Mills, Blake

Subterms

    Latest story

    75 Shares169 Views

    Meet Joni Mitchell’s Joni Jam Crew

    by

    A cast of musicians, led by Brandi Carlile, joined the 79-year-old singer and songwriter onstage at the Gorge in Washington on Saturday.Allison Russell: clarinetist, singer and lyricist. Bethany Mollenkof for The New York TimesDear listeners,Consider this a postcard from Wenatchee, a small city nestled in the hills of central Washington. Out here, the blue highway signs that usually serve as mile markers instead display the types of apple trees you’re driving by: Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp. I made an eager pilgrimage to this corner of the world over the weekend (along with a bunch of other Joni Mitchell fans) to see Mitchell headline the Gorge Amphitheater at her first ticketed concert in more than 20 years.To call the show miraculous does not feel like hyperbole. In the review I wrote sleep-deprived in the middle of the night, I likened it to seeing a bird in the wild that you thought had gone extinct. Days later, I can’t think of any other way to describe it.After Mitchell’s near fatal brain aneurysm in 2015, I doubted we’d ever hear her sing again at all, let alone hit some of those rich, resonant notes in songs like “Amelia,” “The Circle Game” and “Carey” on Saturday night. Those videos of her surprise appearance at last year’s Newport Folk Festival were certainly something. But the so-called Joni Jam at the Gorge was proof that she’s spent the last year — on the brink of turning 80, no less — working hard to strengthen her voice. It was inspiring to behold.Like the Newport set, the Joni Jam was communal by nature, spearheaded by Mitchell’s friend Brandi Carlile and designed to have the feel of the musical gatherings Mitchell frequently hosts in her living room. That made the show feel relatively egoless: Though there were some headline-worthy names present, there were no dramatic, please-welcome-to-the-stage entrances or bowed departures. Everyone was onstage the whole time, either jamming, singing or listening intently.The different performers onstage spoke to the diversity of Mitchell’s influence: Annie Lennox, Allison Russell, Wendy and Lisa from Prince’s Revolution. Since I still can’t get the concert off my mind, I thought I’d celebrate that spirit of musical community by offering a kind of who’s who of the Joni Jam. Some names you’ll probably recognize, others you might not — all the more reason to give them a listen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find some fresh apples before leaving town.Listen along on Spotify as you read.1. Annie Lennox: “No More ‘I Love You’s’”Earlier this year, when Mitchell received the Library of Congress’s prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the great Annie Lennox gave a performance of “Both Sides Now” that brought something entirely new out of that song. Seriously, just watch it. The dramatic finger-pointing! On Saturday night, Lennox honored Mitchell with a synthy, atmospheric cover of “Ladies of the Canyon,” similar to the version she recorded for a 2007 Mitchell tribute album. Lennox has long been a great, fluid interpreter of other people’s material: For the longest time, I didn’t even know that “No More ‘I Love You’s,’” the leadoff track from her 1995 album “Medusa,” was a cover. But it is, and Lennox lifted a wonderful 1986 song by the Lover Speaks out of semi-obscurity with this passionate rendition. As ever, she has taste. (Listen on YouTube)2. Allison Russell: “The Returner”Onstage, when she accompanied her for a rendition of “Young at Heart,” Mitchell called the Americana artist Allison Russell “the most beautiful clarinet player ever.” But she’s a heck of a singer and lyricist, too, as this uplifting title track from her upcoming second album “The Returner” attests. (Listen on YouTube)3. Sarah McLachlan: “Sweet Surrender”Just a very underrated single from Sarah McLachlan’s multiplatinum “Surfacing.” Put some respect on Sarah McLachlan’s name! (Listen on YouTube)4. Blake Mills: “Skeleton Is Walking”Mitchell’s Gorge performance of “Amelia,” from her singular 1976 album “Hejira,” was a highlight for me — not only for the lushness of her vocals, but because of the musician and producer Blake Mills’s faithful accompaniment, on Mitchell’s own guitar. There’s a precise kind of spaciousness to the guitar phrasings on “Hejira,” and Mills did an excellent job recreating them. You can hear more of his nimble guitar work on the ambling, psychedelic solo he noodles over the back half of “Skeleton Is Walking,” from his forthcoming solo album, “Jelly Road.” (Listen on YouTube)5. Lucius: “Go Home”Although they dress onstage like fraternal twins, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig are not even sisters. Judging by their tight, soulful harmonies, though, you’d almost swear they were. The duo are prolific backing vocalists, and in their Joni Jam appearances they’ve nailed that almost Andrews Sisters-esque harmony that Mitchell often employed on her folkier albums. They let loose with something a little rawer here on a standout track from the 2014 Lucius album “Wildewoman.” (Listen on YouTube)6. Brandi Carlile: “The Story”“Joni hasn’t always felt the appreciation that exists amongst humanity for her,” Carlile said in a CBS News interview right after the Newport performance. “But I wanted her to feel that.” Carlile’s friendship and support have been crucial to Mitchell’s return — onstage, she clearly knows how to make Mitchell feel relaxed and at home (sometimes literally: the Gorge set evoked Mitchell’s living room). Let’s raise a glass (or bottle) of pinot grigio to Carlile, or just let her classic 2007 hit “The Story” rip. (Listen on YouTube)7. Prince and the Revolution: “Purple Rain”Speaking of stories, Wendy Melvoin told a great one at the Joni Jam: Apparently Mitchell came to a Prince concert on the “Purple Rain” tour, and Prince wanted to invite her onstage to sing the title track. But she told Prince she didn’t know the words! (Imagine.) It’s easy, he told her: it’s just “Purple rain, purple rain, purple rain.” I may never hear this song again without picturing this exchange. (Listen on YouTube)No regrets, coyote,LindsayThe Amplifier PlaylistListen on Spotify. We update this playlist with each new newsletter.“A Who’s Who of the Joni Jam” track listTrack 1: Annie Lennox, “No More ‘I Love You’s’”Track 2: Allison Russell, “The Returner”Track 3: Sarah McLachlan, “Sweet Surrender”Track 4: Blake Mills, “Skeleton Is Walking”Track 5: Lucius, “Go Home”Track 6: Brandi Carlile, “The Story”Track 7: Prince and the Revolution, “Purple Rain”Bonus TracksAfter I wrote about my earliest favorite songs in Friday’s newsletter, a bunch of you wrote in to share your own stories. I appreciated every single one of them, but I admit that this one may have been my favorite:“Our son, who is a couple years younger than you, used to like to sing the chorus of ‘Loser’ by Beck at the top of his lungs in public places like grocery stores when he was 3. We got a lot of strange, disapproving looks.” More

