Joni Mitchell-California (BBC)

[erocha06]

Too! perfect pitch! She sings a lot. His voice is melodious and beautiful!

- Eliane (Manaus Amazonas, Brazil)

[DeliciousDROC]

I'm the greatest rapper eva and I luh it

[ceece85]

cant get enough of her. She is amazing

[KrystlelovesDave87]

Great, great song!! Despite having been a product of the 80s, I feel like my heart belongs to the 60s!! Ms Mitchell's artwork is just about as praisable as her music. Definitely worth checking out, guys!

[simbad909]

for someone so humble a talent so large, leaves others inspired.

[spottedliver]

Magical!

[yokehuatgoh]

she's before i was born.. is that a citar?

[klapchek]

@yokehuatgoh Its a dulcimer. There's another version of this performance on youtube with more of her talking before she sings... she talks about the dulcimer and the person who made it for her.

[nrb55]

Could she be any better? No! Amazing person, Amazing song.

[mermaidcafe1]

Love Joni Mitchell best singer songwriter ever in my opinion, she wrote some brilliant songs i don't have a favourite because it changes from day to day.

[ChiroQuacker]

joni mitchel dumps her baby so she could pursue a career

42 years later joni meets her daughter for the first time

a few years go by...joni slaps her daughter in the face

the cops are called...they take the report but the daughter doesnt press charges

now joni is pushing 70...no spouse, no children or grandchildren in her life

but she has her smokes..he beloved tobacco and some pets

shes a loner...and cheap

she has a 9 million dollar home in southern cal but she wouldnt help her daughter

[DiceyJJ]

shes freakin young here

[wagz420]

2 amazing canadians = JONI + NEIL YOUNG.. also alanis morissette is great singer

[StefanR10]

Remeber me to Phantom Planet California

[shelleshockxx]

This straight up made me cry. So good.

[tinysand1]

I watch this at least once a month. Its makes me happy.



[pbr2424]

I would bet my house no one could write and preform such a song now days. Makes you appreciate her all the more. Thank You.

[dfly47]

4:17 Peter Green in the audience, the legend came to watch another legend perform...

Can´t stop listening to this...

[rtt123ant]

Literally can't stop watching this! :)

[VanessaCArthur]

I'm a puddle of love right now, thank YOU Joni Mitchell

[Amandersonish]

WHAT is in her lap and HOW can i get one!!!

[peacemonger1967]

@Amandersonish Appalachian dulcimer

[SweetJaneofGoth]

Like she totally forgot about the crazy California cops beating up everybody who is unemployed.

[bundeskanzlerinIslam]

So this is the legendary Joni Mitchell? She deserves the fame ...

[bettydaw1970]

116 parisians dont like this song....

[KellyRiddellMusic]

I'm amazed at how she hits those high notes so flawlessly. It really makes it look so easy.

[Srdfilms]

@mollywolly319 It's a Dulcimer

[Kl2382]

Makes me smile,i can relate!!!!!!Free Spirit!!!!

[wildmthyme]

So Beautiful...Thank You!



[MigelSound]

Favourite singer of Marcus :D

[shiroosh23]

today I heard this song for the first time.

after hearing this angelic voice, this incredible melody, it's very very hard to come back and hear Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and any other pop music shi-...

[wincanton2]

Joni Mitchell a true great, along with Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Sandy Denny & a few others, showed that the mid 60s through to the 70s was a golden era for female singers. I afraid some of the singers of the last few years just ain't good enough in comparison to polish their boots. Today its all about the look / fancy film clip & hype...

[agustinamar2]

LOVE AND LOVE

[cdoggs01]

she is so talented



[Jmsutton10]

111 dislikes?!??



[karlkrieger]

@Jmsutton10 114 now! WTH! Those people are not going to California!

[cejbabe]

I was born in the wrong generation, this is the music I want.

[katieyoungmusic]

Joni Mitchell is just plain brilliant, she is my absolute favourite female Canadian musician of all time... even if the song is about California ;)

[Ccnicely]

love



[50GreenDodge]

So I gathered that the thing she's playing is a "dulcimer?" I have been on this earth 64 years come Monday (12/12) and that is the first time I've ever hooked up the word with the object.

