From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2005 #19 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, January 20 2005 Volume 2005 : Number 019 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? ["Martin Giles" ] Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? [Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? Hi Michael Reading your post, I was thinking to myself that the problem is that Joni hasn't written much in the way of classic pop songs. Her music has always been too multi-layered, has too much to offer to be able also to come across in that instantaneous way a classic 'pop song' does. And that is why I love her music so much. I long ago realised that the music that I love most is almost always the music that took time to grow on me. It seems to me that in order to produce a song that has huge appeal, you have to keep it simple, and that as you add depth, so you add complexity, and so you lose 'instant accessibility'. But then Randy suggested 'California'. Hmmm .. Perhaps Joni achieved the impossible with this song? The melody is light and bouncy enough with good hooks, the song structure is simple. But the lyrics are far from banal, have a large dose of humour, and the song definitely 'captures the spirit of the time'. I guess I would say that BYT fits CBC's criteria even better, but personally, I don't like the song. 'California' would be my nomination. Martin. > Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 03:27:37 +0000 > From: "Michael O'Malley" > Subject: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? > An essential track was defined as a tune > with an undeniably great melody and great lyrics; a great hook that was > easily recognizable; a song that captured the spirit of its time, all the > while being original and different enough to act as a trailblazer, > setting a new standard or style >...during the next three months, CBC > is redoing a Canadian version of the list, and Joni's place will surely > be rightfully redeemed. No one had questioned Joni's artistic legacy and > her right to be on that first list, but the votes were for the song, not > the artist. And River was simply not a strong enough choice. > How about (shudder) BYT? Is that ultimately the only song powerful > enough to finally immortalise Joni on such a list ?? The problem is, it > *is* a great pop song! Are we destined to be doomed by jukebox Joni !? > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 04:32:24 -0800 (PST) From: Smurf Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? - --- Michael O'Malley: What's an essential Joni track, JMDLers? "What is NOT an essential Joni track?" is a better question for this group, Michael! Here's what the JMDL home page says: Top Voted Songs A Case Of You Amelia Woman Of Heart And Mind Hejira The Last Time I Saw Richard How about "Raised on Robbery?" It has CC (Canadian Content) with its Maple Leafs and it is probably more familiar to more people. However, "Big Yellow Taxi" is loaded with Joni catch phrases, such as "don't it always seem to go," "paved paradise," "tree museum," etc. - --Smurf __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free! http://my.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 12:48:49 +0000 From: Adam Mulvey Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? Martin Giles wrote: >Hi Michael > >Reading your post, I was thinking to myself that the problem is that Joni >hasn't written much in the way of classic pop songs. Her music has always >been too multi-layered, has too much to offer to be able also to come across >in that instantaneous way a classic 'pop song' does. And that is why I love >her music so much. I long ago realised that the music that I love most is >almost always the music that took time to grow on me. > I know what you mean... There's so much intricacy in all of her albums, but she makes it all sound so effortless: it's easy to forget just how multi-layered and cleverly put together so much of her songs are! However, she has written some great pop songs... There's few people who know much about music who wouldn't be able to sing the whole of Big Yellow Taxi at you (and rightly so!); and then there's Both Sides Now, which is a fantastically anthemic pop song, and Chelsea Morning, and You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio, and... Well, it would be quite a long list, I reckon! Adam ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 10:19:43 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? > Martin Giles wrote: >Reading your post, I was thinking to myself that > the problem is that Joni > >hasn't written much in the way of classic pop > songs. Her music has always > >been too multi-layered, has too much to offer to be > able also to come across > >in that instantaneous way a classic 'pop song' > does. --- Adam Mulvey wrote: > I know what you mean... There's so much intricacy > in all of her albums, > but she makes it all sound so effortless: it's easy > to forget just how > multi-layered