Joni Mitchell on the songwriter who “upgraded the American pop song”
Joni Mitchell has made an entire career by turning the traditional pop song inside out. There are still some fine melodies throughout her catalogue and more than a few catchy tunes to go around, but Mitchell always saw each track as an opportunity to toy with what a mainstream song could sound like, whether that meant bringing in elements of jazz or easy listening into the mix. Mitchell was far from the first person to dream bigger as a pop star, but she thought no one had done more for the medium than Bob Dylan.
That’s not to discount the fascinating resumé Mitchell has for perfect songs. Throughout her career in the spotlight, half of her lyrics could be seen as pure poetry when read on their own. Compared to people who like to document the times they’re in, Mitchell quoting her own heart has led to some of the most raw confessions in rock history like ‘River’ and ‘My Old Man’.
Even when she’s not talking about her own life, her way of getting in tune with other figures of history, like on ‘Amelia’, is some of the best tone painting ever committed to tape. It’s easy to get swept up in lyrics about wanting to move on or being a wayward traveller on an endless journey through life, but Dylan was the one who helped usher in that kind of sound.
Before Dylan, many mainstream songwriters from his time were still into lighthearted affairs. That’s not to say that Chuck Berry or Buddy Holly were terrible writers by any means, but their approach to topics like young love and having a party was much different from Dylan’s discussion of the real problems with the world.
Woody Guthrie may have come first, but Dylan was the kind of person who not only spoke for the people but also tried to find the answers to how to make the world a better place. He doesn’t claim to have all the answers in a piece like ‘Blowin’ In the Wind’, but if the right person hears his song as a call to action, maybe they will be able to find the answer to a happy life.
For Mitchell, both she and Dylan seemed to be kindred spirits in wanting to push popular music forward, saying, “If you want to be a songwriter and see what the standard is, you have to take a look at Dylan and me. Dylan tremendously upgraded the American pop song in terms of content, and I… well, musically, I’m further out than Dylan, and as a result, less popular.”
Then again, one of the reasons why Dylan remained one of the touchstones of American music was how unapologetic he was about his sound. Sure, people may have been outraged when he decided to strap on an electric guitar, but he would never cower to what his audience wanted and go back to singing simple folk songs.
Mitchell operates in much the same way. She had always had a singular voice on most of her records, but she would never straddle the line between what was trendy at the top with her signature brand of music. That role was reserved for the pop stars of the world, but Dylan and Mitchell were artists, and they would gladly go down with their ship if it meant they could still make the music they wanted to make.
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