Everyone <3 Joanna Newsom
One of the most unlikely stars of this "avant-folk" or "anti-folk" or whatever-you-wanna-call-it movement (Devendra, Panda, Sufjan, et al) is beautiful Bay Area gnome Joanna Newsom. Joanna (not really a gnome) has played keys with The Pleased; now she's steadily winning over indie rockers with wintry ballads informed by Appalachian folk music. She performs them solo on what is traditionally a schmaltzy instrument: the Celtic harp. Joanna's untrained voice and strangled delivery, however, make Mlik-Eyed Mender one of the more polarizing buzz albums of the year. I put Mlik-Eyed on at Thanksgiving dinner and my sister was NOT feeling it. Maybe it's a headphones album. The music is so beautiful, though, and the lyrics are clever. Please give it a chance. Here's what Modest Mouse says of her in the new Filter...
ISAAC BROCK: That Joanna Newsom album is amazing. There's something about [her] music -- it's honest without trying to be folk, but it is. And somehow it's more contemporary because it's not trying to be modern. I don't know if heartstrings are real, but if they are, they're damn good at jerking on them.You may also remember Dave Eggers devoting his Spin column to her a while back. He fantasized about her being a homely nut -- "she's painfully thin, and wears cracked glasses; she can’t get them fixed, and why? Because she spends all day singing like a crazy person, that's why!" -- because he was sick of quirkiness being accepted in female singers only if they're beautiful ("wouldn‘t it be nice if a woman could become popular with a face that could melt cheese?"). Sorry Dave.
ERIC JUDY: I like the Joanna Newsom album so much it feels like it should be the only one I talk about. I just got it a week ago and I listen to it all the time. Her voice is definitely out there -- I think a lot of people might find it kinda harsh or not like it, but I do. It's just really, really pretty.
I originally bought this album on vinyl, which meant I never listened to it and ultimately GAVE IT to the managing editor at work. It wasn't until I finally got it on the iPod few months ago that it became an almost daily listen (and now I want my vinyl back, Jim). Here's a bit from an interview Joanna did with Free Williamsburg last year:
FREE WILLIAMSBURG: Do you download music a lot?Joanna Newsom - "The Book Of Right On"
JOANNA: I would if I knew how. At this point, I don't mind if people download my music because that means that there's a person who wants to listen. I give away CDs at shows if someone wants a CD but doesn't have any money. I wouldn't want to do that forever. I would happy for someone to download my music.
Joanna Newsom - "Peach, Plum, Pear"
Joanna Newsom - "What We Have Known" (non-album track)
Purchase Mlik-Eyed Mender here. Without a doubt this will be on Stereogum's Top 10 Albums of 2004.
Official Site: Walnutwhales.com
Video: The Sprout And The Bean (Quicktime)
Joanna has only got two US shows lined up until February. Get your tix to this Drag City XMas Spectacular!
Also, keep an eye out for the new Venus zine with Joanna on the cover. Inside Miss Modernage interviews her Norwegian crush Sondre Lerche.
UPDATE: Brooklyn Vegan directs us to some sweet Newsom covers...
Final Fantasy - "Peach, Plum, Pear"
The Decemberists - "Bridges And Balloons"
Posted at 8:33 AM
Tags: Joanna Newsom | Modest Mouse
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Joanna Newsom?!?
for christ sake...the worst artist out there. PERIOD!
...next to Arcade Fire
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yuck nasal rumblings of a toddler
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She's probably related to the SF mayor Gavin Newscum...I mean Gavin Newsome, especially if she's in SF. That's an old very very wealthy of SF, private schooling all the way, hanging out with the Gettys.
She sounds horrible.
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Am I the only one who thinks she sounds like Geddy Lee?
Anyway, to me it seems like she's very new to the recording process. That overdubbed chorus of her own voice is amateur night. I think in the future she might be a little better, but I'm not bowling over just yet.
thanks for posting though.
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Man, I couldn't disagree more wholeheartedly with andalusia and nasdaq jones. I really really love Joanna Newsom (that's the correct spelling, stereogum, for shame). She's doing something that no one else is really doing. Granted, I really seem to like a bunch of the neo-folk stuff that's going on right now... but newsom stands apart from sufjan, et al. I like her the most because yeah, her songwriting can seem a bit naive at times, but more than anything she's doing what she wants to do. She's channeling some really early american folk music in her work, and I like that she's not over-processing her voice (ahem, Britney). Perhaps you guys would like to listen to more masterpieces by Ms. Spears and company? I say hooray for a girl who's trying something new... I hope that people will stop being turned off immediately by her voice and start to give her the credit she deserves. Music needs some more experimentation.
