From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2009 #26 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 Tuesday, January 27 2009 Volume 2009 : Number 026 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Little Green [Bob.Muller@Fluor.com] Re: Little Green [Rian Afriadi ] Re: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC [Rian Afriadi] SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC ["Marion Leff] Re: SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC [Rian Afr] Re: SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC [Michael ] which 3 tracks from HOSL [Robert Procyk ] SV: SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC ["Marion ] Re: Which 3 tracks from THOSL? [Bryan ] Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet ["Laurie Fuhr" ] RE: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet ["Laurie Fuhr" ] Re: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet [Jeannie Subject: Re: Little Green Little Green is one of the very first songs that made me turn to Joni. The first was A Case of You (of course, like everybody else). At first, I didn't get the meaning of the song. English is not my first language, so just like most people whose first language is not english, we tend to "view" a song from the melody first, and if we like it, then the lyric. I got the meaning of what Little Green was after I joined JMDL (and browsed jmdl.com a lot). Anyway, is there any other song in this world about the feeling of a mother who gave up her baby that is a good as Joni's Little Green? No? Rian NP. Trine-Lise Vaering (recommended by Bene), and I'd like to recommended her to you all too. She reminds me of Trina on LoTC :-). But she mostly sings in danish. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:09:02 -0800 (PST) From: Rian Afriadi Subject: Re: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC I'm gonna make this Joni Content because I'll talk about STAS. Well, I'm not very surprised that STAS wasn't included on the list. Joni's first breakthrough was not made by her first album. Surely STAS is good. But not that great. Clouds? Nope. The album has Both Sides Now and Chelsea Morning, but that album was not a breakthrough. Ladies of The Canyon was her first breakthrough. All songs on that album are great, there's no weak track, and they are bonded by a theme "songs made by a lady from a canyon in california". If Joni's first album was LOTC, then she'll be on the list. Regret to say, but STAS was not strong enough. Rian ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:27:47 +0100 From: "Marion Leffler" Subject: SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC Well, it depends on what you mean by breakthrough, or rather what critera have to be met for a record to be considered a breakthrough. I can think of lots of albums that have been commercial successes for the artist(s) in question even though I did not think them that great. As for Ladies of the Canyon, to me that is the weakest album of the three you mentioned, so here we are with different opinions already!:-) I don't think any of Joni's albums - with the one exception of CAS - could be considered a breakthrough in any commercial sense. But there has always been a large crowd who appreciated her albums. Not large enough to put her on Amazon's list, obviously, but who really cares? Marion - -----Ursprungligt meddelande----- Fren: owner-onlyjoni@smoe.org [mailto:owner-onlyjoni@smoe.org] Fvr Rian Afriadi Skickat: den 27 januari 2009 15:09 Till: jonipeople Dmne: Re: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC I'm gonna make this Joni Content because I'll talk about STAS. Well, I'm not very surprised that STAS wasn't included on the list. Joni's first breakthrough was not made by her first album. Surely STAS is good. But not that great. Clouds? Nope. The album has Both Sides Now and Chelsea Morning, but that album was not a breakthrough. Ladies of The Canyon was her first breakthrough. All songs on that album are great, there's no weak track, and they are bonded by a theme "songs made by a lady from a canyon in california". If Joni's first album was LOTC, then she'll be on the list. Regret to say, but STAS was not strong enough. Rian ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:40:09 -0800 (PST) From: Rian Afriadi Subject: Re: SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC So, me and Marion may be disagree on the status of LOTC, but I guess I agree with her latest sentence : "Who really cares?" What I meant with breakthrough was not commercially, but rather "accepted by critics". Clouds won a Grammy, but I guess most people here can sense something missing on that album. Cohesion maybe? Rian A Proud Supporter of Ladies of The Canyon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:03:00 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Flaherty Subject: Re: SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC Does a breakthrough have to be a debut? It seems to me that Blue, C&S, and HOSL were all breakthroughs at a time when Joni was growing by leaps and bounds. If we're talking popularity, then it's probably true that Joni didn't "breakthrough". It was more of a gradual thing. Michael F. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:32:00 -0600 From: Robert Procyk Subject: which 3 tracks from HOSL I would pick: "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow" - you can't NOT pick it.... "Sweet Bird" - quickly becoming my favorite track on the album, although I have no idea what it means. Every winter I seem to listen to it on repeat a lot - I am not sure why, but it's one of those songs I just connect with at a certain time of year, if that makes any sense. I remember the Sweet Bird thread 10 or so years ago. I started to feel like the hillbilly who went to Harvard or something, as I had no idea what the hell anyone was talking about, but I love the song nevertheless. As much as I'd rather choose "The Boho Dance", I'd say "Harry's House" should be there because it's basically the centre of the album - it's what defines the Cheever-esque theme of the whole thing. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:23:38 +0100 From: "Marion Leffler" Subject: SV: SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC Oh come now, Rian, you obviously care:-) I dont miss anything on Clouds and find it at least as cohesive as LOTC. Are we in a feisty mood today?:-) Marion - -----Ursprungligt meddelande----- Fren: owner-onlyjoni@smoe.org [mailto:owner-onlyjoni@smoe.org] Fvr Rian Afriadi Skickat: den 27 januari 2009 15:40 Till: jonipeople Dmne: Re: SV: Amazon's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time - now JC So, me and Marion may be disagree on the status of LOTC, but I guess I agree with her latest sentence : "Who really cares?" What I meant with breakthrough was not commercially, but rather "accepted by critics". Clouds won a Grammy, but I guess most people here can sense something missing on that album. Cohesion maybe? Rian A Proud Supporter of Ladies of The Canyon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:02:20 -0800 (PST) From: Bryan Subject: Re: Which 3 tracks from THOSL? Well, being a WYSO listener myself (here in snowy, funky Dayton, OH) I may have an advantage in helping here. Anyway, I would go with Edith (one of the best songs by anybody, ever); Sorrow; and THOSL. To me, those represent the album well and are good fits for WYSO.Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:23:04 -0700 From: "Laurie Fuhr" Subject: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Hi JMDListers, Just signed up for the list so I would like to introduce myself! My name is Laurie. I'm a songwriter, poet, I play upright bass in a rockabilly band, and I am managing editor for a lit arts magazine (www.fillingstation.ca ). I am also the receptionist at Alberta Ballet. Joni's on my mind a lot lately - I hear the music through the floor as our dancers practice and practice for The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet. I am excited to discover this listserv and talk to some other fans. I don't want to come off like a big commercial, because I'll be talking about the ballet and the CD and stuff, so I need to tell you right off that I was a huge Joni fan before I ever started working here!! Joni's writing has informed my own writing a lot, and I didn't realize Alberta Ballet had a Joni Mitchell ballet until I came on board. So it's been a thrill to play even a small part in such an amazing work of art and to meet Joni. I hope it's cool to share that experience with you because remembering it has been a source of pleasure for the past few months. At the Banff Centre for the Arts showcase of Fiddle in the fall, I thought I wasn't going to get to meet Joni. I saw her hanging out with the dancers at the post-reception, but I had no real reason to bother her, and couldn't think of anything special to say, so I didn't. I did shake her hand at one point when she was standing with Jean, our Artistic Director, outside the dining building, but that was all.. that was pretty exciting anyway! But I think I was shy partly because I've met my heroes before sometimes without good feelings after - I used to think Adam Duritz from Counting Crows was among the best songwriters ever, and at 17 I thought I was in love with him, silly girl that I was. I spent lots of time on the Counting Crows listserv talking about his songs and dreaming about meeting him. I learned to play guitar listening to August & Everything After. And I used to think someone who could create wise, heartfelt music absolutely had to be wise and heartfelt, but it isn't always the case; 2 out of 3 times I met Adam, he was generally unkind and sarcastic to the crowd around him behind a venue after a show, having no real wish to be there. I can't blame him entirely, fans act like weirdos at times.. but then again, I don't think he knew how to handle it compared with someone like Joni. Joni has no fear, she has poise and control.. plus fewer crazed females asking her to sign certain body parts probably helps! But I did get to meet Joni, and was completely stunned at how genuine she was. How calmly and easily she communicates with those around her. How she treats everyone like a normal human being, and elicits the same behavior in others towards her. And how many stories she tells, about musical friendships in the 60's, her insight into how it really was, and about her own music, religion and spirituality, everything she's been thinking of hard.. it just flows from her lips, and is always interesting and engaging. I finally met her later in the evening at Banff Centre. Joni came into the little campus pub and was looking to play pool, so I asked her to be my partner. What an amazing pool player Joni is!! Good thing I was on her team, not playing against her! When she sets up that LA rack, you're either on her side or you're in trouble. Thank you Joni for humouring me with a game, even though I seem to have lost all my Northern Alberta, smalltown, nothing-else-to-do-all-night pool skills! Joni tells a lot of stories when she's playing pool, so that was definitely worth the embarrassment of poor performance. (We won 4 out of 5 games anyway thanks to Joni!). Outside in the cold, having a cigarette, she mentioned too was that she's not completely happy with the music industry's treatment of its artists. I told her she should go independent like Radiohead, they did really well that way - but she told me that instead she was planning to sell her ballet soundtrack exclusively through Alberta Ballet. That blew my mind. Not sure if her people are going to allow this to happen, but if it does, she'll be lucky she's got a big fan working here, because I'll work extra hours if needed to get her music out to people who will love it! ('Shine' sold something like 60,000 copies though so I wonder what they'll do when a landslide of requests comes in!! I don't think I can handle mailing out 60,000 :-) ). So I wanted to tell my fellow fans, because I have a bit of an inside track here sometimes, that Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Soundtrack CDs have arrived here at the Alberta Ballet office, and they look and sound wonderful!! Lots of great stills from the ballet with Joni's visual art incorporated, and our beautiful dancers looking lit from within. The CDs will be sold at our upcoming Alberta performance dates in Calgary (February 26-28 09) and in Edmonton (February 20-21 09). If there are any left, it looks like I will be able to fill orders here at the office, but only if there are any left once the performances have taken place. Please don't write me for a copy yet - I'll be sure to let you know when I have the go ahead to fill mail orders. It is amazing to think I am one of the only people (aside from manufacturers) who has seen these CDs! We should be getting DVDs pretty soon too. If you haven't seen The Fiddle & The Drum yet, you will be absolutely amazed that ballet can be so gripping and thrilling. It was the first ballet I had ever seen, and now I'm hooked. What a great surprise to find out that the art I'm working for isn't sleepy at all. Again, the ballet is taking place in Alberta, here in Canada. It is touring to a few places in the States too, but I'm not sure where and when - I think it's still in the works. When I know that I'll pass it along too. Tickets can be found through Ticketmaster. Regardless of whether or not you get to see the ballet, I hope you will take the core messages of The Fiddle & The Drum ballet to heart - choose peace over war, respect and protect the earth, and slow down to experience the joy of life! Laurie Laurie Fuhr | Administrative Assistant | ALBERTA BALLET | p: 403.245.4222 ext 521 | f: 403.245.6573 | laurief@albertaballet.com | www.albertaballet.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:42:24 +0100 From: "Marion Leffler" Subject: SV: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Hi Laurie! Wow! is all I can say right now. And a warm welcome to the list. I hope you will be posting a lot. I will probably never get to see the ballet in real life performance, or do you think they might go on a world tour and visit Scandinavia? I have seen it on dvd, though, and absolutely love it. I am a ballet fan, anyway, love both classical and modern ballet. Your meeting with Joni and playing pool with her - how lucky you are, and how well you describe the mixed feelings at the prospect of talking to her. I'm sure that if I ever got the chance to speak to Joni I would let it go by, not knowing what to say to her. I would probably be fumbling deaf, dumb and blind, not at all the spirit that's inside of me. Again - welcome and keep posting! Marion in Sweden - -----Ursprungligt meddelande----- Fren: owner-onlyjoni@smoe.org [mailto:owner-onlyjoni@smoe.org] Fvr Laurie Fuhr Skickat: den 27 januari 2009 20:23 Till: joni@smoe.org Dmne: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Hi JMDListers, Just signed up for the list so I would like to introduce myself! My name is Laurie. I'm a songwriter, poet, I play upright bass in a rockabilly band, and I am managing editor for a lit arts magazine (www.fillingstation.ca ). I am also the receptionist at Alberta Ballet. Joni's on my mind a lot lately - I hear the music through the floor as our dancers practice and practice for The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet. I am excited to discover this listserv and talk to some other fans. I don't want to come off like a big commercial, because I'll be talking about the ballet and the CD and stuff, so I need to tell you right off that I was a huge Joni fan before I ever started working here!! Joni's writing has informed my own writing a lot, and I didn't realize Alberta Ballet had a Joni Mitchell ballet until I came on board. So it's been a thrill to play even a small part in such an amazing work of art and to meet Joni. I hope it's cool to share that experience with you because remembering it has been a source of pleasure for the past few months. At the Banff Centre for the Arts showcase of Fiddle in the fall, I thought I wasn't going to get to meet Joni. I saw her hanging out with the dancers at the post-reception, but I had no real reason to bother her, and couldn't think of anything special to say, so I didn't. I did shake her hand at one point when she was standing with Jean, our Artistic Director, outside the dining building, but that was all.. that was pretty exciting anyway! But I think I was shy partly because I've met my heroes before sometimes without good feelings after - I used to think Adam Duritz from Counting Crows was among the best songwriters ever, and at 17 I thought I was in love with him, silly girl that I was. I spent lots of time on the Counting Crows listserv talking about his songs and dreaming about meeting him. I learned to play guitar listening to August & Everything After. And I used to think someone who could create wise, heartfelt music absolutely had to be wise and heartfelt, but it isn't always the case; 2 out of 3 times I met Adam, he was generally unkind and sarcastic to the crowd around him behind a venue after a show, having no real wish to be there. I can't blame him entirely, fans act like weirdos at times.. but then again, I don't think he knew how to handle it compared with someone like Joni. Joni has no fear, she has poise and control.. plus fewer crazed females asking her to sign certain body parts probably helps! But I did get to meet Joni, and was completely stunned at how genuine she was. How calmly and easily she communicates with those around her. How she treats everyone like a normal human being, and elicits the same behavior in others towards her. And how many stories she tells, about musical friendships in the 60's, her insight into how it really was, and about her own music, religion and spirituality, everything she's been thinking of hard.. it just flows from her lips, and is always interesting and engaging. I finally met her later in the evening at Banff Centre. Joni came into the little campus pub and was looking to play pool, so I asked her to be my partner. What an amazing pool player Joni is!! Good thing I was on her team, not playing against her! When she sets up that LA rack, you're either on her side or you're in trouble. Thank you Joni for humouring me with a game, even though I seem to have lost all my Northern Alberta, smalltown, nothing-else-to-do-all-night pool skills! Joni tells a lot of stories when she's playing pool, so that was definitely worth the embarrassment of poor performance. (We won 4 out of 5 games anyway thanks to Joni!). Outside in the cold, having a cigarette, she mentioned too was that she's not completely happy with the music industry's treatment of its artists. I told her she should go independent like Radiohead, they did really well that way - but she told me that instead she was planning to sell her ballet soundtrack exclusively through Alberta Ballet. That blew my mind. Not sure if her people are going to allow this to happen, but if it does, she'll be lucky she's got a big fan working here, because I'll work extra hours if needed to get her music out to people who will love it! ('Shine' sold something like 60,000 copies though so I wonder what they'll do when a landslide of requests comes in!! I don't think I can handle mailing out 60,000 :-) ). So I wanted to tell my fellow fans, because I have a bit of an inside track here sometimes, that Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Soundtrack CDs have arrived here at the Alberta Ballet office, and they look and sound wonderful!! Lots of great stills from the ballet with Joni's visual art incorporated, and our beautiful dancers looking lit from within. The CDs will be sold at our upcoming Alberta performance dates in Calgary (February 26-28 09) and in Edmonton (February 20-21 09). If there are any left, it looks like I will be able to fill orders here at the office, but only if there are any left once the performances have taken place. Please don't write me for a copy yet - I'll be sure to let you know when I have the go ahead to fill mail orders. It is amazing to think I am one of the only people (aside from manufacturers) who has seen these CDs! We should be getting DVDs pretty soon too. If you haven't seen The Fiddle & The Drum yet, you will be absolutely amazed that ballet can be so gripping and thrilling. It was the first ballet I had ever seen, and now I'm hooked. What a great surprise to find out that the art I'm working for isn't sleepy at all. Again, the ballet is taking place in Alberta, here in Canada. It is touring to a few places in the States too, but I'm not sure where and when - I think it's still in the works. When I know that I'll pass it along too. Tickets can be found through Ticketmaster. Regardless of whether or not you get to see the ballet, I hope you will take the core messages of The Fiddle & The Drum ballet to heart - choose peace over war, respect and protect the earth, and slow down to experience the joy of life! Laurie Laurie Fuhr | Administrative Assistant | ALBERTA BALLET | p: 403.245.4222 ext 521 | f: 403.245.6573 | laurief@albertaballet.com | www.albertaballet.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:54:34 -0500 From: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Man oh man, Laurie - what an introduction! I don't know how many "OMG's" went through my mind while I was reading it, but suffice to say that your experiences are pretty incredible, and of course as a Joni fan I'm SO happy for you. I too have had the distinct pleasure of meeting her and talking to her so I can relate to what you say about her being accessible and of course Miss Blabby. And I LOVED that you got to shoot pool with her! I think that's a first for anyone on the list. I have seen a bootleg of the Bravo broadcast of the ballet but have yet to see it in person - hope to some day. Question - the CD's that you have...that's the studio recordings that the dancers are dancing to, right? Or am I missing something? Anyway, a big big welcome to you and I'll be waiting to hear about your next encounters with Joni as well as any thoughts you have along the way. Bob NP: Bruce Springsteen, "Johnny 99" - ------------------------------------------------------------ The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. - ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:18:50 -0800 (PST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Wow, Laurie - what a great intro! Welcome to the jmdl. Lucky you - not only did you meet Joni, you got to play pool with her as well. I've never met her, only seen her from afar. Saw the ballet in Toronto (in the summer, I think? feels like a long time ago!) and I couldn't agree with you more - anyone who gets the chance really must see it. P.S. I suck at pool. - --- On Tue, 1/27/09, Laurie Fuhr wrote: Hi JMDListers, Just signed up for the list so I would like to introduce myself! My name is Laurie. I'm a songwriter, poet, I play upright bass in a rockabilly band, and I am managing editor for a lit arts magazine (www.fillingstation.ca ). I am also the receptionist at Alberta Ballet. __________________________________________________________________ Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/gift/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:54:24 -0800 (PST) From: Peep Richman Subject: Re: THOSL I want to share a very special evening I had many years ago. When THOSL was one day from release, it was announced on a radio station I listened to a lot (can you believe I don't remember the name of that station?) that without interruption, the new Joni Mitchell album would be aired..of course it was THOSL. That year I was living in a 25 story apartment house in center city Philly...I was on the 18TH floor. From the time I heard this announcement until the night the new album was aired I was a bundle of joy, happiness and anticipation. I didn't want to share this experience with anyone. I wanted to be alone. I sat on the floor with my little radio. Finally the top of the hour arrived...a few moments of silence and I listened eagerly to the first track, "In France They Kiss On Main Street". As with each of Joni's albums I was instantly mesmerized. When I listen to most new albums, I usually have to hear it a few times before I know whether I like it or not. This has never been the case with Joni. As the final track ended, I was in such awe. Joni had made a departure from her other magnificent works. I can't remember what adjectives I used to describe THOSL way back when and I had few friends to share my reactions and thoughts. My three favorites? Edith In France They Kiss On Main Street Shades of Scarlett Conquering I sure wish I could remember what my three favorite songs were after I first heard this magnificent album. Bo ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:20:22 -0700 From: "Laurie Fuhr" Subject: RE: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Thanks Michael. We should plan a Canadian Jonifest too, if there's enough of us! Any listers in Western Canada? Laurie Fuhr | Administrative Assistant | ALBERTA BALLET | p: 403.245.4222 ext 521 | f: 403.245.6573 | laurief@albertaballet.com | www.albertaballet.com ________________________________ From: Michael Paz [mailto:michael@thepazgroup.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 1:42 PM To: Laurie Fuhr Cc: joni@smoe.org Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Hi Laurie Welcome to the list! What a great story! Thanks for sharing it with us. I love the fact that you got to play pool with her. Better you than me cause I really suck at pool. I hope you enjoy your time with us. We need more musicians on this list. Hopefully you will get to enjoy a Jonifest gathering with us. Two are in the planning. One in So. California and one down under. You can see some of the past antics on the JMDL website. Best Paz in New Orleans Michael Paz michael@thepazgroup.com Tour Manager Preservation Hall Jazz Band http://www.preservationhall.com On Jan 27, 2009, at 1:23 PM, Laurie Fuhr wrote: Hi JMDListers, Just signed up for the list so I would like to introduce myself! My name is Laurie. I'm a songwriter, poet, I play upright bass in a rockabilly band, and I am managing editor for a lit arts magazine (www.fillingstation.ca ). I am also the receptionist at Alberta Ballet. Joni's on my mind a lot lately - I hear the music through the floor as our dancers practice and practice for The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet. I am excited to discover this listserv and talk to some other fans. I don't want to come off like a big commercial, because I'll be talking about the ballet and the CD and stuff, so I need to tell you right off that I was a huge Joni fan before I ever started working here!! Joni's writing has informed my own writing a lot, and I didn't realize Alberta Ballet had a Joni Mitchell ballet until I came on board. So it's been a thrill to play even a small part in such an amazing work of art and to meet Joni. I hope it's cool to share that experience with you because remembering it has been a source of pleasure for the past few months. At the Banff Centre for the Arts showcase of Fiddle in the fall, I thought I wasn't going to get to meet Joni. I saw her hanging out with the dancers at the post-reception, but I had no real reason to bother her, and couldn't think of anything special to say, so I didn't. I did shake her hand at one point when she was standing with Jean, our Artistic Director, outside the dining building, but that was all.. that was pretty exciting anyway! But I think I was shy partly because I've met my heroes before sometimes without good feelings after - I used to think Adam Duritz from Counting Crows was among the best songwriters ever, and at 17 I thought I was in love with him, silly girl that I was. I spent lots of time on the Counting Crows listserv talking about his songs and dreaming about meeting him. I learned to play guitar listening to August & Everything After. And I used to think someone who could create wise, heartfelt music absolutely had to be wise and heartfelt, but it isn't always the case; 2 out of 3 times I met Adam, he was generally unkind and sarcastic to the crowd around him behind a venue after a show, having no real wish to be there. I can't blame him entirely, fans act like weirdos at times.. but then again, I don't think he knew how to handle it compared with someone like Joni. Joni has no fear, she has poise and control.. plus fewer crazed females asking her to sign certain body parts probably helps! But I did get to meet Joni, and was completely stunned at how genuine she was. How calmly and easily she communicates with those around her. How she treats everyone like a normal human being, and elicits the same behavior in others towards her. And how many stories she tells, about musical friendships in the 60's, her insight into how it really was, and about her own music, religion and spirituality, everything she's been thinking of hard.. it just flows from her lips, and is always interesting and engaging. I finally met her later in the evening at Banff Centre. Joni came into the little campus pub and was looking to play pool, so I asked her to be my partner. What an amazing pool player Joni is!! Good thing I was on her team, not playing against her! When she sets up that LA rack, you're either on her side or you're in trouble. Thank you Joni for humouring me with a game, even though I seem to have lost all my Northern Alberta, smalltown, nothing-else-to-do-all-night pool skills! Joni tells a lot of stories when she's playing pool, so that was definitely worth the embarrassment of poor performance. (We won 4 out of 5 games anyway thanks to Joni!). Outside in the cold, having a cigarette, she mentioned too was that she's not completely happy with the music industry's treatment of its artists. I told her she should go independent like Radiohead, they did really well that way - but she told me that instead she was planning to sell her ballet soundtrack exclusively through Alberta Ballet. That blew my mind. Not sure if her people are going to allow this to happen, but if it does, she'll be lucky she's got a big fan working here, because I'll work extra hours if needed to get her music out to people who will love it! ('Shine' sold something like 60,000 copies though so I wonder what they'll do when a landslide of requests comes in!! I don't think I can handle mailing out 60,000 :-) ). So I wanted to tell my fellow fans, because I have a bit of an inside track here sometimes, that Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Soundtrack CDs have arrived here at the Alberta Ballet office, and they look and sound wonderful!! Lots of great stills from the ballet with Joni's visual art incorporated, and our beautiful dancers looking lit from within. The CDs will be