Only one track today, because its so long:
Joanna Newsom – Monkey & Bear [play] [buy]
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The first time I tried listening to Joanna Newsom’s album The Milk-Eyed Mender, I nearly tore off my ears. Well, maybe not so dramatic, but her voice was like sharpened gorilla nails on a chalkboard – it really freaked me out. So it was with a certain trepidation that I delved into her newest album, Ys.
Now remember, this website is about music I love, and I love this album. I’ve listened to it about twelve times, and its only now starting to wear thin. And still, that’s only in parts. Each song on the album is intricate and confusing and wonderful and strange. My favorite is Monkey & Bear. I will enumerate the song’s many positive qualities now:
- Strange lyrics telling a story of an anthropomorphic couple.
- Amazingly well-written harp parts (also amazingly played).
- Orchestral arrangements by Van Dyke Parks.
- Far from annoying (beautiful really) vocal work by Newsom.
So enraptured was I by this song that I actually paid attention to the lyrics the first time through, something that hardly ever happens. The story is fascinating and her voice sings each moment in a different style. When Ursula (the bear) is “bursting with pride”, you hear the pride, and when Monkey jumps up to yell, her voice gets mean and miserly. And the words themselves are straight out of the mouth of Captain Beefheart (or other such romantic lyricists.) Fitting it is then, that Van Dyke Parks arranged the lush backing instrumentals. Here, at around nine and a half minutes, is an epic song that I could only hope to write when I’m fifty. And I’m glad to have heard it from someone my own age.