Album: The Hissing Of Summer LawnsAvg rating:
Your rating:
Total ratings: 1777
Length: 4:19
Plays (last 30 days): 3
share
tweet
Safaris to the heart of all that jazz
Through I bars and girders-through wires and pipes
The mathematic circuits of the modern nights
Through huts, through Harlem, through jails and gospel pews
Through the class on Park and the trash on Vine
Through Europe and the deep deep heart of Dixie blue
Through savage progress cuts the jungle line
In a low-cut blouse she brings the beer
Rousseau paints a jungle flower behind her ear
Those cannibals-of shuck and jive
They'll eat a working girl like her alive
With his hard-edged eye and his steady hand
He paints the cellar full of ferns and orchid vines
And he hangs a moon above a five-piece band
He hangs it up above the jungle line
The jungle line, the jungle line
Screaming in a ritual of sound and time
Floating, drifting on the air-conditioned wind
And drooling for a taste of something smuggled in
Pretty women funneled through valves and smoke
Coy and bitchy, wild and fine
And charging elephants and chanting slaving boats
Charging, chanting down the jungle line
There's a poppy wreath on a soldier's tomb
There's a poppy snake in a dressing room
Poppy poison-poppy tourniquet
It slithers away on brass like mouthpiece spit
And metal skin and ivory birds
Go steaming up to Rousseau's vines
They go steaming up to Brooklyn Bridge
Steaming, steaming, steaming up the jungle line
This whole album was off the tracks and she was often leading us there!
And, that is GREAT!!
I believe I have found the inspiration for Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk".
Please find the Burundi Stephenson Black version and you will "hear" Tusk better. I am surprised that Paul Simon didn't do something with those drummers.
8
I'm raising my rating from 4 to 7 now that I know a bit more about this song. It's not meant to be 'easy listening.'
https://thelastgreatrecord.wor...
First, Joni Mitchell had purchased a record called "Musique du Burundi" (1967) produced by Michel Vuylsteke. One of the tracks contains a performance of ceremonial Burundian drumming. You can listen to that track on YouTube. The recognizable sample comes in at 0:17.
Link to YouTube video
Large sections of this recording are used throughout Mitchell's "Jungle Line." This is the first known commercial use of sampling.
Second, Joni Mitchell bought a Moog synthesizer and used it heavily on the album. There are two distinct synth voices: the bassoon-like bass, and the tenor with an oboe quality. The Moog was still very new and lent a unique quality of sound to recordings that had not been available before.
Thirdly, the song opens with references to French post-impressionist artist Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), whose works heavily feature jungle scenes and wild animals hunting. According to the National Gallery of Art, which last exhibited Rousseau's work in 2006, a significant portion of the collection was loaned from and curated by the Musee d'Orsay.
https://www.nga.gov/exhibition...
Joni Mitchell often traveled throughout Europe. So, I imagine Joni Mitchell wrote "Jungle Line" after seeing Rousseau's paintings at the Musee d'Orsay in the mid-seventies.
A brief article was written about this music by the New York Times in 1995, and has been posted on Joni Mitchell's website:
https://jonimitchell.com/libra...
Well done. You have my thanks.
Well said! I concur :)
Well, I don't - concur that is! If this was Buerk we'd understand - if this was Patti Smith, well, enough said. Where she thought she was going ... ?
Some people wouldn't recognize art if it jumped up and bit them on the ass.
Is it the perfect accompaniment to a nice meal? No.
Is it what you'd want to listen to while enjoying a full body massage from someone you find unspeakably attractive? Hell, no.
Is it what you'd want to have injected into your chilled-out stream of meditative semi-consciousness? Oh my goodness, please no.
However, it *is* a work of art. An expression of a group of feelings that comes along only so often in one's life, if ever. It was written by someone who, I think many would agree, has a singularly interesting perspective on human interactions and our bumbling attempts at understanding what the hell we're supposed to be doing here.
Back off the blinders and judge the work in context — if you find that you still hate it, I can only suggest that it may have more to do with when you're hearing it than the piece itself — assuming of course that you give a shit about people daring to express themselves outside the damn box.
Just some thoughts... thanks.
Well said! I concur :)
For those of you you who stuck around like me - ENJOY! Such an interesting track.
I Agree!!
That'll show the haters.
Rather harmless in all ways, really.
It's not your listeners but you, who's wrong, dammit...
The world sure is full of "Not my cup of tea, so -- let's just dismiss that!"-types, isn't it? Even Michelangelo's finest work has detractors! Joni Mitchell is an artist of the most passionate, sensitive sort. Some of the music she created left me smitten at first listen; others, like this interesting song and album from the middle of that unbelievably turbulent decade, took a long time or the wisdom of experience for me to appreciate. I love how Bill just asserted that sometimes, after all, the vitriolic, dismissive types are just WRONG... I worship and whole-heartedly support what the Goldsmiths have built, and consider myself baptized and blessed to bathe in The Divine Stream of RP whenever possible!
