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Tom Taylor
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Surrealist comedian Bob Mortimer once said, “Sometimes, wouldn’t you just like to go and sit under a bridge in the country and listen to Neil Young or Joni Mitchell for a couple of hours.” Everyone would, and it is quotes like this that typify how Mitchell isn’t just an artists you like, she’s an artist you need.
Her music is the sort of beauteous boon that invokes beguiling pastoral scenes of meadows, wine bottles in wicker baskets, and general Middle-Classtonbury treasures. She brings wealth and warmth to the masses with sweet, gentle folk. However, there is a cutting side beneath all this wonder to the woman herself.
Nope, Joni Mitchell does not suffer fools gladly. She had to put up with a lot as she tried to break through the folk scene as a female back in the day, and that gave her a galvanised backbone that has bruised many egos over the years. She is, in short, the most punk-like pretty folk artist there is when it comes to her ‘my way or the highway’ attitude.
To commemorate this bruising quality of her otherwise sunny nature, we’ve collated a list of just some of the peers that she has feuded with or otherwise downright condemned over the years. From her obscure relationship with Bob Dylan to a rift-inducing encounter with John Lennon, these are the stars that Mitchell sees as clouds that only block the sun.
Five artists Joni Mitchell hates:
Bob Dylan
After initially arriving as an inspiration, Dylan became a contemporary and cohort with Mitchell. She admired his fresh outlook on folk greatly, openly stating that ‘Positively Fourth Street’ entirely changed her view on music—the confessional songstress knew in that moment that you could write about anything. And she has done so ever since.
However, at one point soon after embarking on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour together, it all went strangely sour. “We are like night and day, [Dylan] and I,” she said. “Bob is not authentic at all. He’s a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception.” While some were quick to point out the irony that Joni Mitchell also changed her name, many questioned why her opinion had changed so much over the years.
In 2013, her opinion didn’t seem to have softened at all. She said: “Musically, Dylan’s not very gifted; he’s borrowed his voice from old hillbillies. He’s got a lot of borrowed things. He’s not a great guitar player. He’s invented a character to deliver his songs … it’s a mask of sorts.” And perhaps worst of all, she said she hated sharing a microphone with him because he had rotten breath.
Judy Collins
Mitchell might have allowed Collins to cover ‘Both Sides Now’, but it didn’t pan out perfectly from her point of view thereafter. “I remember hearing something about Joni not liking my version of the song, but I couldn’t care less,” Collins humorously told Vulture. “I’m sure she feels that way about a lot of people who sing her songs. I’m sorry she didn’t have the hit, but I’m sure glad I did!”
While Mitchell has rightfully been credited as penning one of the most poetically beautiful songs ever written with ‘Both Sides Now’, Collins’ initial effort hit number three in the US charts and eclipsed Mitchell’s own eventual release. This sticking point was worsened when some people thought Collins had penned the masterpiece all along and a few carefree DJs failed to clarify that fact, much to the chagrin of Mitchell.
While Collins’ track helped to bring Mitchell’s young name closer to the mainstream, it would seem that the disparate commercial success of their respective versions has caused somewhat of a rift. “I think she’s a little jealous, but with her history of being this brilliant songwriter, she has no right to actually feel that way. She should just be saying, ‘Thank you, thank you, God. Thank you for my talent with writing all these other songs. I so appreciate everybody who records my songs because look how rich they’ve made me! And actually, Judy didn’t make a cent off this song,’ which is true,” Collins added.
John Lennon
When two prickly characters meet, someone is going to feel a spike. “When I met John Lennon, it was during his lost year in LA y’know,” Mitchell recalled of their clash. “That’s a class difficulty he had. He’s a working-class lad,” Mitchell explained. “I’m sure he had that same fight with George Martin because he was afraid that he was betraying his class. I know I’m going to get into hot water if I get into this but I have controversial opinions about him.”
“I watched this [English film], which was a roundup of the best musicians of the 20th century,” Mitchell continued. “As soon as it hit my era, the intelligence of it dropped considerably. When it came to me, this guy folded his arms and crossed his feet and said, ‘I never liked Joni Mitchell—she’s too twee.’ Well, that’s what John Lennon was like. It was that fear working-class people have of middle-class people.”
This made it clear that there was no love lost between the pair, whose meeting was notoriously stoney. However, Mitchell made even more enemies when she reflected that this was the result of a working-class complex.
Madonna
‘Hate is a very strong word’ is a phrase I remember being told often in my childhood. But when it comes to Madonna, Mitchell chose an even stronger denigration; she isn’t ‘Mad-on-her’ to say the least. “Music has become burlesque over the last few years — video’s done that. Every generation has to be more shocking than the last,” she said.
“But at a certain point, you’ve got to reel it in because decadence ultimately isn’t that hip. Our country is going down the tubes from it. It’s rotten to the core. And I think women can be more than decorative,” she explained while setting up her scathing insult.
“Yet someone like Madonna can be seen as a feminist hero because she’s exploiting her own sexuality rather than being exploited by some man. That’s an interesting idea, but what’s the difference between her and a hard hooker, you know? Who’s being exploited there? She’s revelling in herself, too,” she said. Before adding: “She’s got that whore-Madonna thing built-in [laughs]. She’s like a living Barbie doll but a little bit on the blue side. There’s always been that type of female. There’s always been a market for it, but the danger is that she thinks she’s a role model. And it’s a terrible role model. It’s death to all things real.”
Taylor Swift
The love-in between the ‘Both Sides Now’ songwriter and Swift is decidedly one-sided. Mitchell’s influence continues to reverberate throughout music, and today’s biggest pop star has often cited Mitchell as her hero.
However, when it comes to Swift, Mitchell thinks that inspiration is more akin to imitation. “I’ve seen her. Physically, she looks similarly small hipped and high cheekbones,” she said of the star. Later, revealing that she hasn’t cared to listen to her too much. “I don’t know what her music sounds like, but I do know this – that if she’s going to sing and play me, good luck,” she said with wry sarcasm.
However, it has to be noted that while this was a jab, there was a hint of truth to it and Swift’s development has someone softened Mitchell to her since. With Taylor covering her tracks, there is clearly respect running both ways here, even if one side of the road has a bit more traffic than the other, so to speak.
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Bob DylanHomepageJohn LennonJoni MitchellMadonnaTaylor Swift