sold at our upcoming Alberta performance dates in Calgary (February 26-28 09) and in Edmonton (February 20-21 09). If there are any left, it looks like I will be able to fill orders here at the office, but only if there are any left once the performances have taken place. Please don't write me for a copy yet - I'll be sure to let you know when I have the go ahead to fill mail orders. It is amazing to think I am one of the only people (aside from manufacturers) who has seen these CDs! We should be getting DVDs pretty soon too. If you haven't seen The Fiddle & The Drum yet, you will be absolutely amazed that ballet can be so gripping and thrilling. It was the first ballet I had ever seen, and now I'm hooked. What a great surprise to find out that the art I'm working for isn't sleepy at all. Again, the ballet is taking place in Alberta, here in Canada. It is touring to a few places in the States too, but I'm not sure where and when - I think it's still in the works. When I know that I'll pass it along too. Tickets can be found through Ticketmaster. Regardless of whether or not you get to see the ballet, I hope you will take the core messages of The Fiddle & The Drum ballet to heart - choose peace over war, respect and protect the earth, and slow down to experience the joy of life! Laurie Laurie Fuhr | Administrative Assistant | ALBERTA BALLET | p: 403.245.4222 ext 521 | f: 403.245.6573 | laurief@albertaballet.com | www.albertaballet.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.233 / Virus Database: 270.10.14/1918 - Release Date: 01/27/09 07:26:00 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:42:14 -0600 From: Michael Paz Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Hi Laurie Welcome to the list! What a great story! Thanks for sharing it with us. I love the fact that you got to play pool with her. Better you than me cause I really suck at pool. I hope you enjoy your time with us. We need more musicians on this list. Hopefully you will get to enjoy a Jonifest gathering with us. Two are in the planning. One in So. California and one down under. You can see some of the past antics on the JMDL website. Best Paz in New Orleans Michael Paz michael@thepazgroup.com Tour Manager Preservation Hall Jazz Band http://www.preservationhall.com On Jan 27, 2009, at 1:23 PM, Laurie Fuhr wrote: Hi JMDListers, Just signed up for the list so I would like to introduce myself! My name is Laurie. I'm a songwriter, poet, I play upright bass in a rockabilly band, and I am managing editor for a lit arts magazine (www.fillingstation.ca ). I am also the receptionist at Alberta Ballet. Joni's on my mind a lot lately - I hear the music through the floor as our dancers practice and practice for The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet. I am excited to discover this listserv and talk to some other fans. I don't want to come off like a big commercial, because I'll be talking about the ballet and the CD and stuff, so I need to tell you right off that I was a huge Joni fan before I ever started working here!! Joni's writing has informed my own writing a lot, and I didn't realize Alberta Ballet had a Joni Mitchell ballet until I came on board. So it's been a thrill to play even a small part in such an amazing work of art and to meet Joni. I hope it's cool to share that experience with you because remembering it has been a source of pleasure for the past few months. At the Banff Centre for the Arts showcase of Fiddle in the fall, I thought I wasn't going to get to meet Joni. I saw her hanging out with the dancers at the post-reception, but I had no real reason to bother her, and couldn't think of anything special to say, so I didn't. I did shake her hand at one point when she was standing with Jean, our Artistic Director, outside the dining building, but that was all.. that was pretty exciting anyway! But I think I was shy partly because I've met my heroes before sometimes without good feelings after - I used to think Adam Duritz from Counting Crows was among the best songwriters ever, and at 17 I thought I was in love with him, silly girl that I was. I spent lots of time on the Counting Crows listserv talking about his songs and dreaming about meeting him. I learned to play guitar listening to August & Everything After. And I used to think someone who could create wise, heartfelt music absolutely had to be wise and heartfelt, but it isn't always the case; 2 out of 3 times I met Adam, he was generally unkind and sarcastic to the crowd around him behind a venue after a show, having no real wish to be there. I can't blame him entirely, fans act like weirdos at times.. but then again, I don't think he knew how to handle it compared with someone like Joni. Joni has no fear, she has poise and control.. plus fewer crazed females asking her to sign certain body parts probably helps! But I did get to meet Joni, and was completely stunned at how genuine she was. How calmly and easily she communicates with those around her. How she treats everyone like a normal human being, and elicits the same behavior in others towards her. And how many stories she tells, about musical friendships in the 60's, her insight into how it really was, and about her own music, religion and spirituality, everything she's been thinking of hard.. it just flows from her lips, and is always interesting and engaging. I finally met her later in the evening at Banff Centre. Joni came into the little campus pub and was looking to play pool, so I asked her to be my partner. What an amazing pool player Joni is!! Good thing I was on her team, not playing against her! When she sets up that LA rack, you're either on her side or you're in trouble. Thank you Joni for humouring me with a game, even though I seem to have lost all my Northern Alberta, smalltown, nothing-else-to-do-all-night pool skills! Joni tells a lot of stories when she's playing pool, so that was definitely worth the embarrassment of poor performance. (We won 4 out of 5 games anyway thanks to Joni!). Outside in the cold, having a cigarette, she mentioned too was that she's not completely happy with the music industry's treatment of its artists. I told her she should go independent like