and cleverly put together so much of > her songs are! > > However, she has written some great pop songs... > There's few people who > know much about music who wouldn't be able to sing > the whole of Big > Yellow Taxi at you (and rightly so!); and then > there's Both Sides Now, > which is a fantastically anthemic pop song, and > Chelsea Morning, and You > Turn Me On, I'm A Radio, and... Well, it would be > quite a long list, I > reckon! > I guess you have to define what a great "pop" song is, and to me, to begin with, it's one that is POPular, that is, it appeals to the masses (the stinky, no-brain masses). Most of Joni's songs don't do that, although attempts have been made. By and large, it is BYT that *everyone* knows and that has been a hit more than once by various artists ever since it first came out (well, OK, was Joni's a number one hit? Counting Crows, yes, I think so; but anyone else who had a major bit hit with this?) In any case, the entire world knows this song, and it is quoted widely in many contexts. And it's got to have a hook. And for sure, BYT has that. The minute you hear those opening chords, you recognize the song and are drawn in, not necessarily willingly, but there you go. And it has to be easy to sing and have a pretty simple musical structure (which is why it's easy to sing, as well as to play.) And, for the most part, BYT has that. If there are any notes that are too high for some, you can get around that. Even though Joan has had other songs that have made it onto top-name-your-number lists, I doubt any of them has made it as far, or is as widely known as BYT. So, if that's what they're after, then BYT it is. Having said that, I've never cared much for the song (maybe because I've heard it so often by Joni and others). I feel like such a snob, but although I've been happy for Joan when she has a "hit" (it's a relative term), I've always wished it was some other song that made it, and not the ones like BYT and Raised on Robbery. Somehow, Joni just ISN'T a pop singer and I feel, I dunno, a bit embarassed for her when the industry tries to push one of her songs as a pop top40, top50, top10, whatever, hit. Songs like "River" are well-known by people in the music biz and have had many covers, but how many are pop hits, and how many could be sung by, say, Joe the construction worker as he rivets those I-bars and girders together? The problem with any top-number list is that, if it's yours, then it's subjective (duh); and, if you're going by popular/mass vote, then you are going to get most of the votes from the stinky masses that dote on Celine and Beyonce* and the American Idol types. The rest of us (the illuminati, the cognoscenti, the *true* music lovers, OK, the snobs) can vote all we want to get our Joan in a top popular vote list, but I am quite sure we will be outvoted by the pop mass vote, simply because there are, scarily and unfortunately, more of them than there are of us. Put up the barbed wire and release the hounds. We are surrounded. - ----------------------- * Beyonce - I think this woman has a really good voice and, if she gets proper direction, could do something with it, so I hope she has the brains and the strength or, failing that, a really good manager who uses her talent for good and not for evil. ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 07:57:16 -0800 From: "Mark or Travis" Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? Catherine McKay wrote: > By and large, it is BYT that *everyone* knows and that > has been a hit more than once by various artists ever > since it first came out (well, OK, was Joni's a number > one hit? Did Joni release a single of BYT? It seems to me that the hit version was done by some group but I don't remember the name. I would vote for either 'Help Me' or 'Free Man in Paris'. Both were pretty widely played on AM radio and both are fairly accessible songs with singable choruses, especially 'Help Me'. This is exactly what I was talking about in my earlier post. How do you define a great song or a great songwriter? It's subjective and answers will differ depending on who you ask. Mark E. in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 16:05:45 +0000 From: Adam Mulvey Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? Catherine McKay wrote: >I guess you have to define what a great "pop" song is, >and to me, to begin with, it's one that is POPular, >that is, it appeals to the masses (the stinky, >no-brain masses). Most of Joni's songs don't do that, >although attempts have been made. > >By and large, it is BYT that *everyone* knows and that >has been a hit more than once by various artists ever >since it first came out (well, OK, was Joni's a number >one hit? Counting Crows, yes, I think so; but anyone >else who had a major bit hit with this?) In any case, >the entire world knows this song, and it is quoted >widely in many contexts. > >And it's got to have a hook. And for sure, BYT has >that. The minute you hear those opening chords, you >recognize the song