New Joanna Newsom Album "Ys" Due Nov 14

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"revival"

― timmy tannin (pompous), Monday, 4 September 2006 04:58 (nineteen years ago)

No hippie music just acid house.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 4 September 2006 05:03 (nineteen years ago)

oh, that post on the k board is actually by a dude in 5rc band, the punks. i guess he might be more likely to be 'in the know' of such matters.

― blood bitch (blood bitch), Monday, 4 September 2006 05:04 (nineteen years ago)

I just heard the first track for the first time from start to finish and I'm mystified. It sounded improvised, structureless, with strings thrown in, with nothing to guide you through the song (no repeating features, no theme, no sustained tempo) and no immediately graspable storyline to follow.

I hope there's something there I'll discover in forthcoming listens, but at the moment: WTF?

― StanM (StanM), Monday, 4 September 2006 05:17 (nineteen years ago)

(I loved Milky, btw)

― StanM (StanM), Monday, 4 September 2006 05:18 (nineteen years ago)

i wasn't much for the first album so i'm surprised to find myself liking this one a great deal. the last minute of "emily" reminds me of the harp intro/outro of "the all golden," coincidentally

― joseph (joseph), Monday, 4 September 2006 23:37 (nineteen years ago)

She doesn't really bring me into her headspace as much as I'm trying to assume she could. I feel quite left behind by her music sometimes. Is it weird to want for more real life and less blatant narnian fantasy in her music?

This is an album of really gorgeous moments (so far, still percolating) but I'm still quite dubious of her whole damn thing really.

― bad hair day house (fandango), Monday, 4 September 2006 23:52 (nineteen years ago)

it's also an album of gorgeous movements from one melodic part to the next.

there's definitely a sort of blandness to the actual sounds though, despite how well they move here.

― bad hair day house (fandango), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 00:04 (nineteen years ago)

OMG "Cosmia"

It's so gorgeous..."and all those lonely nights down by the RIIIVERRR"

― Tape Store (Tape Store), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 00:59 (nineteen years ago)

>>it's also an album of gorgeous movements from one melodic part to the next.
there's definitely a sort of blandness to the actual sounds though, despite how well they move here.

― JMMMusic (Jimmy M), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 02:10 (nineteen years ago)

Right. As I was saying...

The movement between parts reminds me of the randomizing systems used by Eno in "Three Variations on Canon in D," except that here there seems to be an element of mutual inspiration between the words and the music. None of the songs ever achieve resolution, but simply peter out when the time is right.

The whole thing is pretty syrupy and smooth, but I think that her poetry is strong enought to overcome the lack of edges. And it's full of absolutely gorgeous melodies.

― JMMMusic (Jimmy M), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 02:12 (nineteen years ago)

I wish Newsom had considered Jon Brion

If you wanted it to sound like Rufus Wainwright... then yeah, I guess.

― Turangalila (Salvador), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 06:31 (nineteen years ago)

it's not stolen from Stivell but from the mythical drowned kingdom of Ys, which has already inspired much art, music, etc (see also the BdB album).

... maybe, but the fact that it's the first track on the most famous HARP album in modern folk music is surely no coincidence

― Ich Ber Ein Binliner (Dada), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 13:29 (nineteen years ago)

If you wanted it to sound like Rufus Wainwright...

The first sign of the apocalypse?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 13:30 (nineteen years ago)

More cover art:

http://www.bumpershine.com/2006/09/01/joanna-newsom-ys-a-closer-look.html

I've been listening to it all weekend. I have some thoughts but no time to organize them.

― Edward III (edward iii), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 13:58 (nineteen years ago)

dear god.

she's shown admirable restraint in keeping this under 3 discs of material I guess.

as opposed to Sufjan "bank! bank! bank now!" Stevens...

― bad hair day house (fandango), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 14:36 (nineteen years ago)

The first sign of the apocalypse?

-- Ned Raggett (ne...), September 5th, 2006. (Ned) (link)

Haha. Indeed.

― Turangalila (Salvador), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 19:34 (nineteen years ago)

...is it just me or does she sounds like the freak-folk version of Bjork?

― emekars (emekars), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 21:20 (nineteen years ago)

what do you mean by that?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 21:40 (nineteen years ago)

btw i'm surprised the packaging is so lavishly finalized about 2 months before the release date... what are they waiting for?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 21:46 (nineteen years ago)

if she was Bjork's sister it woudnt surprise me - they have sort of a similiar vocals, and same way of "playing" with it.

― emekars (emekars), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 21:49 (nineteen years ago)

you're not the first to draw the Björk comparison, no

― bad hair day house (fandango), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 21:56 (nineteen years ago)

can't say I agree but they share a lot of.. approaches to music somehow

― bad hair day house (fandango), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 21:57 (nineteen years ago)

"The people who will be gushing over this wouldn't be caught dead buying a Tori Amos album, or waiting on line to see Into The Woods."

-My beautiful and astute wife, reacting to my praise of this record as it played on our long car trip this afternoon

Much like the time she challenged me to defend the Minutemen's "slap bass parts," I was at a loss.

She's becoming the Andy Rooney of indie rock, that one.

My opinion on YS is unchanged, however - a meticulous, dense and beautiful record I will definitely be coming back to often. Reminds me of Astral Weeks in places. Anyone else?

― Wand Milius (Roger Fidelity), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 00:48 (nineteen years ago)

Heh. Just a side comment, but I don't understand why liking Tori is so taboo. Her first four albums are actually awesome. It's pretty hard to deny the greatness of songs like "Leather," "Bells for her," "Mr. Zebra," "Father Lucifer" (the three-part rounds/harmonies bit toward the end is fab), "iieee" (pure melody), "Pandora's Aquarium."

