the 3 songs 
performed by Lydia Van Dam. (Muller, I can see why you'd want to marry 
Lydia.)  Wow, what a voice this lady has.  As for David Hay's "Chinese Cafe", 
I could picture Michael Bolton singing this song now, and I'm NOT a Bolton 
fan at all.

So folks, if you don't have any of the Cover's CD's at least frickin get this 
one.  Thank you so much Bob, and thanks to all of the JMDL contributors.


Jimmy, who plans on making an entire CD of only "BSN" covers to 
             drive my office crazy :~)

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 16:34:21 EST
From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com
Subject: RE: rufus 

<<Thanks Bob- But the url is http://www.clearsong.com >>

D'oh!

I actually saw that I had screwed that up when I saw the post, so I figured you'd jump in and correct me. Thanks for doing so...

Question: What made you decide to record Willy, out of all the possible choices? You've performed lots of Joni's songs in concert, right? Was it just that Willy fits in with the overall atmosphere of the record as a whole?

Bob

NP: The Alarm, "Rain In The Summertime"

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 13:35:39 -0800
From: "BRIAN SYMES" <briansymes@office.com>
Subject: yellow taxi drive thru ghostly garden

I think Sheldon's essay is exactly how i think too about JM ouvre its 
just i am one slow typin fool. So i like to keep my dotmails shorter.

After watching KB's JAZZ it hit me Sidney B and and Kenny G play the 
same Sax 
the Former poured whikey down his, Decaf Starbuck's with honey down 
the former.

NP West End Blues Louis Armstrong 


- -----------------------
Free Email Service provided to you by Office.com, a service from Winstar

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 18:24:36 -0500
From: "Paul Pennington" <paulpenn@knology.net>
Subject: Borders Bargains

    Check out the bargain bin in your local Borders Store next time you're in
there -- they have some good stuff for $7.95 for a change:  Joni, along with
Linda Ronstadt, Emmyhair Louis (sorry), and Neil Young, among others.

    Paul Pennington
    Augusta, Georgia

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 18:46:18 EST
From: RoseMJoy@aol.com
Subject: Re: Joni photo [was nyc jmdl gathering tonight!]

In a message dated 1/11/01 2:28:08 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
dsk11@bellatlantic.net writes:

<< I second Alison's invite. And, for those too far from the center of the
 universe to attend (ok, so I'm being an obnoxious New Yorker), there's a
 very dramatic photo of Joni when she played at the Fez. Click on the
 link above and go to History & Photos.
 
 What a great time that would have been... Joni and guitar from 25 feet
 away at the most!!! No wonder Chrissie Hynde was so excited.
  >>
Oh I wish I could have had more advance notice. I would have loved to have 
joined you guys! Nikki who usually joins me in these outings is on her way to 
sunny California right now.
Rose in NJ

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 02:37:01 -0000
From: "Paul Headon" <paul.headon@ntlworld.com>
Subject: Joni's Presidential Performance ?

Hi

Has Joni ever been asked to sing for any US President at the White House and
did she in fact go and sing ?

Best Wishes

Paul Headon

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 21:52:26 -0500
From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" <jlamadoo@home.com>
Subject: Joni Video Tree 1 & 2 Available

If you're one of my tardy leaves, you can still send in your VHS blanks.

If you're new to the list and think you missed out, send me an email.

If you have no idea what a tree is read
www.jmdl.com/trading then write me an email if you live in the US.  Also
available, the TNT Tribute to Joni Mitchell in stereo from a digital cable
connection.

Lama

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 22:07:34 EST
From: IVPAUL42@aol.com
Subject: Re: Joni's Presidential Performance ?

In a message dated 1/11/01 9:44:26 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
paul.headon@ntlworld.com writes:

<< Has Joni ever been asked to sing for any US President at the White House 
and
 did she in fact go and sing ?
 
 Best Wishes
 
 Paul Headon
  >>
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to ask whether she has ever been invited to 
sing before Canada's prime minister?  She is a Canadian, after all.

Paul I

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 23:45:05 -0600
From: evian <evian@sk.sympatico.ca>
Subject: mother's day thread

Hey Listas,
    I was poking around on the JMDL site today at work and noticed the
"Mother's Day" thread -- can someone refresh my memory as to when this
thread occurred?  Was it before I joined (sometime in Feb. 98 or
something) or was it during one of my "I have too many digests and must
delete all 40 of them?"  It seems sort of familiar, but reading it now,
it's all new to me, and very interesting at that... LOL, if I stumble
upon a post of mine in there, I will know I really need to get more
sleep....
    Also, please tell me that Kilauren wasn't named Kelly Dale... I knew
it was Kelly, but Dale??  I have this weird feeling we are having a
girl, and the only name we both like is Kelly, and then my brother in
law is named Dale, and he's one of my best friends, so I thought "hmmm,
Dale would be nice for a middle name" but now that I read that Kilauren
was Kelly Dale, that idea goes out the window, because otherwise it just
seems too icky and creepy.... sigh......
    TGIF, TGIF, TGIF,
Evian
np: the sounds of what must be boulders, or bowling balls, or at least
loose change in the dryer....  Oh God, where's the cat.......

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 00:50:06 -0500
From: "Victor Johnson" <waytoblu@mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: Joni's Presidential Performance ?

> Wouldn't it be more appropriate to ask whether she has ever been invited
to
> sing before Canada's prime minister?  She is a Canadian, after all.
>
> Paul I

Has Joni ever been asked to sing for Kermit the Frog?  She is a muppet isn't
she?

Victor Johnson
http://www.cdbaby.com/victorjohnson

"Just beyond the morning falls the river of your dreams,
Escaping from the day these wild creatures run away."
                                                            Victor Johnson

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 22:29:35 -0800
From: "Patrick Willoughby" <pwillow@axion.net>
Subject: ghostly gardens

Well, everyone has said it so well, but I may as well put my two cents worth
in too.

I agree that the "ghostly gardens" in Nathan LaFraneer refer to the urban
decay of NYC that Joni, or the character singing in the song,
is abandoning in the song. The album, like BSN, and, to some extent, HOSL, is
a song cycle..."Out of the city and down to the seaside".
The young woman narrating has packed up her life, and is fleeing the
artificial garden for the beauty of Sisotowbell Lane. The song has some
biblical resonance for me, hands full of silver, dreams betrayed, what have
you...

At the moment, my copy of the CD, and of LOTC, are being held hostage by my 19
year old nephew. So heartening to pass the music
down to the next generation, although eventually I would like them back! Maybe
I'll replace them with HDCD copies. Sometimes I wish
Joni would authorize a boxed set if just for uniform sound quality. I can't
count how many copies I have bought over the years....

Cheers,
Patrick
Vancouver

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 02:15:47 -0500
From: dsk <dsk11@bellatlantic.net>
Subject: Stood up at the Fez/Mingus band (vljc)

RoseMJoy@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 1/11/01 2:28:08 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> dsk11@bellatlantic.net writes:
>
> << I second Alison's invite.
>   >>
> Oh I wish I could have had more advance notice. I would have loved to have
> joined you guys! Nikki who usually joins me in these outings is on her way to
> sunny California right now.

Hi Rose,

I would have loved for you to be there too since I ended up there by myself, in
the center booth, best seat in the house, waiting, waiting, drinking a beer,
waiting, listening to the music over the sound system. The NYC Joni contingent
apparently needs to be contacted at the very last moment to see if plans are
still on. Jeez, I didn't know, so I left home today at 4:15 to meet a friend to
see a movie (Chocolat again for me, aahhhh!) and after the movie and a chat she
went off to her play rehearsal and I went downtown, getting to the Fez a little
early, standing in line, paying my hard cold cash, and doing that waiting thing,
just hanging out with independent me. No word on my cell phone; no word at the
Fez, which would have gotten to me if they'd been called since it's such a small
place, and with a "Leader" reservation for 6 it looked like all was ok to me.
Two evening messages from concerned Alison were on my home answering machine and
I heard them when I got home at midnight; it didn't cross my mind to check my
answering machine before going into the Fez. Hmmm.

I don't know why everyone cancelled at the last minute and I hope all's ok with
everyone; but along with that I've gotta say I've never been treated so rudely.
So, live and learn is what I say at such times.

The Mingus Big Band, though, was great. I only know Mingus from Joni's album, so
had no idea he wrote such quirky stuff, with some intricate passages, lots of
humor, and always tough (nothing sentimental). Seemed intellectual rather than
emotional. Listening to jazz recordings can make me kinda nuts, but hearing and
also seeing the musicians' interaction makes it quite enjoyable. I like how they
trade off the spotlight (so to speak) and how they listen so intently to each
other's playing. It all seems so personal and intertwined I'm drawn in. So the
evening was very pleasant despite my stood-up status. I ended up sharing "my"
prized booth with four strangers who spoke a Slavic language (I think),
listening to the music and eating hummus for dinner (that stuff is so yummy)
and, since the Fez is downstairs, feeling the subway trains (especially the 4
and 5 express trains) when they zip by underneath; it vibrates the seats and
gives everyone a fanny massage every few minutes, which is soooo New York I love
it.

I also spent some of my evening imagining Joni there on stage. That must have
been such a wonderful experience for the lucky few that knew about it in time to
get in. Her performance there wasn't that long ago, but I think of it as the
start of her reemergence and blossoming, and the Fez (in my mind anyway) is a
special place because of that. It's also very relaxed and the people that work
there are friendly, it's not too expensive (for NYC anyway), and they have all
types of performances (saw Susan McKeown, a fantastic Irish singer, last week).
The cafe upstairs is middle eastern decor with couches and candles and small
tables... very cozy. Anyone that visits NYC, check it out... just don't expect
me to be waitin' on ya.

Debra Shea

NP:  Susan McKeown's Bones, "Ce Leis e?"

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 07:35:49 +0100
From: "John van Tiel" <john.van.tiel@wxs.nl>
Subject: Volume 13;  European orders welcome

I could not agree more, Jimmy.  Volume 13 really stands out.  Any Old Worlder
who would like to have a copy of this highlight of Bob's ongoing project, just
let me know.  I am more than happy to burn you one for blanks and postage (or
copies of any of the other volumes). Europeans who missed out on any of last
year's CD trees can also contact me. I still have a few copies lying around.

John



Jimmy (Hi Jim!) wrote:

>> Just got my Covers Vol. #13 in the mail today, and have been listening to
it
all afternoon.  Bob, no wonder you were so excited about this one. I think
it's the best compilation of all the covers so far, and there's no cheese to
be found!!!  I already had Shawn Colvin's "River" and Bette Midler's
"Twisted" which are wonderful.  As for the rest of the CD, all of the songs
are great especially since there's no Dave Van Ronk (sorry Bob Murphy :~) )
My other favorites were Chaka Khan's "Man from Mars" and the 3 songs
performed by Lydia Van Dam. (Muller, I can see why you'd want to marry
Lydia.)  Wow, what a voice this lady has.  As for David Hay's "Chinese Cafe",
I could picture Michael Bolton singing this song now, and I'm NOT a Bolton
fan at all.

So folks, if you don't have any of the Cover's CD's at least frickin get this
one.  Thank you so much Bob, and thanks to all of the JMDL contributors. <<

------------------------------

End of onlyJMDL Digest V2001 #11
********************************

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