The faux report went out from People magazine, with tell-tale signs of a “pre-write” obituary that was published accidentally — every major news organization’s worst nightmare. (Read More Here).
“Joni Mitchell Dies at TK AGE,” read the headline that was seen on the magazine’s website as well as in a tweet, the “TK” meaning “to come” in journalistic parlance. The story itself also included editorial notes indicating details that needed to be filled in.
Although the article was soon pulled from the web, it did lead to speculation among fans that perhaps Mitchell really had passed and that People had just pulled the story to get further details before re-publishing its scoop. But there was no basis for the fleeting wave of panic, the rep says, other than a finger likely hitting the wrong button.
Mitchell has actually become more robust in her public appearances recently, after having stayed mostly out of the public eye since suffering a brain aneurysm rupture in 2015. She has since learned how to walk again and been a regular party host at her central California home, where “Joni jams” are a frequent, private occasion. In April, she walked the red carpet and spoke with a line of reporters before being honored at the annual MusiCares Person of the Year dinner, where she capped off the all-star tribute by contributing a few vocal lines to the jam. She sang and performed much more extensively in July at a Brandi Carlile-led “Joni jam” at the Newport Folk Festival, not only singing lead vocals on several songs but even showing off her renewed instrumental prowess on a guitar instrumental.
Tourists visiting the Caribbean during the summer of 1981 might have spotted something unexpected: Joni Mitchell in the thick of things at a disco, grooving up a storm to the Police’s inscrutable hit De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da. “I love to dance, and anytime I heard it, boy, I didn’t care if there was no one on the floor,” she told Musician in 1983. “I was going to dance to that thing because of those changes in rhythm.” Mitchell’s appreciation for the Police’s worldly rhythmic approach would influence the direction of her 1982 album Wild Things Run Fast. Surprisingly, the “supersonic sheen” of corporate rock radio gods Journey also inspired the sound, Mitchell admitted to Musician. “You might think they’re antiseptic … but when they come on the radio, they have a sound that’s outstanding.”
Wild Things Run Fast is the bridge between Mitchell’s 70s and 80s: as with 1979’s Mingus, the LP dabbles in jazz (Moon at the Window) but it also features new wave takes on her guitar-driven pop (Underneath the Streetlight). Released in October 1982, the album debuted at a modest No 32 in the UK and spent just eight weeks in the Top 100. “There seems nothing of consequence to remark on,” NME declared of it. From a commercial standpoint, Mitchell’s decade didn’t improve from there: 1985’s Dog Eat Dog scraped No 57 and dropped out of the Top 100 after just three weeks. Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm, from 1988, fared only slightly better, reaching No 26.
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