but this top 3 seems otm to me
― syntax evasion (Noodle Vague), Monday, 1 October 2012 13:08 (eleven years ago) link
1. Blue - 1971 (59 points, five #1st place votes)
http://i48.tinypic.com/1585b1y.jpg
― Mordy, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:08 (eleven years ago) link
SEINFELD FRETLESS BASS
― Ismael Klata, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:08 (eleven years ago) link
3. Hejira - 1976 (51 points, six #1st place votes: MOST NUMBER ONE VOTES)
tru kult fans
― Tim F, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:09 (eleven years ago) link
oh and i like Song to a Seagull a lot more than the electorate here :(
― syntax evasion (Noodle Vague), Monday, 1 October 2012 13:10 (eleven years ago) link
BONUS ALBUM: Joni Mitchell and James Taylor at the Royal Albert Hall, London UK - October 28, 1970
http://i47.tinypic.com/2m5xv00.jpg
No votes, but I love this particular bootleg and highly recommend ppl check it out. Tons of between song banter and they sing on each other's songs.
Plus, you can listen to the entire thing on youtube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cDyePbGpg8
― Mordy, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:12 (eleven years ago) link
xpost Would you have voted for it top 5 though?
― Tim F, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:12 (eleven years ago) link
number 5 maybe just so it got a vote
― syntax evasion (Noodle Vague), Monday, 1 October 2012 13:14 (eleven years ago) link
yeah, I was >this< close to putting it at #5 myself
― Jeff W, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:18 (eleven years ago) link
Wild Things Run Fast in the top ten!
― taking tiger mountain (up the butt) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 1 October 2012 13:19 (eleven years ago) link
How were points scored for albums? 5 for #1, 4 for #2, etc? Was I really the only person to give a vote to Clouds?
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 1 October 2012 13:31 (eleven years ago) link
Exactly so, but Clouds got (2) votes.
― Mordy, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:37 (eleven years ago) link
(iirc, I gave it the other vote.)
― Mordy, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:38 (eleven years ago) link
At least eighteen ballots, plus ffm's tardy one, bodes well for the tracks poll.
― Ismael Klata, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:41 (eleven years ago) link
But Clouds was #3 on my ballot, which should have given it three points. If you voted for it as well, it should have got more than 3 points in total.
xpost to Mordy
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 1 October 2012 13:42 (eleven years ago) link
it was tardy, rushed but heartfelt! am going to spend rest of the day youtubing her, not many mp3s on my phone atm
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Monday, 1 October 2012 13:47 (eleven years ago) link
so....Shadows and Light or Mile of Aisles????
― taking tiger mountain (up the butt) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 1 October 2012 13:47 (eleven years ago) link
Sund4r, after reviewing all the ballots I'm not sure that I received yours. I have two ballots (including my own) w/ Clouds on it. Do you want to resend it and I'll make sure your tracks ballot is included?
― Mordy, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:54 (eleven years ago) link
(Alternatively if you resend it, and I realize I already had yours, I apologize for the oversight.)
Can I just check that you got mine?
― clemenza, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:57 (eleven years ago) link
I got yours.
― Mordy, Monday, 1 October 2012 13:58 (eleven years ago) link
I just resent it to jonimitchellpoll AT gmail DOT com. Could you please confirm that you received it? If it wasn't counted, it would push Hejira to #2.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 1 October 2012 14:16 (eleven years ago) link
I sent it from a Yahoo address.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 1 October 2012 14:19 (eleven years ago) link
I just received it. I double checked and this is the first time I've received it. I'm sorry I wasn't able to include it in the albums poll, but I'll make sure it's counted in the tracks poll.
― Mordy, Monday, 1 October 2012 14:19 (eleven years ago) link
:(
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 1 October 2012 14:23 (eleven years ago) link
It's OK, shenanigans means I can assume dozens of Hissing votes got lost down the back of the sofa :)
― Jeff W, Monday, 1 October 2012 15:01 (eleven years ago) link
I've been busy = voter fail. how many ballots have you got so far Mordy?
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 1 October 2012 17:05 (eleven years ago) link
C&S is so good. I relistened last night.
― championing the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 1 October 2012 17:06 (eleven years ago) link
Surprisingly close for #1, wow.
