From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2005 #1 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, January 2 2005 Volume 2005 : Number 001 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- JMDL Gallery ["Lama, Jim L'Hommedieu" ] Re: Blue ["Mark or Travis" ] blue ["Kate Bennett" ] Re: Blue [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Canadian tv documentary starts soon (joan content!) [Brian Gross Subject: JMDL Gallery Yo, yo, yo. I guess Les renovated the Gallery. Here's a New Year's Day shout out to the folks who put something on the JMDL's gallery during last month (December 2004). Some of you I "know" from your posts (Em) and some of you I hardly know at all cause you never post (Les I. Why haven't you ever posted? heh heh) Anyway, if I'm reading the handwriting on the Gallery wall correctly, these people have added or revised their stuff in the past 4 weeks. Paul M, Donna Teston, andy ridinger, Stu, Doctor Jerry Mammoser, Tedd Jordan, Aaron Wiedmann, Brian Hernandez, Les Irvin, Em, Stacy E. Lukas, cul heath, Emiliano, danilo monno, Thijs de Croon, brian symes. If you haven't posted yet, consider Springsteen's eternal question: "Do you think this is a FREE RIDE?!" I'll close with a joke: A Detroit academic, a doctor, a webmaster, a Tori Head, and an architect walk into a bar. The bartender looks up from his want ads and says, "What is this, a JMDL reunion?" Lama PS, Threads about the List are always JC. No, I'm not drunk. I'm punchy on sleep deprivation which will surprise only a few of you. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2005 10:50:04 -0800 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Blue Bobsart48@aol.com wrote: > Interesting discussion here, on one of Joni's finest "paintings". To those 'theme' categories I might one day like to > compile a CD's worth of her "most artistic" songs. Blue will > certainly be a part of that compilation. > I've really been enjoying this discussion of the song 'Blue' and itching to add to it. I hestitated, though, because it always seems that the thread is done with by the time I write a post about Joni's lyrics or I end up saying way more than I should and I worry that I come off sounding arrogant like my interpretation is *the* correct interpretation. If there's one thing I've learned on the JMDL it's that there are about as many interpretations of Joni's songs as there are people who listen to her music. And that's a wondrous, beautiful thing. Joni's vocal on this song, both on the 'Blue' album and the live performance on 'Miles of Aisles' has always just torn me up. She reached to the depths of her soul and showed it all on this one. And as Emmylou wrote, we behold the pain become the pearl. A foggy lullabye emerges from a shell. But it's a lullabye with a cry of pain embedded in it that nevertheless, shines like a pearl. I love the way the metaphors work on several levels and they certainly do in this song. Someone in an earlier discussion pointed out that a crown and anchor used to be a common image for a sailor's tatoo. So maybe she's saying put your mark on me which is another metaphor for taking possession or tying someone down or anchoring them, if you will. As an aside, the line 'but a sailor will just take a girl down to the dark end of the fair and turn her into a tatoo' from Rickie Lee's 'We Belong Together' has been popping up in my head while reading this thread. Not sure if that's relevant or not. Anybody else see a connection? 'I've been to sea before' can mean so many different things as others have already pointed out. I've been in love before, I've been around the block before, I've struggled and scrambled, I've had my own adventures - sexual, romantic, artistic, - so many different things. For me what it boils down to is that Joni was and is an explorer who had navigated many waters at this, still fairly early, point of her life. And she wants the lover to either commit or let her go. It may hurt her but she can take it either way. She's been through it before. Even though she's on the verge of a melt down, she's strong enough to survive. She didn't know it then of course, but she would go up to the BC coast and heal and come back a stronger person. 'Ink on a pin, underneath the skin', 'Acid booze and ass, needles guns and grass'. I think there is a theme of addiction that runs through this song and certainly through 'A Case of You', maybe because I've always thought of those two songs as somehow being related. Have you ever had a relationship with someone that you are so attracted to that you want crawl up inside their skin when making love but at the same time you *know* the relationship won't last? I think she knows this love affair is doomed but she can't break away. She's in it for the whole ride and will hang on as long as she can. But even though the relationship will surely fail, the mark of it or tatoo with be there for the rest of her life. It just occured to me that this song is placed on 'Miles of Aisles' with four other songs that could be interpreted as being about addiction. 'Cactus Tree' is addiction to love in general although not to a specific object of love. 'Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire' is heroin addiction which is referred to again in 'Blue's' line about 'needles, guns and grass.' 