There is a lot of irony in this song when the listener is in 2011 and the singer is 40 or so years back. That's about when California began its slide into the garbage dump. I've been visiting California since 1961, and I remember. That's why it's so heartbreaking to see what they've done to it.

[kingalthe1st]

@50GreenDodge California is still the greatest place on earth because hatred and ignorance are not welcome there. The wealthy have tried to destroy California and blame that on its compassionate population, but that's a lie. California will rise again to be the leader of this country in all areas: economics, education, social justice, culture, food, wine, natural beauty, etc. etc. Wait a second. It still is.

[notnicolajames]

I wrote a blog about this song of Joni's. It's my favorite song about coming home. notnicolajames . wordpress . com

[Slickster52]

Listening to this makes me wish I was back enjoying a tasty sandwich and a refreshing beverage with Joni. She sent me a box of energy biscuits last month and they're almost all gone. I wish people would laugh a lot more, but everyone's asleep. Maybe I'll wake them and tell them the truth. They won't like that. Joni is one for the ages. What are you talking about?

[KombiPode]

@Slickster52

Sure., well think of california as a dream then, there are still places like that but not when it was your home. I share your melancholy, The whole world is worse than it was, its all slid down the hole thanks to Israel. Today everyone still running around like headless chickens. "It was the jews, stupid" - Who did 911?

[peachkey]

I am now inspired to learn to play the dulcimer that's been sittin in the corner of my room for the past 2 years.

[moneyquickeasy]

What kind of instrument is she playing here?

[Jardismo]

@moneyquickeasy Appalachian Dulcimer ;)

[moneyquickeasy]

@Jardismo thanks

[rinocerantum]

@matahairi @potheadj very interesting, it has such a beautiful sound! i've never seen it before

[EffyWaves]

112 people can't recognize raw talent..

[fionaspencer8]

Every time she hits those high notes I want to cry, it's so friggin' beautiful!

[rinocerantum]

anyone know which instrument is that?

[matahairi]

@rinocerantum - I think it is a dulcimer?

[potheadj]

it is indeed an Appalachian dulcimer

[HollyLovelock]

Pure talent, pure genius, love her!

[nikkidane]

Voice of an angel. I listened to this song over and over. It has special meaning for those of us who lived the California experience in the 60s and 70s. It seems very meaningful at this Thanksgiving time, which is about coming home and reuniting with family. This song is ultimately about coming home again. "Will you take me as I am?". A very meaningful question for those of us who are Transgender.

[MultiBert07]

@nikkidane It is indeed a very special voice she has. As clear as a drop of rain.

I can only think of one other person that comes near to Joni (concerning voice), and that is Joan Baez.

Two angels. Two beautiful voices.

Two songs.

[KAngelWhimseyMiloK]

I love music like this there is no negative only positive and feel good kind of music.

[nikkidane]

Amazing!

[atfatw]

happy 75th boithday joany! of course you are alll wrinkly like a T-shirt thats been slept in too long and have grey hair and liver spots, but hey, you can't be young forever! wishing you and your daughter peace for 2011!

[Ninjalectual]

I almost clapped at the end too!

[bryantitus]

amazing live performance ... I'm so blown away right now.

[Messyallday]

Sorry if this has been mentioned, but that was Peter Green, was it not, applauding at the end?

[alyssadigno]

what is that instrument that she's playing? I want it!

[IRobinson44460]

@alyssadigno

That instrument is an American Appalachian Dulcimer. They usually have four strings tuned C-G-G-G or D-A-A-A. The two strings closest to the musician play the melody while the other two strings drone. The scale is 7 notes to the octave rather than the chromatic 12 note scale. Easy to play.

Other famous dulcimer artists include folksingers Jean Ritchie and Richard Farina and Cyndi Lauper (ie. Time After Time). Try a YouTube search.

Other

[IRobinson44460]

@alyssadigno

Also, if you want to hear more Joni Mitchell, check out her song "A Case of You" which is on the list at the right.

[alyssadigno]

@IRobinson44460 omg that's so cool! im so getting one, im serious.

