The book--full of spoilers don't read if you dont have the book

[SFBill]

I finally reached the part where she wrote Jesse......HOWEVER

OK--EVERYTHING b4 that was new info for me. First up...it's obvious that Janis was a child prodigy--that might be a DUH to most here but for me I had no idea what gift she came into this world with.

The Goddess gave the rude one some astonishing talents.

I have so many emotions while reading the info before JESSE.

the first one is THANK YOU to Gerry for breaking every rule....you helped change the world...and heal more than you know....there really is no word in English that describes what you did.....well maybe LOVE works.

and if Janis has a middle name it must be Tenacious.


Thank you--thank you--JI, for this book--
Your story is our story is there story is my story is your story is her story is his story.. it IS!

[hoops]

sf,
amen
peace
hoops

[SFBill]

Now, for me, the whole ordeal with the dentist seems to shape Janis's emotional world.

I cannot imagine that kind of betrayal <--what a small sounding word to describe this-- but there it is.

Well maybe slime ball better fits that dude--or fuckface--u get the idea

I want to tell a story and it is for those who can relate...

(Don't bust my balls if you are reading this and haven't read the book given the subject line of my post.)

For 9 years I taught in a Catholic school--Those 9 years profoundly affected how I think about education NOW...we taught social justice. we taught the whole child. I was able to teach about affirmations, meditation and how God lives in each of us. This school was run by an order of Nuns who THEN and NOW accept open lesbians to their Order.....

I taught first and Sister T taught 2nd. We became great friends--We taught together for 8 years in an open classroom. I always thought T was depressed. She just couldn't let go and laugh and be present.

To make a very long story short---for several years she was seeing a spiritual advisor and body worker.

After a most significant session the spiritual advisor / bodyworker was massaging T and eventually came down the leg to her ankle--when the massage therapist began massaging T's ankle she began to scream in pain-- when the memory of her Uncle grabbing her ankle and dragging her back into the apt above where she lived FIRST became conscious to T.....that molestation had been going on for 4 years for Sr. T.
AND that revelation began her healing.


btw, 20 years later
Sr. T is now an amazing presence in the lives of those in need...

I guess I am saying that this kind of dialogue helps heal...
and Janis you are a healer--before even being a musician.

go figure

[coffeegyrl]

Knowing that you are not the only one who experienced such horrific violation is also healing. Thank you Janis for sharing. It will help others to deal with their own pain and move forward into recovery.

[aabram]

At least I have the book now.... :) I shall not read this closely until I have started it though :p

[SFBill]

Knowing that you are not the only one who experienced such horrific violation is also healing. Thank you Janis for sharing. It will help others to deal with their own pain and move forward into recovery.

That's my thought, too Coffegyrl.

There's so much healing going on in this book. It's really a wonder.

I'd love for Janis to get a FULL hour on Oprah. That would send the book and CD through the roof--and all that healing to more and more.

Go suggest it to Oprah
https://www.oprah.com/ord/plugform.jsp;jsessionid=ac1106ea30d76198d858554b4c 259775ed60a992f6bd.e3qNah8Kc34Ne3uLb3uRbN4Nci0?_k= _cvk2ca8_kcj

[hoops]

poop, i wrote this fabulous plug and the site couldn;t be found...i'll try again tomorrow
peace
hoops

[aabram]

Pete Seeger was an old friend of Hamish Henderson, who I drank with in the early 70's in Sandy Bells in Edinburgh. Hamish was a character and I attended his funeral at St Mary's in 2002 approx.... Anyone who would like a copy of Hamish's tribute album, please PM me, and I will give you the splurge about "The Freedom Come All Ye" :)

Annabel

[Spence]

After reading Janis' autobiography...

I feel guilty now, being entertained by the pain in Janis' songs. I always knew she must've had a hard life to write about such misery, but I was always free to listen to a different artist when my mood changed.

Then again, her music was at times the only real thing she had in life. For me to reject it would be to totally reject her!

Let's just say that I'm sorry she had to go through so much to write such songs. But they reach me on levels no one else's music can.

Plus, I used to think her music was mostly sad songs, but she points out that they all hold out HOPE.

[Seth]

I had heard the little snippet of the story Janis tells about Days Like These. Bt then when you know the whole story, it makes your reach with empathy and revolt with anger. Mr Granite, will some day have to face himself. What a sad little man wielding a big stick where he can.

[aabram]

I cried from Chapter 3 onwards. I'm now about to start Chapter 8 but how I just CAN'T WAIT to get back home to it. It's like a magnet that draws me back to its pages, back to the music, back to Janis :)

Jeeney sent me the bestest birthday present ever. THANK you again, Jeeney and Janis

Love Annabel x

[SFBill]

I've done some crying during this read too, Annabel.

It's a delicious read--There's so much healing, wisdom and fun in it. I REALLY appreciate the inside scoops regarding the albums I have loved for years...
the so not glamorous touring, the behind the scenes dramas as she continued to create.
(anyone else listening nonstop to Janis these days?---I'm crazy for HUNGER like never before....and not even up to that part in the book.)

I'd sort of read a bit about the AFTERTONES story before--I got to that point today in the book--I'd love it if Janis and crew went back and made the album that she heard in her head back then....taking the time she needed.

I love it that Janis was/is drawn to Jazz vocalists. Sarah Vaughan is my #1 jazz singer--i saw her towards the end of her life at SF's Great American Music Hall--she sang a male/female duet with herself!-it was amazing! SV was really hilarious, too.

The paragraphs describing when Janis heard/watched the great Ella, mention Janis by name as a new singer she admired on a TV talk show is such a hoot! What a huge compliment. So well-deserved....and you think of who was hot those days...Joni, Carole, Carly, Linda, Babs--HIGH praise indeed!!!!

It's close to home reading about Janis talking about the struggles having to keep her sexuality a secret..ugh! I've been out for 30 years this Dec 2--and it's unreal how things have changed-- a LONG way to go though.

I was happy to see the O magazine review here....I'm still lighting candles that she gets on Oprah--then this journey will brighten so many MORE minds!

[aabram]

Bill, it seems as though CBS treated Janis, not as a person, but as a machine - a money-making object who had no feelings as they gave her no chance to be human. I was nearly sick when I read about the lobster!!!!! :eek: I bet Janis was glad to get away from that lot.... Just on Night Rains and beyond. Fascinating.... :cool: And because Janis is Janis, I like the fact that she rose above all that and kept on keeping on writing those beautiful songs. Some of the great classics which I only just homed in on recently, and although Restless Eyes is my favourite album, I am starting to realise why she doesn't like talking about those years.... (around the time I met Mr Abram) I am starting to realise what I have been missing, but - well, better late than never, I suppose.... :)

Annabel

[gisli]

Wow.....I have read it.

Started at 11 o´clock this morning.......16 hours later....I have finished reading it...:o

.....that should say something about how captivating the book is:D

[SFBill]

Bill, it seems as though CBS treated Janis, not as a person, but as a machine - a money-making object who had no feelings as they gave her no chance to be human. I was nearly sick when I read about the lobster!!!!! :eek: I bet Janis was glad to get away from that lot.... Just on Night Rains and beyond. Fascinating.... :cool: And because Janis is Janis, I like the fact that she rose above all that and kept on keeping on writing those beautiful songs. Some of the great classics which I only just homed in on recently, and although Restless Eyes is my favourite album, I am starting to realise why she doesn't like talking about those years.... (around the time I met Mr Abram) I am starting to realise what I have been missing, but - well, better late than never, I suppose.... :)

Annabel

I think most artists were treated this way then, Annabel. It sucks that JI wasn't given the time to make AFTERTONES the way she wanted. Even so, it's one of my faves. I'll always wonder what she wanted it to be.

Also, I don't get in the book where it's mentioned BETWEEN THE LINES being like Carole's TAPESTRY--or something similar.
Carole's music is so much more pop--and light--compared to Janis's. To me, Janis is not an easy, light, popish, listen. Carole's is. One is not better than the other--but I listen to Janis way more than Carole--it's about preferences.

I wanted to read more about how she thought BTL album captured a moment in time.

Also, I really appreciate her talking about her relationship with Beth throughout this time period. She brings to light a very familiar SILENT struggle......Talk about a TAPESTRY---I'm loving how Janis weaves so much together in this book for us.

[aabram]

I think most artists were treated this way then, Annabel. It sucks that JI wasn't given the time to make AFTERTONES the way she wanted. Even so, it's one of my faves. I'll always wonder what she wanted it to be.

Also, I don't get in the book where it's mentioned BETWEEN THE LINES being like Carole's TAPESTRY--or something similar.
Carole's music is so much more pop--and light--compared to Janis's. To me, Janis is not an easy, light, popish, listen. Carole's is. One is not better than the other--but I listen to Janis way more than Carole--it's about preferences.

I wanted to read more about how she thought BTL album captured a moment in time.

Also, I really appreciate her talking about her relationship with Beth throughout this time period. She brings to light a very familiar SILENT struggle......Talk about a TAPESTRY---I'm loving how Janis weaves so much together in this book for us.


Bill, as with most singer/songwriters, they tend to write about their current situations. Janis is no different. Here we are starting to understand why her songs are so profound, what lay behind them and why Janis wrote what she wrote. It's like looking into her very soul, and however painful it may be, if it helps Janis be Janis, then I'm all for it. The Pheonix has risen from the ashes, is singing again and is experiencing the fame all over again. How :cool: is that???? :) I'm sure we'll all be right behind her right up to the very end.... Janis has had to cope with so many things in her life and yet she is still there. Long may she continue.

Between the Lines was the second CBS Album, right? Therefore it follows that having to churn out this many songs in that amount of time and for what at the end of it? Not being allowed to blow your own nose in public without someone knowing about it must have been difficult. I'm only 2 chapters away from the end. Let me finish it, and start it again, then I'll come back on this, OK?


Annabel
Annabel

[gisli]

I read something that hurts:

"Looks like a rat terrier with a perm.....but she is ok"

........it´s my stomach that hurts.

[aabram]

Well, I've finished it, and will start it again tonight. Too wet again now to take it with me wherever I go. Getting the feel of the story is always my favourite bit. Now to study it to A Level standard..... :)

I wonder if it will go on someone's English syllabus, just as Society's Child went on the History syllabus?

[coffeegyrl]

The songwriter and the songs are not one and the same.
Reading the book gave context and helped me to put that into perspective.

[SFBill]

I read something that hurts:

"Looks like a rat terrier with a perm.....but she is ok"

........it´s my stomach that hurts.


Don't hate me, but I read this part today and I think Janis was intending this to be funny. . .I howled-the ensuing parts of the read show that the person who said this was a great supporter---his wife was a HUGE fan.

anyway--oh migawd so much, so much---

first off-- from the past few days.
I'm so disappointed Janis does not like Janis Ian II! That album is like a tasty, toasty warm memory for me--when it came out i was knocked out! LOVED IT! LOVE IT still
(itunes users after you import it --go to get info and give it a vocals boost)
I'm really sorry she did not talk more about these songs , besides the awesome SILLY HABITS-
-THAT GRAND ILLUSION sure does take on a whole new meaning now!--WOW!

Now just how did the JI2 demos sound ??
Me wants to know!

The Streisand info is so funny--ohmigawd..I can not even imagine an Ian/Streisand collaboration....

Her marriage/relationship with Tino--thats a lot to digest..a lot-..maybe too much..-I found myself needing to stop reading as I found myself not breathing reading some of those passages--worrying for her..pissed at her...loving her...not understanding her...cheering for her....exhaling for her.

and all along the way there is ..before--in between--during and after all this amazingly OPERA-ish life, there is MUSIC that blessed/inspired MILLIONS for 4 decades, a body of work that contains healing in it's sharing..
.Stella Adler got it right, Janis! and you never have to teach another class.

Theres so much more...the IRS ..Mr Granite can 'Suck It' --to quote Kathy Griffin.....how unnecessarily cruel was all that!..Does not compassion compute in our government?

I saw the chapter titled with verses from ARMS AROUND MY LIFE---they knocked me out...but what is this song? I thought...I searched it on my iTunes and there it was on Unreleased 2 (it's included on the ANTHOLOGY, too)
but oh my hearing it now..with this much of the book in me....
This song is the other side of At Seventeen.

[aabram]

Mr Granite is my favourite name out of all the people in the book. I mean, Granite SOUNDS hard and by golly, WAS he hard!!!! An out and out scoundrel. I am going to start it again this evening, and look for the bits I missed. :) I don't usually compute everything the first time round anyway.

Annabel

[SFBill]

Mr Granite is my favourite name out of all the people in the book. I mean, Granite SOUNDS hard and by golly, WAS he hard!!!! An out and out scoundrel. I am going to start it again this evening, and look for the bits I missed. :) I don't usually compute everything the first time round anyway.

Annabel

Hi Annabel,
Like Janis said in the book regarding the IRS guy Mr. Granite, "Could I make that name up?" LOL!

Today, I was totally creeped out reading about Janis waking and finding a dollar bill in the back pocket of her laid out pants....TWICE...

Having a stranger in the house while sleeping has got to be my worst nightmare.

I've been so moved by the courage and tenacity she showed during her IRS, family, career struggles. I've never had the kind of life challenges she has had, but her sharing of how she handles them give me inspiration for the ones that I face.

Also, I understand something about Janis's music now that I didn't before. I remember reading long ago someone saying to Janis, was it Bette Midler or Dolly Parton? 'Write some happy songs.' Or something close to that.

Now I get why she wasn't. Goddess bless her for using her gift to help herself (and others) through difficult times! WOW!

Interesting that populated on the albums from Breaking Silence onward....there are so many more songs of strength!!

ps
(also, I reread my other post and when I said iTunes users could give Janis Ian II a vocal boost through the get info option--I in no way meant to infer Janis needed one!!--It's just that you can manipulate the sound of a CD via the special features at iTunes....it's really cool.)

[SFBill]

Mr Granite is my favourite name out of all the people in the book. I mean, Granite SOUNDS hard and by golly, WAS he hard!!!! An out and out scoundrel. I am going to start it again this evening, and look for the bits I missed. :) I don't usually compute everything the first time round anyway.

Annabel

Hi Annabel
I finished it today while doing cardio at the gym---sweat and tears.
:)

I'm beginning it again, too.