Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (RIP blogs)

whose name I am calling out because shit got heated enough

i'm pretty sure this is the first time this has happened to me on ilx, awesome

ok right:

i. 'annoying' was the wrong choice of word; pretend i said 'really sharp tone colour' though 'sharp' isn't really the right word

ii. i sort of distrust the logic of "it's okay to be singing out of tune as long as it is deliberate and you could do better if you wanted to"

iii. my claim is that if yr aesthetic choices involve a lot of deliberate error, people are perfectly justified to say "well, i don't like error, and i don't care if it is deliberate" - cf. bad free verse, novels written in one paragraph, out of focus photos - & i think this is a category of objection which on some level goes beyond mere personal taste

who gave marc loi the jagg's login?

This is JN's best-sung album in the same sense that Nashville Skyline is Dylan's best-sung album.

i really didn't like her voice until this record, but i don't think it was out of tune, just extreme, but then again i didn't listen to it enough to know for sure

I'd hate to hear what lj thinks of Mick Jagger and any other sixties rock singer ever that had "swagger" when singing about a desirable female.

there's the odd belter or bellowed moment where it's very obvious/deliberate (listed these earlier) ; also moments where she goes squeaky and misses the note

xpost i'd hate it if maybe LJ thinking modern brit indie was a bit rapey maybe had to become its own thread and not bother us here: that would be terrible

"You call that singing?"

I'll deal with iii because that's where the meat of the argument is (although 'tone colour' is something I think varies naturally rather than intentionally - prove me wrong)...

my claim is that if yr aesthetic choices involve a lot of deliberate error, people are perfectly justified to say "well, i don't like error, and i don't care if it is deliberate" - cf. bad free verse, novels written in one paragraph, out of focus photos - & i think this is a category of objection which on some level goes beyond mere personal taste

The issue here is whether Newsom is making errors, or valid musical choices. Unless she's failing to do something she's trying to do, I'd never accuse her of error. Is she failing to do something she's trying to do? I know some artistic choices can sabotage others, and thus the failure is that of creating a cogent artistic statement - I'd venture to say that if she does make an error, this might be it. But how? I think her voice works well enough with her instrument.

generally dislike the Stones fwiw - and yeah, they're pretty monstrous when it comes to women, although this doesn't have much to do with my opinion of them. at least they were a little more straightforward about their sexual wants. didn't sugar-coat it in false sensitivity.

xpost i'd hate it if maybe LJ thinking modern brit indie was a bit rapey maybe had to become its own thread and not bother us here: that would be terrible

Nah, pretty much not even worth the discourse at this point. Back to Newsom talk please.

what are you guys doing to the great thread of love

can't we get back to the edenic time on this thread when we were all united in lols @ unicorns

gotta get back to the garden guys

generally dislike the Stones fwiw - and yeah, they're pretty monstrous when it comes to women, although this doesn't have much to do with my opinion of them. at least they were a little more straightforward about their sexual wants. didn't sugar-coat it in false sensitivity.

― joagga lousome (acoleuthic), Wednesday, February 24, 2010 6:36 PM (49 seconds ago) Bookmark

Moral: you have to be creepy. You have to make your fuck-want clear from the beginning, even if you choose to go smooth and disguise it as "romantic interest". I understand that the romantic interest route is very popular.

here I'll start:

http://unicorns.wizardio.com/images/unicorn.jpg

A THIMBLE'S WORTH OF MILKY LOLS

http://i.friendfeed.com/d089b9a8bdd910dbdf258265e09014ac822484fe

i kind of think of this every time someone complains about her mentioning sex

http://curvature.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/fiona-4.jpg

What is she doing, that is 'wrong' and improvable?

The stranglulated nasal whine that was putting a ton of forced stress on her vocal chords is what gave her nodes; the new way she is singing is freer, more open and healthier. You can tell that entirely from the timbre of her voice on older records vs that new song Iposted.

btw weren't you supposed to be banned from ILX until you finished grad school?

this thread needed LJ, grad school be damned

http://jhstrega7.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/the-killing-of-the-unicorn.jpg

Cheers Dan, that's a pretty good explanation, although it's more of a technical point than a criticism of her art (although I appreciate that for you it's that too).

