Just this weekend, we were talking about J News, how we missed her and the Ys Street Band, how last we’d seen her was with bf Bill Callahan. And just this morning, reader teco apple filled us in on his enviable Sunday night, spent sitting what looks like first row at Joanna’s show in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where Ms. Newsom performed a set of familiars and one gorgeous new and untitled tune, recorded is some pretty high quality A/V, a nice snapshot for those looking to see where Jo’s headed next.
On this harp, harpsichord ‘n’ vox beauty, Joanna’s in the space between Milk-Eyed and Ys, offering a sythesis, really; at seven-or-so minutes and in three-or-so distinct movements it’s longer by far than anything on the former (save “Sadie,” maybe), but the passages are less sprawling, more melody-bound than the Van Dyke stuff (particularly dig the Beatles-y chord progression of the second section). And she’s still singing about things like “phantoms of love” and “angels,” but it’s not like we expected any of that to change from our favorite folk faerie.
Lovely stuff. Thanks again, teco.
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the opening melody sounds like a slowed down “Heart of Glass” — of course, Joanna owns outright whatever she authors. She’s an American treasure.
She sounds like Kate Bush now more than ever – the register and the vibrato are almost spot-on.
Jesus this is a great song.
i am in love
The song is not untitled (it’s called Easme), nor was it played for the first time in Brazil. It was played during the European tour, namely at the Royal Albert Hall show in London. There are good quality mp3 versions of it floating around.
I like that she seems to be moving back from the sprawling denseness of the second album into a more approachable place.. some nice melodies and chord progressions in this one, and the Kate Bush comparison on the vocal delivery made above is pretty close to the mark I reckon.
I just like that it doesn’t have those vocal affectations that made parts of Ys so hard to listen to. This sounds like the Joanna Newsom I fell in love with, the one who’s album was the first thing I had to listen to in the morning and the last thing I listened to before going to bed for something like 4 or 5 months.
i hear some hints of “Let it Be” in the middle section
and i also don’t hear any harpsichord in there. am i missing something?
Some lyrics here:
http://www.fromamouth.com/milkymoon/tadpoles/viewtopic.php?t=881&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20
It’s about a baby.
Link didn’t work so here:
I can feel a difference
Today, a difference
All of us in a _____
Feeling God like a ______
We lay on our ______ in the sun
Watching you and your _______
Sat up ___ ____ and you appeared
So pale you were nearly clear
Later I stumbled to my bed
All alone in the branches
I laid in the dark
Thinking about all my friends and their changes
And I do not know if you know just what you have done
You were the sweetest one I have ever laid my eyes upon
It’s a beautiful town with the rain coming down
Blackberry, rosemary, Jimmy Crack Corn
You’ve got the run of the place now that you’re running around
And may kindness, kindness, kindness abound
In this hour of our lives
Our effortless plenty
How do we know which parts of our hearts
Want what with such base generosity?
Taking so many photographs
So amazed, we’ve never seen a baby so newly born
And the bulbs do flash as bright as morning
This crowd keeps on gathering like an electric storm
The phantom of love moves among us at will
Each phantom in us has got an angel
So confused, like the wagging ghost tail of a bulldog
Kindness, kindness prevails!
Kindness prevails! Ties and rails, ties and rails
Fall into lines bearing kindness
Where will you go if not here;
What will you say when you write to us?
And this is a world of terrible hardship
Every way _____ to set you at ease
But there in the looking glass a kite is soaring
Still in my roaring heart and my trembling knees
Clean as a breeze, bright as a day
All of the people gather to say
Sweet Esame! Sweet Esame! Oh, oh, oh…
____ love will always surround you
Brave as a bear (?) with a heart real and true
If you are scared, if you are blue
I’ve prepared a small song for you
Sweet Esame, sweet Esame…
I see her in Argentina:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4u6EJeCtbs
Amazing!
re: title: she introduced it 2 nights ago in milwaukee as untitled…
STILL listening to this youtube video over and over…….
Actually, I was at the Rome concert on Sptember 23rd where she announced that she was playing it for the first time.
nah-nah-nah-nah-naaah-nah we were the Chosen People!
BTW thanks for the lyrics, Simon…
Actually, I was at the Rome concert on Sptember 23rd where she announced that she was playing it for the first time.
nah-nah-nah-nah-naaah-nah we were the Chosen People!
BTW thanks for the lyrics, Simon…
Actually, I was at the Rome concert on Sptember 23rd where she announced that she was playing it for the first time.
nah-nah-nah-nah-naaah-nah we were the Chosen People!
BTW thanks for the lyrics, Simon…
Hey, i was at the show in atlanta on november 17th when she specifically said it was still untitled, because a guy in the audience shouted up WHATS IT CALLED? and she responded that, in spite of what some folks pretend to know, there is now title, she’s still changing the lyrics also, like she took out a first line that she’d been using, that i know because she started singing it, and then stopped and laughed and said, she’d cut that line out. so. there we are.
I can feel a difference
today, a difference
all of us in a tense
fearing God like a mistress
we lay on the box in the sun
watching you while you moan
I sat up and blinked when you appeared
so pale you were nearly clear
later I stumbled to my bed
all alone in the branches
I laid in the dark thinking about
all of my friends and their changes
and I do not know if you know just what you have done
you are the sweetest one, I have ever laid my eyes upon
it’s a beautiful town, with the rain coming down
blackberry, rosemary, Jimmy Crack Corn
you’ve got the run of the place now that you’re running around
and may kindness, kindness, kindness abound
in this hour of our lives
our effortless plenty
how do we know which parts of our hearts want what
with such base generosity?
taking so many photographs, so amazed
- we’ve never seen a baby so newly born
and the bulbs do flash as bright as morning
the crowd keeps on gathering like an electric storm
the phantom of love moves among us at will
each phantom in us has got an angel
so confused, like the wagging ghost tail of a bulldog
kindness, kindness prevails
kindness prevails!
ties and rails, ties and rails
fall into line bearing kindness
where will you go if not here?
what will you say when you write to us?
and this is a world of terrible hardship everywhere
and i search for words to set you at ease
but there in the looking glass, a kite is soaring
still in my warring heart and my trembling knees
clean as a breeze
bright as a day
all of the people gather to say;
sweet Esme, sweet Esme!
oh, oh, oh…
I believe love will always surround you
brave as a bear with a heart rare and true
but if you are scared, if you are blue
I’ve prepared a small song for you
sweet Esme, sweet Esme…
Surprised more comparisons to the Cocteau Twins are not made.
This one has some vocal antics reminiscent of Liz Frasier.
See “Pink Orange Red” or “Aikea Guinea” by the Cocteau Twins.
they invented “ethereal”.
I just saw her thursday at BAM in NY and the concert was astonishingly good. She sang this song as well, as the last song of the evening (well, before the encore). These “good quality mp3s” of it that are “floating around”….can anyone lead me to one perhaps?
Hey you can just use a youtube converter website such as catch-video.com to convert the vid into an mp3 on your own (that’s how i got sweet esame)
hope that helps morricone!