I love your description of that attic. Why do any of us move out of those shabby rooms?

How wonderful too to feel “mellow, hopeful and unattached.”

Lovely though the world has been since, there was something very special about those days which Joni Mitchell put into a bottle for us.

I am, in the interests of propriety, not going to comment about you bathing that guy with the broken leg. I can confess to a mild ripple of jealousy though.

I must have about 9 or 10 of her albums but I don’t actually HAVE them at the moment. A few years ago I leant them to my then friend who makes beautiful stained glass and her slightly whacky partner who was trying make audio speakers out of toilets, using faux fur as some sort of softening device.
He took a liking to the way Joni Mitchell sounded on the radio and for some reason I leant him all my stuff! I can’t believe I did that now – it’s years ago.
I see my friend from time to time around town and very very occasionally we might mention the records but I’ve never had them back and I feel sort of self conscious about going to collect them since they live so remotely, I couldn’t just be passing.
We don’t have the means to listen to vinyl at the moment but your talking about Hejira reminded me.. I have that album.
Since fur lined toilet speakers haven’t become all the rage, my guess is he’s moved on.
I wonder whether it was after he broke his leg and I was there when he had a bath – maybe that was when the deal was struck.

I’ll have to try and get them back!

The music, for me, is for drifting about across the fields feeling a bit mellow,hopeful and unattached. it’s music for ‘in-between’, I think I listened to it the most between my degree and starting my training – so when I was being dreamy in Devon and mixed up in London.

It’s nice to remember the songs.

I kept thinking I know that quote but couldn’t place it!

I was listening to Strange Boy only yesterday too.

Can I blame the brain damage please?

I have just listened to Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter. My virgin hearing.
Amazing…complex…and inspiring.

It is so weirdly relevant to my thoughts at present. Now I have so much to take in….I will try to write about it when I have heard it a few more times.

Thank you, man, for opening my eyes to all that stuff in there.

Go back to your supernaturally comfortable couch, lie back and give another listen to “Strange Boy.”

And I’m hardly the world’s expert–just a devoted acolyte.

Enjoy Don Juan, my friend…

Can I introduce Anatole, the World’s expert on Joni Mitchell!

I don’t know the James Taylor version and now I feel totally humbled about even trying to comment on Hijera.

I am about to play Joni Mitchell’s album Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter for the first time on your recommendation so I think, Anatole, the crown is your’s.

It would be good to hear more about M/s Mitchell from both of you gentlemen.

Personally, I cannot get enough of it – if you see what I mean!

So over to you.

Have you heard James Taylor’s cover of “River?” I’m a Mitchell purist like Wolf, but it’s quite touching…probably because he’s accepting blame for inspiring the song in the first place.

I have heard that Renee Fleming crossing over is much better than you would think so I believe you.

I am just too committed to Joni Mitchell though to want to hear anyone else singing her stuff.

I am told that Renee Fleming manages to repress her operatically produced sound really successfully. Certainly when I have heard her being interviewed she seems refreshingly “normal” about these things so good luck to her.

I think Anatole has seen through me though – I am, I guess, going through a period of digging up memories of earlier days – and pretty selective ones too – ones that seem to be telling me something about my life now.

Yay!

I loved the description of the room – it sounded like the aspirations of my student days, when a bottle of Bull’s Blood was seen as the height of sophistication.

I wish I could do ‘wild’ – I think I’m getting stuck in ‘dotty’, although there are worse things to be.

I’ve just got over a not-too-serious cold – so the whole house smells of Olbas Oil.

You have spotted something there Anatole.

Wild seems increasingly good to me.