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she is related to gavin newsome, but i don't see how you can hold that against her. plus he's not been nearly as terrible as i was expecting him to be. that said, i'm not crazy about her music - it's ok on record, but when i saw her live the harp playing was rad but her voice was like acid poured in the ears.
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My friend did a side by side playing a Joanna Newsom song about fruit vs. the "We are Siamese" track from Disney's Lady and the Tramp. Try it for yourself and see what I'm talking about.
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definately at the top of my list so far this year. she's incred. thanks for the write-up!
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Joanna Newsom is so fantastic, she's like a mystical gypsy queen. I want her to throw daggers at me and rob me while singing.
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I'm digging it. Thanks for posting this.
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I tried, really, I did. Can't get into it. The voice is too grating for me.
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You should put up a more normal track up for someone's first exposure to her. I'd reccomend "clam,crab,cockle,cowrie". That one is absolutely beautiful, and she sings a litte more normally in it.
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i'm with Jason, i tried as well a while ago, but her voice makes me nauseous.
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she sounds like lisa simpson to me but i love the album. way better than the arcade fire.
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Joanna Newsom is like AIDS for your ears.
Worst evs.
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she's amazing. by far the best thing to come out of the bay area in forever and totally the real fucking deal, on stage and off.
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I'm not being funny -- does she have a speech impediment?
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she's even worse than that dipshit band CocoRosie...
2004 - dumbing down the standards in music
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i love (smog).
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That Lisa Simpson comment is incredible. Spot on and so now I picture the woman who plays Lisa Simpson singing and it is fucking hilarious. The music isn't that bad- I'll play it before I take a nap so she'll get played daily.
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Jarring. She sounds like Milla gnawing off her own leg. The fuck?
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If you like Joanna... I bet you will love Hank & Lily. http://www.hankandlily.com/
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He's my norwegian crush too! hes fantastic. superb. wowzeriffic.
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i don't have anything especially helpful or interesting to say, but i wanted to comment just to add myself to the list of people who actually enjoy these songs. the first time i heard her singing i thought, "nah, i don't think this is for me," but after a few listens it really grew on me. she does sound like a cartoon character at times, though, and i can't really imagine her voice coming out of her face (having only seen pictures and heard recordings).
anyway, she may not be for everybody but she hardly represents a trend toward musical crappiness. boring indie rock is way worse for all of us than arcade fire-esque idiosyncracies.
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Ahhhh, you're giving me ear Cancer!
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Whoa... I checked out Hank and Lily and they terrify me...
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Quite possibly the worst stuff I've ever heard and I adore all forms of wimp pop, be it C-86 or folk, whatever. But this is the vocal equivalent of being ass-raped by dolphins. All those in favor of this album please report to your local record & tape exchange for musical re-education.
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She has pushed me down with the palm of her eye. Like Daniel Johnston or any number of diamond in the rough type things -she is beautiful. It is like listening to the most popular girl from the 1800's mining camp just stepped off a time machine with a lil coal smudged on her face...sing us a song Joanna
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i love joanna newsom, and have for a long while now...i remember hearing 'book of right on' and being all into it. the voice is weird, yes, but it's definitely a good quirk, and i definitely dig. 'the milk-eyed mender' is a lovely album.
the neo-folk movement has really worked its way into me (especially sufjan, even moreso than joanna, almost)... and i think it's a cool thing they've got going.
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Tommy, pull your pants up.
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milk-eyed mender is definitely on my top 10 list this year, most likely right up in the top 3.
even the decemberists like her; they did a cover of "bridges and balloons" at a recent show. thanks to brooklynvegan, you, too, can go download this loveliness.
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2004/08/decemberists_co.html
just sharing the love.
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Thanks for the reality check goozer...I think she is really awesome, but my writing was a just waking up and baking up reaction.
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Hmm, still holding out a judgement on this one. However, during Peach, Plum, Pear, I could help but envision Alfalfa from Our Gang singing with Spanky playing the harp...
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Joanna Newsom doesn't have a speech impediment. She is like 22 years old, but seems like about 15 when I first met her. I suggest that people see her live. I can't imagine really listening to her record off the cuff and thinking "This is cool." Or "Boy I am in the mood for this."
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Joanna Newsom is the shit. Hooray for the tiniest little witch!
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Alexander, this was the first time I'd heard her and I can't get enough. I don't actually understand why other people wouldn't like it - it's too catchy.
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Dude, people. I can get it if you just don't like her style or sound, but this is the second board I've seen where people seriously seem to get ANGRY about how bad she is, then start making ridiculous comments about her rich girl lifestyle-- you don't know a thing about her. Guys... she's not even from SF -- she was just going to school there, so give it up.
