From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2004 #65 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 Sunday, March 7 2004 Volume 2004 : Number 065 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: Funny Joni anecdote [Ken ] Re: Joni to Ian McKellan in 7 steps or less [LCStanley7@aol.com] Re: Harry's House and Hissing [Bobsart48@aol.com] Newbie, 100% Joni Content [] Re: Suzanne v The Wizard of Is [Bobsart48@aol.com] Re: [Bobsart48@aol.com] Re: Suzanne v The Wizard of Is [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: Twisted [steph@cix.co.uk (Anita gabrielle Tedder)] Re: Covers [Bobsart48@aol.com] Re: Twisted [Randy Remote ] Re: Covers [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: Twisted and 2 Grey Room [Bobsart48@aol.com] Re: A Case of You and another newbie [Bobsart48@aol.com] Re: top 10, top 9 ["amelio747" ] paul is dead, again (sire of sorrow content) ["patrick leader" ] Re: Suzanne v The Wizard of Is [Emiliano ] That Mingus album [PassScribe@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 08:20:15 -0500 From: Ken Subject: Re: Funny Joni anecdote Maybe she should have tried smoking Camel Lites. jlobello wrote: >All, >Here's something I found on the net under Roberta Joan Anderson. Jono > >Joni Fumes > >For some time Joni Mitchell held a weekly social gathering (a drop-in potluck) >at her cottage in British Columbia. "It was usually outside with candles and >two strings of yellow Camel lights," she explained. "I smoked 150 packages of >Camels and sent away for two strings..." >Mitchell was not pleased when the paint peeled off her cherished lights. "You >wouldn't believe how cheap the plastic on them is and I'm really pissed off," >she later fumed, "because that was a lot of smoking!" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 09:13:22 EST From: LCStanley7@aol.com Subject: Re: Joni to Ian McKellan in 7 steps or less Anne wrote: Joni wrote and performed Cactus Tree, which was featured in the movie "A Walk on the Moon," which starred Viggo Mortensen, who was in LOTR with Ian M. Hi Anne! Cactus Tree is one of my favorite songs! I haven't seen the movie "A Walk on the Moon" because it didn't appeal to me from what was written about it. Wish there was a movie called Cactus Tree! There is enough material in that song to fill a 3 hour movie and have at least one sequel. Love, Laura ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 10:31:02 EST From: Bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: Harry's House and Hissing 9 days ago, Kakki replied (sorry for my long delay in replying - finally back from vacation): "I did recognize at the time (even though I was a young pup) exactly the themes Joni was conveying. .... I felt it was especially true of the Southern Californian suburban landscape I was experiencing at the time. The wild cultural swings of the Vietnam war were over, we inherited a bland President (Ford) after the Watergate debacle, inflation and unemployment were rising .....and it felt like were were stuck somehow in a rut ........... economically, culturally and socially.......... Everything was colored in shades of bland polyester. Even a lot of the music then was sort of limp. I think Joni captured the mood of the time brilliantly." Thanks, Kakki, for taking me back to that mid-70's setting. I was distracted then by things like a new marriage complete with step-parenthood etc., but I too recall that sort of ennui, including the music. Ironically, my tastes were not developed enough to appreciate Hissing - which I rebelled against (liking only the first two songs and tolerating the finale). Pathetic. 25 years later I finally discovered what I had missed the first time - I agree with you, Kakki, about Joni's brilliance. In fact, the more I listen to her stuff, the more it grows on me (like the lines from Centerpiece that she lifted - 'the more I'm with you pretty baby, the more I feel my love increase'). For me, the transition to this level/style of music began with side 2 of C&S, where Just Like This Train, Trouble Child and Twisted seemed to harbinger the shifts/advances that called to Joni , but that I was not yet ready for. I wonder how many other fans dropped out at that point - seems such a shame for those who did and never found their way back. God bless Joni. Bobsart ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 13:04:02 -0500 From: Subject: Newbie, 100% Joni Content Ahmed, I discovered Joni by way of her writing credit on CSNY's version of "Woodstock". How lame is that? It doesn't matter how you get to the Well, only that you appreciate the Water. If you feel guilty about downloading, you can atone easily enough. I recommend all 10 albums from 1971's BLUE through 1982's WILD THINGS RUN FAST. In my opinion, none of the Beatles had 10 albums in a row that are this consistenly interesting, and uniformly excellent. That she produced (or co-produced) it all, wrote nearly every word, invented nearly every note, and did the lion's share of the visual art puts her in a category of one. My Top 10 are: BLUE FOR THE ROSES COURT AND SPARK MILES OF AISLES (live) THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS HEJIRA DON JUAN'S RECKLESS DAUGHTER MINGUS SHADOWS AND LIGHT (live) WILD THINGS RUN FAST Joni's entire discography is listed (on Les's site) at: www.jmdl.com/lyrics The most-carefully documented list of her appearances (by Simon) is at: http://www.jonimitchell.com/appearances.html Now, go forth and sin no more. All the best, Jim L'Hommedieu "Lama" Covington, Kentucky, USA ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 13:08:55 EST From: Bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: Suzanne v The Wizard of Is Emiliano wrote (8 days ago) "I always felt that Blue (along with other Joni's treasures), Leonard Cohen (much more known here, in Spain, or even a song like Pablo Milanes "Life ain't worth nothing" functions like balm to me when I'm (or rather should say I was) somewhat depressed:" That reminded me of a question I had as to which came first; Leonard's "Suzanne" or Joni's "The Wizard of Is" - it being rather clear to my ears that one of the those was almost an exact copy of the other, musically. It is, of course, well known here in the "inner circle" that Joni and Leonard were linked early in Joni's career. I just watched a tape-tree video that Bob Muller sent me a few months ago in which Joni cited Leonard as an influence, and commented how much she had admired Suzanne as a song. From that I infer that Joni's was the imitation - no doubt intended in the spirit of "the highest form of flattery" ;-). I know there is a longer description from LC re the inspiration for his song, but in the liner notes to one of his later albums he wrote "I wrote this in 1966, Suzanne had a room on a waterfront sheet in the port of Montreal. Everything happened just as it was put down. She was the wife of a man I knew. Her hospitality was immaculate. Some months later, I sang it to Judy Collins over the telephone. The publishing rights pilfered in New York City but it is probably appropriate that I don't own this song. Just the other day I heard some people singing it on a ship in the Caspian Sea. " (By the way, on one of the sites I searched, various covers of Suzanne were listed - but Judy Collins's was not on the list ! No Bob Muller, that sitemaster) Bob - can you place the date of the recording of The Wizard of Is that is contained on your "early originals" CD ? Bobsart ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 13:52:00 EST From: Bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: Michael from Quebec wrote "Just a reminer for Canucks to set their VCR's Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. for this unusual dance show inspired by Joni's music http://www.cbc.ca/openingnight/show_timetotime.html The story: Acclaimed filmmaker Moze Mossanen's From Time To Time, a film exploring the remarkable music of Joni Mitchell through the choreography of renowned Canadian dance maker Ginette Laurin (O Vertigo Danse), airs on CBC Television's OPENING NIGHT, Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. (Please note that OPENING NIGHT is one hour on this occasion.) The film charts the emotional arc of a suburban woman's life through a breathtaking combination of dance, drama and the music of world-renowned singer/songwriter Mitchell." Did anyone tape this ? If so, could we try to set up a tape tree of this show ? I would love to see it. Bobsart PS - I loved the synopsis that Michael posted. Once again, comes a quote from an artist who should know that asserts that Joni is really peerless. Singer/songwriter Bonnie Raitt once said, "On her level, there is nobody who can touch her." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 14:34:40 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Suzanne v The Wizard of Is **Bob - can you place the date of the recording of The Wizard of Is that is contained on your "early originals" CD ?** Sure - it was pulled from the White Swan Club appearance in Leicester England; exact date unknown but most likely sometime in Sept '67 based on the confirmed dates in England of Oct.1 that same year. I would guess that Leonard's song came first, and Joni's was influenced by it. Bob NP: Aces & Eights, "Raised On Robbery" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 20:53 +0000 (GMT Standard Time) From: steph@cix.co.uk (Anita gabrielle Tedder) Subject: Re: Twisted All this stuff about Twisted send me spinning back to the Full Moon bar, 3.00 am, Joni Fest 2003 and singing EVERY SINGLE WORD in perfect tune (well I thought it was in perfect tune after how ever many beers) with about 300 people - well, it may have been 4 or 5 :~) Oh such happy days......I chatted about it to Alison E on email recently. She sang it clearly and like a bell. Sad thing is she'd had more beer than me and can't remember it. Love Anita NP - My analyst told me that I was right out of my head..... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 15:45:40 EST From: Bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: Covers Bob Muller announced" "Meanwhile, over at Joni Covers central, I just hit cover #1400 (!!) and will be announcing Volume 50 in a couple of days. Volume 50? What the heck was *I* thinking? :~) That is a truly amazing number. This has reached the point where I truly believe use of technology to archive this work in a single file is called for. Various categories (artist, year recorded, song title, album title, "covers CD #", etc. should be there to simplify access. Have you begun this project yet, Bob ? Can the current technology hold you at a reasonable cost ? If so, what is the cost ? (maybe we can all get involved). I mean, instead of 50 CD's maybe we need one big ole file. Bobsart ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 13:45:07 -0800 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: Twisted Well I heard little children were supposed to sleep tight So that's why I got into the vodka one night Oddly enough, Smirnoff vodka now has a TV commercial for a new flavored drink called "Twisted" and their slogan is "Life is better twisted" Further reflection on the lyrics... I think this song was written to be fun and funny, so it may be a stretch to read too much into it, but....the singer is ignoring her therapist's warning, and insisting on her own superior intelligence. Apparently the main evidence presented of this is an incident of self induced alcohol poisoning at the age of 3! The singer seems to still be defending the wisdom of this action. I think the author is trying to portray someone who is pretty much out of touch with reality (wha, no driver on the top?), but happily so. I agree with the posts that said that people that are offbeat and different are often shunned by society, and their genius is only understood later. On the other hand, mental illness brought us Van Gogh, but it also brought us Charles Manson. RR ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 17:45:21 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Covers **Have you begun this project yet, Bob ? I'm not sure that I know what you mean, Bob. I do have all of the information about these recordings logged into the database that Les and the JMDL provide. http://www.jmdl.com/covers/index.cfm You can look at the songs by song title, by artist, or by CD#. Remember, I'm not much of a techie - I'm just a lil' ol' country boy from SC! Bob NP: Bruce Foulke, "Both Sides Now" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 17:51:10 EST From: Bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: Twisted and 2 Grey Room Kakki wrote: "Thanks to Annie for writing it (Twisted) and to Joni for reviving it!" Yes -great song - hurray for Annie Ross (did she write it alone - words and music - or was there a collaboration with Lambert and/or Hendricks ?). anyway, more than credible when joni sings it, eh ? "As an aside, before I knew what inspired the song Two Grey Rooms, I interpreted it to mean the two hemispheres of the brain and that the one unrequited was relegated to living in his/her head with the "view" of past memories and emotions of the loved one." Man, the chick is twisted, crazy, ooby shooby, you hear, flip city :-) - - Or maybe a genius, eh Kakki ;-) ? Bobsart ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 18:55:19 EST From: Bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: A Case of You and another newbie Ahmed asked: Thanks to Diana Krall's version of a Case of You that I came to know about Joni Mitchell (how lame is that?!) and I feel lucky that I have. I was wondering if I could have any tips about which are the best cd's I could buy to start a collection, since I have made the very inconvenient decision to stop downloading free music... Well, not sure how you came to Diana's version (was it from the live concert CD of hers ?). If so, and if you have not yet seen the TNT tribute to Joni, you might want to ask one of us listers to make you a video copy of the show (a two hour TV tribute, with others performing Joni's songs, including James Taylor, Elton John, Richard Thompson, Shawn Colvin & Mary Chapin Carpenter, Cindy Lauper, Wynona Judd, Cassandra Wilson, KD Lang, Diana Krall - the definitive version of A Case of You, better than her concert CD IMO - Bryan Adams, Sweet Honey & The Rock and