Catherine wrote:
> I guess I just wasn't aware that Joni did this. I've
> only seen her in concert twice, and I don't recall her
> naming names.
She probably doesn't do it so much at the large concerts that most of us
have seen. I guess you have not been one of the bunch who have gotten
addicted to collecting the tape trees (sometimes a lot of work but worth it
in the long run ;-) In her earlier days performing in smaller venues she
did chat about the different characters in her songs. I also have a video
from some Canadian TV show where she introduces a new song she wrote
"Dawntreader" and works into the intro how she misses her new boyfriend who
is down in Florida on his boat (David Crosby). She has also talked about
the inspiration for or characters in many of her songs often over the years
in interviews. We know she likes to chat and once she gets going she can be
very revealing. I'm enough of a nerd that I've read a ton of the articles
in the JMDL database - they are always entertaining and insightful reading.
She has also said that she does want people to take the music from their own
viewpoint and not get caught up in what it meant to her, but I think that's
a moot point. I see Philip's point - as a former Art major/English minor,
it was always a standard part of the curriculum to discuss the personal
inspirations, life and motivations of all the great writers, poets and
artists we studied. Maybe that was more acceptable because, in most cases,
the artists or writers were far removed from present day. Joni is still
with us and still creating, so maybe it is not entirely proper to be
dissecting the motivations behind her art just yet. On the other hand,
thankfully, she has long been recognized as a legend in her own time and
people don't have to wait a hundred years or so into the future to be
acknowledging or discovering her genius. Interesting to think that there
could be an "Introduction to Joni Mitchell 101" or Defiance of Genres and
Labels - the life of Joni Mitchell" or "Hissing of Summer Lawns and the
Sociology of Late 20th Century Suburbia" in university courses at some point
in the future ;-D
Kakki