Anyway, yeah, I'd suggest anyone who hasn't heard her record yet, to try to see her live first. It will help put her in context. And people who think they may like her music, but can't get past her voice... put the record down for a bit then come back to it in a month or so... once the music sets into your head,the voice will come next.
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Oh... again about the privedged rich kid connections that are so far off:
Her connection have been purely through musicians who have found her by other musicians and taken her under their wing so-to-speak. These connections started with high school/local friends, who started out just as Nobody as she did, and has nothing to do with status or mayors or Gettys or any such nonesense. She got where she was purely by her music being recognized by better know musicians in her already-musical circle.
Sorry. It just peeves me. Too much, I know. I'll shut up now.
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"The Book of Right On" is growing on me. The fuck!
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Dude, thanks for the downloads. Worked like a charm--downloaded them on Wednesday and bought the album on Friday.
Seriously heartbreaking--in a good way. Thanks again!
-jeff
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Ending a perfect day by being introduced to Johanna by my fine friend Russ...and I am so in love. Not surprising when you realize how much I also love Rose Murhpy and Laurie Anderson. Utterly delicous and adorable.
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i agree, folks: disliking her is no cause for outrage. there's so much worse crap in the music world. and here is a woman who is passionate, sincere, and incredibly talented. her voice is just not your standard saccharine cream-puff, so it takes some ears wide open. i was turned off originally, but somehow intrigued enough to keep listening. and now she's my f*cking number one. and has been all year. so get listening.
ain't nuthin else that i have been able to listen to almost daily for nearly a year.
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Hey,
The best thing I can recommend for people who don't like Joanna is to go see her live, I first heard of her when my brother played her CD. I thought she sounded awful, I couldn't understand why he liked her so much. He then invited me to a gig she was playing, so I went in the spirit of being open-minded. It was truly the most amazing thing I have ever seen, she sounds so much better live and it really is awesome how she co-ordinates herself so well, playing the harp and singing brilliantly. I think she's great, and can't wait to get her album. She's wonderfully original and new, I love her music and want to share the love!!!
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She will be, uh... like, uh, the britney spears for know-nothing indie hipster wanna-be's. And she will marry the charlie sheen of pop, mark mcgrath.
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she's fantastic, granted she has the voice of a ten yr old boy having his nuts stamped on by a rugby player, but she's actually pretty damn good, her songwriting abilities are amazing, and her skill on the harp is unquestionable, 'book of right on' is sensational when she DECIDES to change her voice she'll be bigger than bjork
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to the clueless, get over the fact that her voice is different, newsom is a incredible songwriter and musician. it is the same shit i hear from people about Dylan's voice or Hendrix's voice, it isn't about perfect tones and five octave ranges, if you want that go listen to mariah carey or some other turd.
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My daughter of 5 weeks old, sleeps to hear Joanna Newsom.
The environment in house is magical, seems one fábula.
I love the songs, relax and it's easy to enter in an imaginary world.
Thank you very much...
With love from Europe - PORTUGAL
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meow meow now.
I decided she was for me right away, instinctivly. her voice is so small, but her songs come marching out with an american magic at her command. I can be little baby claire just woke from a nap for mommas teatime again to this music, and I thought that time was gone for good. *sheds a tear* When I heard that Will oldham and Chan Marshall and Smog picked up on her right quickly that was so intuitivly obvious to me they would. Those is my peoples. Say what you want. Recently I see her picture and realized I'd met her in college. Brilliant.
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my fish is floating sleepfully to her song
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thanks for the link to the decemberists cover!
i've recently put up a joanna newsom page & have dutifully sent people to this entry for the mp3s that all good googlers demand.
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How can you people be so cruel?
Ear cancer, AIDS for the ears?
For some, she is heaven. For the others, perhaps you can learn to describe music without comparing it to disease.
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Joanna, if your reading this, i want to marry you. x
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i agree with Joi, you people bringing words such as cancer and AIDS in to the conversation evidently haven't known anyone with, or experienced these illnesses; otherwise you wouln't view it as a joke. It would be so much easier to discuss music without people having to be crass and downright disgusting in order to look fucking cool. I mean lets face it, anyone who resorts to comments like that aren't doing it for themselves are they? try reading some european literature and then you might understand the sheer verbal alchemy that are Joanna newsom's lyrics, or the deep mournful landscapes of her music. Her harp -playing is rythmic and free from stereotype; idiomatic features of the harp such as arppegios and harmonics are used thoughtfully and sparingly. so thats my two cents, so those who feel the need to get personal, who think they know it all, just because someone wants to put something creative and new out there should just go and get a life.