But her latest output is watered-down grocery store music, I'll give you that.

― Turangalila (Salvador), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 01:25 (nineteen years ago)

Wand, your wife has much wisdom.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 01:41 (nineteen years ago)

Reminds me of Astral Weeks in places. Anyone else?

-- Wand Milius

Yup. Also In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

― M. V. (M.V.), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 03:18 (nineteen years ago)

Meticulous and dense? I've been listening to a live version of "Sawdust And Diamonds" pretty nonstop lately and It's totally engaging, considering it's just a voice, some lyrics and a harp. Can't wait to hear what VDP and Musicisback O'Rourke added to the mix.

I think I'm waiting until its release to finally listen to Ys. My only regret is that her publicity shot couldn't have been the album cover. Don't labels care about record sales anymore?

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 04:43 (nineteen years ago)

I've been listening to a live version of "Sawdust And Diamonds" pretty nonstop lately and It's totally engaging, considering it's just a voice, some lyrics and a harp. Can't wait to hear what VDP and Musicisback O'Rourke added to the mix.

Ha, that's the only one they pretty much didn't do anything to. It's still just harp and voice.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:24 (nineteen years ago)

It's also the one that's made less of an impression on me. Now, "Cosmia" & "Monkey & Bear"... mmmm. Nice.

― Turangalila (Salvador), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:45 (nineteen years ago)

Like, where's the single, man?

"Cosmia" is relatively short and snappy and it has a killer Joni Mitchell-ish hook. Well, it's 7 minutes long but that's as close as you're gonna get.

Anyway:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Three_female_druids.jpg/727px-Three_female_druids.jpg

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:55 (nineteen years ago)

Is that from The Wicker Man?

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:57 (nineteen years ago)

Close, wikipedia.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 05:58 (nineteen years ago)

Wickerpedia

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 06:15 (nineteen years ago)

It would be nice if Drag City reissued the first two EPs on one disc, but I'm not holding my breath. I slightly prefer the versions of "Cassiopeia" and "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" on Walnut Whales. CCCC was the first song I ever heard from her, on her old website, and still one of my favorites.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 06:17 (nineteen years ago)

The Walnut Whales version of CCCC does have more of a DIY, tossed-off charm to it. Those days seem far behind now; she seriously stepped up her ambitions.

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 06:35 (nineteen years ago)

Yup. Also In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

-- M. V. (m...), September 5th, 2006.

----------

Oh, please.

― james brooks (j_brooks), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 15:28 (nineteen years ago)

One of the three tracks leaked so far reminds me of "Orange Claw Hammer" Beefheart. on 78. but slowed down to last longer at the same time. Pitch shifted.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 15:36 (nineteen years ago)

the whole thing has leaked fwiw

― just say no to individuality (fandango), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 15:49 (nineteen years ago)

It's funny that they kept all those albums up for that long. You could see that they downloaded pre-releases themselves and they also had the entire top 200 songs of the sixties list and such things there.

― MRZBW (MRZBW), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:28 (nineteen years ago)

Sing! Harpy

― Hot Hot Heat (Hot Hot Heat), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 17:18 (nineteen years ago)

I've never understood the appeal of VDP's arrangements. He always sounds like he's transcribing Fairport Convention solos. I wish Newsom had considered Jon Brion or Wolfgang Rihm.

-- Owen Pallett (opallet...), September 3rd, 2006. (Owen Pallett) (link)

a) That comparison doesnt make any sense whatsoever. VDP predates Fairport Convention. Also, he sounds nothing like FC.

b) Rihm? C'mon, man. Typical 20th century classical garbage. Super heavy emo 12 tone stuff and whatnot.

c) Jon Brion is a sub par Brian Wilson wanna-be.

Personally, I think VDP is the perfect foil to Joanna's quirky americana song cycle broadway musical tunes.

― Turangalila (Salvador), Friday, 8 September 2006 01:13 (nineteen years ago)

a dreadfully overwrought album

― ()()()---()()() (internet), Friday, 8 September 2006 01:21 (nineteen years ago)

Your mom is dreadfully overwr...aw, forget it.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Friday, 8 September 2006 02:13 (nineteen years ago)

so if i like the legendary pink dots and the moon lay hidden beneath a cloud, i'll like this, right?

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Friday, 8 September 2006 06:12 (nineteen years ago)

probably not

she's got a litte kristin hersh

― jergins (jergins), Friday, 8 September 2006 06:43 (nineteen years ago)

oh, i likes her too.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Friday, 8 September 2006 07:04 (nineteen years ago)

Kristin Hersh and this are like polar opposites to me... unless you mean Joanna is writing in a kind of "stream of consciousness" way, which frankly I don't buy for a second, it's WAY too calculated and pored over.

I looked at The Milk Eyed Mender in my cd pile last night and suddenly felt quite fond and nostalgic...

I think I hate this album. and for gods sake do NOT listen to it stoned, it doesn't 'open up' as much as it becomes completely ridiculous and annoying.

― just say no to individuality (fandango), Friday, 8 September 2006 12:09 (nineteen years ago)

VDP doesn't sound like Fairport Convention, you're right... although your timeline is backwards and your assessment of Rihm is dreadful and incorrect.

On second thought I'd describe Parks' arrangement style as somewhat similar to Shooby Taylor. Melodic scatting over otherwise finished songs.

His work on this album kills. Totally the best.

― Owen Pallett (Owen Pallett), Friday, 8 September 2006 13:48 (nineteen years ago)

Kristin Hersh and this are like polar opposites to me.

their vocal tone, at times, is exactly the same. that's all. You're right about Kristin Hersh having more fire, more stream-of-conciousness.

i think i don't like this either. otm about smoking up w/ this.

― jergins (jergins), Friday, 8 September 2006 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

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