Added: 1 year ago
From: geraldthegorilla14
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  • Lovely. Very unique artist.

  • Good lord this is beautiful. She is the most frustrating artist in that many of her songs are beautifully crafted, many are boring, and her voice is alternately haunting and grating and phony. I'M SO CONFUSED.

  • @guitarguru1040 Very well said.

  • beautiful :) So chilling, and hypnotising!

  • I feel sorry for people who enjoy this completely contrived and insincere caricature of appalachian music. Her voice is absolutely the most fake thing I've heard in quite some time.

  • @OZK033 You mean her voice is fake? Because her voice actually sounds like that. Her singing voice, I mean. Her singing voice is, as "experts" say, untrainable. Put simply, she technically can't sing.

  • @ZoeSquared21 I'd be inclined to agree. At least she admits it though in an interview I've read. She says that she's disappointed that people find her singing child-like, but it DOES sound totally juvenile. I find the vocal style to be dated, tacky and disingenuous. Singing like you speak is what always seems to be most effective. Her playing, however is beautiful.

  • @OZK033 Some people can't. (I can't. Ask me to sing how I speak and... eesh.) I am personally inclined toward her later work where her voice has become more refined and less harsh, which some of my friends resent me for. Her singing does sound juvenile, but that's just to some people's liking. I wouldn't call it contrived or insincere, merely less refined. But some people just have to sing a certain way, y'know? My only regret is people pretending to enjoy it. And her playing is inspirational.

  • she reminds me of Kate Bush :)

  • i love this

  • She reminds me of John Jacob Niles.

  • Fuck

  • Her voice has changed slightly from album to album, but it's always still Joanna. I don't like how most other critics try to label her singing as "screeching" or "squeaking" because that isn't what it is. Her voice just might be so unique that I don't have the right words to sum it up

  • SHHHH!!!!!! She's Playing...

  • I'm just gonna go ahead and call a spade a spade here... She's crap. I refuse to fall into the Emperor's New Clothes syndrome like too damn many other listener have. I refuse to be spoon fed this fucking pap that she's high culture or artistically unique. She sings like she has a hair lip or some odd European accent... but of course she has neither. She's just a yank who faked up a vocal style. She is 80% looks and 20% art talent. Backwards ratio. If she were male no one would listen. Bullshit.

  • @vantagestudios She's very pretty but I just can't believe that no one could enjoy this music if they didn't want to get their rocks off. Are you familiar with CocoRosie? Similar music and vocals, but the two sisters in the group are always wearing fake facial hair... You can be pretty guaranteed that no one's listening to them because of how sexy they are. Only because they like their music. I feel the same way with Joanna Newsom.

  • @LowlyPeon23 Ya, but CocoRosie are actually pretty hot looking. It's not a big challenge to not see past their makeup and realize this. They aren't the runaway success that Newsome is either. The industry is so painfully two-dimensional now that one can't help but be suspicious. In my opinion Newsome is over-cultivated - to me that also means disingenuous. Her singing style is fake to the point of insult. If some bald fat guy sang like that he would be marginalized ... or crucified!

  • Reminds me a bit of "Lather" by Jefferson Airplane. I keep waiting for someone to snort the best licks in town!

  • this is one of the coolest artists to pop up in a while good voice very talented. just think she moves her mouth a lil bit funny on certain notes she hits

  • I get instant boners when listening Joanna Newsom

  • harp is by far the trippiest instrument to watch played...hands popping around like a comprssion wave loom

  • For what it's worth, I wouldn't call Joanna Newsom's music "pop". I would call it "Joanna Newsom's Music," and stop trying to cram it into some outdated idea of "recognised" genres. She is a genre unto herself and defies your every attempt to quantify her sound. So there.

  • Jools is the man. Can't imagine life without this show.

  • Reminds me of the voice of Kate Bush, the high notes, or the way to sing..i love it

  • it's unfortunate that some people are incapable of getting beyond the 'categorization' thing and see that genres aren't absolute and that they are and should in practice be used more as descriptive attributes than elitistic gang struggle stigmas

  • @StAngersucks I do know that genres aren't absolute, however this just isn't anything like pop music. For a start it isn't all that popular. And if we're going to be using wikipedia articles: "...there are core elements which define it. Such include generally short-to-medium length songs, written in a basic format which is often the verse-chorus structure, which generally make usage of repeated choruses, have a melodic sound, and have catchy hooks."

