Kerry wrote (or rather Kerry wrote, that Ani wrote...): > You know it's funny, I spent last August with Mr. Bob Dylan. I was > touring/opening shows for him and ever since then...all the interviewers > keep asking me..'What was it like touring with God?' and 'What words of > wisdom did he bestow upon you?'...There's this kind of religion of hyperbole > that surrounds Bob and 'long live the church of Bob.' You know, I would > never attempt heresy in that area, especially not in my line of work, but > it's funny because Bob was never really a deity for me, not anywhere near > the scope of which Joni Mitchell was and I think that respecting his > work...is a good idea...he's done quite a few cool things...but it seems > that in the states, the canon of Bob seems to become deeper and richer and > more ingrained in my culture every day and Joni seems to be systematically > forgotten and periodically condescended to by the media....It's really > strange to me, not as strange as I wish it was to me. It's actually quite > familiar.
First I have to thank Kerry for introducing me to Ani's music - very powerful stuff, and I can't wait to hear more! I have to agree with Ani on this one, but I think a lot of the difference in perception between Joni and Bob is simple timing. I've always thought of Bob as pretty much the vanguard of the whole folk-rock movement - that crossover that folk music made into the "mainstream". Which was important in itself, but probably accounts for a lot of the reverence he's given. I'm not saying he shouldn't get it - his lyrics are powerful, and he was one of the first to say something other than "I love you" in a "popular" song! Joni came along much later, when the "movement" (for want of a better word) was well under way. He is also a lot less vocal in the media than Joni (as far as I know, at least) and that may work against her. Like Joni says "An angry man is just an angry man, but an angry woman..... bitch!" An unfortunate perception, but a true one in many cases, none the less. Hell ____________________________ "To have great poets, there must be great audiences too." - Walt Whitman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hell's Personal Photo Page: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hell/main/personal.htm Visit the NBLs (Natural Born Losers) at: http://www.nbls.co.nz
