From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2011 #137 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, May 17 2011 Volume 2011 : Number 137 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Happy 35th - Hejira [Mary Morris ] Subject: Re: Happy 35th Birthday Hejira ["Jim L'Hommedieu" ] Re: Happy 35th - Hejira [Merk54@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 May 2011 17:06:46 -0700 From: Mary Morris Subject: Happy 35th - Hejira I heard Hejira when it first came out & was mesmerized. I had started traveling cross country & could not put a name to it, but when I heard Hejira, I knew that I was not alone. I wore out that cassette 2 times during my 3 years on the road. Sometimes it was my companion on sleepless nights driving over the landscapes of the West & digging the towns in the East and all the spots in between. It gave me the courage to feel what I was feeling at the time & not ignore the inner self. It was a very instructive time for me & I don't regret one moment spent on the road. I do not know if I would have the guts or bravado to do it today. I suppose I'm looking for different things now and it wouldn't make any sense. Still, in hindsight, there was great risk to being a woman alone on the road. Everything in it's time & place, I guess. Gas was like 50 cents a gallon for premium. There was also no gps or internet. One was quite on their own, up to their own devices & road maps & books & artists for inspirations. I just put Hejira into the deck & started driving away from what I had always called home. I took off on the road during winter, so her imagery was spot on. I later learned that the cover photos were taken on Lake Mendota, in Wisconsin, the place I was traveling from, so I was thrilled. Every time I listen to the hypnotic rthyms of Hejira I am thrilled all over again. I can't believe it's been 35 years. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 May 2011 22:40:36 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: Subject: Re: Happy 35th Birthday Hejira Cool story. I caught up with Pastorius much later. We all have (slightly) different paths. Jim Dan Olson said, in part, >1976 was a huge year for Jaco Pastorius; ... >Hejira remains my favorite JM album; I recently listened intently to "Song for Sharon" (starting it anew every car trip) , noticing in particular how the late John Guerrin's drumming propels the song forward, now knowing that he and Joni were (or had been) romantically involved.> ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 May 2011 22:44:10 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: www.jmdl.com is up and running www.jmdl.com is back. I don't know how long it's been back but it's good to see. The library remains on www.jonimitchell.com. Jim L'Hommedieu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 May 2011 22:37:14 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: Subject: Re: Happy 35th Birthday Hejira Thanks for sharing your discovery of Hejira. Everyone has a story and you'll find that many of them are similar. I hope you catch the spirit of the place and like it here. Jim L'Hommedieu From: carmel rotem >that's my story, >Carmel. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 May 2011 23:16:40 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: "Tomorrow" by Paul and Linda Hi Sue, For some reason, I didn't discover the "Wings Wildlife" album until this year. Better late than never, I guess. Anyway, my favorite song on the album is "Tomorrow" and I found a YouTube of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5DZbjpFcGM Jim L'Hommedieu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 May 2011 21:24:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Bob Muller Subject: Re: Happy 35th - Hejira Thanks Mary for your post - I really enjoyed reading it. It was funny; I almost hesitated posting that article in the first place because while it was obviously extremely complimentary, I thought it almost too brief. Kind of like describing The painting of the Sistine Chapel as a lovely picture of religious stories. But I digress, now I'm REALLY glad I posted it because there have been so many great posts that followed. It's so much of a touchstone for me, it will always evoke a full spectrum of emotion. I particularly read this line a couple of times: "It gave me the courage to feel what I was feeling at the time & not ignore the inner self. " Back in 1982, shortly after I moved to Greenville from Raleigh NC, I broke up with the girl I had been involved with for awhile, not just because of the distance but that certainly didn't help things. I remember when I came back from seeing her for the last time I was bursting with emotion and played Hejira so that it would (as you say) give me the courage to feel what I was feeling and I cried for about an hour. There was a man and a woman sitting on a rock, and in this case it didn't thaw out. Bob NP: Ellen Mcllwaine, "Can't Find My Way Home" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 01:50:21 EDT From: Merk54@aol.com Subject: Re: Happy 35th - Hejira I've told some of my Hejira story before, but felt compelled to tell it again in light of all the recent discussions and the 35th anniversary. I was a long time Joni fan, buying Blue when it first came out, primarily to impress a girl I worked with. Much to my surprise, I loved it, and while I initially didn't go back and buy her earlier stuff, I anxiously awaited all of her new releases, all of which I loved immediately, with the exception of HOSL. I just couldn't get into HOSL (except for Jungle Line which I loved immediately). When Hejira was released, I was a little apprehensive due to my lack of appreciation for HOSL, but from the second I put needle to the record, I was entranced. I was stunned by how it resonated with everything I was going through, It felt like someone had read my diary and was inspired to write this album. I had been dating my first real love at the time and we had been together for several years, but I had been transferred from Chicago to Tucson, AZ and the long distance was definitely taking it's toll. She came out to visit me and we took a couple of weeks driving around the west coast, see everything from Vegas and the Grand Canyon, to LA and San Francisco. By the time we got to SF, I knew the relationship was at a turning point. We had grown in separate directions, but were still soul mates in so many ways. I was torn. Should we call it quits, should we get married? The ceremony of the bells and lace pulled at me, but was I just chase dreams? I was resigned to the fact that the relationship was pretty much over, but that we would always be extremely close friends. No regrets, Coyote. It was great while it lasted, and I will always treasure the time we had together. Then fate seemed to step in, and I lost my job in Tucson and I decided to move back to Chicago. Will she still love me, when I get back to town? I was pretty sure she wouldn't, but had decided to give it a try. During all of this, Hejira was the soundtrack to my life. It was unbelievable to me how much it reflected what I was going through. After packing all my belongings in a U-haul, I hopped in my Jeep, put Hejira in the tape deck, and headed out for Chicago. I drove around Tucson, saying good bye to a town I called home for about a year, and then hit the open road. No Regrets Coyote, so things didn't work out in Tucson, let's see what Chicago and the future holds. I was driving across the burning desert, was all this just a false alarm? What would the future hold for me? Would things with me and my girlfriend work out, or was our relationship faded out like ragtime blues? I'm a Strange Boy, and I'm traveling in some vehicle. Then Song for Sharon came on, and even though I knew in my heart that our relationship would never be the same, love stimulated my illusions more than anything, and the ceremony of the bells and lace overcame all other thoughts. Then beyond all belief, as the opening chords of Black Crow started playing, out of no where, a large black crow descended and flew down the center of the highway, about 20 feet in front of my Jeep, guiding me on my journey. I couldn't believe my eyes. The crow continued to fly down the center of road until the song ended, at which time, it turned and flew off in another direction. I took this as an omen that I was making the right move, but by this time I was so emotionally shook up, that I had to pull off the road. Then Blue Motel Room came on, and it just summed up everything I was going through. Will she still love me, when I get back to town? My brain knew the answer to the question, but my heart continued to chase dreams. After all, I had met a friend of spirit, and didn't want to give that up. It turns out my brain was right, it was just a false alarm. She ended up marrying my best friend. This was a very dark time for me, but then I met Betty and we've been together for 27 years now, and I couldn't be happier. No Regrets, Coyote, in deed! By the way, thanks to the persistence of my best friend, I eventually did come to love HOSL. Jack ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2011 #137 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe