Joanna Newsom: c/d?

i love "bridges and balloons"

Sell out!

But she has to get more musically interesting yet for me.

The album frequently loses my attention about half-way through, yet I don't think the songcraft dips badly at all. It's not in the sequencing either, and there is plenty of variety (the bluesy "This Side of..." the trad-folky "Swansea" etc). Nevertheless there's something a little limited about her palette (tempo?) that doesn't grab me like it could at this point.

What I've heard of her newer material seems to be spinning towards lengthier lyrical epics, possibly exploring/reining in her voice a bit too. I really dislike judging things from bootleg live recordings so I'm not going to speculate whether this is yet an improvement.

Give her time I say. I think her humour is underrated at this point, and her personality & grit still latent under the image (or schtick if you're cynical) and the novelty.

signifieds butt heads with the signifiers and we all fall down slack-jawed to marvel at words. just insane lyrics! I haven't heard better ones in a while.

otm. i think she's very self-aware of her own tweeness, and plays it up because it's funny, which makes it less insufferable than twee things normally are.

the actual timbre of her voice is the least interesting thing about it, she has a natural intuition for phrasing and emphasis which is far more effective.

Cocorosie are neither weird or fascinating, or remotely interesting beyond the superficial sonic tinkerings (imo).

somehow she reminds of the incredible string band. whose appeal i didn't get neither. the kind of hippie music which confirms all prejudices against hippies.

The B. Dylan comparisons are valid, the James Joyce ones are overreaching, but I can see why someone would make them. If you're a Lit nerd, you're on her like white on rice.

Here's a YSI of the new song she's been performing. Originally it was two songs, Only Skin and Be A Woman, she eventually melded the two and added some new parts. Sound is a bit distant initially but improves greatly at the 7 minute mark.

http://s62.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0EAMUZ275929007S13HG8IXVK2

It clocks in at 15 minutes, and I'll take this occasion to dispel the hippie tag everybody's throwing around. This is not some indulgent & stoned free-flow jam - it's a highly structured and crafted piece of work. Dismissing Joanna Newsom's work as "stupid hippie crap" is akin to doing the same to John Fahey's or Neil Young's. Don't let the dress / demeanor of someone blind you to what they have to say, which in this case is a lot.

Ah, the other venerable slam - Joanna Newsom as curious tree-faerie. It was only a matter of time....

also, is the Sadie song about a dog? that song makes me cry.

its curious to me too when folks say she 'has no talent':

not to make everything a gender issue, but i feel that's what people say about female artists when there is one thing they dislike about them....particularly if it is a voice thing. its like ok you're not the total package, you're untalented. and your true instrument of expression is your voice of course and you must sing pretty.

Aren't your comments above about her songwriting talents indicative of the fact that there might be more than one thing they don't particularly like about her (even if they just happen to mention her voice)?

I might call Wolf Parade or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah untalented mind.

Interesting, but perhaps not the greatest introduction :-O

Heh. As opposed to "I wish her well, and I hope she fails."

why? because i've re-dugout the milk-eyed mender and do you know, her voice isn't that bad, in fact it's very beautiful. her lyrics are the tits. plus the harp playing is beyond evocative. it makes me nostlagic for the summer. love it.

New song is wonderful.

Try this link.

The tempo shift caught me off guard, so cheers to that. Otherwise about what I'd expect. Very nice.

I didn't expect that MELODY though. It's beautiful.

DUD

classic for other people... dud for me.

which is to say I just can't be bothered being conflicted about her (MIA too..) anymore and would prefer not to suffer the indigestion of trying to enjoy/appreciate her talents. I'd rather not think of her at all.

I still absolutely love this new song. It has this yearning, "In My Life" sort of quality to it. Something about the melody seems displaced from time.

Glad to hear her using the upper register of the harp to great effect.

Is this going to be another eight-months-before-the-album-comes-out thread?

Does it bother you?

Not really. I'm more amused by it now.

I know, it's so amusing---people expressing their liking for particular songs in a music board.

Anyway, classic. If only for Ys, "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie," & this new song.

is this a track from the Ys Street band EP or something else?

sleeve, nope. The track from the Ys Street Band EP is "Colleen". This other one's a newer song she played a few nights ago in Rome.