  • @StAngersucks This song only fulfils one of those elements, being relatively short, and that's only because Joanna Newsom needed a track she could play live on shows like these without having to take up 10 minutes of the whole programme.

  • @StAngersucks This music is also not released for "commercial" reasons, clearly, otherwise it would be some catchy disco pop a la Lady Gaga. Joanna Newsom's music is what she wants it to be, so this is hardly a good example of pop music at all.

  • @ViciAmbience She wrote the music to record and release it. She is signed to a record company that sells her albums. She engages in commerce. And she doesn't really have any songs that aren't short, her longest (the fabulous tune Only skin) lasting for about a quarter of an hour. Once again; disco is a kind of popular music, but all popular music isn't kinds of disco. Heard The Milk-Eyed Mender? Pure, lovely pop.

  • @ViciAmbience Since you don't seem to get it, there's a difference between the kind of mainstream muzak (can be labeled pop) and the modern movement of popular music (can be labeled pop). The former is some kind of attempt to descripe the mainstream as a genre, while the latter is more of a counterterm to e.g. liturgical music, often performed during religious service, and older (and contemporary) kinds of art music, often performed by large ensembles.

  • @StAngersucks Once you're done telling me that I just "don't get it" you might care to think that this isn't from the Milk Eyed Mender, and the fact that she has longer songs, which I am well aware of only proves my point further. Now for you to suddenly jump on an alternative, barely used definition of pop music is very convenient, because that's clearly not what you were going on about earlier.

  • @ViciAmbience Yes, yes it is. I'm saying exactly the same thing. Joanna is a pop musician and fifteen minutes is not a long song. In fact, the whole centrisism around songs and albums are clear symptoms of popular music. Have one on me is not a folk album, nor is it a classical album. Is there some kind of meaning of denying the obvious fact that this is popular music? (And your impression that it's a sudden change implies that you didn't understand it earlier, doesn't it?)

  • @StAngersucks Are you sure you've told me I'm an idiot who doesn't understand enough times? It didn't work the first time. When I called pop a genre earlier, you didn't argue against that. But now you are. Clear change there. And would that make my EP popular music, because it is in the form of an album, even though it's only been released in digital form with less than 100 purchases? I suppose that's popular music to you as well?

  • @ViciAmbience I wrote earlier that I didn't mean pop as the mainstream genre. And yep, popular music has nothing to do with actual popularity. That's what I've been trying to say. Can't answer for the music of your EP though, as I haven't heard it. (It could be hours of authentic ethno drumming, for instance. That wouldn't be pop.) Jazz, swing, hiphop, heavy metal, indie rock and so on, on the other hand, are genres in the pop music spectrum.

  • @StAngersucks Jazz is a little different.

  • @Uktrayf Yep, jazz is vague, and the different ends of the spectrum borders/trespasses on both pop and classical. Soft jazz and swing are good examples of the first, and Gil Evans/Miles Davis' Porgy and bess is a good example of the latter. If you don't want to use terms like third stream music..

  • @ViciAmbience oh man. Joanna is of course pop music. The song structures, instrumentation, melodies, vocal performances and use of lyrics - her music is so obviously derived from popular tradition, not classical tradition. Pop doesn't just mean Madonna xD sure that kind of 'literally very popular' dance-pop music is a genre of its own, but at its broadest, pop encompasses Joanna as well. Pop doesn't have to mean Lady Gaga, just like Classical doesn't have to mean the Classical Period.

  • @Uktrayf i would say she has more of a folk indie style then pop

  • @harrywang88 'folk indie' is pop, that's entirely the gist of what i was saying. Although the parts that are obviously folk are certainly more derived from folk :P but only really Colleen comes anywhere close to a 'true folk song' in my eyes.

  • I want to marry this girl.

  • it's unfortunate that some people are incapable of getting beyond futile categorizations and just appreciating the music. i love classical music, but i don't really care if this is or is not classical. her harp and compositional skills are sexy, enough said.

  • I would classify this as good music and say that there really isnt a genre specific enough to describe it

  • This is horrible music, it needs a rap remix with Lil Wayne.

  • I never thought much of her voice, ever. I was instantly drawn to its sound in the milk-eyed mender and still am to this day.

