music I've been listening to recently

    Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Joni Mitchell. In 2022, she and Neil Young removed their music to protest the COVID misinformation being spread by the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Although admirable, her decision was very unfortunate for fans of her music like myself. At first I tried listening to her albums on Youtube, but eventually it became too inconvenient and I stopped listening to her music. I also tried listening to covers of her work, but if you’ve ever listened to Joni Mitchell you would know that it’s very difficult to replicate her sound. I do have a number of her records–The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira, and Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm–but they aren’t my favorite of her albums and I don’t always use my record player. 

    Luckily for me, Joni Mitchell’s entire discography returned to Spotify a few weeks ago. After two years without her music, it’s been nice to rediscover my favorite songs of hers. The first song I listened to after discovering her music was back on Spotify was “The Circle Game,” from her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon. This song is one of my favorites because it’s what turned me into a Joni Mitchell fan. In second grade I had to sing “The Circle Game” with my class, which prompted my dad to introduce me to some of Joni Mitchell’s other famous songs like “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Both Sides Now,” and “A Case of You.” 

    As I listen to Clouds, Blue, and Court and Spark, I remember what drew me to Joni Mitchell when I was little. One of the most impressive things about her as an artist is her incredible vocal range and the control she has over her voice. In “Woodstock,” for example, she hits delicate high notes with apparent ease before returning to a lower register. In addition to her voice, Joni Mitchell’s lyrics make her songs powerful and unique. Songs like “For Free” and “California” engage with the kind of poetic storytelling that’s often characteristic of her songs. Part of the reason I appreciate her music so much is because it tackles more than just love. In “For Free,” she sings about a man who is playing his clarinet in public for free. When she does sing about love, she tends to use interesting analogies and imagery. “River,” for instance, explains her heartbreak in terms of the escape she wishes she could make on a frozen river. 

    Beyond Joni Mitchell, I’ve been listening to a random collection of music. Whenever the seasons change I get the urge to find new music because I get tired of listening to the same songs over and over again. One album I’ve been playing recently is Cuts & Bruises by an Irish indie rock group called Inhaler. Although I wouldn’t say their music is especially groundbreaking, it’s easy to listen to and makes good car music. I’ve also been intermittently listening to an artist called Indigo De Souza. Aside from having really great album art, I like Indigo De Souza because she plays with sounds and layers them in a distinctive way. In a way that is very different from Joni Mitchell, she, too, experiments with her voice by sometimes singing and sometimes sing-shouting. Her music is kind of angsty, but many of her songs (like “Smog” and “You Can Be Mean”) are instrumentally colorful and thus interesting to listen to occasionally. However, I’m not sure I could listen to her music for a long period of time because the dense and vibrant instrumentals can get a little headache inducing.