Brandi Carlile feels "inspired" by Joni Mitchell

Brandi told People: "She's inspired me in so many ways, but I think one of the most profound ways is in what I won't write because of Joni.

"There are songs that just don't get through the filter anymore of, 'Can I drive up to that gate and play this song for Joni over a glass of wine?' If I can't, it doesn't get written."

Brandi actually sees Joni as a benchmark for other songwriters.

She said: "I don't really understand the metric of how I judge those things. It just have to do with how I feel when I'm playing them."

Brandi has huge trust in Joni's judgement, too.

She explained: "I could play a song with two chords and 10 words for Joni, but if it comes from the place that she calls 'the muse' instead of 'the ick,' then I can hold my head up.

"But if I try and satiate someone or something by writing a song, if I'm trying to guess how it's going to be perceived by other people in the process of making it, it will come out in a way that I can't stand behind."

Earlier this year, Brandi opened up about her approach towards writing Returning to Myself, her most-recent album.

Speaking to Variety, Brandi explained: "I remember Rick Rubin telling me when I was really young, 'You can't make records in your head.' And I was like, 'Well, sure you can! I make everything in my head, years in advance.' And it's not true.

"You can't make records in your head, if you do it authentically. You have to be prepared to be surprised by the muse. That does tend to happen to me every so often in these big, pivotal moments in my life, and that's certainly what happened."