― skip, Monday, 1 October 2012 17:10 (eleven years ago) link
is it too late for me to get a tracks ballot in
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 1 October 2012 17:11 (eleven years ago) link
i should have switched C&S for Blue in my #1 spot...i can't decide which one i like more most days though
― Iago Galdston, Monday, 1 October 2012 18:18 (eleven years ago) link
go for it shakey
― Mordy, Monday, 1 October 2012 19:11 (eleven years ago) link
nm, i see that i got it already. it'll be counted.
Ladies of the Canyon was my no.1 for that moody sequence in the middle. I'm surprised it was just me.
― Ismael Klata, Monday, 1 October 2012 19:15 (eleven years ago) link
Wow, so y'all really dig that fusion-y stuff, eh? I didn't do an albums list because I only really like the first 4, but now I wish I did.
― Kent Burt, Monday, 1 October 2012 20:48 (eleven years ago) link
my ballot was super-conservative, with zero entries post-1976
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 1 October 2012 21:25 (eleven years ago) link
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Monday, October 1, 2012 9:47 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, October 1, 2012 1:05 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Ah, those conflicting emotions almost kept me from voting in this poll, don't know much from after Wild Things Run Fast much less obscurities, side projects, or boots, but in the end just couldn't not vote, so my ballot is going to skew the results towards the earlier stuff I already knew. Forgot all about the albums poll, but I'm fine with how they were ranked here.
I'm surprised "A Case Of You" is on the Misses collection rather than Hits - I'd always thought that was one of her better-known songs, and maybe the best known from Blue.
― Lee626, Monday, 1 October 2012 23:53 (eleven years ago) link
Thanks to its appearance on xmas comps "River" has that honor imo.
― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 1 October 2012 23:56 (eleven years ago) link
I forgot to vote for "River".
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 00:16 (eleven years ago) link
Oops, me too.
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 01:01 (eleven years ago) link
TRACK COUNTDOWN
http://i49.tinypic.com/s4rn2q.jpg26½ x 22½ x 2½ in - Oil on linen - 1995
29 Ballots, 105 Tracks Nominated
― Mordy, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 12:51 (eleven years ago) link
Tracks will also be cross-posted to this Spotify playlist for listening convenience:http://open.spotify.com/user/mordys/playlist/79HgvbsptKvCXt6uKHSBl2
― Mordy, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 12:52 (eleven years ago) link
50. Jericho (Don Juan's Reckless Daughter): 95 points, 4 votes
Just like Jericho I said"Let these walls come tumbling down"
― Mordy, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 12:55 (eleven years ago) link
49. Conversation (Ladies of the Canyon): 101 points, 5 votes
He comes for conversationI comfort him sometimesComfort and consultationHe knows that's what he'll find
― Mordy, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 12:57 (eleven years ago) link
I do love that painting, I might do one of myself one day
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 12:58 (eleven years ago) link
48. I Don't Know Where I Stand (Clouds): 105 points, 4 votes, 1 1st place vote
Picked up a pencil and wrote "I love you" in my finest handWanted to send it, but I don't know where I stand
― Mordy, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 12:59 (eleven years ago) link
47. This Flight Tonight (Blue): 108 points, 6 votes
Starlight, star brightYou got the lovin' that I like all rightTurn this crazy bird aroundI shouldn't have got on this flight tonight
― Mordy, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 13:02 (eleven years ago) link
(I made a little mistake. This Flight Tonight is tied for 45th w/ the two next tracks that I'm posting.)
― Mordy, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 13:04 (eleven years ago) link
45-- TIE. Urge for Going (Hits): 108 points, 4 votes
See the geese in chevron flight Flapping and racing on before the snowThey got the urge for goingAnd they got the wings so they can go
45-- TIE. For the Roses (For the Roses): 108 points, 5 votes
Remember the days when you used to sit And make up your tunes for love And pour your simple sorrow To the soundhole and your knee
― Mordy, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 13:07 (eleven years ago) link
@ FFS. The US/Can duality of all those singers (Leonard lives in Mtl, Joni lives in L.A., Buffy lives in Hawaii, Neil lives ?) never had any interest to me, I mean, it doesn't seem all that worthwhile a discussion talking about which member of The Band lived where and for how long. Except with "Blue". On the whole it's an album about place, the island in "Carey", Vegas in "This Flight Tonight", getting out of California in "River", going back to California in "California". But there it is, the most understated and affecting moment on the record is that "Oh Canada", neither a celebration or a putdown, just an acknowledgement. I think it's one of the reasons I never LOVE-loved "California", the sentiment is, in comparison, closer to a Beach Boys-style kind of gimme than any of the other songs.
