Classical Musician's Reaction & Analysis: BOTH SIDES NOW by JONI MITCHELL

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Sir Hairless reacts to Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now"

As always, let me know in the comments of any songs or artists you'd like to see next, or anything else!

0:00 Preview
0:15 Intro
1:27 Reaction & analysis
21:21 Final thoughts

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#jonimitchell #bothsidesnow
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🔵 ATTRIBUTION 🔵

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[lesismor]

You’re so young. When I was in my early 20s I loved the earlier version. Now that I’m approaching 70, I can really relate to this version. It’s reality.

[lindafletcher]

The newer version of the song is so beautiful and heartfelt. One of my favourite songs by Joni is A Case of You

[mitchrobinson]

Joni Mitchell is one of the greatest singer/songwriters in musical history.

[critterwatcher]

I prefer the older Joni version. The interpretation hits differently when you're on the 'other' side of life. I'm a little younger than Joni, but I am looking back on the road not taken, not so much with regret (because life has been pretty good to me), but with the introspection of what might have been and how things might have been different. During my prime, I probably would have thought this a bit maudlin. But now with many fewer years ahead than behind, it becomes clearer that I really don't know clouds, love or life at all. It's all a bit more 'disorganized' chaotic and random - like the orchestra.

[cattsunn]

When she was young her voice was pure and sweet. Her new voice brings the weight of the years and the depth of the soul coming near to end. Two totally different people sang these songs. I am sure when she was 21 she would not have dreamed of how she would perform this 60 years later. Thank you, you always bring new thoughts to mind. Not surprisingly I like the new version better. I never liked this song much when young, I preferred her Blue album. But, she won me back over to this song with her new voice.

[zuzu_cerulean]

I've recently become a patron because the content you create is invaluable to me. Listening to music with you and "hearing it through your ears" is more like starting to develop a new sense than it is like learning a new language. I am not hearing-impaired, but having had no education whatsoever in music, I feel like I'm nearly music-deaf, if that makes any sense.

[WNYretiree]

Thank you. I had not heard this version. Being well along on the road of life, I appreciate the newer version for its evidence of life's expectations and disappointments.

[janeramirez]

Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez--the voices of my teen years. I love @dorothyrosenberg1301's comparison of this song to Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt, " although the analogy breaks down when I try to imagine a younger, lighter version of that song! The feeling is the same, though. In each case, we hear a great artist whose voice is both weakened and enhanced by age, and we sense that they are telling us something very important that we can't quite grasp yet. This is a remarkable performance. Thank you. I really appreciated your use of clips from the original song in your analysis.

[dorothyrosenberg]

When this song was first released, it was one of the favorites of the young man who became my husband. Joni Mitchell’s high voice, combined with my aversion to the sing-songy feel of that version, didn’t touch me. This performance is much more meaningful to me now that my (and my husband’s) life is ending. Like Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt, ” this rendition’s importance will change for the listener as they learn the other side of clouds, love, & life. May your understanding of that other side leave you laughing.

[WingsDragonfly]

This had a curious effect on me as a senior woman.
I sat under a tree with other fresh faced young adults listening to Joni at a folk festival in Toronto in 1969. Everything was important, full of intensity and excitement. There is now that sense of sadness, and irony. It now reminds me of Peggy Lee's Is That All There Is?

[karehelene]

Bittersweet is the perfect word for this. When they played it during a scene in Love Actually I was in tears.

[zuzu_cerulean]

At around 19 minutes in, you said, "there was one bit here with the violins where they rise up and then sustain a note. I'm thinking, 'Why is this here; why have they done that; what are the lyrics at this point?'' The lyrics at this point are 'they shake their heads and they tell me that I've changed." I felt like the sustained note sounded like the singer's perception of herself. "In living every day" with ourselves, we don't see the changes that occur over long periods of time. (Or perhaps acknowledging that at her core, she is still the same person?) In this metaphor, then all the moving sounds of all the other instruments are others' changing perception of the singer and time moving on.

