>zelda- > -and not to be considered inferior due to her age i hope!! no way. it's cool:-) dont worry about trying to find people with similar musical tastes....as long as you know whos best! i've managed to bore people to tears trying to tell them why i like Joni, this isn't always an easy thing to verbalise. on monday i got caught in a flood going to college, lol, but i didnt turn back. it took hours braving the elements to get to UCD; i arrived only to find that my Vegetation and Environment lecturer was being nice to us- he cancelled the practical due to the weather.....so, like any true Irish college student i just had to hit the (student) bar (at 10.30am- shocking behaviour!). well, i was with some people i have known for a about a year, and these particular people had somehow managed to miss me ever talking about Joni (even that phase after i read the JM companion and retold stories to beat the band, like, all hte time, as in always, unstoppable, a Joni analogy for every occasion and all that .......i loved the one Joni told about Mingus dying at age 56 in mexico and locals finding 56 beached whales on the mexican coasts that day). well the bar was freezing guys. the conversation turned, as it does, to music. i knew they had good taste from previous conversations but was pleasantly surprised to hear Patti Smith, Pj Harvey (has anyone heard her new one, it's supposed to be great. she sang the new single on the Late Late Show last week or the week before and i was very impressed. Polly is on the cover of hte new Hot Press magazine, a pretty cool interveiw. it also includes a short and funny interview with Sinead O Connor. apparently she considers herself the most shaggable pop star in the world), they liked also Tori Amos, Fiona Apple (virtually unheard of in Ireland so this is GOOD), Radiohead and so many of my other favourites. they thought they had heard the name Joni Mitchell once or twice before. although they weren't too sure of who she is (despite my wonderful rendition of BYT) they could see my respect for Joni. i was asked what exactly it is that draws me to Joni. i went on about lyrics and music and all sorts for 20 minutes (much to hte bemusement of the others....."just get a drink into him and he wont shut up") before Aine interrupted me "no, Garret, what EXACTLY draws YOU to Joni Mitchell?" i tried to expalin it's all the things i'd mentioned. but looking at those raised-in-expectation-eyebrows i came out with this: Well, you know, our Joni is not a humble woman. in fact, i'd go so far to say that she is a little self obsessed (all those self portraits, for example). yes, i believe that she can be selfish. selfish to the extent that she lets (only) her own artisitic judgements guide the creation of her music. she isn't really trying to please ten million people with her songs about mistreated indian girls, wifebeating, or "fallen women" in Ireland, no, she is only trying to please herself- Joni Mitchell is making music for Joni Mitchell. she is driven by her own artisitic designs to create new and original pieces- be them musical or be them paintings. she isn't trying to repeat her past successes, she's not a jukebox. what draws me to Joni is her ability to progress, her ability to grow, her ongoing ability to create new art. so we ordered another round and debated the merits of Radioheads latest offering (again) and now on to the point of this e-mail: i'm nineteen for a few more weeks! GARRET ps- i wonder what Joni did on her birthday? i wonder if she watches Ally McBeal....