  • @BangsOrangutan How is this hipster? If anything it's classical?

  • @ViciAmbience No, this is not classical.

  • @StAngersucks I'm it's more classical than hipster, which it is.

  • @ViciAmbience *I'm saying

  • @ViciAmbience Except for the choice of instrument, this has almost nothing to do with classical music. Please refrain from such silly statements. This is pop music, whether you think it's 'hipster' or not.

  • @StAngersucks Pop music? Are you being serious? That's possibly the most absurd statement I've ever read.

  • @ViciAmbience Yep, pop music. Not pejorative, only descriptive. This is not modernist, romantic, classical, baroque or any kind of 'serious' art music in any way. Just... pop. A small, short and very beautiful song. From the best album ever.

  • @StAngersucks Just because it isn't serious, doesn't make it pop. Pop is a musical genre, and this just isn't pop. I'd label it as indie folk, or just folk, but it most definitely isn't pop.

  • @ViciAmbience You're being very restrictive in your interpretation of the term pop. If you look at it with a magnifying glass, it can be hard to see similarities between singer/songwriter music and rock, but in a wider sense, it's obvious. This is perhaps a bit folky, but it is not folk music, not even the western hemisphere kind of folk music. I don't mean to insult you and your view of things, but this is a fine example of modern popular music, just not the vulgar mindless type.

  • @ViciAmbience I'll borrow a bit from a wikipedia article that explains in some ways what I put into the concept of pop music: "The 1960s and '70s saw a number of important changes in American popular music including the development of a number of new styles such as heavy metal, punk, soul, and hip hop. Though these styles were not popular in the sense of mainstream they were commercially recorded and are thus examples of popular music as opposed to folk or classical music."

  • OMG SHE'S SOUNDS LIKE A 1 YEAR OLD

  • @skron111213 "She's sounds"? You mean "she sounds"?

  • @skron111213

    your parents are cousins

  • @skron111213

    your parents are cousins

  • this is my all time favorite live performance her voice and her music are something no one else has fathomed and will inspire imitation eternally.

  • she's other worldly =) gah I wish I could play harp...but hey maybe one day I can do the same thing with my cello =D

  • Beautiful. Her lyrics are so good!

  • Her voice isn't bad at all it's very unique & I can only imagine her with that voice. It's beautiful!

  • I like to watch her play. Like, listening is usually just enough for me, but sometimes I just like to see her sit at her harp and pluck at the strings cause it's just such an unusual thing for a singer-songwriter to do. I, to this day, still cannot get over it and I've been listening to her for a while.

  • I feel sorry for people who don't like her voice.

  • Her voice! I know some people don't like it, but oh my, her voice; it's so beautiful.

  • 3:14 gave me shivers. i absolutely love her music, her lyrics, her voice, everything. stunning.

  • i can't get this song out of my head. i really like the "riff" at 2:13 and i like her voice, especially when it's more unpolished and emotional. a good example is her live performance of peach plum pear at sonic boom: my favorite version of that song

  • the truth is that her voice is bad and her playing is very good

  • @mohamadmehdijm How is here voice "bad" exactly? She's hitting all the right notes. It's different and unique, I'll give you that, but that doesn't make it bad.

  • She is completely amazing!!!

  • Pure beauty

  • It took me a long time as well! to get used to her voice that is...but now i cannot stop listening to her

  • wanna meet this woman bad. lush

  • fucking ads. ruining youtube and the internet.

  • @steffworthington - if it wasn't for ads you wouldn't have a Youtube so shut up. It isn't free to run a site like this you know.

  • @the1musiclad you do realize that there were no ads before Google bought YouTube, right?... they do it strictly for the ad-revenue to try padding their wallets a little bit more with every click we make. so... shut up :)

  • @JMKentnerd3000 - There were ads just not as many. Before Google took over Youtube was struggling financially and it was seen as a big gamble for Google. It had a couple of years left at best before it would have been closed down. How does Youtube actually make money if not through ad revenue???? Do you fancy paying to watch videos instead of getting it COMPLETELY FREE as you are now?

  • This is so weird, if I close my Eyes I imagine Rumpelstiltskin singin in the Woods.

  • Anyone else get chills and closed your eyes and feel a out of this world feeling? or was it just me?

  • @DeathNationGaming I ate mushrooms and listened to her for like 2 hours. It was incredible

  • The way she moves her mouth while singing is reminiscent of Brian Wilson. It must be something geniuses have in common.

  • Reminds me so much of Kate Bush.

  • I never realized how gigantic a harp can be

  • hot.

  • I now believe in innocence too. Thanks to her

  • I'm almost sure that's the same dress she was wearing when I saw her live in Milan last september.. I can't believe she's coming back here in italy this summer, I just can't wait to see her again!

  • It's nice to see someone with real talent, rather than some popstar shaking her ass to a terrible remix of a good song. Please support artists like this.

  • I am going straight over to the garden of Eden right nao. Joanna is my queen

  • I just realized what this song is about...I'm probably late as hell, but she's telling a fantasy version of the story of the bible from Genesis to when Jesus came. "I would want for nothing more in my garden, start again in my hardening to every heart but one" (Noah and the flood)

  • @terracottaheavens err, not really, no.

  • @Uktrayf lol, that's what I got out of it. makes sense to me.

  • @terracottaheavens It takes her own conception, the union in the year of '81, as a jumping off point on the creation of life (or everything maybe), and the loving effort, sacrifice needed. imo. ;)

  • @06371671 No, it's probably more likely to be an allusion to the story terracottaheavens is referencing, since the lyric is actually "seceded from the union in the year of A.D. 1" rather than '81 as the title would have you believe. However, her lyrics are usually just extreme metaphors for personal experiences with people in her own life, etc., so either guess is as good as the other.

  • @kolby386 Well I think it's referencing Genesis too fairly obviously, as well as Saint George for example. It's far from mutually exclusive, the opposite! Her lyrics are usually very rich with meaning and allusions.

    I'm convinced she's saying 81, but even so at the very least the title of a song isn't something to be ignored either. Usually a kind of summative element of the song.

  • @06371671 I only say that the lyric is "A.D. 1" because it's printed as such in the album's liner notes.

  • How old is this girl?

  • How old is this girl?

  • There's something about a beautiful woman with a harp.

  • Fuck off with your adverts. The BBC don't carry adverts. Jools Holland is BBC. Bastards!!!

  • An acquired taste.

  • Lisa Simpson should have played Harp..

    ^^

    anyway I love this song.

  • She's great...beautiful strings & voice. Just beautiful all around.

  • Beautiful song!, de las mejores del nuevo disco "Have one on me", toca con maestría el arpa y además k tiene una voz muy dulce.

    Joanna is the best!

  • @pandaeyes42 I applaud your bluntness good sir.

  • @pandaeyes42 Come back when you don't listen to Benny Benassi. Fucking elecBRO house.

  • shes like an elvin maiden

  • The most beatiful folk music

  • I don't get mad when I hear people talking about how awful Joanna's music is. She isn't for everyone. She's a special gem.

  • you get us out of the fear i think....so calm, so pure, just pure pleasure of be

  • ...i think... I'm in love

  • cry cry cry....such level of purity...ohh dear...amazing

  • Comment removed

  • You don't have to go back too far: late '70s and listen to Kate Bush. Wonderful.

  • I think I'm slowly getting used to her voice. The way she plays the harp has always enthralled me, but her voice put me off more often than not. Now that I've listened to her more, I think I can appreciate her. She's so unique, and her lyrics are quite poetic and beautiful. It's a slow process, but I'm seeing more and more how beautiful her voice can be. ♥

  • @CrystalChord2010

    You just have to realize that she isn't going for the conventional, typical style of singing everyone is doing now days. But that is wonderful you are becoming a fan of her voice :)

  • @asianmatt2012 Oh no, I know that, and I applaud her for being unconventional. :D

  • @CrystalChord2010 She actually had issues with her voice awhile back and wasn't allowed to talk for 3 months. It came back, but it's softer than earlier albums.

    I love all of it. She's a doll, amazing.

  • @CrystalChord2010 My sentiments, exactly. Word for word.

  • @CrystalChord2010

    I used to find her voice hard to listen to. However I think it has changed in the past couple of years (I think she has had throat problems) and that has made her less squeaky and thus better to my ear.

  • @CrystalChord2010 I read in an article that after her first album, which critics either praised or bashed her voice, that she decided to take some voice lessons. So, she does sound better which would explain how you're able to tolerate her voice more. Her previous voice did put me off a little bit also but, I'm just enraptured when she plays that harp! And shes a beauty to watch anyways so, its all around enjoyable :)

  • @CrystalChord2010

    i dnt believe u are getting used to her voice. man her voice is like magic.

  • If I ever marry I'm gonna ask her to play at the party! --or maybe not because she's so beautiful that i would be jealous.

  • Awesome!

    

  • This is my favourite from Joanna Newsom.

    It is so magical and gentle, and leaves me breathless.

    Plus, it must take so much concentration to sing and play the harp at the same time.

    Beautiful :)

  • I love that it's a waltz.

  • It seems that in any televised performance, her voice is trembling and she seems nervous. in other live performances--people recording her in secret at concerts--she does much better. Her voice has achieved a profound consistency and depth with time!

  • @myloversdream Ha, you noticed that too ? I'm listening to various version of '81, and on the CD and some other concerts her voice is much more fluid, as in here she seems to crack up sometimes which gives away odd tonalities =p

  • this is an absolutly magical song

  • This doesn't sound new nor old, it's timeless. Something for the ages and Joanna is the greatest artist to walk the earth for a very long time. It's been to long since someone like her has made music. Beautiful in so many ways.

  • I love her Style

  • Faeries are REAL......"regardless, I believe in everyone"....deep

  • needs moor metal

  • is it just me or did joanna have problems with her voice during this show?

  • @MsMelinka it's just you.

  • no, no, noooo! i've been thinking about it for over a week, but i still don't get it how can someone not like this vid...

  • 16 people have no soul ...

  • how can you not love her voice? she, her music, her voice is the most beautiful thing.

  • @clevery96

    somewhat interesting...but I wouldn't use "beautiful" as a word to describe her voice. I suppose that depends on what your definition of beautiful is...

  • It is quite beautiful...

  • This is extremely soft

    I have never heard so much softness that managed to almost make me cry

  • Wow i cant i have an opinion i think she plays harp very well but her voice is not that great....seriously she is talented but i wish she would try to hit certain high notes that her voice doesnt crack( not trying to insult her or be mean) i guess as time goes she will get better with her singing :)

  • @folkguitarist1 good lord don't judge her on this clip because it's live and she likely hasn't warmed her voice up yet or could be having a bad day or whatever. she actually can hit very high notes nicely

  • @gluntford haha i like how you said good lord it sounded like you were about to faint lol anyway okay im listening to more of joannas stuff trying to get a feel for it :) k

  • @folkguitarist1 pfffff

  • goddess ! I love you

  • Whenever I hear this song, I feel like I'm remembering something from a long time ago.

  • Simply brilliant!

  • @folkguitarist1 you know nothing about music. She sings in tune and although I like Laura she is off alot.

  • @folkguitarist1 the hell does laura marling have to do with joanna? i like laura but she's NOT as good as Joanna lyrically.

  • @catholicknees

    I think Laura Marling beats Joanna in voice, however...

  • @folkguitarist1 and she IS a musician. can you play a harp?

  • i didnt say she is bad at playing harp i just worded everything wrong i meant that her voice is quite different as is laura's voice is different but joanna's voice does not sound good ....but then again bob dylan was similar in joanna's case bad voice/good lyrics and music :)

  • so beautifull! <3

  • true magic, if i ever got to see her perform live id'd probably be reduced to a sobbing mess

  • Always be a fan .

    Aslo check out some of my music ,thanks!

  • watching Joanna perform live is magic

  • I dont understand why people bash musicians. Their obviously doing something you cant otherwise they might be watching your vid on youtube. Why can't you just watch say you don't like it to yourself and get on with life. Does it really occur to you that ya must smash this artist to get through your day. I don't like rap or hip hop so i don't watch the videos. Learn from me ya un grateful fucks!!!!!!

  • i wouldn't care if she sounded like tom waits gargling whiskey, she plays harp and harp seems so intimidating to me it's just such a beautiful, huge instrument and anyone that can play it well AND sing at the same time will get my attention. fabolous performance!

  • @purafyre says the guy who favorites Gene Simmons and Kings of Leon

  • So beautiful..

  • beautiful..!! so artistic

  • OH I'M SO SQUEAKY!!!!!!