'Woman of Heart and Mind', 'A Case of You' and 'Blue' are all about being hooked on one person even though she knows the relationship isn't necessarily good for her. But she will nevertheless ride it out 'still you know I'll try to be there for you when your spirits start to sink', 'I could drink a case of you and I would still be on my feet', 'you've gotta keep thinking you can make it through these waves.' This has always been my favorite sequence of songs on 'Miles of Aisles'. I wonder what that says about me? Mark E. in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2005 13:04:30 -0800 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: blue The sea to me is emotion & the feminine (along with earth- air & fire being masculine), mystical & primordial & the source of creativity. certainly this song is one of her most masterful as many have pointed out. & for me the shell represents her more earthbound self & desires as it is made of earthy things & only echoes the sound of the sea if you listen inside. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2005 17:28:43 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Blue I've really enjoyed all the comments about Blue as well. While the entire piece is a chunk of emotional power, what really knocks me out is the one time (both on Blue and on MOA) when she sings "Blue-hoo-hoo-hoo" in kind of a half-cry, half laugh (laughin' & cryin' you know it's the same release). I can imagine it was this moment more than any other that she refers too when she talks about isolating herself in the studio to capture the inner pain. Bob NP: Of Montreal, "The Blank Husband Epidemic" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2005 14:59:01 -0800 (PST) From: Brian Gross Subject: Canadian tv documentary starts soon (joan content!) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cpress/20050101/ca_pr_on_en/tv_songwriters_1 Four Strong Winds TV doc explores Canada's rich singer-songwriter heritage Sat Jan 1, 2:12 PM ET ANGELA PACIENZA TORONTO (CP) - Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Hank Snow, Neil Young (news), Alanis Morissette (news), Avril Lavigne (news), Jann Arden (news) and Shania Twain are a few of the singer-songwriters listed on this country's musical resume. A new documentary, Four Strong Winds, attempts to unravel the mystery of why Canada produces so many renowned artists considering our small population. Director Martin Melhuish thinks he's got it solved - wide open space. "There's only 30 million of us living in this huge country, and (space) seems to play into every song or certainly has some influence on every songwriter," he said. Singer k.d. lang says her melodic approach is a result of her upbringing on the Alberta plains. "The open space. The vastness of it," she says in the show. "My vocal approach is very long phrases, very open melodic structure." Told in eight parts beginning Tuesday, Jan. 4, Four Strong Winds starts by explaining the roots of Canadian music, namely Aboriginal and Celtic, using the likes of Jimmy Rankin, Great Big Sea and Buffy Sainte-Marie. It also hypothesizes that our long, frigid winters help creative types hone their skills. Chantal Kreviazuk (news) recalls spending countless hours listening to old records when it was too cold to do anything else in Winnipeg. "That's when I consciously fell in love with songwriting," muses Kreviazuk in the opening episode. Moving outside the traditional folk world, the show explores country, rock and pop genres through superstars of yesteryear as well as the current crop like Our Lady Peace, Hawksley Workman (news) and Sum 41. "When you say singer-songwriter there's usually a definition of a very sensitive type with a guitar," said Melhuish, whose music books include Oh What a Feeling and Wired For Sound: A Guitar Odyssey. "We tried to broaden it. We brought in pop stars, looking at Paul Anka (news) and others." Outsiders also try to explain the Canuck songwriting tradition thanks to archival footage of George Harrison and Eric Clapton (news) talking about Robbie Robertson (news) and The Band. Melhuish hopes viewers will be surprised and impressed by the sonic trivia in the documentary. "I'd like to send a copy of this to Tucker Carlson (co-host of CNN's Crossfire). He's full of mouth about 'We have to leave the country to go down there and we need America and all this stuff.' Well, it works both ways. I've heard people say Neil Young, he's American. Joni Mitchell. No, she's not. Alanis Morissette. You could go on and on. The list is huge." With more than 20 years of experience writing about music, Melhuish says he's still astonished at the lengths musicians have to travel to get their songs heard in Canada - some 9,971,000 square kilometres of land. "To be a singer-songwriter and get out and bring your music to the people, you got to have a little bit more going for you then anywhere else in the world," he said. "If you live in England, it's a drive anywhere. If you live in the U.S., you've got major cities all over the place that aren't far apart. But if you live in Winnipeg, or worse somewhere north of Winnipeg, you go through great lengths (to reach another city). That's been the story of a lot of our acts." Can someone get this series on tape for us? Thanks and Happy New Year everyone, Brian in south jersey ===== Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got till it's gone --Roberta Joan Anderson, who never lies __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The all-new My Yahoo! - What will yours do? http://my.