and are drawn in, not necessarily >willingly, but there you go. > >And it has to be easy to sing and have a pretty simple >musical structure (which is why it's easy to sing, as >well as to play.) And, for the most part, BYT has >that. If there are any notes that are too high for >some, you can get around that. > > Well, I suppose a lot of Joni songs are musically sophisticated, but that's at the construction stage; I think the skill is in how much they manage to make something so intricate sound so melodic, so entrancing. They're not 'difficult', as such, are they, to listen to? (Bohemian Rhapsody always tops these kind of polls, and that's not exactly a three-chord wonder of a song.) I suppose the real criteria is how much they get into the public imagination. These polls are always dominated by people who just happen to be in vogue at the time. >Songs like "River" are well-known by people in the >music biz and have had many covers, but how many are >pop hits, and how many could be sung by, say, Joe the >construction worker as he rivets those I-bars and >girders together? > Joe the construction worker wouldn't be a wee bit of a stereotype, would he? If he has buddies called Aaron the traffic cop, Mitch the sailor and Dwayne the cowboy, I bet he loves Joni -- and Melissa Etheridge too! ;o) I know what you mean though. It's just that this kind of music is never, ever on the radio these days, is it? Joni's just not what people think of straight away, unless they're actual fans. ( But then Bob Dylan doesn't feature too high on them, either, and he's supposed to be the greatest songwriter of all time!) Adam ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 16:08:21 +0000 From: Adam Mulvey Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? Mark or Travis wrote: > Did Joni release a single of BYT? It seems to me that the hit version > was done by some group but I don't remember the name. Did I dream it, or did Sheryl Crow cover it as well? Adam ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 16:17:20 +0000 (GMT) From: Jamie Zubairi Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? Not sure about the Sherly Crow but I know that Amy Grunt had a number 1 hit with it in the UK. And Counting Crows. I know that Joni did release BYT as a single in the 70's (I have a copy of it) and she released the MOA version in 1974. Much Joni Jamie Zoob --- Adam Mulvey wrote: > Mark or Travis wrote: > > > Did Joni release a single of BYT? It seems to me > that the hit version > > was done by some group but I don't remember the > name. > > Did I dream it, or did Sheryl Crow cover it as well? > > Adam ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 11:47:24 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? --- Mark or Travis wrote: > > Did Joni release a single of BYT? It seems to me > that the hit version was done by some group but I > don't remember the name. Er, um, I thought so, but then again, it could be just my faltering brain. Or maybe it was released as a single in Canada, but not in the US? In any case, it is definitely a song that EVERYONE knows, whether it got to No. 1 (somehow I doubt it), or in the Top 10, or any of those foolish indicators. I don't remember it being done by any group except for the Counting Crows. > I would vote for either 'Help Me' or 'Free Man in > Paris'. Both were pretty widely played on AM > radio and both are fairly accessible songs with > singable choruses, especially 'Help Me'. > A lot of songs from "Court & Spark" got a lot of airplay but how many people would be able to sing along with them? I'm not trying to be a smartass - I really wonder. I do hear both of these songs played in drugstores and shopping malls though, if that means anything. ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 12:02:21 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? --- Adam Mulvey wrote: > Well, I suppose a lot of Joni songs are musically > sophisticated, but > that's at the construction stage; I think the skill > is in how much they > manage to make something so intricate sound so > melodic, so entrancing. > They're not 'difficult', as such, are they, to > listen to? (Bohemian > Rhapsody always tops these kind of polls, and that's > not exactly a > three-chord wonder of a song.) This is true. Maybe Bohemian Rhapsody got a boost with Wayne's World. It isn't exactly a campfire song. On the other hand, everyone can sing, "Weee are the chaaampions" but most of them probably have no idea where that came from - it's just another sports-stadium chant. > I suppose the real criteria is how much they get > into the public > imagination. These polls are always dominated by > people who just happen > to be in vogue at the time. > > >Songs like "River" are well-known by people in the > >music biz and have had many covers, but how many > are > >pop hits, and how many could be sung by, say, Joe > the > >construction worker as he rivets those I-bars and > >girders together? > > > Joe the construction worker wouldn't be a wee bit of > a