This week, we’re looking at an icon.
Andrea takes the lead with Niall on support to delve into the life and distinguished music career of Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.
Mitchell has been in the news recently, and recently showed solidarity with Neil Young by taking all her music off Spotify, having appeared on the Grammys this past Sunday, one of her first appearances in public since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015.
Andrea looks at her beginnings and formative experience with adoption, her seminal album 1971 Blue, her forays into jazz and her ’80s period, along with a song in the early ’90s in which she directly addressed Ireland’s shameful Magdalene Laundries.
Mitchell proved herself to be a continuous counterculture artist, a musician who walked her own way and used her writing as a way to interrogate the world for herself, and others to understand.
And of course, there’s discussion of songs like ‘A Case Of You’, ‘Both Sides Now’ and ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ among many others.
Episode notes / references
Andrea’s own podcast – My Favourite Album
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
