I recently discovered I am still capable of writing a good paper – success! It’s pretty obvious to me that I’ve let some of my formal writing skills deteriorate because I’m focused on music music music all the time, so I was happy to find that I still can work my way through an essay!
I really enjoyed writing this paper on one of my favourite artists, Joni Mitchell. Her album, Blue, continues to be one of my all-time favourite albums. The honesty of Mitchell’s lyrics – her inherent ability to communicate the human experience – has always fascinated me. She is often self-deprecating – so yes, I can relate haha – and if you have me on facebook, I’m probably quoting her lyrics in my status. Sorry if that’s annoying!
In this paper, I was discussing how the dawning of the singer-songwriter genre opened up a level of vulnerability in music that previously had been shut out. In a wonderful book, written by Michelle Mercer, which talks in depth about Blue, it is mentioned that Joni played the songs from this album in front of a group of her songwriter friends – including Neil Young and Kris Kristofferson- and Kris exclaimed, ‘Jesus, Joni. Keep some of that to yourself.’ It is this level of personal exposure – laying your bones bare – that I think is special in her music, along with her inventive tunings and natural musical sensibility.
So, here’s how the paper went down. It’s not my best, but it’s not half bad either!
Cheers,
K.
‘Splitting open the self’: The role of the singer-songwriter genre and Joni Mitchell’s Blue in creating intimacy in music
The singer-songwriter genre, started in the late 1960s as a branch off the typical folk song blueprint, uncovered a part of the music industry that had previously only been hinted at – that of using music to “turn inward to communicate very personal experiences and feelings” (Charlton, 2011, p. 140), about an individual artist’s own life and relationships. Songwriters of this period were also notable for the way they “returned poetry to its roots” by emulating troubadours, “[who] sang their verses as tuneful metaphysical conceits” (Mercer, 2009, p. 92), and applying this style to modern songwriting. Branching off the styles of such artists as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, these artists were “defined less by political songwriting” (Mercer, 2009, p. 36), than by a “splitting open of self” (Mercer, 2009, p. 23) in their music. A main proponent of this movement was Canadian singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell. Fueled by an “unaffected impulse to express” (Adria, 1990, p. 66), through the use of poetic lyrics and sparse arrangements, Joni Mitchell’s album, Blue (Reprise, 1971) shows how this genre enacted a shift from music as entertainment to music as a form of honest self-expression, and a means of catharsis.
As a songwriter and musician, Joni Mitchell, born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7th, 1943 (Adria, 1990, p. 66), has tried almost every genre available, and “demonstrates a visual imagination…and an ability to attain a deep and personal lyric” (“Joni Mitchell”, 2011) that is unrivaled. In fact, since the beginning of her career in the 1960s, she has produced fifteen original albums, released concert albums, and collaborated with such great musicians as Charles Mingus (Whitesell, 2008, p. 3). Yet, there is something transcendent about her work on Blue (Reprise, 1971).
In interviews, Joni herself describes Blue as “partly a diary” (Mercer, 2009, p. 22), as well as “her best [album] because it reveals her emotions nakedly” (Adria, 2011, p. 66) for the listener to both judge and enjoy. Joni’s lyrics are almost literary, often employing the use of literary devices like metaphor and simile. For example, in the title track off the album, Mitchell “portray[s] a contemporary human relationship in terms of romanticized seafaring imagery” (Whitesell, 2008, p. 49), comparing herself to a ship that has “been to sea before”, needing to be anchored before it drifts away.
In contrast, the song “All I Want” on Blue can be seen as an “exuberant, high-strung search for something” (Mercer, 2009, p. 23), which displays Joni’s ability to depict a range of common human emotions with great poetic impact. She begins frantically, for the character is “on a lonely road”, and they are “traveling, traveling, traveling, traveling, and even the simple repetition of this last word creates a feeling of tension for the listener. The revelation of “dawning self-knowledge” (Mercer, 2009, p. 25), and “lyrical admissions that love can be tainted” (Mercer, 2009, p. 24) in “All I Want” are instantly relatable for a listener. Joni, along with other songwriters, unites the role of poetry, mainly to “twist and turn public language to reveal interior truths” (Mercer, 2009, p. 94), with the ‘separate’ role of songs, which reveal more universal truths, by turning the mirror of music inwards. In revealing the depths and fluctuations of the human experience, Joni’s lyrics, though not always consciously lyrical, unite listeners through the revelation of many interior truths.