stereotype, would > he? If he has buddies called Aaron the traffic cop, > Mitch the sailor > and Dwayne the cowboy, I bet he loves Joni -- and > Melissa Etheridge > too! ;o) Joe is definitely a stereotype but I had brain-freeze when I wrote that. I wasn't thinking of the Village People either. I doubt if my Joe (my Dad called him Harvey Lunchbucket) would be participating in pop polls anyway. It's more likely young girls in high school (Tiffany Lunchbag, maybe?) And yeah, these polls, whether they're for singers or others, are dominated by people who think this stuff is important in the here and now, and who are young and have no experience of anything that happened more than five years ago, and there, I think, I'm being generous. For a while, in the Greatest Canadian poll that Michael O mentioned earlier, a truly annoying sports announcer by the name of Don Cherry was, if not in the lead, then one of the top contenders. How scary is that? ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 12:13:32 -0500 From: Jerry Notaro Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? My guess would be that Help Me was the best selling single of her own single releases. Simon???? Jerry > Catherine McKay wrote: >> By and large, it is BYT that *everyone* knows and that >> has been a hit more than once by various artists ever >> since it first came out (well, OK, was Joni's a number >> one hit? > > Did Joni release a single of BYT? It seems to me that the hit version was > done by some group but I > don't remember the name. > > I would vote for either 'Help Me' or 'Free Man in Paris'. Both were pretty > widely played on AM > radio and both are fairly accessible songs with singable choruses, especially > 'Help Me'. > > This is exactly what I was talking about in my earlier post. How do you > define a great song or a > great songwriter? It's subjective and answers will differ depending on who > you ask. > > Mark E. in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 09:32:44 -0800 (PST) From: Jenny Goodspeed Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? Here's what I found on the JM site: "In March, the single "Help Me" was launched and became Joni's first and only Top 10 single. It peaked at #7 in the first week of June. The album went all the way to #2 on the BILLBOARD album charts and stayed there for 4 weeks. It also rose to #2 in the Canadian charts, right behind Gordon Lightfoot." It's isn't very singable though as Catherine pointed out. But according to the criteria, that may not be an issue: "An essential track was defined as a tune with an undeniably great melody and great lyrics; a great hook that was easily recognizable; a song that captured the spirit of its time, all the while being original and different enough to act as a trailblazer" I'm partial to "Help Me' because it was the first Joni song I ever heard and my musical world was instantly changed forever. Was it a trailblazer? It certainly was for me. I need someone to place it in the musical context of the time for me? Any takers? Jenny Jerry Notaro wrote: My guess would be that Help Me was the best selling single of her own single releases. Simon???? Jerry > Catherine McKay wrote: >> By and large, it is BYT that *everyone* knows and that >> has been a hit more than once by various artists ever >> since it first came out (well, OK, was Joni's a number >> one hit? > > Did Joni release a single of BYT? It seems to me that the hit version was > done by some group but I > don't remember the name. > > I would vote for either 'Help Me' or 'Free Man in Paris'. Both were pretty > widely played on AM > radio and both are fairly accessible songs with singable choruses, especially > 'Help Me'. > > This is exactly what I was talking about in my earlier post. How do you > define a great song or a > great songwriter? It's subjective and answers will differ depending on who > you ask. > > Mark E. in Seattle Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 12:45:03 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Rhino records & Joni Mitchell Audio Interview --- est86mlm@ameritech.net wrote: > Found this in my email box tonight: > http://www.rhino.com/rzine/StoryKeeper.lasso?StoryID=295 > I'm on DIGEST so if this has already been > posted.....sorry. > > Laura If it was posted, I, for one, never saw it. So thanks for posting it, Laura. ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 12:49:08 -0500 From: BRYAN8847@aol.com Subject: [none] This from Liz Smith's column (I read all the gossip columns, of course) about Renee Fleming: WHAT IF YOU gave a party for a diva and no one came? It would hurt. But manager-entrepreneur Sandy Gallin's big bash at his Malibu showplace Friday for the divine Renie Fleming escaped such a hit. The guest list was superb - Warren Beatty; Jackie Collins; Barbra Streisand; Andrew Lloyd Webber and his wife, Madeleine; Jacob Rothschild; Charles Nelson Reilly; Sharon Osbourne; Jack Nicholson; Les Moonves; the Ron Meyers; David Geffen; Bianca Jagger; Nancy Meyers; Linda and David Foster; Carole Bayer Sager; Bob Daly; Donald Deline, and others. Renie's big surprise was the appearance of her favorite singer-composer, Joni Mitchell. Renie had just recorded Joni's song "River" for her jazz album coming this spring. Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 09:52:28 -0800 (PST) From: Em Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? - --- Jenny Goodspeed wrote: > I need someone to place it in the musical context of the time for me? > Any takers? I'm hearing something by Earth Wind and Fire being played next on the radio from back then.... does that help? then maybe (ack!) "Seasons in the Sun". :P em ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 13:04:47 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? --- Jamie Zubairi wrote: > Not sure about the Sherly Crow but I know that Amy > Grunt had a number 1 hit with it in the UK. And > Counting Crows. > > I know that Joni did release BYT as a single in the > 70's (I have a copy of it) and she released the MOA > version in 1974. > > Much Joni > Ah yes, the Amy Grunt version. Who could forget? She changed the price charged to see the tree museum to reflect modern-day gouging. As for me, I'd sing, "a whole lot o' money" or "a fair whack of money" or "a shitload o' money" depending on mood and audience. IF I were to sing that song, which I try not to do. As for "hits", it does depend upon what country you're in. What's No 1 in the US is not necessarily so in the UK or in Canada, much less in other countries around the world. We Canadians used to have one foot in the UK and one foot in the US as far as popular music is concerned, so possibly what was big in the UK might also have been big, or at least middling, in Canada, but possibly unheard of in the US. I suspect we are more US-oriented these days because it seems that every radio station in the US and Canada plays the same ten obnoxious songs. Even if you hear one that you like, that doesn't last long, because they play them ad nauseum. It's kind of like Macdonald's for the ears. NP My kid singing in the basement, Green Day's "I walk alone..." Awwww, he's cute but he wouldn't want me to say so. He probably has the walkman on, because he's singing LOUD. ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 13:11:28 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? --- Em wrote: > --- Jenny Goodspeed wrote: > > I need someone to place it in the musical context > of the time for me? > > Any takers? > > I'm hearing something by Earth Wind and Fire being > played next on the > radio from back then.... > does that help? then maybe (ack!) "Seasons in the > Sun". > :P > em Your brain is so much younger than mine, Em. I couldn't possibly remember. Even if I looked it up, I wouldn't remember. I like to think that it's because I'm not a linear thinker, so time means nothing, but I think I'm just fooling myself, and losing it. ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 11:39:41 -0800 (PST) From: kate@katebennett.com Subject: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? I would say it is ACOY. Having done 4 Tributes to Joni, ACOY & River are the ones that most musicians want to perform. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 22:25:03 +0000 (GMT) From: Jamie Zubairi Subject: Re: Rhino records & Joni Mitchell Audio Interview I always find her in interview so expressive and lucid. And the constant sucking of the cigarette is just funny, now that I've quit.... This is a great interview, funny that I'd never seen it either... THanks for sharing it with the group. This has no Joni speaking on it but it's the BBC review of Travelogue. Ok, so it's a bit late in finding it but... it's really nice to hear. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/ram/frontrow20021206_joni_mitchell.ram Much Joni Jamie Zoob Catherine McKay wrote: - --- est86mlm@ameritech.net wrote: > Found this in my email box tonight: > http://www.rhino.com/rzine/StoryKeeper.lasso?StoryID=295 > I'm on DIGEST so if this has already been > posted.....sorry. > > Laura If it was posted, I, for one, never saw it. So thanks for posting it, Laura. ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca - --------------------------------- ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 18:09:12 -0500 From: "Lama, Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: Re: Number One ? Where's LN top 10? <>Kate, If I've already said this, I apologize. A month ago I heard Townes van Zandt's singing voice for the first time. I thought he sounded a lot like Jeff. Is Jeff aware of Townes? Does he count him among his influences? All the best, Jim Happy The Man said, >Any list with Patty Griffin and Townes Van Zandt would get my attention.