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Joni Mitchell — California
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TerryS
(Another SW)
Posted: May 09, 2013 - 21:11
 
She was indeed a groundbreaker, but I always want to reach for the WD40 when she goes for that high register.

laozilover
Posted: Mar 08, 2013 - 05:40
 
average rating 6.9? Outrageous!
SanFranGayMan
(San Francisco)
Posted: Feb 04, 2013 - 21:59
 
 idiot_wind wrote:
Hey RP,

JUST PLAY THE WHOLE FREAKIN ALBUM!!!

THIS IS A TRIPPY MASTERPIECE!!!
 
Amen to idiot. For those who made the trek to Europe when she did, it is simply anthem stuff-every generation has some anthem stuff—I hope!!!
 

Nakigrrrl
(Bay of Islands, New Zealand)
Posted: Jan 04, 2013 - 14:11
 
 jckearney wrote:
good call. he did it again..... ha ha :)

 
cubaninlondon wrote:
I bet you any money that this wonderful track is followed by Led Zeppelin's superb California.{#Angel}

Greetings from London.
 
 
and again - but I'm not complaining! {#Wave}

idiot_wind
Posted: Jan 04, 2013 - 13:44
 
Hey RP,

JUST PLAY THE WHOLE FREAKIN ALBUM!!!

THIS IS A TRIPPY MASTERPIECE!!!

jckearney
(home/work)
Posted: Nov 02, 2012 - 20:52
 
good call. he did it again..... ha ha :)

 
cubaninlondon wrote:
I bet you any money that this wonderful track is followed by Led Zeppelin's superb California.{#Angel}

Greetings from London.
 



cubaninlondon
(London)
Posted: Oct 02, 2012 - 11:00
 
I bet you any money that this wonderful track is followed by Led Zeppelin's superb California.{#Angel}

Greetings from London.

Stingray
Posted: Oct 02, 2012 - 11:00
 
No, Yoni - no!!!

deepwoodskev
(In a town west of Chicago)
Posted: Aug 16, 2012 - 12:11
 
 d-don wrote:


This comment is laughable.
 
No...actually it isn't.

shelt
(Marin County, California)
Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 12:09
 
 gigikent wrote:
is it just me or that guitar sounds awful?
 
It's probably the dulcimer.  James Taylor is playing guitar on this track.

gigikent
Posted: May 29, 2012 - 04:22
 
is it just me or that guitar sounds awful?

iTuner
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 10:53
 
LowPhreak wrote:

Please use your mute button and quit dissing a great musician/songwriter.
 

Sorry I'd rather not have to, its like nails on a chalkboard and makes my dog howl. 

d-don
(Oregon)
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 10:49
 
 deepwoodskev wrote:
Have never understood why people like her singing. It's almost laughable.
 

This comment is laughable.

appy_monkey
(between here and there)
Posted: Mar 26, 2012 - 17:21
 
Thank god for the PLAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT button

deepwoodskev
(In a town west of Chicago)
Posted: Jan 23, 2012 - 08:10
 
Have never understood why people like her singing. It's almost laughable.

LowPhreak
(United Corporate States of Neo-Feudal Amurika, Inc.)
Posted: Jan 23, 2012 - 08:09
 
 iTuner wrote:
Please make Joni Mitchell stop.
 
Please use your mute button and quit dissing a great musician/songwriter.



krysthal
(Toronto, Canada)
Posted: Dec 22, 2011 - 14:25
 
 nagsheadlocal wrote:
Has this (finally) been remastered? Sure sounds sharp and clear - or perhaps it's just my worn-out vinyl I'm used to.

The BBC clip of Joni playing this solo with a dulcimer is a magic moment. 
 
The "Buy CD" button takes you to an Amazon product page where it states "Digitally remastered reissue of her landmark 1971 album on a 24 karat gold CD from DCC." so it SHOULD should sharp and clear. {#Biggrin}{#Biggrin} But I know what you mean by "worn out vinyl" memories of album tracks. For others, here is the YouTube video of Joni playing California on the dulcimer that nagsheadlocal mentioned.



iTuner
Posted: Dec 22, 2011 - 14:19
 
Please make Joni Mitchell stop.

sirdroseph
(Yes)
Posted: Oct 20, 2011 - 06:36
 
 Nerubo wrote:
Joni is for me like Bob Dylan is for some other people: I can tell she's a talented songwriter, but I can't get past her voice, which is especially like an ice pick in the ear on this song.  (I usually can for Bob, it depends on the song.) I'm okay with hearing songs I don't like: if I don't get exposed to different stuff, I'll get stuck in a musical rut.

 nano wrote:
i think the things joni mitchell does with her voice in this song are THE MOST ANNOYING form of singing i've ever heard, on par with horrible television jingles from the 80's. Normally i don't get on to leave negative comments about music i don't like. I WISH i could like joni mitchell... she's one of Tori Amos's main influences (according to Tori, who i love)... but i just don't get it. i can't understand how, at any point in human history, someone put on joni mitchell and found the music even remotely pleasant or desirable or tolerable. its weird when music can invoke this sort of extreme dislike in me. okay, that's enough for now.
 
 

Yea, I feel the same way. Only difference is that Tori Amos is horrible too so I can understand the influence thing.

jools
(Brighton UK)
Posted: Oct 20, 2011 - 06:36
 
Ahhh - Joni...

Proclivities
(Carrboro, NC)
Posted: Aug 18, 2011 - 06:04
 
 nano wrote:
i think the things joni mitchell does with her voice in this song are THE MOST ANNOYING form of singing i've ever heard, on par with horrible television jingles from the 80's. Normally i don't get on to leave negative comments about music i don't like. I WISH i could like joni mitchell... she's one of Tori Amos's main influences (according to Tori, who i love)... but i just don't get it. i can't understand how, at any point in human history, someone put on joni mitchell and found the music even remotely pleasant or desirable or tolerable. its weird when music can invoke this sort of extreme dislike in me. okay, that's enough for now.
 
'80s TV jingles?  That's a peculiar reference; were the vocal stylings of TV ads that different than those of other decades?  Can you name one of these '80s television jingles that sounds anything like Joni Mitchell?  I have never heard a television jingle, from any decade, that sounded anything like Joni Mitchell.  I understand, you don't like her voice or singing style, but many millions of people have put on Joni Mitchell's music in her 45-year career and found it very pleasant and inspiring.  I like some of her tunes but am not a big fan.  Maybe you're just a little bit too sensitive or something. 

MiracleDrug
(Earth)
Posted: Aug 18, 2011 - 05:49
 
yeah...right... {#Frustrated}

nagsheadlocal
(North Carolina, the new New Jersey)
Posted: Aug 18, 2011 - 05:49
 
Has this (finally) been remastered? Sure sounds sharp and clear - or perhaps it's just my worn-out vinyl I'm used to.

The BBC clip of Joni playing this solo with a dulcimer is a magic moment. 

tphord
(Up 'ere)
Posted: Mar 13, 2011 - 13:24
 
 Randomax wrote:
youtube this song and watch a very young Joni singing this live with a dulcimer....and then I defy anyone to have a negative word....Joni is a poet first and foremost....paints those beautiful pictures with her music....sublime
 
Absolutely... listening to Joni sing is like enjoying a perfect drug, peaceful, warm, quiet, grounded... no ill effects - just right.


pinnyrat
Posted: Mar 13, 2011 - 13:18
 
Can't. Stand. Joni. Mitchell.

martinc
(Ottawa Canada)
Posted: Mar 13, 2011 - 13:18
 
Bruce Cockburn and then Joni. Stand up and start the anthem. O Canada....

Randomax
(Wimberley, TX)
Posted: Dec 09, 2010 - 07:21
 
 nano wrote:
i think the things joni mitchell does with her voice in this song are THE MOST ANNOYING form of singing i've ever heard, on par with horrible television jingles from the 80's. Normally i don't get on to leave negative comments about music i don't like. I WISH i could like joni mitchell... she's one of Tori Amos's main influences (according to Tori, who i love)... but i just don't get it. i can't understand how, at any point in human history, someone put on joni mitchell and found the music even remotely pleasant or desirable or tolerable. its weird when music can invoke this sort of extreme dislike in me. okay, that's enough for now.
 
How strange it is the variety of opinion....I love Joni and can't stand Tori....there, I've said it


tipper
Posted: Nov 07, 2010 - 12:50
 
Just can't cope with the voice.

Rooney
(Near Paradise)
Posted: Oct 08, 2010 - 08:59
 
I'd been a Joni Mitchell fan from her very first albums.  I could certainly appreciate some of the commentary about her voice.  Sometimes it would even grate on my nerves —- I, who had learned many of her songs on my guitar, and couldn't understand why the hell I couldn't get to the those high notes.  Acquired taste, maybe.  Some people just don't like high voices.

HazzeSwede
(Vinyl Land)
Posted: Oct 07, 2010 - 00:27
 
Very few voices I can't stand,this is one of them.

Patrick
(Columbia, MO (1920 miles E of Paradise, CA))
Posted: Oct 07, 2010 - 00:22
 
And James Taylor's guitar, there at the end....

Rotterdam
Posted: Aug 04, 2010 - 00:06
 
 MM_Prague wrote:
I know Joni Mitchell is an acquired taste. Alas, I have never acquired it, and I doubt I ever shall....
 

Rotterdam shares your opinion. Luckily, RP plays so many other things that I love. I'm now turning the volume off for the next 2 minutes... 

DanFHiggins
(Mid Maryland)
Posted: Jun 01, 2010 - 07:10
 
Loved the album then as I do now. Classic

helgigermany
(Germany)
Posted: Jun 01, 2010 - 07:09
 
Very nice voice she has!!

MM_Prague
(Prague, Czech Republic)
Posted: Jun 01, 2010 - 07:08
 
I know Joni Mitchell is an acquired taste. Alas, I have never acquired it, and I doubt I ever shall....

calypsus_1
Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 15:56
 


Joni Mitchell by ~Ginofullstoryandpics

Rebecca Locke   ©2009-2010 ~Ginofullstoryandpics

product of an afternoon listening to joni mitchell



Nerubo
(Denver, CO)
Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 14:52
 
Joni is for me like Bob Dylan is for some other people: I can tell she's a talented songwriter, but I can't get past her voice, which is especially like an ice pick in the ear on this song.  (I usually can for Bob, it depends on the song.) I'm okay with hearing songs I don't like: if I don't get exposed to different stuff, I'll get stuck in a musical rut.

 nano wrote:
i think the things joni mitchell does with her voice in this song are THE MOST ANNOYING form of singing i've ever heard, on par with horrible television jingles from the 80's. Normally i don't get on to leave negative comments about music i don't like. I WISH i could like joni mitchell... she's one of Tori Amos's main influences (according to Tori, who i love)... but i just don't get it. i can't understand how, at any point in human history, someone put on joni mitchell and found the music even remotely pleasant or desirable or tolerable. its weird when music can invoke this sort of extreme dislike in me. okay, that's enough for now.
 



nano
(syracuse, ny)
Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 14:46
 
i think the things joni mitchell does with her voice in this song are THE MOST ANNOYING form of singing i've ever heard, on par with horrible television jingles from the 80's. Normally i don't get on to leave negative comments about music i don't like. I WISH i could like joni mitchell... she's one of Tori Amos's main influences (according to Tori, who i love)... but i just don't get it. i can't understand how, at any point in human history, someone put on joni mitchell and found the music even remotely pleasant or desirable or tolerable. its weird when music can invoke this sort of extreme dislike in me. okay, that's enough for now.



netstv
(Martinez, CA)
Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 14:44
 
 Blip wrote:
Why would you want to live anywhere else...
 
