What’s on Human Mind?

[pic] [pic] Joni Mitchell Submitted to: Dr. Remedios Biavati Submitted by: Jacqueline T. Sangalang 2P4 LIT101A Joni Mitchell Born Roberta Joan Anderson; November 7, 1943 is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Western Canada and then busking on the streets of Toronto. In the mid-1960s she left for New York City and its rich folk music scene, recording her debut album in 1968 and achieving fame first as a songwriter (â€Å"Urge for Going†, â€Å"Chelsea Morning†, â€Å"Both Sides Now†, â€Å"Woodstock†) and then as a singer in her own right. Finally settling in Southern California, Mitchell played a key part in the folk rock movement then sweeping the musical landscape. Blue, her starkly personal 1971 album, is regarded as one of the strongest and most influential records of the time. Mitchell also had pop hits such as â€Å"Big Yellow Taxi†, â€Å"Free Man in Paris†, and â€Å"Help Me†, the last two from 1974's best-selling Court and Spark. Mitchell's soprano vocals, distinctive harmonic guitar style, and piano arrangements all grew more complex through the 1970s as she was deeply influenced by jazz, melding it with pop, folk and rock on experimental albums like 1976's Hejira. She worked closely with jazz greats including Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, and on a 1979 record released after his death, Charles Mingus. From the 1980s on, Mitchell reduced her recording and touring schedule but turned again toward pop, making greater use of synthesizers and direct political protest in her lyrics, which often tackled social and environmental themes alongside romantic and emotional ones. Mitchell's work is highly respected both by critics and fellow musicians. Rolling Stone magazine called her â€Å"one of the greatest songwriters ever,† while All music said, â€Å"When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century. By the end of the century, Mitchell had a profound influence on artists in genres ranging from R&B to alternative rock to jazz. Mitchell is also a visual artist. She made the artwork for each of her albums, and in 2000 described herself as a â€Å"painter derailed by circumstance. † A blunt critic of the music industry, Mitchell had stopped recording over the last several years, focusing more a ttention on painting, but in 2007 she released Shine, her first album of new songs in nine years. Cultural Background Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada generally including all parts of Canada west of the province of Ontario. The West is considered by many to be a cultural region with an identity separate from that of the rest of Canada. The special cultural, political and economic characteristics of â€Å"the West† are, however, not universally agreed upon, nor are its eographical limits and stereotypes of the West mask the cultural, physical and historical differences within this vast and varied region. In Canadian politics, the term â€Å"the West† is used misleadingly in Canadian media style guides as shorthand for the Conservative leanings of Western Canadians, as contrasted with the greater likelihood for candidates from either the Liberal Party of Canada or the New Democratic Party (NDP) to be elected in Central Canada (although the NDP's roots are in Saskatchewan and Britis h Columbia). Exceptions exist, particularly in British Columbia, as well as in the prairie cities of Winnipeg and Regina, where the Liberal Party currently hold seats, as well as in other major urban centers such as Edmonton where Liberal and NDP candidates have been elected in recent history. The social democratic NDP had its origins on the Canadian Prairies and in the mining and pulp mill towns and railway camps of British Columbia, and has a history of support in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. Both Sides Now Composed and Performed by Joni Mitchell Rows and flows of angel hair, And ice cream castles in the air, And feathered canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way, But now they only block the sun. They rain and snow on everyone. So many things I would have done, But clouds got in my way. I've looked at clouds from both sides now, From up and down, and still somehow, Its clouds illusions I recall. I really don't know clouds at all. Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way you feel As every fairy tale comes real; I've looked at love that way. But now it's just another show. You leave 'em laughing when you go And if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away. I've looked at love from both sides now, From give and take, and still somehow It’s love's illusions I recall. I really don't know love at all. Tears and fears and feeling proud, to say â€Å"I love you† right out loud, Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, I've looked at life that way. But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads, They say I've changed. Something's lost but something's gained in living every day. I've looked at life from both sides now, From win and lose, and still somehow It’s life's illusions I recall. I really don't know life at all. Both Sides Now is a concept album by Joni Mitchell released in 2000. It traces the progress of the modern relationship through Mitchell's orchestral renditions of classic jazz songs. Two of Mitchell's own songs are also included, â€Å"A Case of You† (1971) and â€Å"Both Sides, Now† (1969). The orchestra was arranged and conducted by Vince Mendoza. In the liner notes, co-producer Larry Klein describes the album as â€Å"a programmatic suite documenting a relationship from initial flirtation through optimistic consummation, metamorphosing into disillusionment, ironic despair, and finally resolving in the philosophical overview of acceptance and the probability of the cycle repeating itself†. A limited run of copies were released on February 8, 2000, in special chocolate-box packaging for Valentine's Day, including several lithographs of original Mitchell paintings. Many of these were returned to stores as the CD holder in the box would not reliably hold the disc and copies often arrived scratched. A regular jewel-case edition was released on March 20, 2000. Both Sides Now is also available on DVD-Audio. As of December 2007, the album has sold 323,000 copies in the United States. On the concert tour tie-in to this album, Mitchell performed the songs in the same sequence, but opened with an overture, â€Å"Nuages† — the first movement from Nocturnes, an orchestral suite composed by French composer Claude Debussy. â€Å"Nuages† means â€Å"clouds† in English. While the music certainly sets a romantic mood, the usage of this piece can be seen as a clever pun, since Clouds is also the name of the album on which the song â€Å"Both Sides, Now† made its original appearance. Both the album and the title song are featured in the film Love Actually (2003). *The picture on the upper left was the cover of Joni’s album, â€Å"CLOUD. REACTION I think this song means that people have different perceptions of what love and life are all about when they're children as opposed to when they're adults. When we were children, we saw love as a fairytale, hence the line: â€Å"Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way you f eel, as every fairytale comes real; I've looked at love that way. † But when we became adults, we realized that love is NOT a fairytale, thus the line: â€Å"But now it's just another show. You leave 'em laughing when you go, and if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away. Love and life can be painful, and children don't see that. They see love and life as a fairytale. It possibly means also that, there is no correct answer when it comes to fragile things like love and life. They are too big and meaningful to be summed up by anything. There are certain things in life you can never learn about from a book or from other people, like this song suggests life and love; you have to experience them, because they are different for every person. We'll never understand everything. You can be an idealist, or you can be a cynic, but you're silly if you think you understand it all.