Joanna Newsom - Soft as Chalk (Live)

[GamelessOne]

no less then amazing

[peppermintmmeringue]

she's absolutely adorable! sounds even better live.

[MinustheBunny]

she kind of writes songs with the rambling be wonderment of a 8 year old child, albeit a brilliant one- I think she is strange but wonderful - kind of like Tori Amos- but even more organic sounding-

[comecon93]

ok i adore her, and this song, but she seems really awkward on tv.

[GamelessOne]

@comecon93 Awkward?! Shes not awkward on this. Shes adoreable!

[stueythedestroyer]

i love it, such a theatrical feel to this song.dynamic as hell

[sleakitweasel]

Super! Precision vocals and some incredibly catchy phrases but what really sells me on this the percussionist. Jeez, he's good.

[super6961]

It has like a weird vietnam style and feel to it.

[rey82rey82]

JO FACE

[candycamie]

i like JImmy Fallon not Joanna Newsom

[1313sp]

I love the little faces she makes: the little nods, furrowed eye brows of concentration, moments of emotions taking over and the twinkle in the eyes. There's something so magical about the girl. i can't wait for her to announce her west coast dates!

[Canadiana71]

@1313sp

I make the same expressions when I take a crap.

[arrancusi]

EXQUIS!!!

[madizzle27]

She is wonderful. Her voice is nearly perfect live. All though she sounds a bit different than most other singers, at least shes different. The others with common voices dont often sound this great live.

[fatchan]

Ever seen Tori Amos sing? She also contorts her mouth a lot, it's the best way to get different sounds and expression into the vocal. People who stand wooden when they sing and just try to look pretty don't usually sound so hot.

[makenzielegit]

I think this song is one of the best on her new album.

She is so awesome.

People don't like her because of her voice, but i like her high pitch childish voice, but i like it better in this song.

She is such a talent!

I like her harp and panio, either way she's awesome.

What's crazy is I found her because she dates Andy Samberg and I really love Andy and I saw they were dating and listen to her music and loved it. She's amazing.

[sidspectacular]

I seriously cannot get enough of this!

[RetinendParadox]

"sounded beautiful you look beautiful too" fail

[Truthiness231]

I'm listening to this about 3 times a day now and I'm only becoming more addicted to it...

[thiebes]

This is an amazing performance.

[caejacks]

3:11  some sexy beautiful singing.....

[raptorman67]

I just discovered Joanna, I was'nt sure what to think at first. Now I do... She is AWESOME. and very cute too.

[SnowSara]

Love her <3

[frumpychumby08]

She looks like popeye! Where is my spinach!

[bocaburgler]

@frumpychumby08 haha she does!

[constantlygardening]

love joanna, love the song- but she's a little weak in places here.

[johnnytluxury]

Straight retarded Autistic stroke victim @ 0:49. I'm saying that to say this: that chick is bad as hell.

Bjorkin me @ 1:17. Remarkable.

High "pip" @1:37. <3

[Questpeace]

@johnnytluxury

Bjork? Really? That was you confessing you don't know what you're talking about, whether you meant it to be or not.

I would have accepted Kate Bush or Joni Mitchell but this is not Bjork-esque/inspired/anything in the slightest.

[universaltheory]

She is most adorable as a retarded autistic stroke victim.

[johnnytluxury]

You poor, poor idiots. You sadly are unable to identify compliments, being that you're watching one of the most artistic gifted songwriters of our time, and can enjoy her, but cant see the same veil of thumbs up in a review. Poor, poor children.

[bohemiandonut]

Autistic stroke victim = compliment.

[Canadiana71]

It's Jean Chretien's daughter!

[underlinedluke]

If she ever record a DVD, that's how I picture it. A smaller thing, and the "stage" at the center, the audience around her and her band. GOD, she so could do it this year. :(

[LIVEtoROCK86]

Do it Joanna! Such a unique voice. So refreshing.

[gbsher]

I just discovered Johanna. LOVE her!!