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2005 19:02:47 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Joni Covers, Volume 60 - Happy New Hear! So, another new month in another new year (this January marks my 7th anniversary with the JMDL!) and it's time to reel out another collection of Joni covers, and we begin a new series with the first of the 60's! And #60 is a fine entry indeed, another eclectic electric composite of sounds from around the globe, and as always I did not do it by myself but greatly appreciate & acknowledge the help of my pals: Dennis Leong Duf Davis And here's what's on it: 1. The Fourth Stream - In France They Kiss On Main Street 2. The Fourth Stream - Jericho 3. The Fourth Stream - Edith And The Kingpin: I think all three of these are terrific; obviously this jazz quartet digs Joni's mid-70's HOSL/jazz period, and who can blame them for that? Hear some samples of all three tracks at: _http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/fourthstream_ (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/fourthstream) 4. The Cardinals - Both Sides Now: Could have come off of the 'Mighty Wind' soundtrack, a couple of guitars and a folk trio with corresponding harmonies. It would have been more interesting if a group called The Cardinals covered "The Priest" though... 5. Scott Carpenter - You're So Square: Half Elvis-impersonator, half country singer, a nice guitar break in the middle nonetheless. 6. Glennis Houston - Twisted: A really nice harmonica wails throughout this track which is a welcome addition. Glennis sometimes goes way out there vocally, and she drinks tequila instead of vodka. Makes it easier to think she's gone flip-city I suppose. 7. Emiko Shiratori - Woodstock: The first of two Japanese Woodstock covers on this volume, very pretty voice and acoustic guitar with just a trace of accent, butterfries and such. 8. Steel Love World Wide - Both Sides Now: Another international entry, this instrumental version combines the guitar with the steel drum, an instrument which I admit I am nutty about. 9. Lynn Martin - Big Yellow Taxi: Cheese, cheese, and more cheese. And she even sings a mondegreen..."It pays paradise to put up a parking lot"...what the hell? That doesn't even make any damn sense. 10. Wilson Phillips - California: One of 2004's high-profile Joni covers, and while this one is overly sterile sounding, the vocals are pure, the harmonies work and they picked a Joni song that's not often covered, so I say more power to 'em. 11. Zia Hassan & Danica Dora - A Case Of You: This is a nice duet (male-female), don't know anything about these folks but you can go here and enjoy this one in its entirety: _http://restech.wustl.edu/~gwilliams/_ (http://restech.wustl.edu/~gwilliams/) 12. Scott Paul Young - Both Sides Now: An early seventies lounge-ish version, Scott is a Scot so when he sings "I've looked at clouds, love, life..." it has that cool Les Ross 'lewked' accent to it. Cheese to be sure, but fun too. 13. Nanaco - Woodstock: The second of our 2 Asian Woodstocks, and this one is a bit more abstract, memorable and haunting. She closes the song with a story about all the caps, bottles and cans left behind at Woodstock and all the animals who died from eating the refuse. I don't know if there's any truth to that or not, then she chants "alternative poetry of life" which if you think about it is not a bad way to sum up Joni's work. 14. Sara Hamman - Big Yellow Taxi: Interesting because Sara does this as a straight-ahead country rocker. I pulled it off of I-tunes, so if you're interested you can do the same. 15. Camilla & Rene - A Case Of You: Another lovely take of ACOY, again I know nothing about them, this is just voice & acoustic guitar. 16. Ben Hall - Both Sides Now: Heavy heavy heavy Lowrie Genie roller rink organ sound, and ol' Ben sounds like he's got a mouth full of pebbles when he sings. I'm sure his kinfolk were very proud. 17. Mary Askins - Woodstock: Another mystery, this is acapella and sounds like Mary has multi-tracked her voice which provides a wall of backing rhythm and harmony - very different and very nice. 18. Marie Celeste - Night In The City: From a very rare early folk record, luckily it was re-released on CD so we get to hear it in this remastered format - very Peter. Paul and Mary-ish. 19. Duf Davis & The Book Club - River 20. Duf Davis & The Book Club - Both Sides Now: Both are vocal & piano, River is a very earnest version while the BSN is a send-up done for a lark in almost a Gilbert & Sullivan style, just for fun...and after all, it should be OK to have some fun, right? And that brings us to a close in this the first entry of 2005 and the first of the sixties, as we continue with what is the greatest compialtion in Rock and roll history, according to me. Thanks for reading all the way to here, and lemme know if you're interested in getting a copy. Bob NP: The Fourth Stream, "In France They Kiss On Main Street" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 01:05:01 -0600 From: "Justin" Subject: From a newbie -- don't flame; i've searched the archives... I know that this is a tired, old subject which has been rehashed a thousand times, but i'll throw in my thoughts anyway... Does anyone else think that maybe the subject of "A Case of You" was David Crosby? My "evidence" is, of course, bad; it mainly hinges on the fragment Just before our love got lost you said "I am as constant as a Northern Star" because he's an avid navigator and he is star-struck; he wrote "Southern Cross", so it makes sense that he would say something like that. More circumstantial evidence: She knew your devils and your deeds Well, he's certainly had no shortage of those. But there are plenty of people who fit that description. Did Malka Marom know him? Does she have a mouth like his? Then, clearly, she's going to love this person for the rest of her life, and that fits Crosby, based on various incidents and things she said which took place later. *** End of Rant *** The only songs i don't LOVE on that album are "All I Want" and "Little Green" but "Blue", "A Case of You", and "This Flight Tonight" are incomparable. "River" almost makes that list, but not quite. Justin ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2005 #1 ******************************* ------- 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)