[max123cromwell]

This Just Makes Me Smile

[owen2612]

I never heard of Joni Mitchell till now. Highlight of my month!

[kendrechsel]

@spiromilhouse She didn't say she went to a party with Franco.

[RachaelxRose]

Happy Birthday I love youu

[SuperPudface]

umm actually yeah todays music sucks large dick!

[cocoalump]

11/7/11 HAPPY 68th BIRTHDAY JONI.. PEACE

[nosnayack]

so many who criticize music of today already seem to have decided and judged and cannot explain in detail what artist they don' like and why. I was shocked the first time I heard eminem i was shocked but I realized I don't want politically correct art. People need to have freedom to voice their hate. Better they hate in words than violent actions. Years later his music would reveal he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by his step father. He is a rebel

[Ninjalectual]

@nosnayack So are you for or against Eminem?

[nosnayack]

Well like anything else you must look to find. people tell me rap isn't music but i

had to print out the lyrics and learn it to find out it's power. I am not of the ghetto,

or gangs but I like eminems not censoring himself and fifty cents lagging behind and going in front the beat. Get out of it what you can. people wanna say rap is all about gangs but it was white record company a and r men who signed them all.

[nosnayack]

brave, courageous as heady as she could be emotionally vulnerable as proud

as she could be graceful. I miss those days when i could anticipate more Joni music. But I am overjoyed to see pictures of her smiling with her friends and read jane fonda fascination with joni. I read every interview I could because there was no telling what she might speak of. Luck jane fonda. God bless Joni. Thank U.

[TMKchld]

@nosnayack Well said..."brave, courageous as heady as she could be..."she almost gave up her mind for her music.

[Ninjalectual]

@nosnayack What are you talking about? "Brave, courageous?" Do you know what those words mean?

[nosnayack]

I read once jimmy page claimed joni was all he listened to at home. I went out and got court and spark. From the first few chords on her piano I felt i was immersed in a world where everything was so different and test so right. i anticipated every release from then on. And had so many great works to discover

before court. Discovering joni made me a better man. A true artist.

[Catlovertea4]

You were our icon, Joni, and you were still one of a kind. It was this song that got me a friend to muster the money to head out across the states to that gold mine state - a great memory. Thanks, Joni.

[ONEVISION25]

Sin palabras. Uff hermoso precioso. Encantadora voz.

[ChannyCozy]

Im moving back to California, and this is perfect for me right now... :) Traffic, high taxes... none of that matters when the quality of LIFE is just so much better there... cant wait... to get home to California!!!!

[rafaelb1026]

Joni Mitchell is really underestimated as a guitarist well in this case as a string intrumentist , she really plays some beautiful melodies

[MrFlowerchild1990]

I hate it when people say the present music is not bad, that the taste simply changed. Well when people compare Joni to any current artist, she will always have better writing and music with just one simple instrument and no electronic help.

[Ninjalectual]

@MrFlowerchild1990 Why is "electronic help" a bad thing? I would say the drum machine and synthesizer have created a new generation of great music. We listen to sounds today that no one else has before, ever! Isn't that great?

[growltiger00]

Can someone tell me what this instrument is?? Sounds great but I've never seen anything like it before!

Thanks.

[wertrey]

@growltiger00 It's a small german zither

[risasb]

@growltiger00 Appalachian dulcimer, open-tuned in Joni's own special way.

[CommanderStan]

Joni is cool :)

[rickfeedtime]

gee Squididle...your de guerre is enuf for me to get it wrong...but joni mitchell isnt ever anything but right!!!!

[rickfeedtime]

hi squididdle...i love her way too!!

[MusicAllNight]

There are people in this world who will never see nor hear this. We should count ourselves among the lucky.

[Minamay10]

This woman is a genius!

[popizm]

inner beauty

[chalicethyrwn]

i have been a fan of joni mitchell since i first heard "woodstock" playing in a head shop/record store ages ago. she is still evolving and i am still a listener of her music.

[xXxjustgoCrAzY13xXx]

I have to agree with the music today sucks. A lot of "musicians" today have no real talent. Everything is autotuned and made to sound "better". People don't even write their own songs anymore. Sure culture has changed and people have changed. But they have also been brainwashed to think that what is on the radio is good music. Music today is terrible. Lyric wise and talent wise.