― flamboyant goon tie included, Saturday, 6 October 2012 15:57 (eleven years ago) link
I agree completely (I imagine that FFS was FFM? :). It pisses me off a little that California is about California - I get it, great place, but this is such a poetic land and it does hurt that she creates such beautiful songs about her travels and so few about our homeland! Should've given Ontario in the summer a few more chances, Joni. (I have never been to the west coast, I'm biased obviously.)
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Saturday, 6 October 2012 16:10 (eleven years ago) link
haha yeah sorry, my fingers are just used to typing ffs all the time, too many diary entries i s'pose
― flamboyant goon tie included, Saturday, 6 October 2012 16:44 (eleven years ago) link
AND tbh I think it's very Canadian of Canadian-born songwriters to ~not~ make references to cities and provinces, or, when they do so, to do so in an not-necessarily-flattering light ("I hate Winnipeg" i.e.)
― flamboyant goon tie included, Saturday, 6 October 2012 16:49 (eleven years ago) link
-"I could drink a case of you and still be on my feet" = you're weak? Never knew if that was a love song or breakup song or both
yeah i always thought this was a put-down, i never realised until recently some ppl parse it as 'you're just so awesome i could drink a whole bunch of you', wikipedia says it is a song about 'infatuation' which is just ???
― set the controls for the heart of the congos (thomp), Saturday, 6 October 2012 17:54 (eleven years ago) link
i saw a busker playing the appalachian dulcimer today.
― set the controls for the heart of the congos (thomp), Saturday, 6 October 2012 17:55 (eleven years ago) link
My ballot cuts off at Blue:
01 Tin Angel02 Little Green03 I Had a King04 River05 A Case Of You06 Blue07 I Don't Know Where I Stand08 That Song About the Midway09 The Last Time I Saw Richard10 Marcie11 This Flight Tonight12 Conversation13 Roses Blue14 Nathan La Franeer15 Cactus Tree16 Michael From Mountains17 The Gallery18 I Think I Understand19 Chelsea Morning20 Rainy Night House
"Tin Angel" should have placed - U R all stupid etc.
― Kent Burt, Sunday, 7 October 2012 04:02 (eleven years ago) link
Thanks for doing this poll Mordy!
My ballot:
ALBUMS: HejiraNight Ride HomeBlueThe Hissing Of Summer LawnsFor The Roses SONGS: Come In From The ColdHejiraThe Last Time I Saw RichardPassion Play (When All The Slaves Are Free)A Case of YouAmeliaEdith And the KingpinLet The Wind Carry MeTwo Grey RoomsThe Boho DanceCourt And SparkLessons In SurvivalSong For SharonShades Of Scarlet ConqueringSame SituationAll I WantCoyoteThis Flight, TonightFurry Sings The BluesBoth Sides, Now (2000 Version)
― Tim F, Sunday, 7 October 2012 04:41 (eleven years ago) link
Wow, I better check out Night Ride Home.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Sunday, 7 October 2012 04:53 (eleven years ago) link
That was a strategic placement in a way "Come In From The Cold" wasn't - in truth it's on a level with Hissing for me. I had a feeling Blue wouldn't really need my help.
But Night Ride Home did sneak three tunes into my top ten, and I could have easily put "Cherokee Louse" and "Nothing Can Be Done" in the second half of my songs list except I started to feel like I was just throwing votes away.
― Tim F, Sunday, 7 October 2012 05:16 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q4foLKDlcE
― Mordy, Wednesday, 24 October 2012 12:34 (eleven years ago) link
I just finished reading/listening to all of this. Cheers Mordy and everyone who voted for a good education.
― "It's like death metal lyrics, but about a vagina." (a hoy hoy), Saturday, 10 November 2012 16:58 (eleven years ago) link
Man why did I not bother with this? Maybe guilt that I only know four Joni albums well: 1971-76. But those four albums mean so much to me.
― jaymc, Saturday, 5 January 2013 06:51 (eleven years ago) link
But wait, you say, there were five albums between '71 and '76. I forgot, as I often do, about For the Roses. Need to give it more of a chance, IIRC.
― jaymc, Saturday, 5 January 2013 06:52 (eleven years ago) link
Listening to Ian & Sylvia's greatest hits with a cover of Circle Game on it right now. :D
Came home depressed last night & put on Blue and sung along loudly to the whole album. Made me feel so much better.
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Saturday, 5 January 2013 16:48 (eleven years ago) link
After about two weeks of obsessing over everything she did from 1975-79 I'm a little stunned at how little of it actually made it into this poll. Part or me thinks there are different kinds of Joni fans -- pre-jazz and post. Judging by some or the comments here, that doesn't mean you exclusively like one or the other but that often only one makes you an obsessive.
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 13 February 2013 23:05 (eleven years ago) link
And as a total latecomer to the party on this stuff, what I guess surprises me is that with the reappraisal of that era that's taken place since (ie, PFM calling Hissing her "most timeless" record) I kind of figured that bifurcation would have been left in the 70s.
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 13 February 2013 23:10 (eleven years ago) link
"Paprika Plains" finally started sounding lovely and strange instead of diaphanous and strange last week. Talk about a sleeper.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 February 2013 23:19 (eleven years ago) link
just wanted to say, I don't know Joni's music well enough that I didn't participate in this poll at all, but listening to the Spotify results playlist is making my day, thanks for the crash course you guys
― Algerian Horsebeater (some dude), Monday, 20 January 2014 18:08 (ten years ago) link
I may be an unusual JM fan in that I listen to her almost entirely for the sound of her music.― EveningStar (Sund4r), Wednesday, October 3, 2012 5:38 PM (five years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Wednesday, October 3, 2012 5:38 PM (five years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
count me in, though reading Mordy's choice excerpts make it clear I'm missing out
it's not as if I don't pay attention to the lyrics at all, I just mostly notice fragments, certain phrases and motifs...
anyway, great poll, Joni's the best!
― niels, Saturday, 11 November 2017 19:04 (six years ago) link
We didn't talk enough in this poll.
― Tim F, Saturday, 11 November 2017 22:07 (six years ago) link
how did i miss it? just listening to that bbc concert with james taylor from 1970 where john peel speaks the introduction. there are already quite a lot songs which later were published on blue on it (carey, california, river, my old man, a case of you) and her soprano is really perfect here. not as high-pitch as on the first album but still very girlish and innocent sounding. and all that great in between song banter. where she explains that the circle game was her uplifting answer to that kind of sad song from that unkown young canadian folk singer whose name she doesn't mention. the song was sugar mountain.
― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Saturday, 11 November 2017 22:28 (six years ago) link
there's some discussion upthread about the meaning of being able to drink a case of somebody and still be on your feet, and while it is similar in structure to "I eat x like you for breakfast", I don't see how it could mean anything but I can't get enough of you
― niels, Sunday, 12 November 2017 10:14 (six years ago) link
She seems to be putting the guy down in the first verse, though.
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Sunday, 12 November 2017 13:57 (six years ago) link
It could just as easily mean "you don't do anything for me (anymore)".
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Sunday, 12 November 2017 14:24 (six years ago) link
"Hejira" was my favourite song in the world at 14, I printed out all the lyrics and stuck them on my bedroom wall.
― Tim F, Wednesday, October 3, 2012 10:42 PM (five years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I am now 14 year old Tim F
― droit au butt (Euler), Sunday, 12 November 2017 16:01 (six years ago) link
xp well she's certainly teasing the guy, answering his metaphysical boast with an acerbic and then a prosaic remark, but anyway since the next thing she remembers is drawing his face on a map of Canada it's reasonable to suggest there's also a level of vulnerability, even love (though it's ofc slightly undercut by the drawing being on the back of a cartoon coaster lit by a tv screen)
what makes the central metaphor unlikely as a putdown imo area) the singer's fetichization of the lover - even if she does not explicitly desire drinking a case of the lover, the repeated focus on the act suggests infatuationb) the beautiful preceding lines:
Oh you are in my blood like holy wineYou taste so bitterAnd so sweet
If you wanted to criticize wine for being weak or harmless, this is not how you would describe it.
― niels, Sunday, 12 November 2017 21:49 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_dY2cy0E2I
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 13 February 2018 17:43 (six years ago) link
That's phantastic dreamy stuff. It reminds me of another song, something from "wild things run fast"?
― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Wednesday, 14 February 2018 20:46 (six years ago) link