This thread demonstrates the limitations of the ILM c/d binary. I don't think she's a dud at all, but she hasn't really been around long enough for any kind of Classic status. I like many of the songs on Milk-Eyed Mender but I've heard less from Ys (only "Cosmia" I think, which is great) and another couple of songs here and there, including this new one linked to, which is also very good. I don't think she's really going for the twee hippie faerie thing at all, more a kind of odd slant on the periphery of folk (and orchestral folk on the last album, from what I gather), and she does do interesting rhythmic things (not just melodic) with her harp sometimes. It's not background music; you have to give it your attention. The voice can be grating, but so can Dylan's.

she does do interesting rhythmic things (not just melodic) with her harp sometimes

OTM. There's supposed to be some African drum pattern things in there, I think I've read?

yes she acknowledges the influence of the mbira, which is actually more of a kalimba/thumb piano type instrument - primarily melodic not rhythmic, but it has its own rhythms. See the music of Thomas Mapfumo for examples.

but she hasn't really been around long enough for any kind of Classic status

Exactly. She's young, too. My answer upthread is provisional, of course, but considering her more recent output, she does seem to be evolving in an interesting way and has developed an unusual ability to write engaging songs, notwithstanding their length.

yes she acknowledges the influence of the mbira

Hmm? I've heard her go on about the kora influences in her playing/composing, but this wouldn't surprise me, either.

See, this is also why ILM is grate! My vague "interesting rhythmic things" becomes more fleshed out. I love Thomas Mapfumo, so I'm kicking myself that I didn't recognise it, but it explains why I was drawn in to some of JN's music, too.

Turangalila, I agree that she seems to be moving forward and toward... something. She's a compelling artist and I hope she does become classic one day.

I really miss when she used to put on that voice. She blanded out on Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie. The only letdown in an otherwise fantastic show she put on earlier in the year when I saw her.

"At the regal Riverbend Centre on Saturday night, Joanna Newsom proved why she’s one of today’s most iconoclastic and oddly appealing musicians: not only did she mesh shockingly well with the ultra-classy Austin Symphony Orchestra, but she also managed to get in trouble for hauling a bottle of Maker’s Mark onto stage. And it’s in this almost-accidental appeal to both sides of the concert-going spectrum—as well as an almost embarrassing wealth of talent—that she has become a powerful force in sub-pop music."

I'm seeing her at Disney Hall soon and I'm pretty sure I'm in for one of the best shows of my life. Seeing her on the first Ys tour was one of my favorite concert experiences.

AWESOME re: Maker's Mark

xpost

classic. i like her and her music.

Her show in Madison last year was appallingly bad. She showed up two and a half hours late and played a static and affectless set, or at least part of one -- I joined the stream of people leaving early. That said, when I later listened to the record I realized that the songs were pretty good. But I'd never see her live again.

she's rehearsing downstairs right now... playing here at BAM thursday and friday night. i can't decide if i should try and sneak in. maybe for a few mins

I hope you did.

the show is tonight! and tom night. will def sneak a peak

I like that she's a girl that's doing something kind of intellectual, but she just seems so privileged. I mean, there just isn't the kind of feeling of ... insecurity, or something, that I can identify with in music, or unfulfilled desire, or whatever. When you think about it, she plays a harp. There's a reason most musicians aren't playing harps. Like, where are you getting the money for a harp? Who's carrying it onto the stage for you? This is all a bit ad hominem, I guess.

I dunno, she might have bought her first one in a bott sale

Ha, Boot sale, but I'm keeping that typo.

Also, I suppose you could say the same thing about a drum kit? Or those big marshall amps. Or whatever. Still, there's this sense that rock is for poor losers and it's like, come on, don't descend into our grubby realm with your amazing intellect and your beauty and your harp and walk all over us ... you already have your privileged sphere, what do you want with ours?

It was like when all those punk bands came out with Fenders (particularly Pete Stride of the Lurkers, on the "I don't need to tell her" single, for some reason), and I was like "whoa, expensive guitar!"

"yeah, we nicked them", yeah uh-huh righto...

Harp makes for a bit of variety though eh? Who cares how she bought it.

Good job reviving a thread to make a specious complaint you don't even maintain the validity of for 15 minutes

Also, I suppose you could say the same thing about a drum kit? Or those big marshall amps. Or whatever. Still, there's this sense that rock is for poor losers and it's like, come on, don't descend into our grubby realm with your amazing intellect and your beauty and your harp and walk all over us ... you already have your privileged sphere, what do you want with ours?

Joanna Newsom makes rock music?

she makes Rocke Musick

i wz hoping the revive meant smth about a new album or smth

sigh

didn't she play a bunch of new songs recently somewhere?

New album in Fall on Drag City

http://billions.com/avails

ah, that's cool. i like her quite a bit -- maybe not as nuts as some people are about her, but she is definitely very good. also glad she's sticking with Drag City -- for some reason I thought she'd jump ship for Nonesuch or something.

Still, there's this sense that rock is for poor losers

maybe this "sense" is what you need to think a little harder about, not joanna n. going to college to learn an instrument, which a lot of people do.

Still, there's this sense that rock is for poor losers and it's like, come on, don't descend into our grubby realm with your amazing intellect and your beauty and your harp and walk all over us ... you already have your privileged sphere, what do you want with ours?

Yeah not really going to explore this in too much depth because it's obviously retarded but this is all tied in to outmoded and artificial ideas about authenticity in rock music.

http://naturalismo.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/joanna-newsom-played-upcoming-third-album-live-in-full-in-big-sur/

oh joanna

you can do no wrong! If you masturbated on stage and plucked the harp with your pussy, I'd love it!

...

ps. the first time I heard Ys I CRIED TOO

SO EMOTIONAL

alrighty | 16 Dec '06, 06:34 | Reply

lol

lol so much projecting going on w/that revive

i only have ill feelings toward joanna because i saw her open for the incredible string band and all the people were there to see her! no one seemed to know who the old, weird headlining hippies were.

not her fault obviously

that is pretty sad

that's so sad

xpost!

the leopard skin tights she is wearing in that link are way more unforgivable than playing a harp

oh it was so sad then again, this is better on the eyes http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/01/06/joanna_newsom_narrowweb__300x450,0.jpg

than this
http://www.wnyc.org/images/slideshows/incredible_string_band/IncredibleSB1.jpg

there's a shirley collins album where in the liner notes she refers to the incredible string band as 'a pair of handsome gypsies'

Callahan,you lucky bastard

oh yeah, ISB had it goin' on back in the day, in that forest hippie kinda way, but in the 21st century, not so much.

nah, it's Samberg now. (xp)

Anyone ever seen her and Regina Spektor in the same room?

omg fernwood is gonna blow up now!

i went to so many of those folk yeah things in big sur, kinda bummed i never knew about this secret joanna newsome performance business

Samberg and Newsom -

Love has no rules

also like Joanna for the fact that she's a Moore Bros. supporter -- those guys are like the 21st century Incredible String Band. So much handsomer too.

"the 21st century Incredible String Band"

Animal Collective?

noooooooooooooooooooooooooo

thats what some people thought when Sung tongs came out,i think

yeah, perhaps -- moore brothers aren't really like animal collective though.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3360/3500931553_961537f7cf.jpg?v=0

i actually haven't seen SNL in a while ... is that guy ... funny?

is that from http://www.babeswithdouchebags.com/ ?

oh yeah, ISB had it goin' on back in the day, in that forest hippie kinda way

they were very good looking guys, robin especially:

http://static.open.salon.com/files/firstboy121243828716.jpg

she looks so pretty in that pic!

something about her music doesn't draw me in. i can never put my finger on it. i guess i just get the sense that she's singing about things that i don't know about, or something. not sure -- i need to listen to more.

robin looks prettier than joanna there, haha

it's like noah lennox whould date maria carey or something.
and yes, im jealous

milk eyed mender>>>>Ys in an actually want to listen to it sense imo, but Ys is probably way "better" or more accomplished or something

also like Joanna for the fact that she's a Moore Bros. supporter -- those guys are like the 21st century Incredible String Band. So much handsomer too.

More handsome than ISB in their prime? Getouttahere!

saw her live a couple years ago on the ys tour and she is genuinely funny, even if the crowd were sucking up

so i mean dating a comedian...

andy samberg fwiw is not that funny

he's hot

cute couple!

there is film on the internet somewhere of her telling a dick joke, brought to you by some magazine that photographed her wearing couture

i find myself really hoping she has a seriously long-tailed career: the cd-rs and milk-eyed mender are fantastic finding-a-voice stuff; i've never been able to get an angle on ys because i miss the sheer enthusiasm to be writing and singing conveyed in the first album. or the joy in just doing it for it's own sake.