    More stories

    • 113 Shares159 Views

      in Music

      The Weeknd’s Disco Fever, and 9 More New Songs

      by

      Hear tracks by Aventura and Bad Bunny, Guns N’ Roses, Aimee Mann and others.Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new songs and videos. Just want the music? Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes). Like what you hear? Let us know at theplaylist@nytimes.com and sign up for our Louder newsletter, a once-a-week blast of our pop music coverage.The Weeknd, ‘Take My Breath’What would Barry Gibb do? The disco thump, electric piano chords and call-and-response falsetto vocals in “Take My Breath” hark back to vintage Bee Gees by way of a Max Martin production. But leave it to the Weeknd to sketch a creepy bedroom scenario: “Baby says take my breath away/and make it last forever.” He seems to shy away from strangulation — “You’re way too young to end your life,” he warns — but the chorus keeps coming back. Maybe it’s a Covid-19 metaphor. JON PARELESAventura and Bad Bunny, ‘Volví’“Volví” is the kind of mythical collaboration first theorized in group chats and Twitter threads, written about in all caps. This is the world’s greatest bachata boy band and Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, after all. The dream comes to life with a bachata-reggaeton hybrid that bursts with late summer joy. But it also contains the slow-burning envy of bachata: familiar themes of jealousy and possession, the kind of toxic melodrama that makes the genre so addictive in the first place. ISABELIA HERRERAGuns N’ Roses, ‘Absurd’And to think you spent the last week theorizing about Limp Bizkit. Here is the real text to decode: “Absurd” is the first single from Guns N’ Roses in more than a decade. It’s amped-up and nervy, a lightly filtered version of the speedier mayhem that first made them famous. Axl Rose sounds a little bulbous, but all around him, things are moving exceptionally quickly. JON CARAMANICANelly featuring Breland and Blanco Brown, ‘High Horse’As surely as Nelly brought Midwest melody to hip-hop and seeded more than a decade of imitators, he did the same in country music, thanks to his “Cruise” remix with Florida Georgia Line. His Nashville inheritors have been rapper-singers, Black artists who are beginning to find success close to the center of the Nashville mainstream. Here, Nelly teams up with a couple of them, Breland and Blanco Brown, and all together, these three country performers — to varying degrees, but all sincere — somehow arrive at pristine disco-country. CARAMANICAIsabella Lovestory, ‘Vuelta’A pair of light-up platform stilettos and a bubble gun make appearances in Isabella Lovestory’s “Vuelta” video, helping turn a minimalist clip into a hyperpop dream. Lovestory’s lyrics are all singsong playground rhymes: “Baby, I’m lonely/Why don’t you hold me?/All I want to do tonight is dance.” The track is simple but coy, enough to remind you of the joy that Y2K girl groups like Dream and in-store soundtracks from Limited Too brought you back in the day. HERRERALakou Mizik and Joseph Ray, ‘Bade Zile’“Bade Zile” is a traditional Haitian voodoo song that calls to spirits. It gets an electronic update on “Leave the Bones,” an album-length collaboration by Lakou Mizik, a band from Haiti whose long-running project has been to preserve traditional songs by modernizing them, and the producer Joseph Ray, who shared a Grammy as part of the dance-music group Nero. Men and women toss the traditional chant back and forth, then unite and echo; hand-played percussion rides a four-on-the-floor beat, and the energy multiplies. PARELESRed 6xteen, ‘Armageddon’The Dominican drill artist Red 6xteen unleashes “Armageddon” with a cadence that lies low to the ground. But it doesn’t take long for her to stunt: Her voice mutates into squeaky, high-pitched taunts, only to transform into a breakneck dash. An orchestral outro finds her meditating on loyalty and her place in the game. The two-and-a-half minute track functions like an exhibition of Red’s potential, a promise to infuse Dominican hip-hop with the edge it needs. HERRERABrian Jackson, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge, ‘Baba Ibeji’In the American musical record, the composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Brian Jackson has been too easily overlooked. As the other half of Gil Scott-Heron’s musical brain throughout the 1970s, Jackson helped create some of the most lasting (and perpetually relevant) music of that era. But since he and Scott-Heron parted ways in the early ’80s, Jackson has rarely put out recordings of his own. When Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge started their Jazz Is Dead project, a series of collaborations with elder musicians, they sought out Jackson first. The fruits of that 2019 session have now been released as “JID008,” a short album of instrumental pieces, all composed collectively, carrying hints of Miles Davis’s “Bitches Brew” and “Get Up With It” sessions, and of more recent work by the guitarist Jeff Parker. On the buoyant “Baba Ibeji,” whose name refers to a pair of holy twins in the Yoruba religion, Jackson’s Rhodes shines with the same quiet magnetism that defined it half a century ago. Nothing’s overstated; close listening is rewarded. GIOVANNI RUSSONELLOAimee Mann, ‘Suicide Is Murder’The warmth of waltzing piano chords, supportive cellos and “ooh”-ing backup vocals accompanies Aimee Mann in “Suicide Is Murder.” But her lyrics are clinical and legalistic, considering the physical practicalities and weighing “motive, means and opportunity”; instead of proffering sympathy, she coolly reminds a listener that a suicide is a “heartless killing spree.” PARELESAmelia Meath and Blake Mills, ‘Neon Blue’Amelia Meath’s quietly confiding voice usually gets cleverly minimal electronic backup as half of Sylvan Esso. Working instead with the guitarist and producer Blake Mills, she’s backed by brushed drums and syncopated acoustic guitar, along with electronic underpinnings and what might be horns or simulations, in a waltz that conjures the elusive allure of a smoky bar crawl. It’s the cozily experimental first release from Psychic Hotline, a label run by Sylvan Esso with its manager. PARELES More