----- Original Message ----- From: Megan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 10:38 AM Subject: Re :John Galt ,Ayn Rand,etc. > Mark wrote: > > >I don't see it as being totally wrong to compare Joni's artistic > philosophy to that of Ayn Rand.>I'm thinking more of "The Fountainhead" in > this regard than of "Atlas Shrugged"> The protagonist of "The Fountainhead" > is a brillant architect who absolutely refuses to compromise his work-to > garner critical or popular acclaim or for any other reason.>Rand's > contention is that great art can only be created from the artist's purely > selfish desire to fulfill his or her own unique vision.I don't think that's > much different from Joni's > refusal to pander to critical or popular taste. > I have to say I totally agree with Mark on this.If Joni had not had the > courage of her convictions way back in '75, we would never have had the > incredibly brillant THOSL, and all the music that followed.Even though she > had previously experimented with some jazz influences, such as on C&S,it > wasn't until THOSL that she brought it to full fruition with the exquisite > jazz/rock fusion hybrid that was uniquely her own.Even though other artists > had toyed with that genre,none did so with the absolute perfection that > Joni did.It would have been so easy for her,especially riding the tidal wave > of success she had with C&S, to stick with what had been commercially > successful for her( which is what undoubtedly the record company would have > wanted).But instead, she took the high road and pandered to noone,only > obeying her muse.If you read the liner notes to THOSL, it pretty much says > it all: "This is a total work > conceived graphically, musically, lyrically and accidentally -- as a > whole.The performances were guided by the given compositional structures and > the audibly inspired beauty of every player.The whole unfolded like a > mystery." -----Megan
