![]() ![]() Somehow, she has chosen to abandon melody at a time when she needs it urgently. Mitchell's music has evolved into a kind of neutral background, rolling on endlessly in either a languid spirit ("Jericho") or a nervous one ("Dreamland"). Her writing works best when it's compact, yet the record's expansive mood forces her to belabor, in the title song, the precious contrast between a snake (or a train, as well as the author's baser instincts) and an eagle (or an airplane, plus a longing for "clarity") for nearly seven minutes. At its worst, it is a painful illustration of how different the standards that govern poetry and song lyrics can be, and an indication that Joni Mitchell's talents, stretched here to the breaking point, lend themselves much more naturally to the latter form. It's sapped of emotion and full of ideas that should have remained whims, melodies that should have been riffs, songs that should have been fragments. These days, Mitchell appears bent on repudiating her own flair for popular songwriting, and on staking her claim to the kind of artistry that, when it's real, doesn't need to announce itself so stridently.ĭon Juan's Reckless Daughter is a double album that should have been a single album. Her most resonant lyrics have been simple and concise, spinning out images rather than overburdening them, but lately the endearing modesty of "California" or "Just like This Train" seems far behind her. Instead, she has been inexplicably inclined to let her music become shapeless as she tries to incorporate jazz and calypso rhythms that eventually overpower her. At her best, she is a keen observer but not a particularly original one, and she has never been an interesting chronicler of experience other than her own, though the new LP finds her trying. But, increasingly, Mitchell's pretensions have shaped her appraisal of her own gifts. Not that this awkwardness can't be occasionally successful: on Hejira, she clung so resolutely to even the stray flat notes that the impression was an attractive one of stubbornness and strength. Since Blue, Mitchell has demonstrated an increasing fondness for formats that don't suit her. The best that can be said for Don Juan's Reckless Daughter is that it is an instructive failure. But, always, the unpredictable caliber of her work has been as exciting as it is frustrating. She has dabbled with jazz and African tribal music, ventured deep inside herself and fled far away. From that happy juncture, she has moved on to more graceful and sober self-scrutiny ( For the Roses and Court and Spark), to dramatic musical experimentation mixed with failed social commentary ( The Hissing of Summer Lawns), to ever-more-seductive singing ( Miles of Aisles) and to rambling, hypnotic flights of fancy ( Hejira). Their lifespan in the wild is about ten years.In retrospect, Blue turns out to have been the album that displayed Joni Mitchell at her most buoyant and comfortable - with herself, with the nature of her talents, and with the conventions of pop songwriting. Baby snakes are about 2 feet long when they are born and are almost immediately able to swim and hunt. Reproductionįemale anacondas retain their eggs and give birth to two to three dozen live young. Jaws attached by stretchy ligaments allow them to swallow their prey whole, no matter the size, and they can go weeks or months without food after a big meal. Anacondas are nonvenomous constrictors, coiling their muscular bodies around captured prey and squeezing until the animal asphyxiates. They reach their monumental size on a diet of wild pigs, deer, birds, turtles, capybara, caimans, and even jaguars. Their eyes and nasal openings are on top of their heads, allowing them to lay in wait for prey while remaining nearly completely submerged. ![]() They are cumbersome on land, but stealthy and sleek in the water. On Land and in WaterĪnacondas live in swamps, marshes, and slow-moving streams, mainly in the tropical rain forests of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. Other anaconda species, all from South America and all smaller than the green anaconda, are the yellow, dark-spotted, and Bolivian varieties. ![]() Females are significantly larger than males. Green anacondas can grow to more than 29 feet, weigh more than 550 pounds, and measure more than 12 inches in diameter. Learn how they maintain their massive size. The semiaquatic snakes weigh as much as 550 pounds, and can be as long as a school bus. ![]()
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