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sarahabein.bsky.social · @sarahabein.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell 9/10

<div>I found this really interesting, and pretty fair-minded. It is not overly idolizing nor overly critical, though perhaps we could use a BIT more "JONI NO" (either through quotes from people who maybe tried to steer her away, or maybe more on what she/others think of it now) when it comes to her blackface album cover and Halloween costume during the late '70s! YIKES. Apparently she wanted to bother both the photographer and her racist parents, which makes it... still inexcusable. Even if you're the sort of artist young Prince will write fan letters to.<br><br>But I didn't really know much about her other than the music I've enjoyed and a few of the people she'd worked with, plus I'd heard about her daughter, so this was a good way to dive into more of her life. She's definitely a complicated person who was molded by a lot of different factors, so while I definitely don't think everything she's said or done is the be-all, end-all (though Blue is one of my all-time favorite albums), this biography does a decent job at showing who/what made her who she is. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Xe Sands, who strikes the right tone conveying the musician's own words and all the different people in her life.</div>

#book

Published 2026-08-18 20:37 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere