April 3, 2007 1:18

Bjork, Sufjan Stevens discuss Joni Mitchell

New website features musicians' musings

Bjork, Sufjan Stevens and Elvis Costello offer their reflections on Joni Mitchell and the experience of covering her songs on a new website.

'A Tribute To Joni Mitchell' features Bjork's comments on the struggles of female artists in the "rock white male world" and Stevens' musings on the star's "rollercoaster" vocals, as well as thoughts from Annie Lennox and Emmylou Harris.

These and other artists including Prince have contributed to the album, 'A Tribute To Joni Mitchell', due out April 24, as previously announced.

The website also features streamed versions of the covers, alongside Mitchell's originals.

Bjork remarked in her posting, "As I grow older I am forced to admit a very, very sad truth (something I promised I would never do, but...) we are living in a rock white male world and because of this Joni is being ignored while someone like Bob Dylan for instance has become a saint."

Stevens commented: "Assembling a cover of Joni Mitchell's 'Free Man in Paris' required more than a few musical somersaults. Who can possibly surmount Joni's rollercoaster vocal lines with all those odd syntaxes and off beat pronunciations?"

These and other musings can be found at Atributetojonimitchell.com.

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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