From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2012 #136 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Website:http://www.jonimitchell.com Unsubscribe:mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe onlyJMDL Digest Friday, May 11 2012 Volume 2012 : Number 136 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Joni on Streetcorner in Saskatoon [Kate Johnson ] JMDL Archives [Les Irvin ] Tilda Swinton [Gordon MacKie ] Re: What does "mutts of the planet" mean? [Catherine McKay ] Mutts of the Planet/Prince [Sharon Watkins ] Re: Fwd: Baby Bloomers [LC Stanley ] Re: JMDL Digest V2012 #706 ["Gary Hanick" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 07:40:59 -0600 From: Kate Johnson Subject: Joni on Streetcorner in Saskatoon Alas not the real Joni, but for those who haven't seen the painting, it is the third pic on my blog today. Kate b?b 1b.b?b 1b.b?b 1b. Stubblejumpin'Gal http://goldengrainfarm.blogspot.com Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/blondiblathers ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 20:51:09 -0600 From: Les Irvin Subject: JMDL Archives Joniphiles, After an eternity in limbo, the JMDL searchable archives are back. Head on over to http://jmdl.com and remember "cartoon coaster" for access. Thanks, Les ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 10:14:34 +0100 From: Gordon MacKie Subject: Tilda Swinton I think the actress Tilda Swinton would be a good choice to play Joni in a movie. Great actor, great cheekbones, great presence. http://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00004500/the_limits_of_control10.html The cowboy hat is optional  she looks a bit like John Kelly in this one ! Gordon in cold , dreich Glasgow. Summer soon please. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 05:41:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: What does "mutts of the planet" mean? I believe that the expression "mutts of the planet" is a reference to being of multi-racial/multi-ethnic origin. Charles Mingus was part black, part white and I think part Chinese. Not sure if he mentioned in his autobiography or whether it was during a discussion with Joni about their origins when he said something like, "We're all mutts." Joni has mentioned having come from a bunch of different ethnic groups. That phrase is tossed in among the rain/prison verse, kind of like an interjection. >________________________________ > From: Mark >To: Dave Blackburn ; Bill Branyon ; joni@smoe.org >Sent: Wednesday, May 9, 2012 10:06:00 PM >Subject: Re: What does "mutts of the planet" mean? > >I think there are a lot of Joni's lyrics that I never stopped to think about what they might really mean. They left impressions in my head but I never bothered to analyze them too closely. Perhaps this is inane but for a long time I thought 'mutts of the planet' was a reference to the expression 'raining cats and dogs'. I never thought about the exclusion of the cats. In view of Joni's love of cats, it would seem odd that she would leave them out, eh? > >I just always figured that staring out through the rain at the boats in the harbor had gotten Charles to thinking about his life and doing some soul searching. I still think that is what Joni was expressing in the song. But now the possibility of a specific connection between 'the rain slammed hard as bars' and the line 'and shook me down for alibis' has intrigued me. Bars slammed implies being locked up in a jail cell in my mind and when I think about it in that context and put it with 'shook me down for alibis', what I come up with is an interrogation. In this case, a self interrogation. I was just looking at 'Beneath the Underdog' on the Amazon website, and the book begins as a question and answer session between Mingus and a psychologist. As someone else pointed out, Joni distilled some of this exchange (interrogation?) into the lyrics of 'God Must Be a Boogie Man'. > >Mingus is held to that chair, looking through 'bars' of rain that give an impression of imprisonment. He's locked up inside his own body (maybe like mutts in a dog pound kennel? - too much of a stretch probably) and interrogating himself about his past motives and actions. > >The next line of the song is 'I'm waiting for the keeper to release me' and it goes on from there. Held to that chair in the sky, staring through bars of rain at Manhattan and boats in the harbor, hearing Charlie Parker either on his phonograph or in his head, he is unable to do anything but reflect on his life while he waits for the end of it. > >I know there must be something more to 'mutts of the planet' but if it's in Charles Mingus' autobiography, Amazon hasn't made enough of it electronically accessible for me to find