'colleen' (only new song since, i think?) maybe more accomplished than anything on 'ys'

'ys' quite clunky in some ways —

"and I miss your precious heart
and miss, and miss, and miss
and miss, and miss, and miss
and miss, and miss your heart
but release your precious heart
to its feast, for precious hearts"

— i mean, i know how it looks written isn't the point, but i still find that a little naif or faux-naif

i may be biased towards 'colleen' bcz the yelping makes it sound like she's finding a way to indulge the schtick
-singing of the first releases without leaving technique behind, which would be +++ good thing

also the ys street guitarist sounds a bit like he's playing on one of the acoustic tracks on rumours

i can't help but feel like it was a big fuck you when she started singing more normally to all the people who had defended how she sang on the first album as natural instead of contrived. I'll let you know when I have worked through this with my therapist.

can't help but wonder what I'm On a Boat would have been like if she's helped write the lyrics.

also the ys street guitarist sounds a bit like he's playing on one of the acoustic tracks on rumours

yeah what a pile of shit

I thought thomp was saying that's one of the reasons he preferred "Colleen" to Ys.

oop, sorry

i can't help but feel like it was a big fuck you when she started singing more normally to all the people who had defended how she sang on the first album as natural instead of contrived. I'll let you know when I have worked through this with my therapist.

― ❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉Plaxico❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉ (I know, right?)

I think the reality is that when she was first starting out, she hadn't really sung before and wasn't too great at it. Some people found it "endearing", others "contrived".

But she's obviously a perfectionist who works hard at all the things she does. I'm guessing that she's either taken some vocal lessons or just worked at it a lot since the first album. She's gotten to be quite good and will probably continue to improve.

Seeing her live on the Ys tour, the thing that amazed me the most was how good and well-controlled her voice sounded.

kinda can't believe there's much debate about the dexterity/accomplishment of her voice http://www.mediafire.com/file/15ueodzydmz/joanna-newsom-esame.mp3

oh i'm not sure the fleetwood mac thing is particularly accurate but i meant it in a positive way, yeah

i have now accidentally played the above track over the top of 'tusk', which comes closer to working than it ought, but still doesn't really work

She has a bit of a comedic turn in the video for MGMT's Kids too

That Esame song is fantastic.

ws gonna say

http://mistermort.typepad.com/.a/6a010535d07789970c01287594b3e7970c-800wi

http://mistermort.typepad.com/.a/6a010535d07789970c0120a692f4cc970b-800wi

nice shoes? heard from a friend who plays on her upcoming album that the new one is "more down to earth" than Ys.

She finished recording her new album apparently. If "Esame" isn't in it there is no hope for this world, imo.

tylerw, what you should do is find out if there's strings in this new album. :)

Doesn't sound like strings are a big part of it -- at least compared to the last one. This one was recorded with her touring band mainly ... It's more of a "band" sound, I guess.

Also it might be a "triple album" apparently.

!

a small ensemble recording sounds great!

still one of the best shows I have ever seen

waht
http://www.wmagazine.com/images/fashion/2009/12/fass_armani_03_v.jpg

http://19.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_koymtfXv9w1qa10kgo1_r1_400.jpg

So it will be a more down-to-earth triple album?

Makes sense.

http://i.imgur.com/5YiDv.gif

she's got it all. sass, ass, shoes, voice, harp skills, curves, legs, entire english dictionary memorised, whimsy

i mean, what

Listening to Joanna Newsom is like being attacked by smurfs. But I'd give her a classic because no one sounds like her. I can't stand her music though.

http://www.style.com/blogs/stylefile/wp-content/uploads/wren-joanna-newsom-1.jpg

http://www.style.com/stylefile/2012/11/wren-a-songbird-joanna-newsom-lends-a-string/

Whimsy is just the right word for the video’s star, the adored singer/songwriter and harpist Joanna Newsom. Newsom, harp in tow, performed a cover of Sandy Denny’s folksy, 1971 sea shanty “The North Star Grassman and the Ravens.” “Aesthetically, her songs are really inspiring to me—they’re really bold strokes that feel sort of theatrical and they’re interested in story,” Newsom said of Denny’s melancholy track and creative collaboration it inspired. “The fashion and design that I’m interested in also has to do with story, very strong statements that have some sort of narrative to them, that they aren’t just interested in the now.”

http://twitter.com/Grimezsz/status/280377599946010624

Not too sure how many Joanna fans will actually buy this, but nice to know it'll be out there.

http://jtclassics.co.uk/product.php?id_product=49

Hard Skin, the most popular oi! punk band around, send a strong message to their massive fanbase of women by doing a collaboration record with a lot of very famous females who are huge fans of the band as people as well as as a band. They have redone their whole new classic album On The Balls but have let the ladies take over the main vocals! What could have turned out to be really funny is actually absolutely brilliant and another classic!

http://jtclassics.co.uk/img/p/49-104-thickbox.jpg

There's a sound sample on Amazon, definitely sounds like her:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Ran-Town/dp/B00B1BQ98Y

http://vimeo.com/61742904

http://24.media.tumblr.com/9318917232af82f16bbff64d0b839ca4/tumblr_mmz0xdKvtq1qa1ubyo1_1280.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/dbd7e4b6c6ed592fce7e361afe5fd040/tumblr_mq9fg36Ile1qhug3qo5_500.png

I can totally hear her in all the stuff she picks:

http://www.vogue.com/8204763/inherent-vice-joanna-newsom-1970s-songs/

Crossing my fingers for Gentle Giant influence on the next album. She's at her best on twistier tracks like "Have One On Me".

Saw her live this week, she's amazing. In tears for "Only Skin", and I came away with newfound appreciation for the non-Ys songs she played. I'm in utter awe at what an amazing performer she is.

THE STRINGS/KEYS REINCIDENCE
Trill the trumpets!
Hoist the flags!
Raise the gates of the city!
Rip the protective plastic covers off the furniture!

For lo, Joanna Newsom, balladeer without compeer, Nevada City’s native daughter and Aureate Laureate of these Austral climes, comes riding down the mountain (sidesaddle, natch) to undertake a limited Los Angeles solo residency at The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever, May 15th through May 19th, 2024!

Though she rides alone this time, Joanna comes equipped with her usual blistering wind-up double punch to wreak raptures upon harp and piano alike.

I know what you’re thinking — we’re all thinking it — What’s in the saddlebag, Newsom? It’s hard to tell from here, but darn if she doesn’t seem to be packing new tunes! What’s your pleasure? The golden oldies? Perhaps a cover song or two? A 17-minuter for the large-bladdered among us? Over the space of these five nights she’ll sing some, strum some, pluckety plunk some, and probably sonically boggle your noggin. The noggin inside your heart.

You should only read this next part if you're a child, or know one who's cool: the May 18th show will be a 3:30pm (doors at 2:30) Matinee Performance strictly for kids under 18 (and their keepers), where Mrs. Newsom has promised to forgo the "blue" material we've all come to know (and respect) her for, and instead tailor the setlist to be not only suitable for children, but specifically designed with them in mind. Tickets for this show will only be available for the little ones (and their keepers), a policy as ironclad as it is unenforceable!

Now as for the rest of the dates, old timer — mark them on your calendar, tattoo them on your forehead, brand them on the back of your wizened hands, but remember — only a ticket will get you in the door.

What side of history do you want to be on? The underside? The wet part? The index? The table of contents? Or the future of music? We think the answer, like God’s grace, speaks for herself.

what on earth is a joanna newsom show tailored specifically for children going to be like

i hope that new album is coming soon, those new songs she debuted last year were wonderful and it's been nearly a decade!

That is thee most Drag City press release of all thee Drag City press releases; also, ofc, a Joanna Newsom show tailored to children is a Joanna Newsom show

(I have to assume her 'blue' lyrical content would go way over the heads of those whose lil' ears are protected)

lol at any kids being able to pick out anything from her songs, "blue" or not. "Mommy, what did the pretty harp lady mean when she sang 'And the articulation in our elbows and knees makes us buckle, and we couple in endless increase as the audience admires'?"

You'd be surprised -- I had to take my nephew's iphone away after I caught him texting about "cockles" and "cowries"

The perk and protection of being a Drag City artist is having Rian Murphy press releases that take the piss out of press releases while also getting the info across.

Very weird to have a kids show at the fucking CEMETARY

Hey, they gotta learn somehow.

Tickets on sale Friday at 10 a.m. Pacific (stampede expected).

She played a festival in Utah yesterday - dedicated "Cosmia" to Albini and performed a new song "No Wonder" (one of the ones she debuted last year at the surprise performance with Fleet Foxes). I'm really hoping for an album announcement after the California residency, can't believe it's been almost 9 years since Divers.