> - - ----- Original Message ----- Kate B said, >> Patty Griffin & John Gorka would be on my list of top > > singer/songwriters...both with incredible voices & incredible songs ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 18:35:55 -0500 From: Deb Messling Subject: A horse is a horse, of course of course >Thanks, Catherine, really neat little interview! Who knew that >everybody's favorite Joni song was inspired by a horse racing form? > > >Catherine McKay wrote: >http://www.rhino.com/rzine/StoryKeeper.lasso?StoryID=295 > > I'm on DIGEST so if this has already been > > posted.....sorry. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Deb Messling -^..^- messling@enter.net - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 18:52:18 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? As Jenny points out, "Help Me" was Joni's only Top 10 hit (unless you count the hits that others had with her songs). Jenny, it's easy for me to place Help Me in 1974, I was a junior in High School, and it rotated with Maria Muldaur's "Midnight At The Oasis" as the female pop-jazz hits of the day. One of the few times, if not THE only time that Joni's style coincided with the zeitgeist. If there was an EWF song that was big at the same time, it would have been "Shining Star" or "That's The Way of the World" (both killer songs too!) but I don't associate either of those with that era, or remember hearing them at the same time. And please no more mentions of Terry Jacks!! As for BYT, it was also a hit single for The Neighborhood, who actually charted higher with it than Joni did at around the same time period. As for Joni on CBC's 50 tracks, it would be awfully difficult not to select BSN. Joni herself has put 3 different versions of it on 5 releases. With almost 400 covers, it leaves even stalwarts like BYT, Woodstock, and the campfire fave The Circle Game in the dust. And it's been recorded in: English French Hebrew Japanese German Dutch and probably some others as well. It's been punked, funked, jazzed, bluegrassed, and all points in between and continues to be recorded more now than ever. And if you break it down, it's not just a simple pop ditty, it starts with a simple lyrical observation about clouds, builds to a more personal review of the nature of love, and then closes with a more universal declaration of the inevitability of life itself. And it does so in an alternate tuning, without the benefit of a chorus. For a song to have engrained itself into the global psyche and still inspire artists to tackle it, it's something special. It's complex and simple simultaneously. Bob NP: Stevie Wonder, "As" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 22:28:05 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: A horse is a horse, of course of course Just so y'know, it wasn't me that posted this - it was Laura. Not Laura the PhD, but Laura of the many letters, est86mlm at ameritech dot net that posted it. I was just quoting her and thanking her for it. --- Deb Messling wrote: > >Thanks, Catherine, really neat little interview! > Who knew that > >everybody's favorite Joni song was inspired by a > horse racing form? > > ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 22:29:12 -0500 (EST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? --- SCJoniGuy@aol.com wrote: > As for BYT, it was also a hit single for The > Neighborhood, who actually > charted higher with it than Joni did at around the > same time period. > I don't remember this. Does it mean it was just a US thing, or does it prove that my brain really has bitten the dust? ===== Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 21:46:54 -0800 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: Where will Joni be on CBC's 50 Tracks? On second thought, Big Yellow Taxi is the definitive Joni cut, IMO. When they say "tracks", I assume they mean not just songs, but the actual recording, including the song itself, the singer, and the recording as a whole. BSN fails on this count; it's a pretty plain, lackluster rendition, (I heard it on the radio today). It's a great song alright, though melancholy. On the other hand, BYT is fun, crackles with energy, and is inviting, even as it preaches. It has broad appeal, and contains several catchphrases that have become part of the lexicon. Bottom line, it's a great record that holds it's own with the great records of the 20th century. Randy Remote wrote: > Michael O'Malley wrote: > > > What say you? What's an > > essential Joni track, JMDLers? > > 1 You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio > 2 California ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 23:11:32 -0800 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: RE: Number One ? Where's LN top 10? Several others have made the same observation (john prine is the other one people mention)- jeff is always honored to be included in such esteemed company <>Kate, If I've already said this, I apologize. A month ago I heard Townes van Zandt's singing voice for the first time. I thought he sounded a lot like Jeff. Is Jeff aware of Townes? Does he count him among his influences? All the best, Jim ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2005 #19 ******************************** ------- 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)