Radiohead, they did really well that way - but she told me that instead she was planning to sell her ballet soundtrack exclusively through Alberta Ballet. That blew my mind. Not sure if her people are going to allow this to happen, but if it does, she'll be lucky she's got a big fan working here, because I'll work extra hours if needed to get her music out to people who will love it! ('Shine' sold something like 60,000 copies though so I wonder what they'll do when a landslide of requests comes in!! I don't think I can handle mailing out 60,000 :-) ). So I wanted to tell my fellow fans, because I have a bit of an inside track here sometimes, that Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Soundtrack CDs have arrived here at the Alberta Ballet office, and they look and sound wonderful!! Lots of great stills from the ballet with Joni's visual art incorporated, and our beautiful dancers looking lit from within. The CDs will be sold at our upcoming Alberta performance dates in Calgary (February 26-28 09) and in Edmonton (February 20-21 09). If there are any left, it looks like I will be able to fill orders here at the office, but only if there are any left once the performances have taken place. Please don't write me for a copy yet - I'll be sure to let you know when I have the go ahead to fill mail orders. It is amazing to think I am one of the only people (aside from manufacturers) who has seen these CDs! We should be getting DVDs pretty soon too. If you haven't seen The Fiddle & The Drum yet, you will be absolutely amazed that ballet can be so gripping and thrilling. It was the first ballet I had ever seen, and now I'm hooked. What a great surprise to find out that the art I'm working for isn't sleepy at all. Again, the ballet is taking place in Alberta, here in Canada. It is touring to a few places in the States too, but I'm not sure where and when - I think it's still in the works. When I know that I'll pass it along too. Tickets can be found through Ticketmaster. Regardless of whether or not you get to see the ballet, I hope you will take the core messages of The Fiddle & The Drum ballet to heart - choose peace over war, respect and protect the earth, and slow down to experience the joy of life! Laurie Laurie Fuhr | Administrative Assistant | ALBERTA BALLET | p: 403.245.4222 ext 521 | f: 403.245.6573 | laurief@albertaballet.com | www.albertaballet.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:39:05 -0800 (PST) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: THOSL That's a great story. Those were the days, eh? when you eagerly anticipated a new album, then when you got it, opened it (ripping reverentially), looked at the lyrics and the pictures (back in LP days when you could actually read them without a magnifying glass!) and then listen... Like you, I didn't want anyone around when that happened, which was hard to do because there were five kids in my house, but somehow I managed. Strangely, I don't remember where I was when I first heard "Hissing" and a lot of the others, but I remember very well buying "Clouds", "Song to a Seagull" and "For the Roses." I'm sure I never bought anything the first day it came out, because I guess I didn't pay that much attention and there was no interwebnet back in those days (dinosaurs roaming in the background, steam rising from the newly formed crust of the earth!), no jmdl, no one really to share these things with, so it was kind of like pouring simple sorrow to the sandhole and your knee. Hmm. Somehow it isn't the same now. Darn it. - --- On Tue, 1/27/09, Peep Richman wrote: I want to share a very special evening I had many years ago. When THOSL was one day from release, it was announced on a radio station I listened to a lot (can you believe I don't remember the name of that station?) that without interruption, the new Joni Mitchell album would be aired..of course it was THOSL. That year I was living in a 25 story apartment house in center city Philly...I was on the 18TH floor. From the time I heard this announcement until the night the new album was aired I was a bundle of joy, happiness and anticipation. I didn't want to share this experience with anyone. I wanted to be alone. I sat on the floor with my little radio. Finally the top of the hour arrived...a few moments of silence and I listened eagerly to the first track, "In France They Kiss On Main Street". As with each of Joni's albums I was instantly mesmerized. __________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now at http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:45:41 -0800 (PST) From: Jeannie Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet Hi Laurie! So good you're here now. The intimate and natural way you met Joni is simply awesome! Maybe, just maybe, one day, all of us most loyal to Joni, could all meet her and treat her just like a sister we've loved for such a long time, also in a most natural and simple setting somewhere out there where we would be surrounded all around with the power and beauty of Nature and just be ourselves right down to our soul's core. For now, I just want to say thanks, Laurie, for letting us know how you got to know Joni and for telling us about conversation with Joni and how y'all got a pool game going. Let us know everything you can tell us about the ballet. How I wish I could be there--I really do! Truly, Jeannie - --- On Tue, 1/27/09, Laurie Fuhr wrote: > From: Laurie Fuhr > Subject: Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum Ballet > To: joni@smoe.org > Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 1:23 PM > Hi JMDListers, > > > > Just signed up for the list so I would like to > introduce myself! My > name is Laurie. I'm a songwriter, poet, I play upright > bass in a > rockabilly band, and I am managing editor for a lit arts > magazine > (www.fillingstation.ca > ). I am also the > receptionist at Alberta Ballet. > > > > Joni's on my mind a lot lately - I hear the music > through the floor > as our dancers practice and practice for The Fiddle & > The Drum Ballet. > I am excited to discover this listserv and talk to some > other fans. I > don't want to come off like a big commercial, because > I'll be