Joni Mitchell is best known for her gentle voice and poetic lyrics often accompanied by acoustic guitar or piano. She has had hits like “Big Yellow Taxi” (1970), most of her songs taking a political stance. Mitchell started her career as a small town folk singer in Ontario, though her influences expanded to include genres such as jazz and pop in the mid 70’s, early 80’s. Though, most of her lyrics are introspective, what is most interesting about her music is her exploration of alternate tunings. When asked what was the inspiration behind her song “The Magdalene Laundries” Mitchell remarked how a friend said she should write songs during the day (as opposed to writing songs at night as she had normally done). In response, she took her guitar
