Tuesday 25 June 2013

JOANNA NEWSOM

This post's artist is from the May 2013 Mix, this is track #22.

Band: JOANNA NEWSOM
Genres: Harp / Folk / Experimental / Avant-Garde
Related artists: The Pleased and Nervous Cop.
Country: Nevada City, USA
Years Active: 2002-present
Song: "The Sprout and the Bean"
Album: The Milk-Eyed Mender cd
Year: 2004
For fans of: Cat Power and Laura Stevenson and the Cans.

When I first heard JOANNA NEWSOM, I saw this music video on the Canadian music show The Wedge.

If you liked that video or were even remotely curious, get the album. I watched the video and I was confused, as I'd never heard anything like it - a girl who sings kind of like a cat playing a harp. That's actually a pretty good analogy. After buying 'The Milk-Eyed Mender', I was immediately struck by the following great songs:

JOANNA NEWSOM - "Bridges and Balloons" VIDEO
 
JOANNA NEWSOM - "The Book of Right-On" LIVE
 
JOANNA NEWSOM - "Peach, Plum, Pear" SONG

If you can handle these songs, the rest of her stuff is much more accessible. She quickly did away with the shrill voice and calmed down on her later releases. The harp is accompanied by backing bands and her songs are drawn-out and seem like the audio tracks to some old Disney shorts. Just listen to this and try to tell me otherwise:

JOANNA NEWSOM - "Emily"
 
I have since had difficulty getting into her stuff, but JOANNA NEWSOM's debut album showed me that I'm not a closed-minded punk rock asshole. I'm just an asshole.

Some notes of interest:
1 - She was sheltered as a youngster, and not allowed to watch TV.
2 - She started playing the harp, or at least attempted to start, when she was 5 years old.
3 - She is getting married to Andy Samberg.
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2002 - Walnut Whales cd/EP

2003 - Yarn and Glue cd/EP

2004 - The Milk-Eyed Mender cd/12"LP
2004 - "Sprout and the Bean" single cd (includes "What We Have Known")

2006 - Ys cd/2x12"LP

2007 - Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band cd/12"LP

2010 - Have One On Me 3xcd/3x12" Box Set
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youtube )))))embedded audio((((( links

Dig up, stupid.
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