Joanna Newsom - Divers

Joanna Newsom's first album in five years drops on Friday. It's streaming on NPR currently. Follow the link if you're interested -First Listen: Joanna Newsom's 'Divers' : NPR

If you're unfamiliar, she's unique and just out of the mainstream. She plays harp. She has seventeen-minute-long songs thick with weird old words. Her last album was a two-hour-plus triple disc. She's dialed it back to normal song and album lengths here.


I'm really enjoying it so far. I haven't set down with a lyric sheet for every song yet, but for the three songs I have (Sapokanikan, Leaving the City, and Time, As a Symptom) I've been blown away. For instance, Sapokanikan is reportedly the name of the Native American village that once stood where New York City's Greenwich Village now sits. In the song, Newsom name drops Ozymandias and touches on themes of the inevitability of destruction. Fucking lucky-ass Andy Samberg.

ham_sl said:

She hates streaming so spotify doesn't get her shit, but allows it on NPR... ok

Click to expand...

I don't see the issue here. I haven't paid much attention to her stance on Spotify but i think most artists have issues with the amount of royalties they receive, licensing contracts, etc. I don't think they're just anti-streaming as a format or way to deliver music. The NPR stream was a 48 hour preview stream, so it likely did not raise the sort of issues artists generally complain about when it comes to Spotify and similar services.

As for the music she's def not for everyone. I'm like the reverse of you with Bjork. I appreciate Bjrok, and I'll listen to a single online when she drops it, but I don't own any Bjork albums, and don't usually listen to her. I've listened to the shit out of Milk Eyed Mender and Ys. Have One on Me, not so much. But I have all of em on vinyl. So far this one is closer to her earlier ones for me. I'm really enjoying the themes and sci-fi nature of it all. I mean she's got a song about World War 4 - a time travel battle.

Also, I don't really get the Bjork comparison. It comes up frequently, but other than them both being weird solo act females I don't see many similarities.