DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at our impending election debacle can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith. We were blessed with Charles Bukowski, Gene Chandler, Lenny Bruce, Mitch Ryder and a legion of creative explorers whose influences provided the air we breathe. So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that our desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs!
DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
"CAPTAIN BILLY’S MAGIC 8 BALL" -SEASON TWO- EPISODE TWO - JONI MITCHELL- FEATURING THE ALBUM "THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS" IN HIGH DEFINITION - THE ENTIRE ALBUM WITH THE CAPTAIN'S MAGNETIC NARRATIVE -THE CAPTAIN EXPLORES HIS COVE OF 8 TRACK TREASURES!
THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS by Joni Mitchell (Asylum, 1975)
Hail, hail Joni Mitchell! A survivor with a roller-coaster history of adventures, both artistic and existential. She’s still standing, albeit with a cane - (Polio couldn’t fell her; an aneurysm? Piffle!) From folkie goddess who pierced her madrigals through with a brutal, autobiographical honesty, through her jazzbo period where challenging experimentations were offered with Amazonian bravado. After Blue, my favorite Joni record was Mingus, wherein she introduced me to an hitherto unknown (to me) bass maestro by way of a seamless collaboration. She was loved by many, but was impossible to control, so her romantic paths were marked with scorched earth, but the genius gentlemen left behind could only carry the torch in her name through the ensuing decades.
The Hissing of Summer Lawns was dissed upon its release, coming, as it did, on the heels of her biggest hit, Court and Spark, but is now recognized as a masterpiece. She’s spreading out here, sonically and vocally. Her fascination with jazz voicing, the impressionist lyrics, a Burundi Drumline, tasty samples and loops - it was all ahead of its time. But, then again, so was Joni.
