From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2007 #481 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org 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 Friday, March 7 2008 Volume 2007 : Number 481 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: Joni Covers, Volume 98 - From a Leap to a March [Mark-Leon Thorne ] SV: Joni Covers, Volume 98 - From a Leap to a March ["Marion Leffler" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 19:56:11 +1100 From: Mark-Leon Thorne Subject: Re: Joni Covers, Volume 98 - From a Leap to a March Hi everyone. I just wanted to thank Bob for another interesting mix of Joni covers. I haven't had time to check them all out yet - work has been crazy, but I was most interested to hear Billy Thorpe's take on Free Man In Paris. Billy Thorpe is considered one of Australia's rock legends. He died last year and the funeral was a veritable who's who of the Australian rock industry. His signature song was Most People I Know. When Joni was talking about Woodstock on Dick Clark's show, Billy Thorpe was tearing it up at the Sunbury Festival (both before my time). It was interesting to hear Billy play it on guitar. I'm not sure I've heard it played on guitar before. I noticed it was recorded at The Basement here in Sydney. The venue itself is legendary. Today is my birthday so, I will consider this volume a birthday gift. Thanks again Bob for your relentless dedication to these covers. It's one of the best reasons to be on this list for me. Mark in Sydney NP Stoned Woman - Mother Earth ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 03:38:51 -0800 (PST) From: Bob Muller Subject: Re: Joni Covers, Volume 98 - From a Leap to a March Hey, what a great thing to see when you wake up - it's got my day off to a grand start Mark, thanks so much. Thanks too for the info about Thorpe - I knew he was Aussie but that was about it. I intend to get my write-up done this weekend, but the link is very much ripe for plucking: http://tinyurl.com/2kt6c2 And a BIG Happy Birthday to you, my friend! Bob NP: Thin Lizzy, "Running Back" ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:54:36 -0500 From: Jerry Notaro Subject: Re: SJC Miracle of Melancholia Some people in pain may create in order to take their mind off of their pain, but I find the suggestion that one NEEDS pain in order to create absurd. It's like the old saw that only alcoholics make good writers. Jerry > Has anyone read the article from the JMDL library titled "The Miracle of > Melancholia?" It is an article that theorizes that one needs pain in order to > create...a concept I am fascinated by. It mentions Joni towards the end. > What do you think of this idea and article? > -M > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > The miracle of melancholia > Eric G. Wilson [Los Angeles Times] > February 17, 2008 > > We're a nation obsessed with being happy, but sometimes feeling bad can do > you some good. > In April of 1819, right around the time that he began to suffer the first > symptoms of tuberculosis -- the disease that had already killed his mother and > his beloved brother, Tom -- the poet John Keats sat down and wrote, in a > letter to his brother, George, the following question: "Do you not see how > necessary a World of Pains and troubles is to school an Intelligence and make > it a Soul?" Implied in this inquiry is an idea that is not very popular > these days -- at least not in the United States, which is characterized by an > almost collective yearning for complete happiness. That idea is this: A person > can only become a fully formed human being, as opposed to a mere mind, through > suffering and sorrow. This notion would seem quite strange, possibly even > deranged, in a country in which almost 85% of the population claims, according > to the Pew Research Center, to be "very happy" or at least "happy." Indeed, > in light of our recent craze for positive psychology -- a brand of > psychotherapy designed not so much to heal mental illness as to increase > happiness -- as well as in light of our increasing reliance on pills that > reduce sadness, anxiety and fear, we are likely to challenge Keats' meditation > outright, to condemn it as a dangerous and dated affront to the modern > American dream. But does the American addiction to happiness make any sense, > especially in light of the poverty, ecological disaster and war that now haunt > the globe, daily annihilating hundreds if not thousands? Isn't it, in fact, a > recipe for delusion? And aren't we merely trying to slice away what is most > probably an essential part of our hearts, that part that can reconcile us to > facts, no matter how harsh, and that also can inspire us to imagine new and > more creative ways to engage with the world? Bereft of this integral element > of our selves, we settle for a status quo. We yearn for comfort at any cost. > We covet a good night's sleep. We trade fortitude for blandness. > When Keats invoked the fertility of pain, he knew what he was talking about. > Though he was young when he composed his question -- only 24 -- he had already > experienced a lifetime of pain. His father had died after falling from a horse > when the future poet was only 9. A few years later, Keats nursed his mother > assiduously through tuberculosis, but she died in 1810, when he was 15. Soon > after, he was taken from a boarding school he loved and required to apprentice > as an apothecary; he then underwent a gruesome course in surgery in one of > London's hospitals (in the days before anesthesia). Orphaned and mournful, > Keats spent his days brooding. But after much contemplation, he decided that > sorrow was not a state to be avoided, not a weakness of the will or a disease > requiring cure. On the contrary, Keats discovered that his ongoing gloom was > in fact the inspiration for his greatest ideas and his most enduring > creations. v What makes us melancholy, Keats concluded, is our > awareness of things inevitably passing -- of brothers dying before they reach > 20; of nightingales that cease their songs; of peonies drooping at noon. But > it is precisely when we sense impending death that we grasp the world's > beauty. Keats was of course not the only great artist to translate > melancholia into exuberance. This metamorphosis of sadness to joy has been a > perennial if frequently unacknowledged current in Western art. Consider > George Frideric Handel, the 18th century composer. By 1741, when he was in his > mid-50s, Handel found himself a fallen man. Once a ruler of the musical world, > he had suffered several failed operas as well as poor health. He was left in a > state of poverty, sickness and heartsickness. Living in a run-down house in a > poor part of London, he expected any day to be thrown into debtor's prison or > to die. But then, out of nowhere, as if by some divine agency, Handel > received a libretto based on the life of Jesus and an invitation to compose > a work for a charity benefit performance. On Aug. 22, 1741, in his squalid > rooms on Brook Street, Handel saw potentialities no one had before seen. > Immediately, he felt a creative vitality course through his veins. During a > 24-day period, he barely slept or ate. He only composed, and then composed > more. At the close of this brief period, he had completed "Messiah," his > greatest work, a gift from the depths of melancholia. We could also recall > Georgia O'Keeffe, the 20th century painter. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, > O'Keeffe left the East Coast for Taos, N.M. She fell profoundly in love with > the lonely vistas of this world denuded of human corruption. However, even > though she was enlivened by this part of the world, in 1932, her lifelong > battle with melancholia caught up with her. She was hospitalized for > psychoneurosis. Rather than quelling her creative spirit, this breakdown did > the opposite. Upon being discharged, she returned to the Southwest. There, in > 1935, > she painted some of her bleakest and most beautiful landscapes: "Purple Hills > near Abiquiu" and "Ram's Head, White Hollyhock Hills." Both feature dark > things amid the desert's glare -- gloomy shadows and stormy clouds. Into these > haunting shades -- hovering amid hard-scrabble rock and a sinister skull -- > one stares. One senses something there as silent and sacred as bones. Joni > Mitchell confessed in an interview that she has frequently endured long > periods of gloom. But she has not shied away from the darkness. Instead, she > sees her sorrow as the "sand that makes the pearl" -- as the terrible friction > that produces the lustrous sphere. Given her fruitful struggles with sadness, > Mitchell has understandably feared its absence. "Chase away the demons," she > has said, "and they will take the angels with them." Melancholia, far from > error or defect, is an almost miraculous invitation to rise above the > contented status quo and imagine untapped possibilities. We need sorrow, > constant and robust, to make us human, alive, sensitive to the sweet rhythms > of growth and decay, death and life. This of course does not mean that we > should simply wallow in gloom, that we should wantonly cultivate depression. > I'm not out to romanticize mental illnesses that can end in madness or > suicide. On the contrary, following Keats and those like him, I'm valorizing > a fundamental emotion too frequently avoided in the American scene. I'm > offering hope to those millions who feel guilty for being downhearted. I'm > saying that it's more than all right to descend into introspective gloom. In > fact, it is crucial, a call to what might be the best portion of ourselves, > those depths where the most lasting truths lie. Eric G. Wilson is a > professor of English at Wake Forest University and author of "Against > Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy." > > > --------------------------------- > Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 19:06:42 +0100 From: "Marion Leffler" Subject: SV: Joni Covers, Volume 98 - From a Leap to a March Happy birthday, Mark! May the year ahead be filled with chances for you to find true meaning and happiness. Marion - -----Ursprungligt meddelande----- Fren: owner-onlyjoni@smoe.org [mailto:owner-onlyjoni@smoe.org] Fvr Mark-Leon Thorne Skickat: den 6 mars 2008 09:56 Till: joni@smoe.org Dmne: Re: Joni Covers, Volume 98 - From a Leap to a March Hi everyone. I just wanted to thank Bob for another interesting mix of Joni covers. I haven't had time to check them all out yet - work has been crazy, but I was most interested to hear Billy Thorpe's take on Free Man In Paris. Billy Thorpe is considered one of Australia's rock legends. He died last year and the funeral was a veritable who's who of the Australian rock industry. His signature song was Most People I Know. When Joni was talking about Woodstock on Dick Clark's show, Billy Thorpe was tearing it up at the Sunbury Festival (both before my time). It was interesting to hear Billy play it on guitar. I'm not sure I've heard it played on guitar before. I noticed it was recorded at The Basement here in Sydney. The venue itself is legendary. Today is my birthday so, I will consider this volume a birthday gift. Thanks again Bob for your relentless dedication to these covers. It's one of the best reasons to be on this list for me. Mark in Sydney NP Stoned Woman - Mother Earth ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 15:24:03 -0800 (PST) From: Bob Muller Subject: Incoming & Upcoming - the latest Project from Big Yellow Taxi This just in... Henning Olsen, whom many of us have met & heard, has spilled the beans on the latest BYT project - due to the success of the their last release, "Unknown and Famous Songs of Joni Mitchell" (and particularly the unreleased Joni songs), Henning & Christina have gone back into the studio to record an album chock full of more unreleased Joni tunes. I don't know the release date yet but I can give y'all the tracklist: 1 The Gift of the Magi 2 Hunter 3 Born to Take the Highway 4 Day after Day 5 Dr. Junk 6 Circle Game 7 Eastern Rain 8 Brandy Eyes 9 Blue on Blue 10 Just Like Me 11 Play Little David Play 12 Winter Lady More info as it becomes available, of course - just thought I'd start whetting appetites now. And if you haven't checked out their earlier albums: http://cdbaby.com/cd/bigyellowtaxi4 http://cdbaby.com/cd/bigyellowtaxi http://cdbaby.com/cd/bigyellowtaxi2 Bob NP: Elvis Costello, "Gloomy Sunday" ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 01:16:28 +0000 From: J Harney Subject: Girls Like Us excerpt in Vanity Fair (April 2008) Greetings, JMD-Listers: Just in case this point hasn't been made before, I thought I should mention that the April 2008 issue of Vanity Fair has an excerpt of the new group biography called "Girls Like Us"--Joni Mitchell, of course, being a part of that "group." Two other tidbits (before I retreat to lurkdom): the author, Sheila Weller, shares a writing credit with Amy Fisher (dubbed "the Long Island Lolita") for the memoir, "Amy Fisher, My Story." Lastly, included in the notes about the contributors for this issue of VF is the disclosure that Ms. Weller is also the mother of the executive assistant to Vanity Fair's editor, Graydon Carter. Cheers, Jack (New York, NY) _________________________________________________________________ Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the word scramble challenge with star power. http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_oct ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 22:51:24 -0600 From: Michael Paz Subject: Re: Incoming & Upcoming - the latest Project from Big Yellow Taxi Those wacky folk from Denmark are at it again! Paz Michael Paz michael@thepazgroup.com Tour Manager Preservation Hall Jazz Band http://www.preservationhall.com On Mar 6, 2008, at 5:24 PM, Bob Muller wrote: This just in... Henning Olsen, whom many of us have met & heard, has spilled the beans on the latest BYT project - due to the success of the their last release, "Unknown and Famous Songs of Joni Mitchell" (and particularly the unreleased Joni songs), Henning & Christina have gone back into the studio to record an album chock full of more unreleased Joni tunes. I don't know the release date yet but I can give y'all the tracklist: 1 The Gift of the Magi 2 Hunter 3 Born to Take the Highway 4 Day after Day 5 Dr. Junk 6 Circle Game 7 Eastern Rain 8 Brandy Eyes 9 Blue on Blue 10 Just Like Me 11 Play Little David Play 12 Winter Lady More info as it becomes available, of course - just thought I'd start whetting appetites now. And if you haven't checked out their earlier albums: http://cdbaby.com/cd/bigyellowtaxi4 http://cdbaby.com/cd/bigyellowtaxi http://cdbaby.com/cd/bigyellowtaxi2 Bob NP: Elvis Costello, "Gloomy Sunday" ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 23:27:44 -0600 From: Michael Paz Subject: Herbie Herbie is on the Tonight show in a few minutes. Just got home sorry I DID NOT KNOW. Rolling DVR! Paz Michael Paz michael@thepazgroup.com Tour Manager Preservation Hall Jazz Band http://www.preservationhall.com ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2007 #481 ********************************* ------- 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)