Joanna Newsom | News | The Beardscratchers Compendium of Music

’13 May 9 Thu

Thursday 9th May

“Van Dyke Parks: 'I was victimised by Brian Wilson's buffoonery'”
He co-wrote the Beach Boys' Smile and now works with everyone from Rufus Wainwright to Skrillex. But don't dare to call him quirky, says Van Dyke Parks
With his snowy white hair, neat moustache and spectacles that sit low on his nose, Van Dyke Parks may look like a kindly shoemaker from a fairytale but don't mistake him for a soft touch. Between songs at the Borderline in London, the 70-year-old mocks rock critics who apply words such as "smarmy, quirky, idiosyncratic: adjectives that have lost their special charm to me". When we meet in an empty hotel dining room the next day, he peers over his glasses and says: "Inevitably you will want to use the word eccentric in your writing. If you run out of quirky."
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Sunday 5th May

“Van Dyke Parks: Songs Cycled – review”
(Bella Union)
Forty-five years on from his debut album, Song Cycle, American arranger, lyricist and musical scholar Van Dyke Parks (the Beach Boys, Joanna Newsom) compiles a dozen recent(ish) works to mark turning 70. Those coming fresh to Parks may find his reedy voice, and his warping of time, requires some adjustment. Aficionados of Parks's highly maverick take on pre-rock songcraft, however, will relish these updates, which take in his penchant for accordions, calypso and folk. The breeziness of these forms belies the turbulent emotions at the heart of songs such as Wall Street (written in the aftermath of 9/11) and Black Gold (about the Prestige oil spill of 2002).
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Tuesday 30th April

“Emily Wells (No 1,503)”
Texan singer-songwriter whose mercurial music defies easy categorisation
Hometown: Amarillo, Texas.
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Tuesday 23rd April

“Ólöf Arnalds: Sudden Elevation”
On her third full length Ólöf Arnalds marries tradition and innovation. The language she does it in hardly matters.
Sudden Elevation is the first English-language album from this critically acclaimed Icelandic singer-songwriter. But the language in which she’s singing is almost irrelevant. Although the lyrics are often touching, poignant, and true, it’s the inflections and fluttering of her voice that really tells each of the stories she unveils in this 38-minute collection. Others have made comparisons to Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, and Karen Dalton and those are undoubtedly apt, though not defining. The album…
Read the complete article at www.popmatters.com

Tuesday 26th March

“M.I.A., Solange, Wire, Savages, Phosphorescent, Julia Holter, Waxahatchee, KEN Mode & more added to Pitchfork Festival”
Pitchfork Festival 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)
The final Pitchfork Festival lineup has now been announced, and in addition to previously announced acts like R. Kelly, Joanna Newsom, and Swans, it now includes M.I.A., Lil B, Solange, Wire, Yo La Tengo, Low, Savages, Toro Y Moi, Phosphorescent, Metz, Autre Ne Veut, Mikal Cronin, Parquet Courts, Merchandise, Woods, Julia Holter, Glass Candy, Andy Stott, Pissed Jeans, Frankie Rose, Ryan Hemsworth, Waxahatchee, Blood Orange, Daughn Gibson, Evian Christ, White Lung, KEN Mode, and DJ Rashad.
Read the complete article at www.brooklynvegan.com

Friday 15th March

“watch Joanna Newsome cover Sandy Denny in new video”
It's been three years since Joanna Newsom released Have One on Me and while we haven't heard anything about a new record in the works, she has just released a lovely cover of "The North Star Grassman and the Ravens," originally by UK folk star Sandy Denny. There's a video for it too which was produced to promote fashion designer's Melissa Coker's L.A.-based collection, Wren. Joanna hangs out with an owl in the video and you can watch it below.
Joanna will be playing Pitchfork fest this year, and hopefully will announce a NYC-area show sometime soon.
Read the complete article at www.brooklynvegan.com

Thursday 14th March

“Joanna Newsom – “The North Star Grassman And The Ravens” (Sandy Denny Cover) Video”
The newly engaged Joanna Newsom hasn’t given us a whole ton of new music since the Have One On Me motherlode a couple of years ago, but she recently hit the studio to record a cover of Sandy Denny’s 1971 folk song “The North Star Grassman And The Ravens.” Given its vintage, the song sadly [...]
Read the complete article at stereogum.feedsportal.com
“Watch: Joanna Newsom Covers Sandy Denny's "The North Star Grassman and the Ravens"”
Joanna Newsom's music-making engine is slowly revving back up. She's recorded a gorgeous cover of "The North Star Grassman and the Ravens", originally by British folk singer-songwriter Sandy Denny.
There's a video to go along with the cover, directed by Maximilla Lukacs for an upcoming fashion line from Melissa Coker's Wren label. It pictures Newsom in the woods, hanging out with owls, playing the harp in gorgeous landscapes-- pretty much right where you'd left her in your mind. Watch it below, via Gorilla vs Bear.
Read the complete article at pitchfork.com

Sunday 10th March

“Watch Justin Timberlake Host & Sing On SNL”
Last night, Justin Timberlake returned to Saturday Night Live to host for the fifth time. He took on musical guest duties, as well, as he did when he hosted in 2006. That was also the year that he and Andy Samberg — who recently got engaged to Joanna Newsom! — debuted their Color Me Badd-indebted [...]
Read the complete article at stereogum.feedsportal.com

Friday 8th March

“Devendra Banhart’s ‘Mala’ and Changes in Freak Folk”
Devendra Banhart shows maturity on his new album, “Mala,” following in the footsteps of other freak-folk acts like Joanna Newsom and Grizzly Bear.
Read the complete article at www.nytimes.com