Very well stated! PS: It seemed as if I was one of the very few people that loved this tune when it was released. I still love it!
"It is the Space between the music notes and the words, that live rent free in our heads."___ It's where the dust collects.
(see comment below)
I'm still giving this song a 5 but, I hope to hear it again and I give Bill and his playlist an 11 each!
BUT what I really like is that Bill plays it in spite of the low ratings, and I love his reasoning for doing so - the listeners who give it low ratings "are wrong."
Think about it folks. If Bill based his music selection solely on listener ratings, how long would it be before RP sounded like the stations we used to listen to before we "discovered" this one. HA! GOTCHA!
But not for this song, for another artist I reliably don't care for, that BillG likes based on how often they get played.
This song broke my brain, but in a good way. I hear that Joni Mitchell is a great artist, but at the same time most of her songs are not my cup of tea. This one does, it's decades ahead of its time, I like other commenters wondered if it was a newer song.
I'll take an occasional PSD for hearing something unique I have never heard before. I'll take that in a heartbeat.
so ahead of her time..come on, people , this was made in the 70s !! radiohead could cover this and you'd say cool
Radiohead could cover this for sure.....well, because they are equally as terrible as this song
Ain't this trippy stuff?
Makes me somewhat scared to go outside. I like it.
YES!!! I'm scared too!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Makes me somewhat scared to go outside. I like it.
I understand why some people don't like this particular piece of music, and don't want to hear it any more. I know I'm in the minority on here but I feel that way about everything Bob Dylan has ever recorded.
BUT...I will defend to the hilt their right to write and record the music they find wherever their muse takes them, and also RP's right to have whatever they want on the playlist.
Some music is designed to be easy on the ears and mind, and that's just fine. Some is meant to be challenging and that's just as fine. What I appreciate about this particular track is that it's an entirely sincere expression of where JM was at, and she wasn't pandering to the charts, or music executives, or even her fans. That's what makes some artists influential, and so even if I don't like Bob Dylan's music I fully appreciate how influential he has been and I know I enjoy some of the music that has subsequently been made by artists who have been his greatest fans.
RP has always opened new musical doors to me, and I love that about it. I don't always choose to walk through those doorways, but the opportunity to do so is what makes me come back here time and time again.
BUT...I will defend to the hilt their right to write and record the music they find wherever their muse takes them, and also RP's right to have whatever they want on the playlist.
Some music is designed to be easy on the ears and mind, and that's just fine. Some is meant to be challenging and that's just as fine. What I appreciate about this particular track is that it's an entirely sincere expression of where JM was at, and she wasn't pandering to the charts, or music executives, or even her fans. That's what makes some artists influential, and so even if I don't like Bob Dylan's music I fully appreciate how influential he has been and I know I enjoy some of the music that has subsequently been made by artists who have been his greatest fans.
RP has always opened new musical doors to me, and I love that about it. I don't always choose to walk through those doorways, but the opportunity to do so is what makes me come back here time and time again.
Not sure why, but I really enjoy this bit of quirkiness. I "get" the low ratings and negative comments, but I think it's genius, in that artistic Joni Mitchell way.
I Agree! GREAT TUNE!! I have loved this tune since it was released! A LOT of diehard Joni fans hated it at the time, & still do. Everybody has different tastes!
People either seem to love or hate Joni's more experimental music. Personally I really like it but I can also understand how people would find it grating. The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey is another I love *because* it is so interestingly different but others I know can't stand to hear it. It would be a boring world if we all liked the same things!
To me this isn't music. It lacks what they call gestalt, the individual elements don't combine to form something better as a whole, to my mind it's spoken word over random noise. But fair enough, to each there own. Other than these two albums I quite enjoy Joni's music.
People either seem to love or hate Joni's more experimental music. Personally I really like it but I can also understand how people would find it grating. The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey is another I love *because* it is so interestingly different but others I know can't stand to hear it. It would be a boring world if we all liked the same things!
Well stated! I Agree completely! Although, I have loved this tune, from the moment of it's release! GREAT TUNE!! Thanx RP!
talk about two different albums...
but 97.867% of the time I LOVE what RP programs on the Main Mix.
That said, if I could PSD, I would. But I can’t, so I mute, or agonize &/or try to let “art” flow over me. (It’s ever a “1” for me, tho).
