First… an apology. I know lots of YHT posts these days boil down to writing about writing — getting the word out about pieces of mine that are published here and there. Interviews and longer articles have definitely been keeping me typing, which is good. I guess that’s more of an acknowledgement than an apology. If you’re reading this, I am exceedingly thankful for your companionship and your help in keeping the blog life alive.

Second… more writing about writing! I had to pass along a link to Lindsay Zoladz’s Ringer article about Joni Mitchell titled “Fear of a Female Genius.” It’s such a powerful and inspiring portrait of a powerful and inspiring person. The force of her individuality comes through in ways that I hadn’t understood or heard about before, and the very end is so touching. Prince is involved. You’ll feel feelings, I promise.

There’s also a fascinating description of how she came to write “Both Sides Now,” the last song on her Clouds album from 1969. I love Blue deeply, but Clouds may be my favorite Mitchell album to play at home, in part because my mother-in-law told me at one point that Clouds was THE jam on her dorm’s hallway at Wheelock College back in the day. I even made a habit of spinning it whenever she visited. A couple of years later, she politely told me she’s not actually the biggest Joni Mitchell fan. Oops.

Still, Clouds was the first thing I reached for when I decided to embark upon a Joni binge with Zoladz’s piece in the front of my mind. “Both Sides Now” describes knowing and not knowing — how experience can paradoxically drive home the limitations of your perspective. That’s certainly how I feel after reading what Lindsay Zoladz wrote. Apparently I didn’t know Mitchell at all.

Joni Mitchell — “Both Sides Now” [Spotify/iTunes]