This unity is evident based on the popularity of the song “River”, because it depicts a character who is “selfish and sad”, and ironically miserable at Christmas, which is considered the happiest time of year. This return to interiority , showing a self-loathing and misery juxtaposed with the joy of the holidays, demonstrates how songwriting from this time allowed a deconstruction of self, in stark contrast to the self-aggrandizing popular songs that came before.
Along with lyrics, songwriters further create a feeling of intimacy through the use of sparse instrumentation and arrangements, which showcase a raw vocal quality. Joni Mitchell’s Blue was recorded in an insular way, with the studio doors locked, since Joni was in a very fragile mental state. Her usage of “spare and simple arrangements [and] melodies”, often played in inventive open tunings, helps to communicate the emotional trauma Mitchell faced at the time, including feelings of loneliness as a result of failed relationships, hypersensitivity, and disturbing dreams about people in poverty (Mercer, 2009, p. 120-121). A prime example of these stripped arrangements is on the track “My Old Man”, where Mitchell plays the piano “sensitively and without artifice” (Adria, 2009, p. 69), which sets a melancholic tone and evokes empathy for the character of the song. Similarly, the simplicity of the ragged plucked guitar on “A Case of You” helps to showcase the fragile lament of a woman in love. Even on the closing track of the album, “The Last Time I Saw Richard”, Joni “does not shy away from vocal cracks or impurities” (Whitesell, 2008, p. 62) as she navigates her upper register. An example of Joni’s vocal quality can be heard at 2:31, when she asks, ‘when you gonna get yourself back on your feet’, with her voice piercing the consciousness of the listener.
Joni has said that her music “is not designed to grab instantly [and is instead] designed to last for a lifetime, to hold up like a fine cloth” (Whitesell, 2008, p. 6), and the resilience of Blue as an album is unquestionable. Artistically, Joni’s Blue has been quoted as an influence for musicians such as Madonna, Led Zeppelin, and Annie Lennox (Mercer, 2009, p. 114). Commercially, Blue “has sold 1.3 million copies in the United States” (Adria, 1990, p. 69), demonstrating how the honesty of the music found in the singer-songwriter genre remains popular with an audience spanning several generations. Listeners gravitate towards something that resonates with them – something they can hold onto – and the vignettes of heartbreak, longing, joy, lust, and depression on Blue give listeners ample opportunities to connect with Joni Mitchell on a personal and universal level. Blue, along with other albums from the singer-songwriter genre, “bring[s] a little more detail to pop lyrics [and] pair[s] [them] with more specific character and metaphors”, in an attempt to “grow up the American pop song” (Mercer, 2009, p. 96-97) into an artistic statement.
Breaking free from the conservative constraints of popular music, in which certain topics were censored or not discussed, singer-songwriters shifted the external focus of music to a process of self-inquiry. With Joni Mitchell’s Blue (Reprise, 1971), and with other albums from the songwriter period, listeners can “[ride the] cresting and falling waves to something like catharsis” (Mercer, 2009, p. 120), though the same cannot always be said for the songwriters themselves. Even though Joni Mitchell calls “the period of Blue’s recording…the unhappiest one of her life” (Mercer, 2009, p. 120), the process of baring and recording fragments of her soul forced Mitchell to face these emotions and search for personal clarity. This signals that as musicians and artists, individuals can feel free to see making music as a way to learn about one’s self, rather than a purely externally focused process. As Joni Mitchell’s songwriting demonstrates, it is possible to “[construct] art from such emotional turmoil” (Mercer, 2009, p. 115), and in doing so, this art can continue to enthrall listeners, and provide valuable opportunities for society to be united through a collective vulnerability.
among the garbage and flowers 