Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band will be out in April.

Three tracks, each featuring her and her touring band from the last tour. One new track, one reworking from Milk-Eyed, and one from Ys.

No word on what songs, though.

I hope the songs are shorter. Not that I don't like Ys, but I don't think I want to hear her keep pushing things in that direction.

No shit. If the stuff on XMU was any indication, she's already outta hand.

Yeah, I like Ys but not nearly as much as Milk-Eyed.

Featuring:

"It's Hard To Be An Elf In The City"

LOL JOANNA NEWSOM = ELF HAHAHAHA

oh, its still funny

Her being an elf isn't anywhere near as funny (or ridiculous) as co-opting Springsteen.

When will this hack fade into forgotten obscurity?

probably about the time the Strokes, Conor Oberst, and the rest do.

When she stops writing beautiful melodies accompanied by smart and engaging lyrics?

Sure, I'd put on the fridge if Kingfish Lee Jr. brought it home from third grade but it's not exactly Dylan.

Cracked recently did a worst-lyrics countdown article, and Dylan was at number one with this:


Now, I strongly disagree that these are the worst lyrics ever written in pop music, but this discussion reminded me of that Cracked article.

Unfortantely, I didn't choose one of Joanna's lesser works to prove she's capable of missing the mark. This is from the clam crab song that Obner got excited about.

you could pull plenty of 7-line segments out of dylan that aren't exactly dylan either. as a lyricist she's a lot closer to dylan than most of the bands dylan fans here listen to. it's just that they'd all rather listen to blonde on blonde for the 400th time than listen to something a little unusual.

I almost did the whole song but didn't for two reasons.

1) i felt the sample was relective of the whole song.

2) nobody would read past the first 7 lines anyway.

[quote="HaqDiesel" it's just that they'd all rather listen to blonde on blonde for the 400th time than listen to something a little unusual.[/quote]

yep, were close minded like that.

Just saying, if your only criticism is that her lyrics aren't as good as Dylan's, how could you possibly be so critical of her? Or if you'd distinguish yourself from those who are, why defend them? Her music is way more varied and original than Dylan's, in my opinion. Her voice isn't for everyone, but a Dylan fan can hardly deride an artist for her shitty voice. So what is it? Why is it so ridiculous to like Joanna Newsom?

She's short and white. I'll give you that.

Chill, bro! He said "hack", not "Haq"!

It's not my only criticism but it's not like I was holding her up to Dylan as a standard. I think they're pretty awful without the context of Dylan. Honestly having shitty lyrics is not enough to dislike an artist as I like several less than stellar lyricist. Really, I hate the whole package. The lyrics, harp, music, and visual appearance.

And for the life of me, I can't fathom how you can think the saxaphone has no place in rock yet the harp does.

The main reason for this is that half of the world that's picked up an acoustic guitar over the past 30 years hasn't been trying to emulate Joanna Newsome.

I'm not gonna proclaim myself an expert in Joanna Newsome or go about educating myself on her because the little bit of what I've heard I've hated. But somethings including the song title 'Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie' just beg to be ridiculed. The first time I heard that song title I thought LooGar made it up. I also don't need to hear Grizzly Bear to make fun of them. Reading them describe their music as "Haiku Rock" gives me more than enough to work with.

You like them fine....I just can't take them seriously. Seriously try saying 'Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie' three times in a row without laughing.

lololololololol.

and please, she's nothing short of a young adult's extension of dungeons and dragons. i know, i know. she plays the harp. and all her clever friends come on stage and knit and clang a cymbal once every 30 minutes. it's all mutual masturbation and she should be cast into some eternal pretentious mfa program full of performance artists.

Joanna Newsom isn't a rock musician, but that's a hell of a memory you've got.

I can't take seriously any claim that her lyrics are "shitty." They're precious sometimes, and goofy sometimes, but she's uncommonly articulate, whether you do or don't identify with what she says.