Transcription of Joni Mitchell interview with CBC Music. Video can be found at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZY8aDg_dTICBC: When you talk about someone, like in 2010 about Dylan, about Bob Dylan, when you say “He’s not authentic at all. He’s a plagiarist, his name and—“
JM: Wait, wait. I didn’t say that. I didn’t say that he’s not authentic at all. That is not a word I used, no.
CBC That’s from the LA Times.
JM: Yes, okay. That’s journalistic bullshit, you know? And you know, he told me, “I haven’t written a song in years.” I said, “Well, what are you talking about? Who’s writing them then?” he said, “The Box.” He just jots down… it came down to craft. Inspiration doesn’t stay with a lot of artists very long. It’s very brief. And then you’re in the game and you got to keep it, sustaining it with something. Right? You notice it, like one-trick wonders, two good albums and then they peter out. To sustain a gift for a long time is very rare.
CBC: Does that make you disappointed in him?
JM: In Dylan? No. And that remark is completely out of context . The interviewer was an a******e. I went into that thing about the actor, the thing we’ve been through here, and he accused me of being unauthentic. Now, that’s just ignorance. I’m talking to a guy… How do I explain to this moron whose IQ is somewhere between his shoe size and he’s misconstruing everything I say. I’m doing this for John Kelly, who’s impersonating me. I hate doing interviews with stupid people… this guy’s a moron. And then I said, “and then I got philosophical.” “Philo-sophical?” I said, “Yes, philosophical.” He said, “You do know what philosophy is, don’t you?” Everything I said he’s calling into question. I can’t talk to a dolt like that without getting aggravated. They call us “Exploding Margies.” Our nerves are all wrapped around by fibrous things. Our nerves are worn thin. We do not want to talk to stupid people. Anyone with this disease…
CBC: How are we doing?
JM (laughs): We’re doing fine. I do get intense sometimes. But let’s get off the Bob Dylan plagiarism.
CBS: I will ask… he is of your generation. There’s a generation there. And you talked about Leonard and Bob before—
JM: I like a lot of Bob’s songs. Musically he’s not very gifted. He borrowed his voice from old hillbillies. He’s got a lot of borrowed things. He’s not a great guitar player. He’s invented a character to deliver his songs. [imitates Dylanesque voice] “Sometimes I wish that I could have that character.” You know, you can do things with that character. It’s a mask of sorts.