[randallparkerjr]

forumhq, ur shot man. You may want to consider looking up the word "contrived" in the dictionary. Seriously. American Idol is listed as a reference under that word. Please.

[fouramhq]

She needs to shed the makeup, shed the fancy dress, stay off the piano and get back to the harp. Looks like someone else has taken charge.  This performance was cookbook boredom. Predictable and disappointing.

[jmadd412]

@fouramhq

listening to her new album and thinking that it's predictable and that "someone else" has taken charge, is seriously wrong.

[fouramhq]

I wasn't commenting on the album, but on this particular performance. Not good, and a gross departure from what she normally does. I was thrilled by her early work, but this one has the makings of something contrived.

[Darklingv20]

"She needs to shed the makeup, shed the fancy dress."

Wow, really? She needs to do this, huh?

[Rand33Appl3]

let the lady play.

[VoidLS]

so you're saying you want to see her play the harp naked.

[leakeg]

@VoidLS sounds like a good idea to me!

[sevenxviii]

her face is gonna freeze like that

[leakeg]

hahaha!

[noxadam]

hahah her face looks like she took mdma

[greenthumbguy1]

I took alot of mdma when I was younger, but couldn't focus long enough to sing a song or play piano. 144 keys?! Not enough. No offense to you or the musician...

[noxadam]

It was just a joke idiot. Chillout.

[greenthumbguy1]

Ugh. Don't call me an idiot. I'm with you...

[loopi2k]

wow she's good, bit kate bush, bit joni mitchell, bit eartha kitt, all good stuff

[gcancelado]

i liked jimmy falon until just now, i would have never imagined this sorry excuse of a singer in his show

[AidenAlice]

i LOVE this song. she's so unique in the way she sings. her sound is so interesting. her performances are hypnotizing. hahaha she's great.

[DinoCalanDra]

Hey you put down the tele and pic up the ole banjo!

[jeeatwell]

As ever.. utterly beauttful.

[squishykitty3]

Movement of the lips and tongue change this sound to create individual speech sounds stupid ppl

[gcancelado]

@squishykitty3 agree

[squishykitty3]

seriously you guys are dumb asses. she has to do that bc of her vocal nodules. research b4 you write dumbass comments.

[squishykitty3]

i prob. should of have put a period between sounds and stupid. i lover her. her voice is what attracted me. i was explaining why she does that not that it sounded stupid so yeah. my bad for the bad grammar. sounds.stupid ppl.

[kameroon]

this song good.

[miandre]

"You give love a little shove"

<3

[windsorbellephone]

it's my view that newsom is probably the hardest working female musician alive today (who actually works on her craft as opposed to pole dancing). let's remember that music is not heard with your eyes. besides, what she is doing is difficult, and authentic, and nothing is more valuable than authenticity right now. at any moment she could easily hire a top 40 producer and go mainstream. she'd clean up on $ but in 10 years the music would be useless and date-stamped, polluting her discog.

[underlinedluke]

I love Neal Morgan's drumming. Ryan is just as great. <3

[carlo88moe]

love her, hate her, the 2 emotions she seems to elicit the most, polarizing to say the least

but u can't deny, she's just SO damned interesting, and in some respects, thats better than being just "good"

[philipsmog]

@carlo88moe "damned interesting" is potent enough, no need for the redundant Chandler Bing "SO".

[carlo88moe]

maybe redundancy adds emphasis, but okay, thanks for that, and the almost obscure allusion, if i was 5 yrs younger, that wouldve gone completely over my head,lol

peace

[transparentmeans]

Let the guy write how he wants to write, for Christ's sake.

[leebenzaquin]

@carlo88moe if by "so damned interesting" you mean "retarded", then i'd happily agree!

[fskytft]

Go Joanna! Wonderful performance, she sounds and looks great!

[zingcarrot]

what a magical face... so expressive!!

[scratchfilms]

she keeps gettin better. great performance.

[RikkuTheDestroyer]

she sings really good but looks fucking retarded doing it. what a shame.

[Userro]

what's wrong with her mouth actually?

[WeFeelSoMuchBetter]

Sometimes contorting your mouth in strange ways is the only way to get the desired vocal effect.

