From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2013 #244 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 Wednesday, June 26 2013 Volume 2013 : Number 244 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- RE: VIDEO: Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell ["Susan E. McNama] Re: JMDL Digest V2013 #835 [Shari Eaton ] RE: VIDEO: Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell ["Susan E. McNama] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 13:35:56 +0000 From: "Susan E. McNamara" Subject: RE: VIDEO: Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell I think I made a convert at work. He was not sure who Joni was and since everyone was talking about my trip to Toronto, he pulled up Joni on Pandora and ran over to my desk to tell me how he was really enjoying the music, and also the other artists that came up with her (Pandora currently pulls Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens and all iterations of CSNY, which I think is fascinating given her comment about Paul Simon at Luminato). We chatted about her for about 20 minutes, and I think he is becoming aware!! :-) Susan Tierney McNamara email: sem8@cornell.edu - -----Original Message----- From: owner-joni@smoe.org [mailto:owner-joni@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Shari Eaton Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 12:39 AM To: joni@smoe.org LIST Subject: Re: VIDEO: Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell Hi Laura, This was a great listen for a few reasons  It answers what was unanswerable to me beforehow could anyone, aware of her work, not be a Joni fan? I think my Mom hears Joni the same way this writer did.  There's more depth to Joni's writing than I knew of. More to explore! Thank you so much for the link. Shari On Jun 23, 2013, at 10:27 AM, est86mlm@ameritech.net wrote: > Ran across this very thought-provoking interview with Katherine Monk. > > http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/British+Columbia/Radio+West/ID/228 9036482/?page=14 > > Laura ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 07:07:43 -0700 From: Shari Eaton Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2013 #835 I could imagine the song choice drive was as simple as it suited her current register and was do-able. It's also a classic Joni kind of song---movie like in its visual telling, empathetic, culturally aware and (like you mentioned) gives the sense of full circle and honoring another artist whose hay-day has come and gone. Lots of Joni, Shari On Jun 26, 2013, at 6:53 AM, Clint Norwood wrote: > Hi All and especially Ange in Oz, > > A month or two ago I became very interested > in "Furry Sings the Blues," most specifically I was interested in the actual > meeting and how it took place. It made me wish that I could hop back in my > time machine when I was in kindergarten and ask my dad to look for a limo on > Mosby. I had asked Les to give me access to these forums so I could see if > there was any back story. I found it all terrifically interesting. But then I > see that Joni has chosen that (to me very dark) song to feature in the > Luminato performances and I think WOW!! That song/experience must have meant > very much to her. Someone (sorry I am just getting to know you guys) mentioned > that in the CBC interview that happened recently, that they wouldn't have been > surprised to see Joni point a bony finger at the interviewer and say, "I don't > like you." So it has come full circle for the artists. And then Ange in Oz > makes reference to the lil' ole Wiki Furry Lewis article that I wrote/edited > to > let people know that Furry lived next to Beale street in the 60's and early > seventies but by the time Joni arrived (Les put this date as Feb 5th, 1976) he > had moved to the Mosby residence (mostly for the reasons that Joni cites, that > urban renewal was bulldozing everything including Furry's Fourth St apt.) a > good deal north from Beale Street. It was flattering to say the least to see > Ange cite my own words so I decided to leave being just a spectator on these > boards and participate. So here goes, I have a big, burning question for those > who know Joni best. That is: > Why does Furry Sing the Blues hold such a place > in Joni that she goes back to it all of the time and what should it really > mean to us? > > Down and Out in Memphis, Tennessee > > Clinton Norwood (No One) > ________________________________ > From: JMDL Digest > > To: joni-digest@smoe.org > Sent: Tuesday, June 25, > 2013 2:00 AM > Subject: JMDL Digest V2013 #835 > > > > JMDL Digest Tuesday, > June 25 2013 Volume 2013 : Number 835 > > > > ========== > > TOPICS and > authors in this Digest: > -------- > Mispronounced words > [Betsy Blue ] > Re: Squelched? > [Lori Renee Fye ] > Re: Questions regarding Furry Sings > The Blues [Catherine McKay Re: Questions regarding Furry Sings > The Blues [Ange T ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: > Mon, 24 Jun 2013 19:04:44 -0700 > From: Betsy Blue > Subject: Mispronounced words > > Dave said: > Joni is probably not a good source > for its pronunciation having heard her > way of saying "samba" and "cellulite"! > Catherine added: > She also says "realtors" strangely. We've had the > "clandestine" discussion > before too. > > May I please add the mystery of the 'd' > in the middle of Champs Elysees? > And President REEgan? Most of the odd > pronunciations, I chalk up to > Canadian (prairie) dialect or song fit, but > those bug me. > > Betsy > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 > 19:52:44 -0600 > From: Lori Renee Fye > Subject: Re: > Squelched? > >> My feeling is that people will discover her music as time >> goes > on with or without a Hollywood movie about Joni or >> a high profile young > singing sensation playing her in it. > > Actually, what's most likely to happen > is that, when Joni passes on (and > goddess forbid the thought, but ...), the > Biography Channel will quickly > finish up whatever it already has in the can > (and you know something like > that exists, as it exists for just about every > performer who's made any > sort of an impact) and then, suddenly, lots of people > who never before had > an interest in Joni's music will "discover" her. > >> Good > musicians who know their stuff are never going to >> let Joni's music fade into > obscurity. > > Thank the goddess for that! > > Lori > Idaho > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 20:16:33 -0700 (PDT) > From: Catherine McKay > Subject: Re: Questions regarding > Furry Sings The Blues > > Wow! Well done, you! Either you have a very good > memory, or you recorded that whole speech. My memory is absolute crap! I > didn't remember most of that story until you retold it. >> ________________________________ >> From: Scott Johnson > >> To: 'Catherine McKay' ; > 'Ange T' ; joni@smoe.org >> Sent: Monday, June 24, > 2013 8:57:59 PM >> Subject: RE: Questions regarding Furry Sings The Blues >> >> >> All I can add to the "Furry" story is what prompted Joni into stealing the >> badges from cops. During the Rolling Thunder Tour, every place they played, >> there would be all these cops standing around. They all had bad attitudes >> toward cops because of Mayor Daley and the Democratic Convention. > ------------------------------ > > Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:35:36 +1000 > From: > Ange T > Subject: Re: Questions regarding Furry > Sings The Blues > > There's a JMDL facebook page? I'd love to join it if you can > send me the > details! > > Thanks to everyone for their insights regarding > pronunciation and the Furry > story. I'll dig a little deeper online before my > interview and hopefully > make the JMDL proud when I talk about the song and > Joni on air next week! > > Ange in Oz > P.S. Catherine, I'd only seen her Tuesday > night performance of the song so > I really appreciate you sharing this clip. > Loved Joni's descriptions of the > decaying state of Beale Street...just wished > she'd talked more about old > Furry! > > > On Tue, Jun 25, 2013 at 8:36 AM, > Catherine McKay wrote: > >> Funny you should ask about > the pronunciation. A few of us commented on >> that on the Facebook jmdl page. > The way Joni pronounces it is the way you >> do, Hedge-ear-uh. Jon Pareles > pronounced it Hedge-eye-ruh. If you look it >> up on a dictionary, you might > even find another way or two to pronounce it, >> so go with the Joni > pronunciation, since it's her song. >> >> Before Joni sang "Furry" at Massey > Hall last week, she told a story about >> how she had gone around whatever city > she was in at the time, collecting >> badges from cops, by flirting with them. > She says that, when she got to >> Memphis, a cop there (and she mentions he had > been one of the cops present >> when Martin Luther King was assassinated, or > one who arrived on the scene >> shortly after) wouldn't give her his badge, but > instead offered to drive >> her down to Beale Street, where she met Furry > Lewis. >> >> You can hear part of this story on the Youtube link below, where > she >> describes what it was like on Beale Street at the time, when things were > in >> ruins. Unfortunately, it doesn't include the part just before that, about >> getting badges from cops. Maybe someone else who was there can remember > this story better than I can and can fill in some gaps. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qhJHY05rX8 >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message > ----- >>> From: Ange T >>> To: "joni@smoe.org" > >>> Cc: >>> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2013 6:04:36 PM > Subject: Questions regarding Furry Sings The Blues >>> >>> Hey listers, > I've been asked to do an interview here in Australia on ABC radio. The > segment is called: Something old, something new, something borrowed, > something blue. It involves me selecting/playing songs that relate to >> those >>> themes. >>> >>> Off the back of Luminato, it seems like the obvious > selection for the >>> 'blue' themed song would be Furry Sings the Blues > (particularly given >>> that >>> Joni says one of the lyrics she is most proud > of is within this song). >> But >>> before I go on air, I'd like to ask you a > couple of questions: >>> >>> 1. How do I pronounce Hejira? I always pronounced > it as "hedge-ear-ra" >>> but >>> after listening to her Luminato interview, > where the interviewer says >>> "hedge-eye-ra", I'm now uncertain. I'm > wondering if this is a >>> 'you say >>> tomAYto, I say tomARto' thing... or if > there's a correct way of saying >>> it. >>> >>> 2. I was researching Furry > online and found this reference on wikipedia: >>> >>> Joni Mitchell's song, >> >> "Furry >>> Sings the Blues", is about her visit to Furry >>> Lewis' > apartment and a mostly ruined Beale >>> Street on >>> February 5th, 1976. > Lewis despised the Mitchell song and demanded she pay >>> him royalties >>> < >>> >>> Does anyone know the full story of Joni's journey to Beale Street and > her >>> interactions with Furry? Has she ever answered questions about his > reported >>> dislike of her song? Were they friends before she wrote the song? >>> >>> I never heard anything disrespectful in the lyrics to that song, but > now >>> I'm wondering whether it's the best choice for this interview. Feel > free >>> to >>> shed some (shadows and) light on this topic. >>> >>> Thanking > you, >>> Ange in Oz >>> angetakats.com.au > > ------------------------------ > > End > of JMDL Digest V2013 #835 > ***************************** > > ------- > To post > messages to the list, sendtojoni@smoe.org. > Unsubscribe by clicking here: > mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe > ------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 14:12:48 +0000 From: "Susan E. McNamara" Subject: RE: VIDEO: Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell I pondered her comment, too, Dave. I absolutely adore Graceland and if she is saying that Paul Simon was influenced by Jungle Line to create Graceland, wow. Joni heard Burundi drumming off a tape ... Paul actually went to Africa, protested apartheid, and played with many African musicians. Am I off base here? Also, I don't think Jungle line was the last time Joni used "world beat" as I guess the genre is called now. Dreamland and Tenth World would be another place she possibly influenced others like Sting and Peter Gabriel. Joni has been known to reject and embrace many of her actual influences in countless conversations. Another reason why we need to continually discuss her!!! :-) Susan Tierney McNamara email: sem8@cornell.edu - -----Original Message----- From: Dave Blackburn [mailto:beatntrack@att.net] Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 10:05 AM To: Susan E. McNamara Cc: Shari Eaton; joni@smoe.org LIST Subject: Re: VIDEO: Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell I must say I'm rather baffled by Joni's claim that Paul Simon copied her too-many-syllables-in-a-line style, so she felt she therefore had to abandon it as it was no longer her sole province. This claim, which she states as fact, seems on reflection to be rather preposterous. Joni freely incorporated HER influences into her writing, from slack key open tunings to sax player phrasing. Isn't that how artists work, processing their influences and environment into their art. I wonder which Paul Simon material she refers to: one song, a whole album, or everything he wrote after succumbing to her influence? I wonder what he would have to say about this claim. He was himself an artist who extended popular song conventions. Dave p.s now if she had said Paul Simon copied her idea of writing freewheeling songs over an African groove, ten years after she had done it, I might agree. On Jun 26, 2013, at 6:35 AM, "Susan E. McNamara" wrote: > I think I made a convert at work. He was not sure who Joni was and since everyone was talking about my trip to Toronto, he pulled up Joni on Pandora and ran over to my desk to tell me how he was really enjoying the music, and also the other artists that came up with her (Pandora currently pulls Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens and all iterations of CSNY, which I think is fascinating given her comment about Paul Simon at Luminato). We chatted about her for about 20 minutes, and I think he is becoming aware!! :-) ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2013 #244 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here:mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe