Brenda wrote: > Am I the only one who is a bit uncomfortable with this type of > supposition? First, we don't know Joni Mitchell the person. We know Joni Mitchell the > commercial artist.
True, and I don't like to judge where she is coming from, but I think sometimes a general supposition can be made, based on human experience, when you observe anyone bringing up and repeating the same issue over and over. If Joni wants to ensure that as many people as possible know how rotten the music business can be, I think she has accomplished that. But she seems to go beyond that - she takes it very personally and it shows with statements like "no one wants to hear what I have to say anymore." There's nothing wrong with that in my book and I agree with most of her opinions. My thoughts were coming more from a place where I thought she should not be completely judged as arrogant for her statements because she has obviously suffered personally and we might throw her a little slack because of it. To me, it just makes her as human as the next person. I think everyone has things in their lives that have hurt them and those things one cannot resolve tend to be rehashed over and over. I have done this many times and have listened to my friends and family many times go over and over something they can't quite get over. I think it is a common human experience and recognizing it in Joni is not to invade her persona but to recognize she is just as vulnerable as the rest of us. I've also wondered about what she went through in the early days with the music business. On one hand there were many visionaries in the biz that helped promote and nurture many new artists. On the other hand, while the suits with MBAs had not yet arrived, and it was more freewheeling than today, many sectors of the business were controlled or influenced by organized crime. I can't imagine the distaste and even horror of perhaps having to deal with or be remotely affected by those elements. Kakki
