Hi everyone!!!I am delighted by the response that was generated by my research paper. I really appreciate everybody taking time out of their day to help me out. First of all I would like to address some of the questions posed to me. Jim L'Hommedieu asked me what I meant by "best". I guess best in my dictionary is totally subjective. Whatever period of consecutive Joni albums you consider to be your favorite is what is 'best.' Of course there is always a reason why you consider it to be your favorite, whether it be related to the musics or lyrics. I realize this is an incredibly difficult choice for any Joni fan to make, but if you were forced to make the choice, what would the answer be?There is a reason behind my sacrifical divvying up of Joni's albums. James Webster, makes the case that we tell stories in three different ways; originary, organic, and teleolgical is what they are called. Each story valorizes one period. Originary valorizes the beginning so for example, if I said John Smith reached the peak of his intellectual capacities at the age of two and subsequently his IQ declined throughout his life, this would be originary. Organic valorizes the middle period i.e. The Rise and Fall of Rome. Teleoligcal valorizes the last period which is Beethoven's story (the stuff he wrote when he became deaf and before he died was the best). What I want to do in my period is 1) prove we still tell these stories in popular music of today and 2)apply all three of these stories to Joni's music. Hence, my interest in everyone's opinions. So if anyone else would like to chime in, I would definitely be interested. My reclassification of albums question was met by resounding agreement on the fact that Mingus was the culmination of the 'middle' period. And as an aside, I hate to apply the word 'end' to Joni's music especially since she is NOT dead, that is why I try to always put it in quotes.Thanks againStephanie Morrison
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