[rpentygeraets]

@xXxjustgoCrAzY13xXx of course whats on the fucking radio is shit, no one that likes good music would ever even start thinking whats played on the radio is any good. That doesnt mean there isnt any good music in any way

[Ninjalectual]

@xXxjustgoCrAzY13xXx Have you ever listened to music the radio doesn't play? There is so much top-notch, great music being made today you will never live long enough to listen to it all! It's all here on youtube

[ThoughtsFromTheMyst]

Society just isnt the same anymore :( Technology rules this planet.

[aexxxon]

I'm in love!

[UOENG270]

WOW, Music! Art! Expression! Hey Guys and Girls... try to find more,

Thank you Poster!!! Well done.

[FMNikoyo]

To the folks saying that music today sucks: I'd disagree. I think that music that's manufactured by Disney or other such record companies does suck, but for every huge yet revolting Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, or...well, you get the idea, there's also going to be a Feist, a Malajube, or even (hopefully!) a latter-day Joni Mitchell.

[samuelcmckee1]

I still love you joni 40 years on

[dodgerchicka]

I feel like I cld just listen to this song on replay forever

[tracedreyer]

Fearless, honest, and utterly endearing.

[therealplease]

@tracedreyer She sings music too.

[mwolley1]

Breath taking talent, Ms. Joni got me thru college

[jfj619]

Her gigle at the very end is priceless. Sheer joy at creating a musical masterpiece. No pretention, just grace.

[TroisCarres]

@fj619 You are absolutely right, she could be Joanna Newsome's mother, a kind of deep singularity off times, just a a very accurate sensility !

[MrSchiltz01]

this is the real one.Everything els e is ET`s fake.

[frdrcksncn]

Anyone know what the instrument she's playing?

[guywolff]

@frdrcksncn  Appalachian mountain dulcimer

[frdrcksncn]

@guywolff thank you so much! and yes, laura marling sort of mentioned it in an interview. thanks again, guywolff!

[rickfeedtime]

she is just the rightest and musical person of her way of saying what she does...a treat that is best tasted right where you find it (her),,,she is beyond good and any words that i could suppose to say...my hearing from a pre-blue session gives me awe and respect simply for her being...so so just good

[Josquinquin]

Gets me every single time..

[ausearthlove]

Keep playing



[nolovelost92]

Anyone who makes blanket statements like "todays music sucks" is a musical dinosaur and (most likely) a philistine.

Good modern music is almost entirely underground (and there is plenty of it).

Joni Mitchell wasn't exactly a chart topper was she?

[kuksugare88]

@nolovelost92 Well fuck it, I'm a dinosaur. I know there's good underground music - I'm in a band myself. But all I hear on TV and the radio is manufactured bile.

[12lookalike]

B For Butterfly - Photograph

[iCatful]

i cant stop listening to this. it's so fucking amazing <3 she is amazing <3

[geoffnotjeff14]

I used to have a bias against female singers, thinking that their voices always sounded produced, never from the soul. Then I saw Joni Mitchell's artwork on the cover of a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young album and a love affair began.

[777blinky]

catch PBS American Masters The Troubadors James Taylor/Carole King goes thru the artists who passed thru that LA club back in the 60s and how they took music including Joni's thru the times...mint show sit back and watch it

[bigmouthdogo]

I'm 40 years too young to have grown up with this, but it still speaks to me all the same. Easy on the ears and soothing to the soul

[tremoloheart]

absolutely beautiful! joni mitchell, the very definition of legend.

[juliobell]

It's that true ;-) Remember the song for years ago.

[vanepiscis16]

No me canso de escucharla

Play Again and Again <3

[yashnakaul]

I love how she performs so effortlessly. Thank you for sharing.

[musicbabylove1]

wow so charming!

[Verzola100]

This instrument is.....??

[NamelessMohawk]

@Verzola100

it's a dulcimer

[Verzola100]

@NamelessMohawk Thank you!

