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| Headline | What´s Joni talking about? |
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| Author | Comment |
Rosemary in Time
Mar-20-2012, 20:43 GMT
United Kingdom
 | Here´s Joni Mitchell being interviewed by Elvis Costello. Can anyone work out which period of Paul´s work she´s referring to?
J.M. Stevie Wonder told me that he had heard me coming in on the radio from Windsor [Ontario], that I had influenced some of his pieces. It wasn´t like he copped the lick or anything like that, but basically he went in a more adventurous chordal direction than he would have had I not existed. That´s the kind of influence that I like. It is not copying.
E.C. You hear it musically, but do you ever recognize that you have been a lyrical influence, even when it´s abused?
J.M. No. Paul Simon started piling up a lot of words, more than the bar could handle, and I stopped! [Both laugh.] If that´s what it sounds like. I better cut that out. [More laughter.]
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Simon D.
Mar-21-2012, 19:36 GMT
United Kingdom
| The only time I recall Paul "piling up a lot of words" in an over the top way, was in his "freshly fallen silent shroud of snow " period.......
In fact he is most noted for the economy of his lyricism.
One thing I do know though is that Joni was incorporating drummers from Burundi into her music on "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" album, nearly a full decade before Paul "pioneered" World Music on Graceland.
And she barely got due credit. |
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Rosemary in Time
Mar-21-2012, 22:43 GMT
United Kingdom
| At a guess, I think she´s talking about Hearts And Bones. But what a fraud Costello is, laughing at the idea of someone else piling too many words into a song! |
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DannyJ
Mar-22-2012, 23:20 GMT
United Kingdom
| Mitchell and Costello have a modest but devoted (some may say insane in Mitchell´s case) band of followers these days, but they are nothing in size or passion compared to Paul´s fan base...
Sounds to me that Mitchell is being bitter, she clearly doesn´t like Paul and resents his success, and Costello was simply humouring her. I could never tolerate her voice and freaky warbling for too long! |
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Royd
Mar-23-2012, 04:48 GMT
USA - United Staates America
 | I think Joni was being puckish; I don´t think she was really insulting Paul Simon´s work. Elvis writes a lot of words but Nobody compares to Harry Chapin for trying to cram far too many syllables into the meter. Al Stewart writes a "lot" of words but that´s generally because he writes a lot of verses. Joni may have been thinking of something like "The Boy In The Bubble" where Paul runs together so many syllables: "These are the days of lasers in the jungle, lasers in the jungle somewhere/Staccato signals of constant information, a loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires and baby/These are the days of miracle and wonder, this the long distance call." |
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DannyJ
Mar-23-2012, 08:03 GMT
United Kingdom
| On the lyrics you´re probably right with that selection - I bit of a mouthful without musical timing to guide the tongue...
However Joni did say that if it sounded like that she´d better stop... That was another way of saying she didn´t like what she heard. She´s definitely in the minority there!
I accept that Blue was a masterpiece. |
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Phil
Mar-23-2012, 13:16 GMT
USA - United Staates America
| IIRC, Paul once said he thought ´the ghosts and empties´ verse on Graceland was a bit wordy. Think he deleted a bit during one tour. |
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Richard
Mar-23-2012, 17:06 GMT
Unknown
 | It sounds to me like she is trying to insult Paul. However, given the fact that her only even slightly famous lyric is about putting "up" a parking lot, she should be the last one to insult PS´s lyrics.
Perhaps she feels she deserved the first Gershwin Award? Joni who? |
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Jay
Mar-23-2012, 21:00 GMT
USA - United Staates America
| I´m not a big fan of Joni Mitchell, but she is talented. I think she thinks shes better than Paul Simon and that´s why she can look down and say "If that´s what it sounds like I don´t want to do it BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" (ok maybe the evil laugh was a bit much) But still.
In my opinion her writing is nowhere near the level of Paul Simon´s. And her music is nowhere near as intricate. That said, she has talent, but shes more in line with artist like Cat Stevens. Great but not in the realm of the best. This is just my opinion of course and music is so subjective that if someone feels the opposite way it doesn´t bother me. |
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Rosie
Mar-23-2012, 21:53 GMT
Unknown
| Look, we all know Paul is an amazing writer but I don´t think we need to be bitter at any small little insult he gets.. Mitchell is a very talented songwriter and guitarist. |
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Brenda
Mar-24-2012, 00:51 GMT
Australia
 | Funny video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZy0vkej_Bs |
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Wambaugh
Mar-24-2012, 01:44 GMT
United Kingdom
| I think the words might look harsh on paper, but they were said jokingly between two musicians who are laughing. I really doubt there´s any malice at all.
She joked that she didn´t like Paul´s wordier than her phase, she didn´t explicitly say it. We can´t even work out when this phase that Paul copied her and got all wordy was! :D |
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Klausi
Mar-24-2012, 11:55 GMT
Germany
 | In 1977 in the (imo great) book "The illustrated New Musical Express Encyclopedia of Rock" Nick Logan and Bob Woffinden wrote about Paul Simon:
"...and he and Joni Mitchell are the two contemporary singer/songwriters whose work has met with equal and abundant commercial and critical success."
This has changed for both of them soon. Joni went to Jazz, Paul to film.
Joni Mitchell surely had one of the greatest female voices in Rock, but it disappeared (Too many cigarettes? Paul smoked the last one one hour ago, means 1968...)
Latest since "Graceland" he topped her, not only commercially.
Nevertheless "Blue" and partly some other albums are great. IMO...(in many`s opinion) |
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Klausi
Mar-24-2012, 12:16 GMT
Germany
| I think Paul`s ability to say very much with very few words really is one of his strenghts since the 60`s:
"Maybe you, maybe me, maybe baby makes three".
"The nearer your destination the more you are Slip` sliding away".
"As if I´d never noticed the way she brushed her hair from her forehead."
Always with a lot room for imagination for listeners.
Much better than the lyrics of "The Dangling Conversation", "Save the life of my child" or "At The Zoo" and some other songs of this period.
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