Joni Mitchell: I'm better than Dylan but they snub me...

Thanks for sharing Ms. Mitchell. And for the record I'm even better than Joni and no-one will even go out of their way to snub me. And, Schubert? Romantic drek, I'm a Vivaldi man.

 

I stopped reading at the idiotic pejorative term "hater", used these days whenever someone's opinion differs, but couldn't help seeing the bolded line. Wouldn't that be 100% a matter of opinion?

 

There are lots of good points here.

One thing in particular is that the worship of some male songwriters (e.g. the greatest songwriter ever....) is pretty prevalent among critics (male dominant) and probably some fans.

 

Well, we could hold a gun to peoples heads and make them love Joni more than Bob, but..

 

Being the 'thread-starter' I'd like to point out that I own the entire Joni Mitchell discography (minus Shine and some anthologies) and I think that she's pure genius. Probably she would have given a different interview if speaking to an American journalist, just thinking...

 

Exactly, Dylan is a songwriter. But just watch the video of him trying to figure out how to sing three lines in "We Are the World". Not a hard song, but that made it painfully clear to me that he is not a musician. He can play his own music, but as far as being able to jump in and follow someone else's vision (the mark of a musician) and adapt, he falls woefully short. I was never a great fan nor detractor of Dylan's until I saw that.

Compare that to how Cyndi Lauper changed her line in that song in a few takes into the most memorable part of that recording. You can hear how the line evolves in her hands into this great, brassy, bluesy, from-the-gut musical statement. Everyone in the studio had their jaws on the floor, including Steve Perry and Quincy Jones. The behind the scenes videos are very instructive as to where the talent lies. And poor Stevie Wonder in the background trying to help old Bobby Z. along. Painful. It really made me scratch my head as to how he ever produced anything in the studio. Then again, maybe the pharmaceuticals got the better of him that day.

 

I was referring to the recent - and unfortunate - trend on this board to start threads simply to bash an artist.

 

You are using a song that a) Bob didn't write and b) Isn't in his comfort zone to begin with and c) was a one off deal. Ok... Not a good choice as an example to compare with Joni in my view, who by the way wasn't even on that song herself. And exactly what does Cyndi Lauper have to do with Bob, or Joni?? I had a friend try to compare an air conditioner to a blender once, but it really never really got off the ground.

 

Having Dylan at the We Are The World sessions was like asking Picasso to plaster a wall (Picasso obviously can't paint, he does squared faces)

 

As noted above, for someone with nothing to prove to anyone, she sure comes across as bitter every time she opens her mouth, and not just on the subject of Dylan.

 

Sorry, but Joni has turned into a grumpy old lady.

 

better.......possibly

not nearly as prolific though.

 

I love Joni, but better than Dylan? No.

 

They just something/anything to write about.

 

Bob Dylan was a major influence on popular culture during the '60s, produced a series of incredibly influential albums that inspired and blew the minds of rock's elite, and like Elvis, was a game-changer. For all of Joni's brilliance, she was none of those things. She should be confident in her own body of work and legacy and not have to resort to bitter swipes at a fellow legend.

 

I strongly disagree with this a lot, IMO.

 

I have an issue with any artist making the statement "I am better than [insert another artist]". I know most these people have (and need) healthy egos, but come on. We're talking about art, not who ran the quarter-mile faster.

 

Dylan has a reputation for being difficult yet I don't ever recall reading interviews where he berates other artists, on the contrary he often speaks with great respect and affection about other musicians. Mitchell on the other hand often comes across as bitter and pompous.

 

So you mean to tell me that in the 60's and 70's the male-dominated music establishment and the mostly male music critics valued a male songwriter's albums far more than that of a woman's?

Color me stunned.

 

Definition of musician- I think Dylan absolutely fits the first & I believe (you may not) fits the second as well:

"1. a person who makes music a profession, especially as a performer of music
2. any person, whether professional or not, skilled in music."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/musician

 

I do like that Dylan seems generous in his comments about other artists. But of course, it's easier to be generous when everyone says you're brilliant every time you fart. Just as it's easier to be resentful when decades of brilliance have been ignored (relative to dylan and other male legends).

 

Cranky or not, she's never been on my radar. Always found her music to be boring. Perhaps she only warrants the level of attention she gets.

 

She's become a bitter bore. She was great but how long ago was it?

Flirting with dementia?

 

Knowing that someone like Johann Sebastian Bach was 'snubbed' and pretty much ignored as a composer in his life time, these comments coming from Joni Mitchell strike me as somewhat vain and superficial.
Thankfully though, that doesn't stop me from enjoying her music which is great.

 

Dylan cranky? Don't recall him giving interviews dissing everyone else and building himself up. He has more class than that now. I like both of them, but anyone who thinks Joni is as big as Dylan is fooling themselves or delusional. Dylan is much bigger, always was and always will be. History will record it that way when his name will be in all the books (even the 8th grade history books) and hers will be in some of the books.