What is it you want to talk about?
I want to talk about an album that my mom would play a lot when I was a kid – Joni Mitchell’s Blue!
What is the story behind it?
My mom grew up with Joni Mitchell’s music in the 70s and 80s, and when I was young it became a tradition to play her songs around the house. A lot of Joni Mitchell’s music is about life and love, and her voice is really unique and beautiful. I actually didn’t like her songs at first, as most kids don’t like what their parents like, but I eventually grew to love them! Now every time I hear these songs I think about putting CDs in the CD player and dancing around my old house with my mom.
What does it say about you, your family, or the associated people?
Blue was released in 1971 and is considered by some to be one of the greatest albums of all time. I feel really lucky to have gotten a taste of my mom’s youth through these songs. I love hearing about what my mom was feeling and experiencing in the 70s – in a way, it feels like I’m inheriting part of a culture.
How are you going to present this story? How are you going to engage the listeners throughout the podcast?
- Everyone has that one song that reminds them of a certain time or experience–what’s yours?
- I’ll then introduce Blue and why it’s my favorite album…tell some short anecdotes about listening to it when I was little
- I want to play some short clips of one or two of my favorite songs from the album, just maybe 15 seconds each
- I’ll talk a bit about the history of the album and what was going on in the 70s and then talk about my mom (interview?) and her experience hearing the album for the first time compared to my experience
- I’ll end with maybe another clip of a song and maybe something else personal…
Do you plan to interview other people?
I think I might interview my mom about her experience listening to the album in the past and now.
