on the turntable
Clouds, Joni Mitchell, 1969
Joni Mitchell is one of my favorites. She is a multi-talented artist who sings, composes, writes, plays guitar, and is a talented painter, too. Clouds was her second album, and it has one of my all-time favorite songs on it called Both Sides Now. The song was made famous when covered by Judy Collins, which is also very nice, but I like Joni singing it herself best. Clouds is about a romantic relationship, but it is also about gaining perspective on life and realizing how much there still is to learn.
Joni Mitchell has an amazing vocal range, her song lyrics are very poetic, and when she plays guitar she makes up new chords and sounds amazing. She plays these unusual chords to compensate for some paralysis in her left hand caused by polio which she had suffered from as a kid. (The cure for polio was discovered at the U. of Pittsburgh, by the way.)
Joni Mitchell painted or photographed all her album covers herself, often featuring self-portraits like this one on Clouds. Another stand-out cover is a self portrait as a wounded Van Gogh for her album Turbulent indigo (below).
Here is Both Sides Now:
Also, I promised PlanetBooks I would do the meme thing she tagged me with, even though it's not about music, it's about books. So, for my sis, here goes!
1. Who's your all-time favorite author and why? Hard question! Can't decide so here are a few: Kahlil Gibran and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. I also like Tolkien, whom Birdlashes made me read for which I am grateful. Oh, it's too hard to choose one...
2. Who was your favorite first author? Do you still consider them among your favorites? Hans Christian Anderson, yes!
3. Who's your most recent addition to your list of favorite authors? newbie Karen Russell
4. If someone asked you who your favorite authors were, which ones would be the first to pop out of your mouth? Ray Bradbury (for his short stories and Dandelion Wine), John Berger (for Ways of Seeing, About Looking, The Sense of Sight, and Keeping a Rendezvous), Margaret Atwood (for The Blind Assassin).
Now, to answer the same questions about music, which you are welcome to do also:
1. Who's your all-time favorite group/ singer/ musician? The Beatles.
2. Who was your favorite first group/ singer/ musician? Peter, Paul & Mary. And Beethoven.
3. Who's your most recent addition to your list of favorite albums? Tom Waits- Orphans (I like everything by him, and his latest is my favorite thing in the past 2 years, also seeing him in Akron was my favorite concert EVER.) MOST RECENT music purchases though were Essie Jain and Neko Case-- I really like them a lot too.
4. If someone asked you who your favorite groups/ singers were, which ones would be the first to pop out of your mouth? Beatles, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Kate Wolf, Nanci Griffith, Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Magnetic Fields, Neko Case, The Kinks. They just popped out!
Joni Mitchell is one of my favorites. She is a multi-talented artist who sings, composes, writes, plays guitar, and is a talented painter, too. Clouds was her second album, and it has one of my all-time favorite songs on it called Both Sides Now. The song was made famous when covered by Judy Collins, which is also very nice, but I like Joni singing it herself best. Clouds is about a romantic relationship, but it is also about gaining perspective on life and realizing how much there still is to learn.
Joni Mitchell has an amazing vocal range, her song lyrics are very poetic, and when she plays guitar she makes up new chords and sounds amazing. She plays these unusual chords to compensate for some paralysis in her left hand caused by polio which she had suffered from as a kid. (The cure for polio was discovered at the U. of Pittsburgh, by the way.)
Joni Mitchell painted or photographed all her album covers herself, often featuring self-portraits like this one on Clouds. Another stand-out cover is a self portrait as a wounded Van Gogh for her album Turbulent indigo (below).
Here is Both Sides Now:
Click to viewAlso, I promised PlanetBooks I would do the meme thing she tagged me with, even though it's not about music, it's about books. So, for my sis, here goes!
1. Who's your all-time favorite author and why? Hard question! Can't decide so here are a few: Kahlil Gibran and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. I also like Tolkien, whom Birdlashes made me read for which I am grateful. Oh, it's too hard to choose one...
2. Who was your favorite first author? Do you still consider them among your favorites? Hans Christian Anderson, yes!
3. Who's your most recent addition to your list of favorite authors? newbie Karen Russell
4. If someone asked you who your favorite authors were, which ones would be the first to pop out of your mouth? Ray Bradbury (for his short stories and Dandelion Wine), John Berger (for Ways of Seeing, About Looking, The Sense of Sight, and Keeping a Rendezvous), Margaret Atwood (for The Blind Assassin).
Now, to answer the same questions about music, which you are welcome to do also:
1. Who's your all-time favorite group/ singer/ musician? The Beatles.
2. Who was your favorite first group/ singer/ musician? Peter, Paul & Mary. And Beethoven.
3. Who's your most recent addition to your list of favorite albums? Tom Waits- Orphans (I like everything by him, and his latest is my favorite thing in the past 2 years, also seeing him in Akron was my favorite concert EVER.) MOST RECENT music purchases though were Essie Jain and Neko Case-- I really like them a lot too.
4. If someone asked you who your favorite groups/ singers were, which ones would be the first to pop out of your mouth? Beatles, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Kate Wolf, Nanci Griffith, Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Magnetic Fields, Neko Case, The Kinks. They just popped out!