I took my wife to see her when she played with the symphony, and she really enjoyed it, FWIW.

Hopefully she's touring with the small band that she had on that symphony tour (she played some songs with the symphony, some with the band, and some alone) or something similar. They were great.

Now I'm hearing Joanna Newsome playing Metallica.

Bought tickets. I played the new record for her last night and she dug it. I figured she would, but I asked all my friends if they wanted to go and they just gave me sour faces. As we said before, she's so polarizing.

And...Fleet Foxes Frontman Robin Pecknold to Tour With Joanna Newsom
though that's after I'm seeing her.

Monday in DC was sold out, but Tuesday was still available.

So, how do you people feel about the record?

Gonna go buy it today if I can.

Then I'll probably have a solid opinion in a week or two.

If that. Man, the thing is vast. I had a three hour drive on my birthday Sunday to get to and from the mountain. I couldn't resist, though had wanted to wait for the 3LP.

I really like it. Disc 1 is a little cumbersome at points, but I think it builds quite nicely into disc 2, which is absolutely amazing. "In California" is one of my favorite tracks of the year. I've listened to it 3x in its entirety from front to back, and each time that song sneaks up on me.

At 2 hours, its a lot of music to take in. Is that a strength or a weakness for this record? To me, its a gorgeous document. I enjoy that I can meander in and out of heavy listening on the record.

I think it's its strength, and might compensate for other weaknesses. The concept of this record is a total head-scratcher. It seems to be a vault-cleaning, at her expense, from title to make-up. I like that it's prohibitively long, because it changes the way it'll be accessed. I will not be listening to this all the way through very often, and not always in sequence. To me, this is a record that gives the haters some justification. I like it very much, still, and am loving this second listen. There's just so much substance that the lyrics and stories don't have as much clout as on Ys – there is no unifying factor – and the instrumentation is a bit diluted, or too session-y at points – though I like some of the tinges of bluegrass. Anyway, I like it a lot, she's a gem, but I do think it's begging for criticism.

thumb ring.

no.

Why "In California" is so enjoyable. And I agree with the lack of story-oriented strengths as well. One reason I loved Ys.



Oh jeez.

Are there any lamer memes than Obner memes?

hey, can anyone give me a RIYL on joanna newsom? somehow, i have never heard one song.

Your best bet is to do some Youtube searching.

are you saying that obner opinion doesn't mean anything?? i was hoping to not waste my time if someone told me she sounds like vampire weekend.

"lamer"

I'm saying there's no easy RIYL, and the board is certainly divided over this.

I mean I'm sure her myriad detractors can find something dubious to liken her sound to, but your best bet is to just hear some yourself. Obviously there are some of us who like her a lot and some who think she's a joke. I'm guessing you'll fall into the latter category, but here, just watch these and decide:

i appreciate the posts! i'm not sure i have room in brain/time to try to get into it.

She has a song called ESME. Nice.

Forgot that "Cosmia" on the Ys Street Band EP had some bluegrass tinges as well.

i've never really given her a good listen before but she seems like the female antony.

i'm downloading the new album now.

antony ALREADY IS the female antony

FT being sex positive. Nice!

But, I think the more appropriate position might be "Antony is female-identifying". I mean, (s)he still has the parts present at delivery, no?

/nottryingtostartagendervssexdebate

I kinda think she has more in common with Will Oldham than Antony.

But neither is a great reference point.