[Userro]

maybe she's retarded?

[lkemple69]

I think Joanna is just Wonderful.

[Stopher804]

The people that are hating on Joanna Newsom are the same people who think Jimmy Fallon the most uninspiring, one dimensional, talentless comedian ever is funny. <3

[dtrimbleusmc]

i understand this music isn't for everyone, but it's for me apparently. i loved the song and think that she is unique. something you don't find too much in music these days. beautiful as well. just plain old endearing. awesome

[mongodawg]

somewhere in this musical toilet break there is an artist and a song, i just wish she'd put it together in any fashion other then lets sing anything in my head, cause this sucks. there are moments of something but they quickly fade into the nothingness and lack of form or harmony or anything musical. its cool spoken poetry with some music.

[musekidd]

I don't know what to do with myself when I encounter art.

[griffinthecity]

why are these tweens trollin'!? anyway, i've been following joanna newsom for a while now and was truly captivated by both her voice and her harp-playing. time to buy this new album :D.

[droidtoucher]

"How easy it is to make fun of Joanna Newsom's eccentricity. How impossible it is to deny her seemingly supernatural talent and grace." --John Wray

[soleilmh]

AMAZING!

[sweettree20]

I seriously like all kinds of artists I mean really, I appreciate all genres of music and all performers and I have quite the bizarre mix of things on my itunes. If someone cannot see the beauty and art and confidence in this amazing original woman I honestly deeply feel sorry for you. This music is good and there is nothing that someone like you could say to change my mind. I would rant but I believe what's going on in your hateful heart is already hell enough for you.

[pipolo15161]

I LOVE HER she looks like the sister of popeye

[Canadiana71]

Looks like Alice in Wonderland bumped her head a little too hard when she fell down the rabbit hole.

[ophy4]

She's so amazing. Like some sort of strange goddess.

[kiwilynn13]

i don't think she should have been on jimmy fallon. i mean, she's good to some people but i think the only reason she got on the show is because she's dating andy samberg. no offense to her or anything, but she kinda needs to control her face.

[sooners164318]

@kiwilynn13 youre a dipshit, go listen to the black eyed peas

[kiwilynn13]

congratulations, you just called a 14 year old a girl a dipshit! do you feel like a man?

[ChildsPrison]

Wow... did you actually just say that?

You're an incredibly huge dipshit after that.

[heydinosaur]

I think it's rad that she played on a big TV show like this. Of course, plenty of people are going to think it's too weird but, you know... "to each their own?" I can say with confidence that Joanna's music makes me feel warm, and it makes me want to be a nicer, happier, and more appreciative person. And I'm sorry this performance compells some people to make meanhearted comments about facial paralysis and retards. Perhaps some of you folks should go back to watching your favourite U2 videos?

[NICOLEDFREYER123]

i love this song! she is sooo talented. if u guys cant even try to appreciate this, you must only like the typical mainstream stuff.

[mobrien11]

Bravo... someone with taste!

[underlinedluke]

I believe in Joanna's artistic integrity more than anything. She's not here to please, so just get a fucking grip, you guys. You just make too many excuses for liking or disliking her, as if your great opinions would matter anyway -- and as if you needed one. I don't mean to be rude, but man, this is art. Music is art. You treat it like shite. Ugh.

[squishykitty3]

god i love this song so much! i cant wait to go see her in atlanta on the 26th.

[exileinbriville]

I see her on the 30th! Can't wait. This is my favorite from Have One on Me.

[manwithnoname123]

not to diminish Joanna Newsom's singing (and especially her instrumental talent playing the harp) but quirky vocals like these were done by Kate Bush twenty years ago. yeah, there's some serious channeling going on here.

[exileinbriville]

I think it's important to remember that Joanna Newsom is using herself, artistically, to express her writing/music. It's not common and I think it is so harshly judged by people because of it. Just in this performance alone it's obvious that she's putting THOUGHT into how she presents the song. That's a really cool thing and like I said, it's rare in music nowadays. She's very controlled and yeah it's a bit quirky but I think she's putting something on display; an experience, a story.

