Each Friday I pick a song–new, old, borrowed, blue–that’s been on my mind and in my ears, and write a short post about it.

This is “Blonde in the Bleachers” by Joni Mitchell:

I was writing a scene earlier this week that includes a description of somebody performing this song more slowly and with different instrumentation than Joni Mitchell. “Blonde in the Bleachers” packs a whole bunch into a very short song.  I really, really, love the way the drums come in with that hesitating, big, yet restrained fill, and the marriage, there, of words and music. I also love the sense that the song might be turning into a Grateful Dead-esque noodle as it fades into the future.