Agreed.  That is if you can afford it!  :)

Blip
(on the radar)
Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 14:43
 
Why would you want to live anywhere else...

cc_rider
(Austin Texas. Y'all.)
Posted: Feb 26, 2010 - 08:55
 
I lived in NorCal for a short time in the late 80's (I was there during the Loma Prieta quake), and it's maybe the only place I have ever felt 'homesick' about. This album, and this song, capture something I can't begin to explain. This and Woody Guthrie's 'California Stars' (perf. by Billy Bragg and Wilco) always remind me of that time.


Shesdifferent
(Just visiting this planet this is not my home)
Posted: Feb 26, 2010 - 08:53
 
Joni is the perverbial antidote to the veil of the mind......Joni is such an aware songwriter....Bill, you can always play Joni in my books!

crockydile
(Outer Spiral Arm, Milky Way)
Posted: Feb 26, 2010 - 08:53
 
Her sorta-singing annoys me. {#Eek}

RParadise
(Hastings-on-Hudson, NY)
Posted: Feb 26, 2010 - 08:52
 
Such free-flowing lyrics.  If you read them alone, you have no idea they go with a song.

macadavy
(Cascadia's attic, eh?)
Posted: Jan 25, 2010 - 21:51
 
 calypsus_1 wrote:

Joni Mitchell - "California" Live (1970):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q4foLKDlcE

"Don't dislike America from afar... come and see it here, and you will be surprised, I'm sure. Look at Joni,she could live anywhere she wants, and to this day, she's living in California :) 


 
True as far as it goes, but she keeps her quiet home retreat in Pender Harbour, BC, too.
(Not necessarily anti-american - just want to acknowledge that what you say is so true!
Me I stand by my south-of-the-border friends and welcome them when they choose
to bail outta the insanity and head north...  but I don't care to visit them in say, SF or LA anymore.)


Stefen
(West Hollywood, CA)
Posted: Dec 25, 2009 - 11:55
 
 Randomax wrote:
youtube this song and watch a very young Joni singing this live with a dulcimer....and then I defy anyone to have a negative word....Joni is a poet first and foremost....paints those beautiful pictures with her music....sublime
 
Thanks for the tip.  You're right, it's sublime.  The same clip is referenced by calypsus_1 below.



calypsus_1
Posted: Dec 01, 2009 - 16:48
 

Joni Mitchell - "California" Live (1970)

This is a live performance of Joni Mitchell's hit, California. This was taken on October 9, 1970.

"Don't dislike America from afar... come and see it here, and you will be surprised, I'm sure. Look at Joni,she could live anywhere she wants, and to this day, she's living in California :) Don't judge us by our occasionally very bad politicians. That being said, Joni is one of the greatest ever! I've loved her since the start, and have all of her work. Everything she touches turns to gold"

"Just had to watch and listen a couple more times. How could she not become successful. The talent to produce a beautiful performance with just her voice and the simplest of instruments.
Incredibleosity!"



lmic
(Limpid Drivel of the Best Kind)
Posted: Oct 23, 2009 - 20:54
 
 bobcat1963 wrote:
hou alsjeblieft je mond! wat een klerezangeres is het toch, en veel te overgewaardeerd !!!
{#Puke}
 
Thank you, sucko-barfo emoticon, for the succinct translation. Quite the little international emissary. LOL


biomedvgh
(Victoria, BC)
Posted: Oct 23, 2009 - 15:46
 
 RadioDoc wrote:

Your grandma has excellent taste.

 
Actually, I'm pretty sure she's deaf.


RadioDoc
(Chicagoland)
Posted: Oct 23, 2009 - 15:41
 
 johnjconn wrote:
Music for grandma
 
Your grandma has excellent taste.