[MrWillieb83]

@Verzola100  it's a dulcimer

[guywolff]

@MrWillieb83  Appalachian mountain dulcimer

[guywolff]

Appalachian mountain dulcimer 

[acebodine]

Yes, I know. A friend of mine spent a night in jail in '68 because he protested the way the police on the Strip were dealing with a homeless person. I just thought it was an odd line.

[acebodine]

I, too found her little chuckle after she hits that preposterous low note at the end of "Taxi" very endearing. She is a brilliant songstress, composer, string player, person. That being said...."I'm gonna see the folks I dig; might even kiss a Sunset pig"?????????

[RobsterInEdmonds]

@acebodine "might even kiss a Sunset pig" back then, height of the hippie movement, anti-war, police were referred to as "pigs." She was feeling so good she thought she might even kiss a policeman working on Sunset Blvd. That's all, folks.

[toastandjam1967]

Cool instrument... but Joni's voice is an amazing thing all on its own! No need for ANY accompaniment with it, ever! She's one of a kind! And one of my country's treasures!

[Bethycakesable]

Is it true that Joni Mitchell grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan?? No wonder she loves warm California. ;O) I remember being 7 and singing Big Yellow Taxi while riding a bike and loving the way she would laugh at the end of that recording.

[wiggawiggum]

Bravissima!

[saoir]

Timeless . . . . .

[96marzie]

the look on her face when she first says california is beautiful!

[TheSquididle126]

when i was about three my mother showed me this video. i didn't get it. i thought the instrument was weird, it thought she had too big teeth, and an ugly dress. i thought she had a weird voice. now i fully appreciate it. i had grown up listening to disney channel music and now that stuff fully repulses me. i love her unique looks, her unique instrument. i love joni mitchell.

[CroneGrimalkin]

@TheSquididle126 If you lived in Appalachia like I do, you wouldn't think that instrument, a dulcimer, was at all "weird". Trust me, I met Joni a couple of times & she was always a very beautiful & gentle soul...the epitomy of what the 60s & 70s stood for. I'm glad your musical tastes have improved. I hope you have thanked your Mother since then.

[TheSquididle126]

@CroneGrimalkin your so lucky to meet her! she is a wonderful person. I wish i had lived in the 60's. and yes. i have thanked my parents many many times for leading me away from selena gomez and the like.

[WoodyGuthrieDemocrat]

@TheSquididle126 Most of us have teeth that are too big and dresses that at times not pretty enough. What can ya do?

[TheSquididle126]

@WoodyGuthrieDemocrat its true

[FMNikoyo]

My last trip to California, I actually listened to this as the plane came in to land at John Wayne. It was fucking beautiful, and framed the entire trip.

[LorenzoNW]

First time I watched Joni full screen on my new 27" iMac. Been listening to her forever but never watched her that close up. No wonder she can sing like that. She's completely immersed in the song!

[jgariano3]

Super.

[10baroness]

Cool.

[yokehuatgoh]

... this is awesome... love it!!

[thisiswilson2]

102 really wanted to know what the trivia was.

[TiffBellaa]

you should stop saying that today's music is really bad because there was bad music in the olden days too, but only the good stuff gets remembered. today's music may be different, but there is still good stuff, maybe your style of music is from the past, but stop bashing modern music.

[100JamesX]

Wow shes amazing.. Love how unpredictable and sweet her voice is

Definitely studying her music sum time in the future

[MrsNatureLuver]

Great song...I always wondered if the "redneck on the Grecian Isle" was Ari Onassis?

[PattiLouise]

true, unending talent.

[thisiswilson2]

Canada.

[Srdfilms]

The instrument is called a dulcimer. There are different kinds. That one was made by one of Joni's friends in California.

South Park dude " die you hippies" Been there done that but I was resurrected by the music.

[tox488]

what's the name of the instrument?

[piellamp]

"die you hippies"

eric cartman

[m0j0b0ne]

@ JASONCAALEDONIA, she looked better nekkid. Anyhow, Joni's for listening, not lookin', same as Janis.You wanna look, google up some Grace Slick or Michelle Phillips.

[tgrunau]

Music USED to be about talent and heart. Today it's about looks and money. I doubt very much that Gaga or Perry could even name the instrument Joni is playing.

[JASONCALEDONIA]

Thats one homly lookin bizatch!