I uh...got the batsignal, what can I say. Plus I figured that a forced ILX ban wasn't something I needed; it's a bit like an admission of defeat, and an unnecessary measure. I just need to edit myself from now on. Keep it low-key. Done with great success thus far, I'd say.

http://www.silverlocusts.com/Graphics/dandelion_book_cover.jpg

hey, am i really liking about 1/2 of this album!

the other 1/2 does not offend me. have no idea why her voice offends. irritates, i guess. offends?

reflexive diatribes against "ivy league"/"privilege" (however they might apply to J.N.) = some straight up B.S.

did you play the clip of one of her old songs with her old way of singing?

mills college is sort of a west coast seven sisters i guess

The stranglulated nasal whine that was putting a ton of forced stress on her vocal chords is what gave her nodes;

was wondering about whether or not this was the case

She was probably singing from her throat rather than her diaphragm, a common mistake made by untrained singers that can easily lead to thin, reedy tone and jacked up vocal cords.

When I saw her perform on the Ys tour, she seemed to have this under much better control, but I guess it was too little too late.

bob dylan's larynx must look like a craggy mountain range at this point

Indeed, indeed, everywhere one goes these days, one risks hearing another of these hillbillies or jass singers braying and squawking from a neighbor's gramophone.

who's responsible for this http://huggingthenewjoannanewsomalbum.tumblr.com/

BOOK DEAL

None of those people are really hugging the record though. The first dude almost is, I guess.

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ky97tpjLzi1qzxv7po1_400.jpg

Which one of you is this?

;)

i knew it was you!

then why did u ask

http://cdn1.libsyn.com/dsco/Having_One_on_Her.jpg?nvb=20100224212639&nva=20100225213639&t=068740464a68973e866a0

http://fuckyeahjoannanewsom.tumblr.com/

Heaven has no words for the way you and your friends have treated poor Louis.

lol I did come in a bit brashly with the off-topic feminist mudslinging, even if it was to illustrate a defence of JN whom up until yesterday I was pretty sure I didn't like much

That was a line from the title track, LJ. :P

clearly that's her take on the whole LJ-ILX debacle

Ha! Well as JD said, she's totally hopped on my bandwagon; lyrical dedications are the least I expect. I may have to give this record a listen at some stage - I'm not bursting at the collar to do so but I've completely made my peace with JN. May she fulfil her vision. Like I said amid the sound and fury, Ys should have been indexed, marketed and released as a single piece, and I'm a little hesitant to deal with an album of hers that contains so many discrete bits of music. I can't imagine listening to the individual songs of Ys.

Sawdust & Diamonds and maybe Cosmia work pretty well by themselves imo. But then I'm one of those people who think the rest was dragged down by VDP's orchestral muck.

Laurie & I got this new one on LP this past Monday but haven't really listened, I think we will tonight.

it will change your life

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kyblvkt2Tq1qzclhao1_400.jpg

appears to be both sleeping and drinking champagne in the back of a car - 1st class WKIW material.

I have listened to this album and I like it. Won't be sure how much it's changed the world till I listen to it in my magical hidden cave, tho.

(as one of the crazy overenthusiastic fans I can't work out how much I mean that.)

@tylerw @ksh @Mr. Que

It was me, loves! Mwah! (Re: http://huggingthenewjoannanewsomalbum.tumblr.com/)

Hahaha! So great. And I'm quoted next to Stereogum, The Village Voice, and Carles under the title. Thanks!

I fear the parody blogs.

http://huggingnedraggett.tumblr.com ?

Everyone should fear that.

Oh wow, sweet: Mike Powell reviewed the record!

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-02-23/music/joanna-newsom-somewhat-simplified

My only thing about the hugging-the-record Tumblr is that none of the people on it are actually hugging the record, except for maybe on guy but it's hard to tell.

*one