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she's brilliant. lovely voice.
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Just caught Joanna on Later with Jools Holland (a british late night music programe) she played 'book of right on', luckily I was recording it and i've listened to it 5 or 6 times since.Fucking Great.
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"Sheer verbal alchemy"?? BWAHAHA!
"I chew my lips, and I scratch my nose/feels so good to be a rose."
C'mon: that shit is funny. And by funny, I mean "fucking awful".
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Hey, what's with all of the immature bashing? Are you guys really that bored? Or are you just that ignorant? I love Joanna Newsom and reading some of these comments astounded me at people's cruelty. With that said, I just wanted to post something positive about Joanna because I absolutly adore her. Sure, her voice may take getting use to and I will admit, I had to listen to her album at least five or six times before I could get past her very distinct, childlike voice before I realized that without that voice, she wouldn't be Joanna Newsom so I don't think any alterations to her voice need be met. She sings with heart and simplicity and is trying something completely out of the "normal" musical realm. So, even if you don't like her or just can't like her, at least give her credit for putting herself out there and doing something she loves and that is write music and sing it with everything she has. That's more then I can say for most people. And if you simply cannot bear her voice, at least give reading the lyrics a try.
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pepare to be haunted by the magical whisper of Joanna Newsom, simple music on the outset then you listen closer and are blown away by simple deep story telling lyrics which let your imagination run wild.
Absolutly fantstic stuff, and here voice is the dogs nads (the best) too!!
(write off at your peril)
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i think what some of you people are saying is disgusting.
she's a little different? so what? Bjork is. Doesn't stop her being a role model for thousands of people. like me. And joanna is so AMAZING. musically and lyrically....her voice really is that eccentric icing on the cake. shes beautiful and amazing. i saw her on jools holland and had to stop and go "what . the . fuck. amazing" and i bought her album.
BEAUTIFUL. IT HURTs taht some of my friends laughed at her
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i was excited to hear more of her music after i heard peace, plum, pear. i listend to the whole c.d. and it was wonderful. her words and her voice/harp is great for story telling and is splended to hear after hearing lots and lots of watered down fancy pop. i know that everyone thinks differently about newsom's music. however i do love it, i just found out about another artist by the name of regina spektor, she is wonderful aswell.
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i was excited to hear more of her music after i heard peach, plum, pear. i listend to the whole c.d. and it was wonderful. her words and her voice/harp is great for story telling and is splended to hear after hearing lots and lots of watered down fancy pop. i know that everyone thinks differently about newsom's music. however i do love it, i just found out about another artist by the name of regina spektor, she is wonderful aswell.
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i was excited to hear more of her music after i heard peach, plum, pear. i listend to the whole c.d. and it was wonderful. her words and her voice/harp is great for story telling and is splended to hear after hearing lots and lots of watered down fancy pop. i know that everyone thinks differently about newsom's music. however i do love it, i just found out about another artist by the name of regina spektor, she is wonderful aswell.
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sorry for the three posts the p.c. has fucked up. and i am sorry for my spelling- peach plum pear. ;)
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Regarding Joanna Newsom and all of the comments that she's provoked I agree with nearly every one of them good and bad. The fact to my ears is that she's totally unique - a bit like Kate Bush when shre first started - that shock of the new.
The harp is beautiful and there's a strange' child-like quality to her voice. I've only really heard the, 'Sprout and the Bean' track so I've no idea what a whole album would sound like. All I know is that the song really stood out for me on the otherwise dreary N. M. E. 'The Cool List' album. I instantly had to find out who she was and now I know a little more and am intruiged.
U2 would have us believe that they are the greatest rock band in the world and can control the atom. Well I think that there's more power in Joanna's harp than that lot can muster!
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Hi you lot,
after a little trawl on google I came across your forum - I wont revisit it but I would appreciate your comments - dan@djh-graphics.com - just thought you would really enjoy the mini website I made for her. It was a purely personal project but I figure it might make a good showcase for future commercial work, it was a learning experience to create these videos using Flash but I hope the end result has paid off!
www.djh-graphics.com/newsom/flash.html
it was a wonderful concert with a capacity of barely more than a hundred. This club - its actually a comedy club - is a gem, Martha Wainwright, Laura Veirs and Emiliana Torrini are all playing there soon.
Anyway, greetings from Oxford, UK!
Daniel Hart
www.djh-graphics.com
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just heard joanna on radio 1 in England, first time i've heard her, had to rush home and download some tracks to hear more, sounded really good, hope this other stuff is as good.