verbal/video tributes from Ashley Judd (MC), Susan Sarandon, Laurence Fishburne, Tony Bennett and even Hillary Clinton (thanking Joni the way that politician thanks everbody else on the planet - but this time sounding likes she actually means it). The finale is Joni and the orchestra doing one of her classics :-) Also, you should definitely buy the DVD "Joni Mitchell - A Woman of Heart and Mind" - a 90 minute PBS special that is a work of art (I am going to view it again on Wednesday, in Westchester, with the producer/director/writer of the show - Susan Lacy - purported to be in attendance for a Q& A session - I have an extra ticket and can provide transportation if one or more of you New Yorkers would like to join me for the 7 PM showing - we would need to leave the city well before then to make sure we do not get killed by traffic.) Then, I would suggest Blue (the masterpiece) and Hejira (the other masterpiece). If you find you are not quite ready for Hejira, then go back to Court & Spark and For the Roses and Ladies of the Canyon - or, as Bob Muller suggested, just start at the beginning with Joni Mitchell (aka Song to a Seagull) and Clouds. For a chronology of the discography, go to the lyrics database here on the JMDL. You are so lucky (but so are we, after all these years, still loving her work). Welcome to the JMDL - land of the greatest singer/songwriter of all time (the vocals, the melodies, the harmonic structure, lyrics rivalled only by Dylan and Leonard Cohen, and also, quite a fine instrumentalist - guitar, piano, dulcimer - and composer of guitar arrangements - she has composed in about 50 different guitar tunings, not to mention producer - she produced virtually all of her own recordings - co-producing some of the later ones). Pretty serious painter, too. Sort of a Renaissance woman mini-blend of Shakespeare, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Beverly Sills and Stephen Stills (just to add a rhyme while symbolizing an instrumentalist), if you know what I mean. Bobsart ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 00:10:31 -0000 From: "amelio747" Subject: Re: top 10, top 9 Jim, I know what you're saying - Joni was amazingly consistent at one stage! For me she didn't quite manage 10 in a row, but I still have yet to hear anyone beat 9! My top 9 Joni: Song To A Seagull Clouds Ladies Of The Canyon Blue For The Roses Court & Spark Miles Of Aisles The Hissing Of Summer Lawns Hejira I of course I like other Joni albums after (especially DED!) but those first 9 are just unbreakable! NP: Noisy Computer * * * * * * Stephen T "I get the urge for going But I never seem to go" - ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 6:04 PM Subject: Newbie, 100% Joni Content > Ahmed, > > I discovered Joni by way of her writing credit on CSNY's version of "Woodstock". How lame is that? It doesn't matter how you get to the Well, only that you appreciate the Water. > > If you feel guilty about downloading, you can atone easily enough. > > I recommend all 10 albums from 1971's BLUE through 1982's WILD THINGS RUN FAST. In my opinion, none of the Beatles had 10 albums in a row that are this consistenly interesting, and uniformly excellent. That > she produced (or co-produced) it all, wrote nearly every word, invented nearly every note, and did the lion's share of the visual art > puts her in a category of one. > > My Top 10 are: > BLUE > FOR THE ROSES > COURT AND SPARK > MILES OF AISLES (live) > THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS > HEJIRA > DON JUAN'S RECKLESS DAUGHTER > MINGUS > SHADOWS AND LIGHT (live) > WILD THINGS RUN FAST > > Joni's entire discography is listed (on Les's site) at: > www.jmdl.com/lyrics > > The most-carefully documented list of her appearances (by Simon) is at: > http://www.jonimitchell.com/appearances.html > > Now, go forth and sin no more. > > All the best, > Jim L'Hommedieu > "Lama" > Covington, Kentucky, USA ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 19:59:58 -0500 From: "patrick leader" Subject: paul is dead, again (sire of sorrow content) one of the best political blogs on the web is run by atrios in philadelphia http://atrios.blogspot.com. apparently, there was a brief rumor out today that atrios had died (because of some wording by josh marshall at http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com, another brilliant writer). so atrios posted an item with the headline 'i read the news today, oh boy', saying the rumours of his death are greatly exaggerated. well the comments thread for that item http://www.haloscan.com/comments.php?user=atrios&comment=107860436576697505 was just delicious, with lots of references to 'paul is dead', king lear, monty python, and mel gibson's next movie project, the passion of atrios. here comes the joni content: someone on the thread wrote: Death is everywhere. Where's a broom? which reference i don't recognize at all. but someone named donna posted this: "Once I was blessed; I was awaited like the rain Like eyes for the blind, like feet for the lame Kings heard my words, and they sought out my company But now the janitors of Shadowland flick their brooms at me Oh you tireless watcher! What have I done to you? that you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true? Joni Mitchell - "The Sire of Sorrow (Job's Sad Song)" but that's not enough, this donna person, not much later, posted this, all bolded And when I die and when I'm dead, dead and gone, there'll be one child born and a world to carry on, to carry on. etc. (she posted the whole song) Laura Nyro, channeled by Blood, Sweat, and Tears. We are Atrios. Donna | Email | Homepage | 03.06.04 - 6:21 pm | # which, of course has been much under discussion here. donna binkley, have you been posting at atrios!? or some donnalurker? patrick, amused np - jamie obstbaum, a cover of prince's 'the beautiful ones'. bob, you would adore this! she's a soloist in my choir, i'm currently studying voice with her, and she also does led zep's 'ten years gone' and 'the rain song' in her own gigs, apparently. i'd love to hear! "the child is so sweet, and the girls are so rapturous. isn't it lovely how artists can capture us?" 'children and art', from sondheim's 'sunday in the park with george' ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 02:06:45 +0100 From: Emiliano Subject: Re: Twisted Randy says: > Well I heard little children were supposed to sleep tight > So that's why I got into the vodka one night (I can't but read this again'n again: it's golden poetry! Please, Randy, more!) > [...] > I agree with the posts that said that people that are offbeat and different > are often shunned by society, and their genius is only understood > later. On the other hand, mental illness brought us Van Gogh, but it > also brought us Charles Manson. > RR Yes, but, have you noticed how many people have, amongst their great wishes, that desperate longing to "be normal", not to get off the broad road, that Unique Thought? I always shiver when so many of my pupils tell me (so full of candour) "-That's no normal. *I want* to be normal" "-Just normal?" I reply (you must hear my voice in it: Cheers episodes taught me some!) Of course, I know the real wiser from my classes just sit in silence during that conversations ;-) Well, Have a Wonderful time! Yours: Emiliano NP: Hejira, Toronto, 23 September 1994 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 02:16:43 +0100 From: Emiliano Subject: Re: Suzanne v The Wizard of Is Hi! yes Bob, The Wizard of Is can only be from The White Swan at Leicester show, or it has surfaced another show with it? Regarding Suzanne... well, I'm not the only one that remembers the first time I've heard it : 'twas one the milestone experiences in my life (well Blue came to me some year after, you know) ah, remember, newbies, Cohen=Priest. Have a .......... Wonderful time! Emiliano NP: Night Ride Home, Toronto, 23 September 1994 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 00:50:03 EST From: PassScribe@aol.com Subject: That Mingus album Hi, gang, It's Kenny B saying how sorry I am that I've been out of touch for a while... so many things going on, I just haven't been able to follow the list or discussions. Thought you'd all get a smile out of this, though: last summer, at the JoniFest, I won (among other things) a vinyl copy of Mingus that sonmeone donated. Of course, I already HAD another but I took it home & figured I'd give it to someone. But how many people still have turntables? So, some friends of ours are over for dinner recently and I say to this one friend of mine, "hey, you're probably the only guy I knowbbesides meb who has a turntable and still uses it... here's a few albums for you. If you like 'em, fine, if not, give 'em away." I had given him three duplicates of stuff I already had, including the Mingus record. After a couple of weeks, I saw him again last night and we went out to a pub for dinner. In the middle of dinner, he says, "oh, by the way, I played those albums you gave me... that Joni Mitchell Mingus album is GREAT!! I started playing it and, at first, thought it was a bit strange. But by the time it was over, I wasblike, WOW!!! I played it again right away. I must have listened to it five times already." Guess I'll have to find a few more "spare" albums of Joni to gibe him, eh? Or maybe he'll "see the light" and start buying it on his own. Kenny B ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2004 #65 ******************************** ------- 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? (http://www.siquomb.com/siquomb.cfm)