EXCELLENT!!! I have loved this tune, from the time this album was released! A lot of die-hard Joni fans, at that time, didn't like it. I love most of her tunes! Everybody has different tastes!
so ahead of her time..come on, people , this was made in the 70s !! radiohead could cover this and you'd say cool
NO ONE could cover this and make it tolerable.... YUUUUUCCCCKKKK
I'm raising my rating from 4 to 7 now that I know a bit more about this song. It's not meant to be 'easy listening.'
https://thelastgreatrecord.wor...
First, Joni Mitchell had purchased a record called "Musique du Burundi" (1967) produced by Michel Vuylsteke. One of the tracks contains a performance of ceremonial Burundian drumming. You can listen to that track on YouTube. The recognizable sample comes in at 0:17.
Link to YouTube video
Large sections of this recording are used throughout Mitchell's "Jungle Line." This is the first known commercial use of sampling.
Second, Joni Mitchell bought a Moog synthesizer and used it heavily on the album. There are two distinct synth voices: the bassoon-like bass, and the tenor with an oboe quality. The Moog was still very new and lent a unique quality of sound to recordings that had not been available before.
Thirdly, the song opens with references to French post-impressionist artist Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), whose works heavily feature jungle scenes and wild animals hunting. According to the National Gallery of Art, which last exhibited Rousseau's work in 2006, a significant portion of the collection was loaned from and curated by the Musee d'Orsay.
https://www.nga.gov/exhibition...
Joni Mitchell often traveled throughout Europe. So, I imagine Joni Mitchell wrote "Jungle Line" after seeing Rousseau's paintings at the Musee d'Orsay in the mid-seventies.
A brief article was written about this music by the New York Times in 1995, and has been posted on Joni Mitchell's website:
https://jonimitchell.com/libra...
Thank You for the info! GREAT TUNE!! I have always loved this song! Thanx RP!
The world needs more Joni and Bjork. For me this is musical emancipation. Top notch composing. Intelligent and innovative.
Very well stated! I Agree!
How can I vote minus?
Such a rape of the glorious Burundian drummers ... don't they call that cultural approbiation or so?
The lyrics alone make this a great song.
I Agree! But, the music is excellent too!
I'm raising my rating from 4 to 7 now that I know a bit more about this song. It's not meant to be 'easy listening.'
https://thelastgreatrecord.wor...
First, Joni Mitchell had purchased a record called "Musique du Burundi" (1967) produced by Michel Vuylsteke. One of the tracks contains a performance of ceremonial Burundian drumming. You can listen to that track on YouTube. The recognizable sample comes in at 0:17.
Link to YouTube video
Large sections of this recording are used throughout Mitchell's "Jungle Line." This is the first known commercial use of sampling.
Second, Joni Mitchell bought a Moog synthesizer and used it heavily on the album. There are two distinct synth voices: the bassoon-like bass, and the tenor with an oboe quality. The Moog was still very new and lent a unique quality of sound to recordings that had not been available before.
Thirdly, the song opens with references to French post-impressionist artist Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), whose works heavily feature jungle scenes and wild animals hunting. According to the National Gallery of Art, which last exhibited Rousseau's work in 2006, a significant portion of the collection was loaned from and curated by the Musee d'Orsay.
https://www.nga.gov/exhibition...
Joni Mitchell often traveled throughout Europe. So, I imagine Joni Mitchell wrote "Jungle Line" after seeing Rousseau's paintings at the Musee d'Orsay in the mid-seventies.
A brief article was written about this music by the New York Times in 1995, and has been posted on Joni Mitchell's website:
https://jonimitchell.com/libra...
Ah, thanks for pointing out the Burundi drumming aspect. The beat on this track reminded me of something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Now, I finally remember what it was. As a teenage I loved this this tune (Burundi Black): Youtube sample which was played in some discotheques back in Germany in the 80s.
https://thelastgreatrecord.wor...
First, Joni Mitchell had purchased a record called "Musique du Burundi" (1967) produced by Michel Vuylsteke. One of the tracks contains a performance of ceremonial Burundian drumming. You can listen to that track on YouTube. The recognizable sample comes in at 0:17.
Link to YouTube video
Large sections of this recording are used throughout Mitchell's "Jungle Line." This is the first known commercial use of sampling.
Second, Joni Mitchell bought a Moog synthesizer and used it heavily on the album. There are two distinct synth voices: the bassoon-like bass, and the tenor with an oboe quality. The Moog was still very new and lent a unique quality of sound to recordings that had not been available before.
Thirdly, the song opens with references to French post-impressionist artist Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), whose works heavily feature jungle scenes and wild animals hunting. According to the National Gallery of Art, which last exhibited Rousseau's work in 2006, a significant portion of the collection was loaned from and curated by the Musee d'Orsay.
https://www.nga.gov/exhibition...
