I've been steeped in Miss Joni's music the last couple of months. There's something comforting about having her playing and singing in the background that makes me feel safe and uplifted. I like how she flows from jazzy to so personal and stripped down that you feel she's in the room with you, then back to jazzy again. Her voice soars and lilts and she laughs and phrases a lyric like no one else can. I have loved her for years. My favorite albums are Blue and Court and Spark and I'm a bit embarrassed that I have heard only about half of her deep discography. Then about a month ago a friend posted this video of a guy deconstructing the song Amelia from Joni's album Hejira. I'm not a musically trained person so I find it fascinating when someone who is can explain to me why I like what I'm hearing. Then I had to buy a copy of Hejira. Because I didn't have it and I love Joni Mitchell. And now I have a glimpse into understanding why she appeals to me so much. I'm sad that she hasn't toured since 2000 and I likely will never get to see her perform live. YouTube has lots of vintage footage of her in concert and those are fun to see so I console myself with that and the CDs in my collection. Every once in a while when I'm singing along with her I nail one of her signature trills in a particular song and experience true elation. In fact, on a recent Sunday morning I was doing the crossword and listening to Blue and occasionally joining in. My son ducked his head around the corner and saw me with my nose buried in the puzzle book. He asked whose music was playing and I responded. He shrugged and remarked casually, oh, I thought it was you singing. He had no idea he had just given me the best compliment ever.
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