Freedom and love in the music of Joni Mitchell

Once in a rare while, a songwriter comes along who manages to limn the emotional range of a generation, and yet also elude definition entirely. Joni Mitchell is unquestionably one of those songwriters. This salon will host Jamie Rumbelow , a software person and philosophy graduate, who was once a free man in Paris, but now lives in London. Join us for some self-indulgence, and share with us your love, your stories, and your surprise at the extraordinary music and life of Joni Mitchell.

For those of us that love her already, she is a form of sustenance. We can outsource our feeling to Joni, and be confident that she will digest our troubles and yield to us the energy that we need to continue. Every song that we hear, she seems to know us. She, in Emma Thompson’s sad words, ‘taught us how to feel’.

For those of us that don’t know her yet, she is a revelatory delight. Her voice slides, across her career, from soaring mezzo-soprano to a rich contralto. She tunes her guitars to songbirds. She writes both plainly, and with lush imagery. Her repertoire starts very much in the twee-folk register of the late 60s, but blossoms quickly into a variety of styles and genres.

In this salon, we’ll listen to some songs, share a glass of wine, and talk about what Joni Mitchell means to us, and how best to understand her music:

• What is essential to her music? What persists over time, throughout all the changes in her life and work, and what is merely contingent?
• Why isn’t her later work better known, and what about it is exceptional?
• How important were her (many) famous lovers to her musical development? How important were her cigarettes?
• Is Joni a feminist? Is her music feminine?
• How does her love of art – she calls herself a ‘painter, derailed by circumstance’ – affect her songs?

Reading / Listening List

A few of her more famous songs to get started.

We may listen to a couple of these during the salon, if the vibe is right – but nothing we discuss will need an encyclopedic knowledge of any of her music. Have a listen and, if you get the chance, read the lyrics:

• ‘I Had a King’ from Song to a Seagull (1968)
• ‘Both Sides Now’ from Clouds (1969)
• ‘A Case of You’ from Blue (1971)
• ‘Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire’ from For The Roses (1972)
• ‘Court and Spark’ from Court and Spark (1974)
• ‘Black Crow’ from Hejira (1976)
• ‘Cherokee Louise’ from Night Ride Home (1991)
• ‘Both Sides Now’ from Both Sides Now (2000)

More generally: Blue is her best-known album, and probably my favourite album of all time. The Hissing of Summer Lawns is much less well-known, but lyrically perhaps the most intricate. Hejira is an important turning point from folk-dominant to jazz-dominant (though you can see the transition beginning after Blue).

And, if you have the time, Reckless Daughter by David Yaffe is an excellent recent biography of Joni

***

🗓 ii Calendar

📋 Code of Conduct

📚 Become a member, get a free ticket every month (FAQ), access our forums, members-only events, and more!