Joanna Newsom: c/d?

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

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.