talking > about the ballet and the CD and stuff, so I need to tell > you right off > that I was a huge Joni fan before I ever started working > here!! Joni's > writing has informed my own writing a lot, and I didn't > realize Alberta > Ballet had a Joni Mitchell ballet until I came on board. > So it's been a > thrill to play even a small part in such an amazing work of > art and to > meet Joni. I hope it's cool to share that experience > with you because > remembering it has been a source of pleasure for the past > few months. > > > > At the Banff Centre for the Arts showcase of Fiddle in > the fall, I > thought I wasn't going to get to meet Joni. I saw her > hanging out with > the dancers at the post-reception, but I had no real reason > to bother > her, and couldn't think of anything special to say, so > I didn't. I did > shake her hand at one point when she was standing with > Jean, our > Artistic Director, outside the dining building, but that > was all.. that > was pretty exciting anyway! But I think I was shy partly > because I've > met my heroes before sometimes without good feelings after > - I used to > think Adam Duritz from Counting Crows was among the best > songwriters > ever, and at 17 I thought I was in love with him, silly > girl that I was. > I spent lots of time on the Counting Crows listserv talking > about his > songs and dreaming about meeting him. I learned to play > guitar > listening to August & Everything After. And I used to > think someone who > could create wise, heartfelt music absolutely had to be > wise and > heartfelt, but it isn't always the case; 2 out of 3 > times I met Adam, he > was generally unkind and sarcastic to the crowd around him > behind a > venue after a show, having no real wish to be there. I > can't blame him > entirely, fans act like weirdos at times.. but then again, > I don't think > he knew how to handle it compared with someone like Joni. > Joni has no > fear, she has poise and control.. plus fewer crazed females > asking her > to sign certain body parts probably helps! > > > > But I did get to meet Joni, and was completely stunned > at how > genuine she was. How calmly and easily she communicates > with those > around her. How she treats everyone like a normal human > being, and > elicits the same behavior in others towards her. And how > many stories > she tells, about musical friendships in the 60's, her > insight into how > it really was, and about her own music, religion and > spirituality, > everything she's been thinking of hard.. it just flows > from her lips, > and is always interesting and engaging. I finally met her > later in the > evening at Banff Centre. Joni came into the little campus > pub and was > looking to play pool, so I asked her to be my partner. > What an amazing > pool player Joni is!! Good thing I was on her team, not > playing against > her! When she sets up that LA rack, you're either on > her side or you're > in trouble. Thank you Joni for humouring me with a game, > even though I > seem to have lost all my Northern Alberta, smalltown, > nothing-else-to-do-all-night pool skills! Joni tells a lot > of stories > when she's playing pool, so that was definitely worth > the embarrassment > of poor performance. (We won 4 out of 5 games anyway thanks > to Joni!). > > > > Outside in the cold, having a cigarette, she mentioned > too was that > she's not completely happy with the music > industry's treatment of its > artists. I told her she should go independent like > Radiohead, they did > really well that way - but she told me that instead she was > planning to > sell her ballet soundtrack exclusively through Alberta > Ballet. That > blew my mind. Not sure if her people are going to allow > this to happen, > but if it does, she'll be lucky she's got a big fan > working here, > because I'll work extra hours if needed to get her > music out to people > who will love it! ('Shine' sold something like > 60,000 copies though so > I wonder what they'll do when a landslide of requests > comes in!! I > don't think I can handle mailing out 60,000 :-) ). > > > > So I wanted to tell my fellow fans, because I have a > bit of an > inside track here sometimes, that Joni Mitchell's The > Fiddle & The Drum > Ballet Soundtrack CDs have arrived here at the Alberta > Ballet office, > and they look and sound wonderful!! Lots of great stills > from the > ballet with Joni's visual art incorporated, and our > beautiful dancers > looking lit from within. The CDs will be sold at our > upcoming Alberta > performance dates in Calgary (February 26-28 09) and in > Edmonton > (February 20-21 09). If there are any left, it looks like > I will be > able to fill orders here at the office, but only if there > are any left > once the performances have taken place. Please don't > write me for a > copy yet - I'll be sure to let you know when I have the > go ahead to fill > mail orders. It is amazing to think I am one of the only > people (aside > from manufacturers) who has seen these CDs! We should be > getting DVDs > pretty soon too. > > > > If you haven't seen The Fiddle & The Drum > yet, you will be > absolutely amazed that ballet can be so gripping and > thrilling. It was > the first ballet I had ever seen, and now I'm hooked. > What a great > surprise to find out that the art I'm working for > isn't sleepy at all. > Again, the ballet is taking place in Alberta, here in > Canada. It is > touring to a few places in the States too, but I'm not > sure where and > when - I think it's still in the works. When I know > that I'll pass it > along too. Tickets can be found through Ticketmaster. > > > > Regardless of whether or not you get to see the ballet, I > hope you will > take the core messages of The Fiddle & The Drum ballet > to heart - choose > peace over war, respect and protect the earth, and slow > down to > experience the joy of life! > > > > Laurie > > > > Laurie Fuhr | Administrative Assistant | ALBERTA > BALLET | p: > 403.245.4222 ext 521 | f: 403.245.6573 | > laurief@albertaballet.com > | > www.albertaballet.com > ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2009 #26 ******************************** ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe