Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (RIP blogs)

http://pitchfork.com/news/38738-newsom-takes-on-gaga-madonna/

"I'm mystified by the laziness of people looking at how she presents herself, and somehow assuming that implies there's a high level of intelligence in the songwriting. Her approach to image is really interesting, but you listen to the music, and you just hear glow sticks. Smart outlets for musical journalism give her all this credit, like she's the new Madonna [...] Although I'm coming from a perspective of also thinking Madonna is not great at all. I'm like, fair enough: she is the new Madonna, but Madonna's a dumb-ass!"

Who knew Newsom had that kind of venom inside of her?! Not even Joanna herself, apparently, because she quickly realized the quote was a bit much, and later sent an e-mail to The Guardian clarifying-- though not taking back-- her statement:

"I may have contradicted myself. My problem isn't actually with Lady Gaga. But there's not much in her music to distinguish it from other glossy, formulaic pop. She just happens to wear slightly weirder outfits than Britney Spears. But they're not that weird-- they're mostly just skimpy. She's fully marketing her body/sexuality; she's just doing it while wearing, like, a 'fierce' telephone hair-hat. Her sexuality has no scuzziness, no frank raunchiness, in the way that, say, Peaches, or even Grace Jones, have-- she's Arty Spice! And, meanwhile, she seems to take herself so oddly seriously, the way she talks about her music in the third person, like she's Brecht or something. She just makes me miss Cyndi Lauper. [...] I shouldn't have called Madonna a dumb-ass. Her music and she have just gotten so boring to me, this last decade. I think maybe she doesn't hold her money very gracefully, the way some people can't hold their drink. But one thing she is surely not is dumb."

is everyone on XL required to release a scathing soundbyte about Lady Gaga now

From P4k's story Newsom Takes on Gaga, Madonna:

Like M.I.A., Joanna Newsom isn't buying into the Lady Gaga hype. In a recent article in The Guardian, the indie singer-songwriter-harpist had some choice words for the world's most fashion-forward pop star: "I'm mystified by the laziness of people looking at how she presents herself, and somehow assuming that implies there's a high level of intelligence in the songwriting. Her approach to image is really interesting, but you listen to the music, and you just hear glow sticks. Smart outlets for musical journalism give her all this credit, like she's the new Madonna [...] Although I'm coming from a perspective of also thinking Madonna is not great at all. I'm like, fair enough: she is the new Madonna, but Madonna's a dumb-ass!"

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1333/facepalmrs.jpg

woops

Dan, Newsom's on Drag City

I don't like Newsom, Gaga, or Madonna (well, Madonna's got some okay stuff)
do I win a prize?

http://gossipcandy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/184375-crazy-for-lady-gaga.jpg

lol this was on the XL website and I assumed they only bothered because she was one of their artists

hahahaha, anything for page views!

is everyone on XL required to release a scathing soundbyte about Lady Gaga now

― it means "EMOTIONAL"! (HI DERE), Monday, May 10, 2010 6:52 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

i really find it embarrassing

it's like, if it's so stupid, then why are you talking about it?? shutup already.

damn!

(sorry, I am addicted to "Housequake" and must always finish that phrase)

it's like, if it's so stupid, then why are you talking about it??

women be catty

here's the actual interview: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/may/09/joanna-newsom-interview

I hope this was just a case of her being a bit kooky and not a calculated attempt to get attention/press by starting some kind of beef with Lady G.

but you listen to the music, and you just hear glow sticks

\(o_O)/

other glossy, formulaic pop.

\(o_O)/

Don't sweat it guys. She's just shy.

xp why do you give a shit what joanna newsom thinks of pop music?

she's a fucking northern california hippie not an ilx poster

cad, everybody!

i'm genuinely curious

My guess: no-effort way to grossly inflate post count

she's a fucking northern california hippie not an ilx poster

pretty sure she posts her as MumblestheRevelator

i'm really interested in her music & have been a fan since 2005, and i'm just super surprised to hear statements like this coming from her. she usually comes off as really intelligent and open-minded, so it's just super weird to hear her say such reductive bullshit

I can't really speak for everyone, but it's more interesting for me when you write things like ^^^ than when you just copy/paste stories from other sites (especially when they've been posted already).

it wasn't already posted when i first started to compose my message, but i sincerely appreciate the feedback & will try to up my game

she usually comes off as really intelligent and open-minded, so it's just super weird to hear her say such reductive bullshit

lol what about her persona would give you any indication that she would be "open" to pop crap like Lady Gaga?!? her whole schtick is antithetical to that stuff

ksh clearly has a weird relationship with Newsom.

lol "Arty Spice"

I've read a lot of articles on her, and I don't recall ever reading anything where she criticizes pop music, although it's possible she has before. I'm sure part of my reaction comes from liking pop music a lot myself and being on ILX, where liking pop music is the norm, but I just find it really surprising that someone who's so smart and seemingly open-minded can be so dismissive about an entire genre of music. Of course, people are all the time, so I probably shouldn't be surprised, but I just am.

btw newsom otm imo

*dismisses entire genre of music*

xp lol i should say not in dismissing an entire genre of music (which she doesn't do in the quote ksh pulled) but specifically re: gaga

fwiw pop music fucking sucks

Her approach to image is really interesting, but you listen to the music, and you just hear glow sticks.

I'm probably painting with too broad a brush here, but I feel like her calling Gaga's music "just . . . glow sticks" is sort of dismissive of the music just because it's pop.

I have been posting here for over a fucking decade and I don't understand this pop music love bullshit

What does "just . . . glow sticks" even mean? It's a reductive "criticism" that isn't even interesting.

it means it sounds like the music you hear at a rave

i just think going there in a public forum makes you seem petty and renders your opinions in general less valuable

I don't understand this pop music love bullshit

old men enjoy pretending they're teenage girls

i just think going there in a public forum makes you seem petty and renders your opinions in general less valuable

this is OTM tho

tbf we are talking about the same person who described a beer as tasting like unicorn tears right?

I'm not surprised that she dismisses this stuff, more surprised that she felt it necessary to voice this opinion.

I hear that. but gaga sux and I would say somethin like that if someone asked.

I farted yesterday and the room smelled for like an hour

it means it sounds like the music you hear at a rave

Fair enough, but by saying Gaga's music is "just . . . glow sticks," you're being dismissive of her work without actually engaging with it at all, which is boring and says more about your own prejudices than the music itself.

It's not too far off from the people who call her own stuff "just some crazy lady singing pseudo-poetically about unicorns & making weird facial expressions while playing polyrhythms on a pedal harp."

article says she's a big fan of jay-z and kanye, so she isn't hating on all pop music

xpost -- Rolls off the tip of the tongue, that comment.

yea i totally agree with you ksh.