Joni Mitchell Quotes

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Joni Mitchell

Profession : Musician

Birth : November 7, 1943

I loved Debussy, Stravinsky, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, anything with romantic melodies, especially the nocturnes. Nietzsche was a hero, especially with 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra.' He gets a bad rap; he's very misunderstood. He's a maker of individuals, and he was a teacher of teachers.

Joni Mitchell

I see music as fluid architecture.

Joni Mitchell

I heard someone from the music business saying they are no longer looking for talent, they want people with a certain look and a willingness to cooperate.

Joni Mitchell

It's in my stars to invent; I was born on Madame Curie's birthday. I have this need for originals, for innovation. That's why I like Charlie Parker.

Joni Mitchell

I know my generation - a lot of them, they're getting old now, and they want to think back fondly, they want to kid themselves. A lot of them think, 'Yeah, we were the best.' That's the kiss of death. That's non-growth. And also that's very bad for the world.

Joni Mitchell

You could write a song about some kind of emotional problem you are having, but it would not be a good song, in my eyes, until it went through a period of sensitivity to a moment of clarity. Without that moment of clarity to contribute to the song, it's just complaining.

Joni Mitchell

My style of songwriting is influenced by cinema. I'm a frustrated filmmaker. A fan once said to me, 'Girl, you make me see pictures in my head!' and I took that as a great compliment. That's exactly my intention.

Joni Mitchell

I see the entire world as Eden, and every time you take an inch of it away, you must do so with respect.

Joni Mitchell

I have an aversion to being mislabeled. Here's a label I'd accept: I'm an 'individual.' I'm someone who can't follow, and doesn't want to lead.

Joni Mitchell

I learned a woman is never an old woman.

Joni Mitchell

Rachmaninoff made a musician out of me. His 'Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini' was the piece that sent me into raptures. It spoke to me. To me, it was a tender entreaty for the misunderstood.

Joni Mitchell

When the world becomes a massive mess with nobody at the helm, it's time for artists to make their mark.

Joni Mitchell

I lost my daughter at 21. I had to give her up because I was broke, no place to take her, no money to take her. That was very traumatic.

Joni Mitchell

With a painting, you don't have to go back and paint it again.

Joni Mitchell

When I came to California, it was the mecca of the world. Every young person on the planet wanted to be here.

Joni Mitchell

I find a lot of poetry to be narcissistic.

Joni Mitchell

I always thought the women of song don't get along, and I don't know why that is.

Joni Mitchell

Fame is a series of misunderstandings surrounding a name.

Joni Mitchell

Augustine, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath are confessional writers and all three make me sick. I have nothing in common with them.

Joni Mitchell

Drag wasn't always counterculture.

Joni Mitchell