GRAPHIC BY LIZA FARRELL
With little word from Joanna Newsom since she dropped her epic triple LP, Have One On Me, in 2010 (with the exception of a new song and a handful of live performances), what better way to hope for a new album than by talking about my favorite songs of hers? Choosing just 20 of Joanna’s songs was difficult, as her discography is jam-packed with monumental tracks. This list, however, reflects the best of the best. Obviously, Joanna has definitely progressed and grown as an artist since the early 2000′s, and I made sure to pick songs from each album and era to showcase the breadth of her music. If you like the harp, unique female singers, poetry, smart things, brilliant things, amazing things, and/or amazing music, this list is for you. Here we go!
20-16
20. “Go Long”
19. “The Fray”
18. “Cassiopeia”
17. “Colleen”
16. “Clam, Crab Cockle, Cowrie”
15-11
15. “Sprout and the Bean”
14. “Soft As Chalk”
13. “You and Me, Bess”
12. “Only Skin”
11. “Book of Right-On”
10. “Peach, Plum, Pear”
Possibly Joanna’s most popular song, “Peach, Plum, Pear” is a whimsically-brilliant track that boasts genius in its simplicity. Joanna’s signature croon flutters over a contagious, metallic sounding harpsichord line that eventually erupts into a slew of swelling harmonies and hypnotizing arpeggiation. As the only song with harpsichord on The Milk-Eyed Mender, Joanna’s debut album, the track has an instantly recognizable mood that sets it part from the rest of the record.
9. “Bridges and Balloons”
“Bridges and Balloons” is the opening song on The Milk-Eyed Mender, and its strength comes from the same place as “Peach, Plum, Pear”: simplicity. This isn’t to say that Newsom’s expansive and lush harp playing is “simple,” but by employing sparse instrumentation, Newsom highlights her skills as both a singer and a storyteller. The eccentric melody winds its way around the shimmering harp lines, and her voice rings out clear and beautiful. The marriage of her raw vocals and the rich harp give off an old world or Renaissance-like vibe that plays a huge role in Joanna’s allure as an artist.
8. “Occident”
This song is all about the build. A trickling of piano chords and melancholy lyrics start the track with a mix of sadness and hopefulness. The climb is slow and, as Joanna’s voice grows in confidence and volume, the track really begins to bloom. When the drums come in around two minutes and forty-five seconds, the tempo doesn’t increase, but there’s a substantial shift in mood. Complacent unhappiness becomes a unique mix of despair and defiance that’s reflected in the strikingly gorgeous piano solo that follows. The melody swings up into Joanna’s upper register, and her voice becomes breathy, almost desperate, sounding and evokes a heartbreaking sadness.
7. “En Gallop”
While Newsom’s piano playing is out of this world, songs like “En Gallop” assure me that I’m partial to her performances on the harp. Using a perfect blend of low and high tones, Joanna provides enchanting accompaniment that sounds like a cloud-filled dream sequence. This song brings me to a place of deep calmness that no other song does. The lyrics are so simple and yet so haunting: “Never get so attached to a poem/You forget truth that lacks lyricism/And never draw so close to the heat/That you forget you must eat” advises Joanna before her voice evaporates and a lavish harp solo ensues.
6. “Good Intentions Paving Company”
As quickly as I’m willing to admit that I favor Joanna’s harp playing, I can also change my mind completely. The piano on this track is fantastic. Like most of her songs, “Good Intentions Paving Company” clocks in at seven minutes but doesn’t feel a second over four. Newsom’s ability to craft multiple, distinct movements within irregular song forms keeps this song (and much of her music) exciting from beginning to end, regardless of the length. This song draws on a heavier set of instrumentation than any of the others previously discussed with incredible results. From the pulsing piano chords, and whirring organ, to the poignantly placed mandolin and trombone solo outro, this track is a meticulously planned masterwork.
5. “Have One On Me”
If the last song was a meticulously planned masterwork, then this song is a tediously crafted behemoth of musical genius! The title track of Joanna’s most recent album rips through a shocking 11 minutes of sheer beauty in the form of a musical narrative. Sweeping harp glissandos and a somber melody kick off the song and, before long, morph into a more upbeat section that has rim shots, strings and acoustic guitar in abundance. While Joanna’s stories may be long and sometimes hard to follow, one thing’s definitely certain — they’re extraordinarily enthralling. As the story flourishes and Joanna talks about everything from kings to spiders, I can’t help but fall more under her spell with every word and note. Nine minutes into the song, a soft, wordless mantra explodes into a harmonized wave of sound that rises in volume and intensity. Then, just like that, we’re right back where we started with luxurious glissandos in full swing once again. I can’t help but wonder how Joanna begins to plan these songs and how she’s able to link so many disparate elements to create something so coherent and stunning.
4. “On a Good Day”
This song is proof that, not only can Newsom weave extremely long musical tales within varying musical forms, she can also write tunes of a more traditional length. This little gem from the second disk of her most recent album doesn’t waste a millisecond. The lyrics drip with anguish and regret, and the harp backs Newsom’s voice with a forlorn splendor that makes me want to shout at the top of my lungs. The pristine nature of this track and the emotions I’m met with when I listen make it a nearly inexhaustible religious experience.
3. “Cosmia”
My introduction to Joanna Newsom was “Cosmia”, a classic within in her discography and, quite possibly, her most melodically genius track to date. Since the first moment I heard this song, every line she sings has been an ear worm crawling around my brain with an authority that shows no sign of stopping. The strings, majestic as a waterfall, flow and surge, melding with the dizzying harp melody to transform into something euphoric. Joanna’s technical precision on her the harp is astounding in this song, and as she swoons about her “lonely nights down by the river,” it becomes clear that everything about her is next level.
2. “This Side of the Blue”
Simple, deep, and jaw-droppingly pretty, “This Side of The Blue” is a well-deserving runner-up. The basic chords that bounce along with Joanna’s angelic vocals feel like a small boat on the ocean, bobbing along, blissfully ignorant and uncaring. Newsom’s words spill smoothly into the soundscape, while the slide guitar, the true hero of the track, echoes her like an emotionally stirring muse whose words have been rendered completely useless. This song sounds like a confession. Not only does it sound like a confession, but the grandeur that emanates from the instrumentation sounds like the freedom that comes after having confessed. Joanna’s even-toned vocals and the pulsing organ make way for the slide guitar as it gracefully, yet carelessly glides throughout the track.
1. “Emily”
“Emily” is a song that most artists couldn’t even dream of creating. Why? Here’s why:
The lyrics are worthy of a Pulitzer Prize: “I saw you last night by the river/I dreamed you were skipping little stones across the surface of the water/Frowning at the angle where they were lost and slipped under forever/In a mud cloud mica-spangled, like the sky’d been breathing on a mirror.” As though this line weren’t incredible enough, she goes on to say “anyhow” immediately after, continuing with the story as though those lines were simply thrown in for fun. The most notable section of the song comes a bit later when Joanna recites different astronomical bodies and their functions in a way that even great poets would envy: “That the meteorite is a source of the light/And the meteor’s just what we see/And the meteoroid is a stone that’s devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee/And the meteorite’s just what causes the light/And the meteor’s how it’s perceived/And the meteoroid’s a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee.”
The song emphasizes the large role Emily, Joanna’s sister, has played in her life as a sibling, friend, and even teacher “The ties that bind, they are barbed and spined and hold us close forever.” Beyond the lyrics, this song has an incredibly complex structure — the arc that the song makes from beginning to middle to end is tremendous. The song also encapsulates the extremes of human relationships, going back and forth between frantic, cluttered, and raging instrumentation, to calm and collected within a matter of seconds. With this song, Newsom demonstrates that, not only is she a brilliant musician and an outstanding writer, she’s a god-like combination of the two.
