Joanna Newsom

[Celldweller7]

Has anyone here heard either of her albums ("Milk Eyed Mender" or "Ys")? I think I shall be partaking of her music shortly. I first heard of her in some sort of connection to Banhart.

Her newest release, "Ys" is supposed to be made up of rather long songs with very full arrangments. Her main instrument, from what I've read, is a harp.

[bloop]

Yeah, it's a beautiful album.  Van Dyke Parks is involved, so that much is a given.  I think a lot of people here would have a difficult time getting over her voice, though, which reminds me just a little of Bjork's at times.

[murlough23]

Despite warnings about the off-putting vocals, I may have to check her out. From the AMG review, it sounds like the music is sprawling and gorgeously weird. Could be a good grow-on album.

[Josh]

I listened to Ys once and found it to be pretty silly, and off-puttingly pretentious. I can understand why Andy Whitman dubbed her the Most Likely Home-Schooled Hippie to Release Pretentious Twaddle.

But that's just one listen. It is, obviously, an album that requires more than a cursory listen to form a valid opinion.

[bloop]

Despite warnings about the off-putting vocals, I may have to check her out. From the AMG review, it sounds like the music is sprawling and gorgeously weird. Could be a good grow-on album.

The vocals are interesting and I think quite good, but I couldn't imagine anyone who would complain about Portishead's vocal styling liking this much.  I'll pub something - it'll take me the rest of the night, but I'll try anyway.

pretentious

Gah!  That word!

[murlough23]

The vocals are interesting and I think quite good, but I couldn't imagine anyone who would complain about Portishead's vocal styling liking this much.  I'll pub something - it'll take me the rest of the night, but I'll try anyway.

In all fairness to Portishead, the last time I heard them was while I worked at a music store in the late 90's, and one of my co-workers would repeatedly put their music on during long, tedious 8-hour shifts. I may react differently to them given the time and proper setting to really digest their stuff. I may complain about certain vocalists, but I can put up with a lot if the music is good. It's when the music doesn't strike me as much that I start nitpicking the vocals and so forth (which is kind of my problem with a lot of Ron Sexsmith songs).

NP: "Awaken the Dawn", Delirious?

[bloop]

[murlough23]

[bloop]

Oh, ok.  I understand.  I have a "High Fidelity" concept of what it's like to work in a music store, so it isn't exactly realistic.

[murlough23]

Oh, ok.  I understand.  I have a "High Fidelity" concept of what it's like to work in a music store, so it isn't exactly realistic.

It works if your co-workers are of the bohemian, "Let's all share our personal favorites and appreciate each other's diverse tastes in music" variety, but my co-workers were more of the "It's 11 PM on Christmas Eve and we're closing the store, screw all this Christmas music, I'm putting on some Slayer/Wu-Tang Clan/Portishead/Rage Against the Machine/Marilyn Manson at full blast because I'm PISSED OFF!" variety.

[Celldweller7]

Slayer on Christmas Eve!?! Everyone knows you play Cannibal Corpse on Christmas Eve!

Oh yeah, do you think her vocals would bother a Neutral Milk Hotel, Devendra Banhart, Danielson Familie fan? Sorry, I'm not very familiar with Bjork, though what I have heard of her, she sounded just fine.

[murlough23]

OK, so I listened to Ys last night. It wasn't the ideal environment for it, I found out - I thought it'd be good for a late night slow burn, but my sister-in-law was asleep in the living room and I had to keep the volume down. So I heard the voice yelping out at me over and over again, and yeah, it's a bit grating, but I wasn't able to appreciate the nuances of the harp and other instrumentation, which kind of sounded like it was rambling along underneath with a rather loose definition of rhythm. It didn't make a good impression, but it wasn't the appropriate mode in which to listen to the album, so I'll try again with headphones later on.

I find it funny that the Wikipedia entry on Joanna notes that some have compared her voice to Lisa Simpson's.

[starhawk]

This is probably the last 2006 release I'm interested in enough to buy.  From the reviews and opinions/descriptions of the record that I've read, Ys sounds like something I'd love (or, grow to love, after acquiring my taste for it).

[bloop]

Neutral Milk Hotel, Devendra Banhart, Danielson Familie

All male vocalists, so it's kind of hard to compare.  Like these, it's certainly an acquired taste, but a taste I didn't have much difficulty acquiring.

Bjork's just the best comparison I could come up with.  Joanna doesn't quite have as much variety in her expressiveness.  The musicianship and arrangements were really the key that makes the album.