There was even a Rolling Stone
> article which documented that Madonna had jumped over several booths
in a
> restaurant while wearing a huge gown to chat with Joni following the
98'
> Oscars. Her song "Promise To Try" off of her album "LIKE A PRAYER"
is a
> tribute to "Down to You."
>
> Peter Gabriel is yet another artist who has openly admitted to being
> influenced by the great Joni........"In Your Eyes" off of "SO" is
influenced
> by "Dreamland" and so on and so forth.
>
> So, I recommend that you at least listen to the work of an artist
before
> brandishing them off into the "non-talent" category. Because these
artists
> obviously know something about art if they are influenced by Joni.
Well I don't think I actually said that any of these artists were
'non-talents.' I just said I didn't care for them or that I didn't
know much about them. I know that Joni admires Peter Gabriel. I did
say I didn't think of Madonna as a major talent & I stand by that. I
don't think she'd be much of anything without her producers and she's
nowhere near to being in the same class with Joni. But still, she
sings & dances in front of thousands of people so she certainly has
more talent in those areas than I do.
I don't think that just because someone admires Joni or claims her as
an artistic influence that they are somehow more gifted or have better
taste than someone else. I admire Joni tremendously but I can't play
guitar or write amazing songs. And 'Green Acres' is one of my
all-time favorite tv shows!
My point was that taste is a subjective thing. Just because I don't
like Prince doesn't mean he doesn't have something to say to someone
else. And just because you say that Joni's 80s albums were in
'sonically poor taste' doesn't mean I have to agree with you. That's
all.
Mark in Seattle
