As a musician, she is an excellent poet. Her music has't grown on me yet, but her lyrics can stand by themselves.
Joanna Newsom: Ys or No?
Ys I read about the Van Dyke Parks credits & Stereophile's Pick-of-Month review & other press to the effect that this album succeeds against all odds as a work of genius. I'm no philistine, but while listening to sound bytes at Barnes & Noble, I flashed back to Bluto at the Animal House toga party smashing that folkie's guitar to bits on the staircase. Has anybody fully digested this album without the impulse to murder/suicide?