Paul
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http://hometown.aol.co.uk/pchapm506/myhomepage/family.html
to see who i am
paul
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I think Joanna is wonderful.
Her songs are beautiful.
And she is beautiful.
The Milk-eyed mender is great (better than Regina Spektor by far).
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She is amazing. Her lyrics are so random and when you combine that with her voice and the harp-it is unbelievable. I can not stop listen to it.
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i love joanna, she's not like anyone else because of her voice. and the lyrics of her songs are great. i've listened to peach plum pear over and over again for the last 5 days. and i'm serious.. i can never get sick of her.
wonderful.
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have not fallen so in love with an album or artist since jeff buckley's grace
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Everyone talks crap about whats different. So keep talking is you cant still stand the constant trite, Pop-punk crap. Or better yet the crying emo whining...im all about Joanna...but who am i right?...well....im awsome...but you see what im tryin to say here...
Falzy
www.myspace.com/grandtheftmotto
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Hilariously batty! Great stuff! An for those people who have to be offensive every time they find something they dont like I suggest they toddle off an download some bite me spears nonsense somewhere else!
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First of all...why is there all this crap loaded on Arcade Fire!? It's like it's the bands fault for being commercially recognized even though they'er not even signed with a commercial label!! They're still pretty good. Just because they're no longer a secret doesn't mean that they suddenly suck. Get off of your weak and pathetic elitist perch. As far as Joanna Newsom goes...I am listening to her right now as I type this...the first time I heard her I thought ok...that voice is kind of harsh. But there is something so unmistakingly honest about her voice and about her music that if you are a true lover of music...not just a lover of synthetically produced sounds...you can't help but get hooked on her gift. I listen to it all the time now. I'm hooked. I just find it beautiful. It's simplicity...It's honesty...And it is a gift. A uniquely honest sound amongst the abundance of mediocrity
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fucking awesome
joanna newsom is amazing
great voice, awesome harp
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Hey,
I'm in Australia, and first caught Newsom doing "Bridges and Balloons" on late night radio. I then saw the vid for "Sprout and the Bean" and was hooked- went straight out and bought the album. It's sweet, magical and different. Her voice is unusual, but in a *good* way. Surely that's to be encouraged in the face of ever-increasing manufactured bubblepop and Avril Lavigne's version of "Punk"...
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Hey,
I'm in Australia, and first caught Newsom doing "Bridges and Balloons" on late night radio. I then saw the vid for "Sprout and the Bean" and was hooked- went straight out and bought the album. It's sweet, magical and different. Her voice is unusual, but in a *good* way. Surely that's to be encouraged in the face of ever-increasing manufactured bubblepop and Avril Lavigne's version of "Punk"...
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Joanna has burst through, and found the true sound of folk music this generation has ever seen. She is not only talented, but has a one of a kind voice that we will be following for years to come, as of Bob, Janice, and Joan. Sorry she couldn't be on the Grammy's:) Maybe for those who have a negative oppinion about creative musicians should stick to mtv.
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It's like Marmite, you love it or you hate it... I love marmite, and I love Joanna Newsome's music. x
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Her music is hypnotic, deep, it gives you a feeling of comfort, sweetness, and sadness. I listen to her when I want to just kind of invert into myself and be alone and think. If someone doesnt like it, then fine, I'm sure I won't like everything that you listen to , but I won't bring up pestulence and death while talking about your musical choices' clarity or talent. I think her music is something that goes beyond just being something that she feels or being a part of her. It's feels like waves of her innermost self, some primal, some sweet, woven into every tangle of words, every strained vocal chord, and they pick out meanings in the people that listen to it. Each different, but all very internal, beautiful things.
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I saw Joanna Newsom perform on Jimmy Kimmel show. At first I thought it was a comedy bit, but when the painful singing didn't stop I knew that somewhere in Hollywood there is a very nervous TV producer who will be looking for work tomorrow.
Why, when there are so many talented vocalists in the world, did THIS person decide to sing. Isn't there anyone with enough guts to say "Stick to playing the harp and keep your pie-hole shut!" Was there anyone with ears working on the day this record was made?
Naked Iraqi men in a pyramid is only humiliation, but if the army plays this record over the Abu Ghraib prison loudspeakers - it would be torture!
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My wife and I saw Joanna last night perform at the Troubador and definitely saw history in the making. We can't stop listening to her album. To all the haters, especially the one above, don't listen. Keep doin' whatcha doin' Joanna!
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joanna newsom has the most powerful combination of harp and voice, and i cannot wait to see her in the UK in the near future. glad to see all the support for her!
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