it. Searching for the word 'mutt' didn't bring up anything. > >Maybe somebody else knows? > >Mark in Seattle >-----Original Message----- From: Dave Blackburn >Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 7:39 AM >To: Bill Branyon ; joni@smoe.org LIST >Subject: What does "mutts of the planet" mean? > >Bill, > >I'll offer 2c worth on this, it being the name I chose for my Joni Mitchell tribute band. > >Grammatically, it seems that the raindrops are the mutts of the planet, which could make sense in the way they fall on everything and mingle and merge like mutts. But, as I believe has been discussed before here, Joni may have felt a kinship with Mingus at this time as she was dating Don Alias, and Mingus was married to a white woman. Possibly the mixed race relationships they both had produced the idea of mutts too. How that ties with shaking down for alibis has me head scratching though. If you Google Mutts of the Planet, there is no other reference but this lyric so it is not an expression that Joni borrowed; definitely it's her own creation. > >Bird is definitely Charlie Parker. When Joni met Mingus he was wheelchair bound in a New York apartment, hence "Manhattan holds me to a chair in the sky, with the Bird in my ears and boats in my eyes." He subsequently went down to spend his last days in Mexico, as the line in Goodbye Porkpie Hat says "Now Charlie's down in Mexico with the healers." > >Dave (whose Mutts band is now in its seventh year :-) > > >On May 9, 2012, at 6:44 AM, Bill Branyon wrote: > >> Does anyone know what this phrase means from the Mingus album and the song, >> the Chair in the Sky: >> The rain fell hard as bars >> It took my by surprise >> MUTTS >> OF THE PLANET >> and shook me down for alibis. >> >> What does "mutts of the planet" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 19:38:41 -0700 From: Mary Morris Subject: RE: JMDL Digest V2012 #705 I recall once, in some interview, long ago, that Joni said she was a "prairie mutt". I took that to mean a very honest reading of her family background; an inclusive reading. In societies where "intermingling" of strict faith or family ties dictated who went with whom, that love ultimately dictated who one coupled up with---"pedigree" or mixed or not. I took it to mean she was very proud of her hard scrabble rural heritage & rich family history. I also read that she had Native Canadian ( Cree ) ( by her own admission) in her family tree. Maybe I'm just recalling that out of a memory that has been tempered by my glass of wine. this eveing. Any input Joniphiles ? Any other Mutts out there ? Who isn't a Mutt ? GREETINGS FROM THE TRIPLE M Down a gravel road, where the barb wire meets the sky. MARY M. MORRIS > Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 19:17:08 -0400 > From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org > To: joni-digest@smoe.org > Subject: JMDL Digest V2012 #705 > > > JMDL Digest Thursday, May 10 2012 Volume 2012 : Number 705 > > > > ========== > > TOPICS and authors in this Digest: > -------- > Mutts of the Planet/Prince [Sharon Watkins ] > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 18:11:05 -0500 > From: Sharon Watkins > Subject: Mutts of the Planet/Prince > > I listened to Purple Rain and I agree the guitar intro is very much like Joni. It resembles her later playing style and seems to be in open tuning as well. Prince is a huge Joni fan, and this shows her influence as he gives her a nod. > As for Mutts of the Planet, I always thought the name was inspired by Joni's Jericho: "Let all these dogs go running free, the wild and gentle dogs kenneled in me." I kept imagining mutts set free and running all over the planet!! > Sharon > > Sent from my iPhone > > ------------------------------ > > End of JMDL Digest V2012 #705 > ***************************** > > ------- > To post messages to the list, send tojoni@smoe.org. > Unsubscribe by clicking here: > mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe > ------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 18:11:05 -0500 From: Sharon Watkins Subject: Mutts of the Planet/Prince I listened to Purple Rain and I agree the guitar intro is very much like Joni. It resembles her later playing style and seems to be in open tuning as well. Prince is a huge Joni fan, and this shows her influence as he gives her a nod. As for Mutts of the Planet, I always thought the name was inspired by Joni's Jericho: "Let all these dogs go running free, the wild and gentle dogs kenneled in me." I kept imagining mutts set free and running all over the planet!! Sharon Sent from my iPhone ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 05:11:48 -0700 (PDT) From: LC Stanley Subject: Re: Fwd: Baby Bloomers Phylis quoted: > From: "Burpee Gardens" > The garden provides the essential ingredients for post-youngsters to stay physically, socially and mentally active, curious and relatively stress-free. Plus, vegetable gardening not only saves money, but also introduces you to flavors and colors youbve neither tasted nor seen. Starting over, indeed. > > Unlike golf, tennis, bridge and travel, gardening offers a rich and varied narrativebone calling for planning, caring and resourcefulness. The home garden is a sacred realm, a world apart from the babble of media and hum of technology. We are linked to the sun, the earth and the elements. Caring for plants, we ourselves are nurtured and nourished. And, farther afield, community gardens enable post-youngsters to help build neighborhoods and create a healthful and sustainable legacy for decades to comeban age-old, old-age concern. > > In both private and public gardens, the generation that gave new meaning to bgreenb can find a continuing source of stimulation, serenity and fulfillment. Baby Boomers become Baby Bloomers. Joni Mitchell put it best: "We are stardust, we are golden, and we've got to get back to the garden. Hi Phylis, I have an almost 7 foot tomato plant in my kitchen bay window. Two red tomatoes are ready to be picked today. Wonderful scent this plant. I love my kitchen tomato plant! The garden is getting back to me inside my walls. I have an over 10 foot tall palm living in my living room. A friend from Texas said, "you like to grow things." Yes!!! Way cool term, "baby bloomer." Thanks for sharing the article. Love, Laura ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 21:11:56 -0700 From: "Gary Hanick" Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2012 #706 I am a proud mutt!! Sent from my iPhone On May 10, 2012, at 7:46 PM, "JMDL Digest" wrote: > > JMDL Digest Thursday, May 10 2012 Volume 2012 : Number 706 > > > > ========== > > TOPICS and authors in this Digest: > -------- > RE: JMDL Digest V2012 #705 [Mary Morris ] > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 19:38:41 -0700 > From: Mary Morris > Subject: RE: JMDL Digest V2012 #705 > > I recall once, in some interview, long ago, that Joni said she was a "prairie > mutt". I took that to mean a very honest reading of her family background; > an inclusive reading. In societies where "intermingling" of strict faith or > family ties dictated who went with whom, that love ultimately dictated who one > coupled up with---"pedigree" or mixed or not. I took it to mean she was very > proud of her hard scrabble rural heritage & rich family history. I also read > that she had Native Canadian ( Cree ) ( by her own admission) in her family > tree. Maybe I'm just recalling that out of a memory that has been tempered by > my glass of wine. this eveing. Any input Joniphiles ? > > Any other Mutts out there ? Who isn't a Mutt ? > > > > > > > > > GREETINGS FROM THE TRIPLE M Down a gravel road, where the barb wire > meets the sky. MARY M. MORRIS > > > > > > > > > >> Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 19:17:08 -0400 >> From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org >> To: joni-digest@smoe.org >> Subject: JMDL Digest V2012 #705 >> >> >> JMDL Digest Thursday, May 10 2012 Volume 2012 : Number 705 >> >> >> >> ========== >> >> TOPICS and authors in this Digest: >> -------- >> Mutts of the Planet/Prince [Sharon Watkins ] >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 18:11:05 -0500 >> From: Sharon Watkins >> Subject: Mutts of the Planet/Prince >> >> I listened to Purple Rain and I agree the guitar intro is very much like > Joni. It resembles her later playing style and seems to be in open tuning as > well. Prince is a huge Joni fan, and this shows her influence as he gives her > a nod. >> As for Mutts of the Planet, I always thought the name was inspired by Joni's > Jericho: "Let all these dogs go running free, the wild and gentle dogs > kenneled in me." I kept imagining mutts set free and running all over the > planet!! >> Sharon >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> End of JMDL Digest V2012 #705 >> ***************************** >> >> ------- >> To post messages to the list, send tojoni@smoe.org. >> Unsubscribe by clicking here: >> mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe >> ------- > > ------------------------------ > > End of JMDL Digest V2012 #706 > ***************************** > > ------- > To post messages to the list, send tojoni@smoe.org. > Unsubscribe by clicking here: > mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe > ------- ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2012 #136 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here:mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe