From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2001 #353 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 Thursday, November 15 2001 Volume 2001 : Number 353 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: -------- Re: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" ["Kakki" ] Joni as Queen of Hollywood [Gordon Mackie ] Re: joni as queen of hollywood [Kammass@aol.com] covers [Kammass@aol.com] Shadows and Light/Helter skelter ["Paul Castle" ] RE: Shadows and Light/Helter skelter ["Deb Messling" ] Re: Shadows and Light/Helter skelter ["Paul Castle" ] Re: card [colin ] Re: Card [Steve Polifka ] RE: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" ["Donna J. Binkley" ] Subject: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" ["Kate Bennett" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 01:02:39 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" You've outdone yourself this time, Mr. Murphy. This is hysterical. Thank you for the laughs ;-D Kakki P.S. Even before I read that far I had you in the Holden part - hahahaha > How about a remake of "Sunset Boulevard?" > > We'll call it "Bel Air." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 09:04:21 +0000 From: colin Subject: card could someone send me the link to the card please. - -- bw colin DAK,BRO GC, 950i, 940,860,864,890, 260,Silver 830,860, 580 and 270, Passap 6000, Duo80. colin@tantra-apso.com http://www.tantra-apso.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 09:27:50 +0000 From: Gordon Mackie Subject: Joni as Queen of Hollywood Hey Joniphiles Given her proclivity for dressing up, I think she would be great in the lead role in 'Shaft'...or maybe Jackie Brown. Also another thought...the person who thought she would be good in the lead role in the 'Piano'... surreal or what . lol. Well, a little pianissimo is always bound to please! Gordon in foggy Glasgow ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 06:19:23 EST From: Kammass@aol.com Subject: Re: joni as queen of hollywood hahaha - Joni as Sandra Dee in GREASE!! kammy in alabammy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 06:27:04 EST From: Kammass@aol.com Subject: covers love the new aol 7.0 radio- been playing folk station all morning, they play lots of joni and lots of joni covers. just heard "Urge For Going" by Luka Bloom. (The album is Keeper of the Flame) if anyone's interested. kammy in alabammy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 11:36:33 -0000 From: "Paul Castle" Subject: Shadows and Light/Helter skelter Deb Messling" wrote: >As for Shadows & Light, I would not call it "definitive." Whilst I appreciate that the word 'definitive' is subjective, Karen's bio, IMO, seems to fit one of my dictionary (Collins) definitions - ie "Most reliable or authoritative". Whatever, for me, one of the most pleasing things about the success of this publication is that it appears to be redefining Joni's significance, in the UK media, at least. It had been my impression that for too long she had become the generic butt for snide journalists wanting to show off their anti-hippy-dippy-confessional-singer- songwriter credentials - a most irritating stereotype that she just doesn't deserve. I was pleased to find, just yesterday - reading a review of 'Shadows & Light' in UK music/movie magazine 'Uncut' (in the Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street - which, incidentally, was heaving with thousands of people who had come to see a lunchtime acoustic performance by Dave Matthews) that the final sentence of the review read: "It remains a mystery why shelves are not heaving with more books about one of the most dazzling songwriters of the last 30 years." all the very best PaulC PS I had no problem ordering a copy online from Helter Skelter last weekend for a US list friend - received an e-mail confirmation of the order on Monday and hopefully it should take a maximum of 2 weeks to arrive in the States. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 07:07:51 -0500 From: "Deb Messling" Subject: RE: Shadows and Light/Helter skelter I hate to be the one to rain on the S&L parade, but I found the book, though vastly superior to the Hinton thing, still overly reliant on secondary sources. Whoever writes something closer to the "definitive" biographer will have greater access to primary sources. IMO, a good biography is not just a narrative of life events, but a thesis about the person being portrayed. I don't see that this book has an answer for the question "Who is Joni Mitchell?" At least, not an interesting answer (not to me). Also, there are a lot of maddening information gaps, particularly in the area of Joni's romantic relationships. Do we agree that this topic is appropriate for inclusion in a biography? I would think so - it's considered fair game for everybody else, from Emily Dickinson to Thomas Jefferson. The book raises intriguing questions and then drops them. When she includes a statement by David Crosby to the effect that it's impossible to stay in a relationship with Joni, that issue ought to be explored! When we look at a statement by Jackson Browne that Joni has been carrying a torch for twenty years, that question needs to be explored also. But the book drops the ball. Sorry to be so critical. She obviously respects Joni and seems to understand her work. I don't think it's a "bad" book, just kind of pedestrian. Paul Castle wrote: > Whilst I appreciate that the word 'definitive' is subjective, > Karen's bio, IMO, seems to fit one of my dictionary > (Collins) definitions - ie "Most reliable or authoritative". > > Whatever, for me, one of the most pleasing things about > the success of this publication is that it appears to be > redefining Joni's significance, in the UK media, at least. - ----------------------------------- Deb Messling =^..^= - ----------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 13:03:26 -0000 From: "Paul Castle" Subject: Re: Shadows and Light/Helter skelter Deb wrote: >Also, there are a lot of maddening information gaps, particularly in the >area of Joni's romantic relationships. Do we agree that this topic is >appropriate for inclusion in a biography? I would think so - it's >considered fair game for everybody else >>> I'm not sure, Deb. I can't deny that I am interested too, but I think I tend more towards Karen's own view on this, from her interview with Peter Doggett in Record Collector Magazine - Peter Doggett: "Voyeuristic readers might be disappointed that you didn't devote more of the book to examining Mitchell's famous romances. Karen O'Brien: "I really wanted to get away from the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll idea. Why would I take that approach when she's a woman I admire for her creative output? It seemed like a waste of my energy, and the readers', to be talking at great length about men she had sex with 30 years ago. I didn't want to waste time on gossip. Maybe there isn't enough sex in the book for some readers - though there is some! - but there are more useful things than that. It's so reductionist to talk about women purely in terms of their boyfriends." all the best PaulC ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 13:06:55 +0000 From: colin Subject: Re: card I have seen the card and it is beautiful. Thank you Stephen(or Steven). colin wrote: > could someone send me the link to the card please. > > -- > bw > colin > DAK,BRO GC, 950i, 940,860,864,890, 260,Silver 830,860, 580 and 270, > Passap 6000, Duo80. > > colin@tantra-apso.com > http://www.tantra-apso.com - -- bw colin DAK,BRO GC, 950i, 940,860,864,890, 260,Silver 830,860, 580 and 270, Passap 6000, Duo80. colin@tantra-apso.com http://www.tantra-apso.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 09:44:07 -0600 From: Steve Polifka Subject: Re: Card At 10:59 PM 11/13/01 -0800, Michael Paz wrote: >I LOVE your card. What a wonderful job you did! Thanks for the effort. > >Paz Thanks, Mikey! God to know you are back with us. So I have one question, Do they really kiss on Mainstreet??? Steve ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 10:09:15 -0600 From: "Donna J. Binkley" Subject: RE: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" Bob, this is hysterical! Thanks for my first good laugh of the day!! PS - i think Larry is perfectly suited to play the butler. - -----Original Message----- From: les@jmdl.com [mailto:les@jmdl.com]On Behalf Of Murphycopy@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 1:12 AM To: joni@smoe.org Subject: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" How about a remake of "Sunset Boulevard?" We'll call it "Bel Air." Instead of the Norma Desmond part made famous by Gloria Swanson, Joni would play a singer/songwriter who hasn't had a big hit in ages and is desperate to win back the mass adoration of her glory years by getting back to her folkie roots. The Bill Holden role of the down-on-his-luck writer would be played by me, of course. And Larry Klein is my choice for the part of the faithful butler. The film would open with me -- dead and floating face down in Joni's pool, yet somehow narrating the movie from the grave. As detectives fish my bloated and lifeless corpse from the water, I tell the viewers a little bit about how my bullet-riddled body ended up there. "You'll read about it in the late editions, I'm sure," I say in voice over. "You'll get it over your radio and see it on television because an old-time folk singer is involved -- one of the biggest." The scene would dissolve to a time a few months earlier, with me driving my Tacoma while being pursued by from repo men from Toyota Leasing. To ditch them, I pull into the driveway of a mansion in Bel Air. Larry, as the butler, sees me and announces, "Madame is waiting." Mistaking me for a poorly dressed pet undertaker, Larry brings me to a room where a mysterious lady with dark glasses is mourning a dead cat. After I tell the woman and Larry that I am not a feline mortician, I notice that the lady behind the dark glasses is, of course, Joni. "You're Joni Mitchell," I say. "You used to be in the music business. You used to be big." "I AM BIG!" Joni exclaims bitterly. "It's the music business that got small." After dissing the music biz some more ("Look at them in the front offices, the star maker machinery! They took the idols and smashed them. And who have we got now? Some nobodies.") Joni tells me that she has been writing again, and is working on a new album of folk music -- tentatively titled "Salome" -- for David Geffen. I tell Joni that I had no idea she was planning a comeback, and she barks, "I hate that word. It's a RETURN! A return to the millions of people who have never forgiven me for abandoning the dulcimer." When I mention to Joni that I am an ad writer, she decides that I will be a perfect collaborator for the "Salome" project. "Jingles," she laughs, "that's what they want nowadays -- jingles!" She asks me my astrological sign -- Taurus -- and determines that I will be easy to dominate. Joni then shows me some of her "Salome" lyrics, which are truly dreadful, and offers me a freelance writing gig for $500 a week -- including a room above her garage, plus all the champagne and caviar I can handle. Since I need a place to hide from the Toyota Leasing thugs anyway, I take the assignment and move in immediately. As the weeks pass, Joni and I smoke many cartons of cigarettes while working on the new album. She is very generous and buys me lots of fancy clothes, including some very flattering Miyake suits. She even presents me with a gold cigarette box inscribed "Mad about the Smurf." When I protest that she's being too extravagant, Joni explains that money is no object, and that she owns all the rights to her songs which, she reminds me, people are always covering. "Pumping and pumping and pumping out covers," she coos. It soon becomes apparent that Joni is falling head-over-heels in love with me, and as time passes, her behavior grows stranger and stranger. What's more, the album project gets worse every time we work on it. ("What rhymes with Salome?" Joni asks me in one scene. "Cafe au lait?" I suggest. "You're brilliant!" she cries as she covers me with kisses.) We eventually book recording time, and Larry drives us to the studio. As we're pulling into the parking lot, David Geffen sees Joni and drags us all in to a session in progress. At first Joni assumes that Geffen is there to check out her new stuff, but she soon discovers that he is there to work on another project that has nothing to do with her. Joni is humiliated and blames me for everything. We go back to the mansion in Bel Air where Joni slaps me, kicks me in the shins, and then shoots me three times. I fall into her pool, dead, as in the opening of the movie. In the final scene, Joni tunes her dulcimer as she is being led away by the police. And just before the credits roll, she stares eerily into the camera and says, "I'm ready for my sound check, Mr. Geffen." --Bob ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 09:42:06 -0800 From: " Russell Bowden" Subject: Joni's card and Norma Desmond Hey Gang, Just a quick one to throw some well-deserved praise to M. Polifka for the excellent birthday card. B. Murphy's scenario for the Bel-Air Boulevard is a scream. I kinda thought you looked like William Holden when we met the NE Fest. I think Joni would make a great Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. The crumbling wedding cake, the tattered dress....she could do the score as well. Tim Burton would direct....(I'm on a roll now, folks!) I think I'll go start on the adaptation right now!! Love, Russ - -- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 11:18:21 -0800 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: Subject: Joni's Birthday Card Wow, what a beeee uuuu tiful card Steve!!!!!!!!!!!! ******************************************** Kate Bennett www.katebennett.com sponsored by Polysonics www.polysonics.com Discover the Indies at Taylor Guitars: http://www.taylorguitars.com/artists/awp/indies/bennett.html ******************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 11:28:38 -0800 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: Subject: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" OMG, this is sooooooo funny! Laughing & choking on my cereal... >>>How about a remake of "Sunset Boulevard?" We'll call it "Bel Air." <<< ******************************************** Kate Bennett www.katebennett.com sponsored by Polysonics www.polysonics.com Discover the Indies at Taylor Guitars: http://www.taylorguitars.com/artists/awp/indies/bennett.html ******************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 15:22:03 EST From: AsharaJM@aol.com Subject: Jonifest CD's The CD's for Jonifest are almost ready to be dubbed for everyone. Steve Polifka is doing the artwork, which should be ready soon. It is a 5 CD set, and is fabulous! If you are interested in helping out with the dubbing by being a Branch, please e-mail me as soon as possible. Thanks! Hugs, Ashara ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 15:37:44 EST From: Wtking59@cs.com Subject: Re: joni as queen of hollywood You're a mess, Bob. Hilarious variation on "Sunset Boulevard"---my all time favorite film. I can easily imagine Joni in the part of Norma Desmond. But the line should be "for 'deserting' the screen (i.e., dulcimer/piano)" rather than 'abandoning.' Too funny. Poor Joni/Norma... I never mentioned this before, but I've always thought Mia Farrow could easily play Joni in a film (w/ Sissy Spacek, Faye Dunaway or maybe even Debbie Harry as honorable mentions). And I realize this is long overdue, but I wanted to list some desert-island discs as well. 01. "New York Tendaberry" by Laura Nyro (come to think of it, Laura was almost as reclusive as our Norma Desmond. Also, her "Eli And The Thirteenth Confession" CD is a close runner-up. 02. "Miles Of Aisles" and/or "Court And Spark" by guess-who. 03. "Warehouse: Songs And Stories" by H|sker D| (shamefully underrated pop/rock masterpiece). 04. "Under The Big Black Sun" by X (easily their most brilliant moment). 05. "Easter" by The Patti Smith Group. 06. "Siren" by Roxy Music. 07. "Eat To The Beat" by Blondie. The ultimate in power-pop, and really the only decent Blondie record. Harry & Stein become a modern day Rodgers & Hammerstein. If you love "Court And Spark" or "Miles Of Aisles" you might just fall in love with Debbie too, believe it or not. 08. "Doc At The Radar Station" by Captain Beefheart. 09. "Spitfire" by Jefferson Starship. 10. "Last Splash" by The Breeders. A totally original creation that is proving to be impossible to top. XXXOOO, Billy K. NP--Yoko Ono's latest "Blueprint For A Sunrise." Surely the hardest rocking 68 year old around. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 19:05:13 -0800 From: Michael Paz Subject: Re: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" Bob Don't ever stop writing. I am still laughing hysterically and Julian wants to know if dad has lost it. BTW I have an underwater microphone that can be used for the production. I installed several in the Aquarium of the Americas here in New Orleans for their Shark Show. Best Paz NP-Sylvia Plath-Ryan Adams (OH MY GAWD he likes gin!!!! He is the bomb!!!) on 11/13/01 11:12 PM, Murphycopy@aol.com at Murphycopy@aol.com wrote: > > The film would open with me -- dead and floating face down in Joni's pool, > yet somehow narrating the movie from the grave. As detectives fish my bloated > and lifeless corpse from the water, I tell the viewers a little bit about how > my bullet-riddled body ended up there. "You'll read about it in the late > editions, I'm sure," I say in voice over. "You'll get it over your radio and > see it on television because an old-time folk singer is involved -- one of > the biggest." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 19:13:26 +1300 From: "hell" Subject: Re: joni as queen of hollywood in "bel air" Bob wrote: > How about a remake of "Sunset Boulevard?" > > We'll call it "Bel Air." Stop it - I can't stop laughing!!!!!!! Hell ____________________________ "To have great poets, there must be great audiences too." - Walt Whitman hell@ihug.co.nz Hell's Personal Photo Page: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hell/main/personal.htm Visit the NBLs (Natural Born Losers) at: http://www.nbls.co.nz ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2001 #353 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe ------- Siquomb, isn't she?