[exileinbriville]

Just like the drummer shaking the tambourine like one of those goofy TV evangelists during the part when she sings about "the character god". It's all a part of the set up of the performance of the song. or the way she nods and smiles about doting with her pine-sap gum. How is that a gimmick? I think that's just being into your music.

[Damadama22]

Really unintelligent. I'm sorry .. I had to thumb down you haha

[exileinbriville]

Yeah it was pretty unintelligent. I'll try better next time.

[yaya50704]

"That might be the most sorry excuse for music I have ever heard. She thinks she is being original by making silly noises and singing in "baby talk?" Just goes to show people will buy anything when they feel cultured by something abnormal. Abnormal or strange is not always "artistic" or "gifted."

i think you're missing the point.

[onlyaremedy78]

True true... I guess on some level all art holds some sort of gimmick. i say that as a lover of art and music both. She's definitely talented. I wish Joanna could tone it down a little, cause I think I might actually really love her music and song writing if she did.

[violentflighter]

I think she's great.

[mobrien11]

That might be the most sorry excuse for music I have ever heard. She thinks she is being original by making silly noises and singing in "baby talk?" Just goes to show people will buy anything when they feel cultured by something abnormal. Abnormal or strange is not always "artistic" or "gifted."

[MonsieurRochas]

Yeah, normal art is so fun.

[ChildsPrison]

You're right, it's absolutely preposterous to think that people might genuinely enjoy her music.

We all just want to feel cultured, and artistic.. yup.

Give me a fucking break, make that argument with "Naked City".. not with Joanna fucking Newsom. She's amazing, and you're retarded.

[mobrien11]

Stand up and cheer, ChildsPrison feels cultured!

I was just stating that this song and performance was HORRIBLE - fake, quirky, pitchy, and uncomfortable to wathc. Maybe she has other songs that one could interpret differently. But if this is any indication of her talent, her "artistry" is lacking. She plays piano well, but then again so do 15 million other people.

[ChildsPrison]

You see, that's how YOU feel.

I didn't find it fake, quirky, pitchy, or uncomfortable to watch. The song is great, the performance was perfect, and you're just a freak.

The fact that you think one can only interpret this song the way You do says it all. Get your head out of your ass, you childish idiot.

[mobrien11]

You like to call people names, don't you. Well I can stoop to that level - it's obvious you are an unconfident loser, most likely a struggling musician who can't make ends meet and sees the person you want to be in this sorry mistake for a musician. Go back to writing your poetry, smoking your weed, and dreaming of a time when you can pay your bills.

[ChildsPrison]

You can't be so specific with insults.... none of those were even close to home.

I'm pretty confident that you're a huge fucking cunt, though. Why do you keep returning to a video just to talk shit about it, and the people who enjoy it?

There's only one loser here, my friend.

[aaroplane]

such hateful hate, jesus people! chilllllllllllll.

[pacificlnd]

Joni Mitchell channeled.

[stuagu]

enchanting & mesmerising.

[Dilaltastic]

She is such a great singer and songwriter. Very, very beautiful Andy Samberg is one luck SOB.

[theclassylady]

it does seem as facial paralysis.

but its not.

i guess her music moves her that way, who knows.

or maybe shes learned comedy from bf andy samberg

[MrEducations]

chalk isnt soft

[greenlyleaping]

chalk powder is

[onlyaremedy78]

I've tried so hard to like her music, but album after album I find it totally hard to listen to. It seems a little phony to me, and her voice.... I feel the same way about Devendra. I like some of his music though. They're good musicians, but I'm just not buyin it.

[MoGiMaL]

I know what you mean about the phonyish, gimmicky sounds they make.. some of it might be a little gimmicky, for sure. If you think about it though, almost all of popular musicians have gimmicks and use them, they're not just as in-your-face as these weird vocal eccentricities. If you start to think about what is gimmicky, there is so much of it.

[MoGiMaL]

Besides the over-the-top gimmicky sounding stuff, she does have some nice melodies, very interesting and pretty, and some great lyrics (I've only listened to 3 songs so far). Devendra has a lot of gimmicky stuff too but I still love the Cripple Crow album! Some beautiful sounds on there.

[beck3571]

Joanna is such a gem. Who can go on never knowing her genius? She one of the very few REAL musicians today. Her heart is in the music and it's one of the most beautiful sounds in the world because it's so real. I love the way she projects her soul.

[claud182]

she redefines diva

[ouibijou]

this and easy are my favorite off the album... this is one of the best albums so far///i miss smog.

[RelievesChappedLips2]

love the whole song! Drum beat at around 2:33 is great. Killer Piano too! can't get enough of this girl!

[baroquepopfan]

Ok, so Joanna's an acquired taste, but I've bought many thousands of records over that last 30 years, and trust me, she's a taste worth acquiring. Considered one of the great lyricists of the rock era, and her delivery of her poetry is wondrous, highly characterful - you just hang on to every little nuance. She a treasure!

[GeekSuga]

Does she really have facial paralysis? I don't like the music...

[mindbodylightsound10]

saw her 5 years ago playing solo in a church, accompanying herself on harp and piano. there were about 20 people in the room total. nice to see she's getting some national exposure now. great talent with a unique voice.

[treesofgoldandgreen]

I see that you tube is full of people who paste verbal rubbish...its getting me down, so please, if you don't get what you see& hear and then choose to comment saying the artist is "retarded" or has "paralysis" keep it to yourselves!!!....and if you keep posting rubbish then you are obviously "as thick as molasses" as Joanna sung so sweetly...

[underlinedluke]

Oh, but that's not why I logged in for. I was gonna say I LOVE YOU JOANNA. Thank you so much for existing and always making my day.

[underlinedluke]

When people can't complain about her voice, they start bitching about her face. Lol. Oh well.

[Canadiana71]

I can't watch this girl's distorted mouth expressions.

[11maton]

sounds good.

[canelavmz]

this is wonderful

[kjiar]

i love her expressions on the face :D

[axejaw]

She's so cute.

[DustedLightbulb]

Where are the Roots??! Joanna needs a funkier back up band.

[PFGrifter]

she looks and sings like an old lady

[matthew555]

so amazing. i need to see her live asap.

[BornCrying]

hooray!

[jengaballz]

is she retarted?

[squishykitty3]

you're an idiot for real.

[MrEph9]

You don't know how to spell "retarded". So whats that make you?

[leebenzaquin]

@MrEph9 a bad speller.

[MrEph9]

very true

[guellrich]

She is absolutely amazing. I'm so much looking forward to seeing her perform live in May!

[squishykitty3]

omg i know. im going this month to see her in atlanta on the 27th

[seannthelaments]

Nothin' bizarre about it.

[a1bigmike]

im so in love with the way she sings and voice nothing but heart an soul

[sixty2jeff]

Jethro Tull meets Cindy Lauper and has love child.

[Reverendwyotech]

Little known fact. John Mayer and Joanna Newsom, actually have a child together... We all know him as, Popeye, The Sailor Man.

[Ohmide]

what an odd style...do people actually like this?

[kenpantera86]

@Ohmide haha no, no one likes this. everyone likes miley cyrus, and we all have to because that is what we are told to like.

In all seriousness, I love this woman and want to marry her. So amazing

[Karakand1]

No, we only like her ironically.

[squishykitty3]

yes

[monoclethief]

I love her.

[Ydoc101lol]

Saw this last night.. glad I'm not the only one who thought this was bizarre.

[squishykitty3]

bizarre is another word for weird which means extraordinary and exotic.

[MrMudfan]

im speechless

that was so amazing

[Nicholasmegalis]

Beeeeautiful. I love this woman to death

[fel91jen]

this is so wierd.lol

[movieman2007]

4:26-4:33 how do you learn to make all those faces? that is awesome

[vinylbob]

I love the piano songs on this album, in addition to the harp songs. The piano works for a bluesier feeling that she is after. Also love her voice through all three albums.