Joni Mitchell often traveled throughout Europe. So, I imagine Joni Mitchell wrote "Jungle Line" after seeing Rousseau's paintings at the Musee d'Orsay in the mid-seventies.
A brief article was written about this music by the New York Times in 1995, and has been posted on Joni Mitchell's website:
https://jonimitchell.com/libra...
Couldn't, can't believe the rating on this! An original, poetic, surreal piece. Maybe it discomforts a lot of people.
EXCELLENT!!! I have loved this tune, from the time this album was released! A lot of die-hard Joni fans, at that time, didn't like it. I love most of her tunes! Everybody has different tastes!
Great. Now what about those of us who have never liked Joni? It's great that you love her warbly emoting but I don't. This is so far out of her zone that it's in mine. 7
Cool. Fill yer boots. I'll skip thanks.
Nice try but no cigar. I bow to no-one in my admiration for Joni Mitchell, but never mind the time or place, I'll always skip this crap. An interesting experiment but, like Harrison Birtwhistle, is of no musical interest to me.
Great. Now what about those of us who have never liked Joni? It's great that you love her warbly emoting but I don't. This is so far out of her zone that it's in mine. 7
Justly deserved.
I've always liked this one. It's good to hear unusual songs.
The facts of the matter are not determined by a popular vote. Do you think that chart music is the best there is?
As with most of this period of Joni's work, this is spoken word, not music.
Sorry Joni, not a milestone you want to hit. This song is currently the lowest rated song on RP. The masses have voted. Retire it.
I've always liked this one. It's good to hear unusual songs.
The facts of the matter are not determined by a popular vote. Do you think that chart music is the best there is?
I think most people don't realize these mixes aren't live but prerecorded and played ad infinitum
I take it you haven't been listening to RP very long.
push it. experiment. flip out a little.
I quite like it. I give it 6 bananas.
Liking it more. Up another banana to 7.
It's just too damn "I'm cooler than you because I live in NYC" for me. The album cover just nails it.
Kinda funny considering Joni lived in NY less than a year during 1967, many years before writing this song. Chelsea Morning is her NY song.
I wonder how "The Black Page" would rate here?Can I vote zero please?
Is it the perfect accompaniment to a nice meal? No.
Is it what you'd want to listen to while enjoying a full body massage from someone you find unspeakably attractive? Hell, no.
Is it what you'd want to have injected into your chilled-out stream of meditative semi-consciousness? Oh my goodness, please no.
However, it *is* a work of art. An expression of a group of feelings that comes along only so often in one's life, if ever. It was written by someone who, I think many would agree, has a singularly interesting perspective on human interactions and our bumbling attempts at understanding what the hell we're supposed to be doing here.
Back off the blinders and judge the work in context — if you find that you still hate it, I can only suggest that it may have more to do with when you're hearing it than the piece itself — assuming of course that you give a shit about people daring to express themselves outside the damn box.
Just some thoughts... thanks.
Thank you for these thoughts!
But not one Carly Simon number.
ECLECTIC !
lol
I like it - edgy, innovative, out of the box.Loving the drumming. Check out videos of 'Royal Drummers of Burundi' You'll see what I mean
Totally agree! I remember I was dumbfounded when it first came out. (In a good way). There are quite a few Joni haters here. Sheesh.
Too many of them on this site. A quick glance at the above biography shows that few IRL agree with them
I believe the music industry agrees with you.
Is it the perfect accompaniment to a nice meal? No.
Is it what you'd want to listen to while enjoying a full body massage from someone you find unspeakably attractive? Hell, no.
Is it what you'd want to have injected into your chilled-out stream of meditative semi-consciousness? Oh my goodness, please no.
However, it *is* a work of art. An expression of a group of feelings that comes along only so often in one's life, if ever. It was written by someone who, I think many would agree, has a singularly interesting perspective on human interactions and our bumbling attempts at understanding what the hell we're supposed to be doing here.
Back off the blinders and judge the work in context — if you find that you still hate it, I can only suggest that it may have more to do with when you're hearing it than the piece itself — assuming of course that you give a shit about people daring to express themselves outside the damn box.
Just some thoughts... thanks.
Nice try but no cigar. I bow to no-one in my admiration for Joni Mitchell, but never mind the time or place, I'll always skip this crap. An interesting experiment but, like Harrison Birtwhistle, is of no musical interest to me.
The first album I bought with my own money (overpriced at the nearby Skillern's drug store) - Joni was also my first concert. I listened to it, I *absorbed* it, I memorized all the lyrics and sang along relentlessly. I was 14 years old and not a single other of my contemporaries in high school knew anything about her, except maybe for "Big Yellow Taxi." Almost 50 years later and it's still one of my favourite albums ever.
Cool story. Thank You for sharing it.