At the very beginning, I was listening to the orchestra. I knew that you would talk about it, and that I wouldn't hear what you'd heard (see my other comment, around here somewhere, about being essentially "music-deaf" 😕) and to see if I could hear anything at all. To me, the sound was nebulous - absolutely perfect to accompany lyrics about clouds. I can't hear what you hear, let alone understand it and have the vocabulary to explain it to others, so my brain does what it can and creates images instead. It was fascinating for me to hear you describe the sound, because if you take out the words that specifically make the description aural, it seems like you could be describing the same visual I was picturing in my head -- that of a cloudy day with clouds in constant motion, with rays of sun shining through unexpectedly at times.

You said:
"There are a lot lines that we hear in the instruments that stand out on an individual level but when we merge them together it's like a structured mess or mass of sound."

Translating your soundscape to my images would be something like:
"There are a lot of clouds that we see in the sky that stand out on an individual level but when we look at the whole sky at once it's like a gauzy layer of clouds with some individual clouds visible but constantly moving and morphing into different shapes."

You then talk about hearing many individual lines, with three that are most prominent. Needless to say, I didn't hear any of that until you described it. It's like magic, honestly. I'm so grateful for what you do.

You said, "the music has just become a blur, it's just this constant moving and playing of sounds."
To me, "the clouds have become blurry, there is just this constant moving and changing of shapes, of light and shadow."

You have repeatedly astounded me with your ability to transcribe music that sounds almost infinitely complex to my ears. I haven't seen all of your videos, but this is the first time I've heard you say that "there's no chance on Earth I'd be able to transcribe this part for part, there's just way way too much going on." Sadly, I'm not an artist of any kind, but I imagine asking you to transcribe this note for note would be akin to asking a painter to paint an exact replica of a swirling mass of clouds in a windy sky.

I don't know if any of that made sense or if it was worth typing.

TL:DR = Thank you so much for opening up the world of music, and explaining how to interpret what you hear in a way that even a complete novice can understand.

[Drinckx]

Both versions are stunning. The exuberance of the original alongside this world-weary version. All her life experience is in this vocal, and then you have the stunning soprano sax solo by one of the greatest players in the history of music, Wayne Shorter. She has always played with great jazz musicians and this is no exception. Majestic.

[sonjadrussell]

I think appreciation for this version can only come with age and life experience.

[sandrak.robbins]

Thank you, it is so poignant to hear this now after all of these years. Joni suffered a brain aneurysm rupture in 2015. I am amazed that she came back to perform. Hearing this interpretation of such a reflective song of Joni's made me cry.

[anna]

I don’t have to read the lyrics, this is one I know by heart…

[chrissymoss]

Ha!! I was only talking about the earlier version yesterday, and here I am, being spoilt by you 😊
I feel this version is retrospective and reflective. To my untrained ears, I hear notes of reluctant acceptance, no apologies or explanations. Simply a sad acknowledgement of a life lived.
The music, to me, feels almost like the sounds a daydream would be.

Like you, I prefer the original earlier version. I love the clear determination and how in the "present" it sounds, almost as though she's making a statement.

[lesismor]

Moves me to tears every time I hear this version. Beautiful!

[TomLloyd-]

I bought this album when first released and I fell in love immediately. I used to come home from a hectic day at work - - pour a glass of Merlot, put this album on . . . and Unwind with Joni and those fantastic orchestral arrangements of classic covers. I'm just a few years younger than Joni . . . and I think I appreciate this version of 'BSN' as it is reflecting on time and having experienced the 'both sides" issues of clouds, love & life in general. Perhaps as you age Sir H... your opinion may evolve as well. Thanks so much for breaking it down with your expert technical analysis and reaction that we have come to appreciate.

[loveloochay]

🍁❄️🍁❄️🍁❄️🍁❄️🍁 Thank you for bringing this lovely version, I think I will listen to it a time or 2 .. now that I have heard the differences. It was a pleasant surprise Sir Hairless. I am in the second half of my life, and I can feel her intentions. This was nice .. ((. I like nice.))❄️🍁❄️🍁❄️🍁❄️🍁❄️🍁