The other day I made a genius decision to go out to the mall in mid to late afternoon, just to browse. While my credit card stayed tucked away safely in my wallet, I ran into trouble elsewhere. I forgot about the inevitable traffic jam I would run into on my way from the mall to the gym. What should have been a nine minute drive quickly became twenty-four(ish) and I was stuck sitting in a sea of autos for much longer than I desire. Just as my nerves became especially frazzled this song came on and I couldn’t help but relax.
If you are not familiar with Joanna Newsom, then you are missing out. She can be a little intimidating at first with her lack of choruses, harp for a partner, and shall we say unique voice. At first I wanted to post a live video of her singing this song because she is one of the most interesting people to watch perform, but I realized that might be a bit too fast, too furious. Baby steps here.
In any event, she is a gem. This song, a whopping 9 minutes may seems absurb, but really it’s not. It’s all about the build-up. If you can hold out until about 6:26 you will be handsomely rewarded. And, no, you can’t just skip until that point because you have to listen to all the good stuff before for it to not only make sense, but be as rewarding as it is.
My point is that J Newsom is an anesthetic, and soon I found myself immune to the idiocy of other highway drivers. She calms the nerves and helps put me back in a controlled state of mind. Who is yours?
A Broad At Home 