“Her music is dense, lacks melody (it doesn’t), tonality, humor and listenability (it pays so many repeated listens), is somewhat off-putting and often cloyingly pretentious, but if you work hard enough (what was that about listenability?) you will feel her genius radiate through you and then you will know you are cool.”

Well, if you work hard any any work of art, like a volume of poetry, it reveals itself slowly. Unless you are looking at Damien Hirst or that kind of thing, then obviously, there is a slow pay-off.

Is that a bad thing? I mean, I am astonished that any critic could consider a “slow burner” to be somehow wrong.

This review really is crass in the extreme. The reviewer deserves to get the sack for this, because it is not about a particular record, it is an entire ethos that should be dismissed. What a prick.

Oh yeah. Cos all of our top 100 should be garage band knock-offs, cos the reviewer is a beer-swigging prick in a “downtown” bar. He is playing the blue-collar hipster for sure, too afraid of real poetry - and it IS poetry, in Newsom’s songs.

What a prize jerk. This is the kind of album that Astral Weeks is SUPPOSED to be - a hypnotic, meditative and poetic journey. With exquisite music and yes, singing. What is this about hipsters? Is it now too trendy to enjoy art, for all the critics snaffling around degrading it?

djh-graphics - and a com at the end.

nKeJzK U cool ))

I am a cynical person, and I did not particularly care for her voice when I first heard her.

Then a friend gave me, “Emily,” and I began to grow rapidly attached to it, and was oblivious that it was popular anywhere else. This is one of my favorite songs of anything I have listened to before. It has a very personal and emotional significance to me.

I don’t know if Joanna should apologize that she doesn’t shallow or dumb down her lyrics like most popular artists in America.

I don’t know why I am really even commenting. I suppose I was just overcome with sadness to see her bashed like this. I agree, though, with a prior comment that is glad Rolling Stones did not popularize her to which may ruin her quality.

Of course her lyrics are ‘dense…’ they are poetry, which is obviously denser than Justin Timberlake’s lyrics of, “Well baby I’ve been around the world
But I aint seen myself another girl.”

“Emily” is a nostalgic song about her sister, she being an astrophysicist, and Joanna trying to remember what she has taught her through rhymes, which are innocently inaccurate.

I can empathize with the author, however, that writing cynical bashings of the hipster/indie trend music makes you cool, especially for the Rolling Stone, but Joanna’s modesty should be left alone to be admire by true fans who aren’t so fucking shallow and exploitative.

Pathetic, just pathetic.

Ys is a good album, Emily is good song, and this writer comparing Newsom with mainstream people like Regina Spektor and TV on the Radio is just stupid and absurd.

Rolling Stone:
1.The magazine that gave Neutral Milk Hotel’s in the Aeroplane Over the Sea 3 stars but two 50 cent albums 4 stars.
2.Gave Nirvana’s Nevermind 3 stars originally but 5 at the reissue, when they noticed that it was popular.
3.The magazine that hires writers who write hate filled bashes against indie artists who do what they know (in Joanna Newsom’s case playing the harp and making crazy good music)

Who cares what you write anymore Rolling Stone?

Unsubscribed.
Blender, here I come.

It seems like the author spent too much time judging the fan base and far too little time listening to the music.

Joanna Newsom is the most amazing musician I have ever encountered. Stop hating on the hipsters, it’s not cool anymore.

after reading this, i just unsubscribed. sorry.

If you don’t like it don’t listen. Give her some time to grow, she is a great harpist. The cool thing is there are so many different things to listen too, this is just another one….

Although this has been said already, I just can’t see how this article could have been written. It’s just foolish and narrow minded. Perhaps Elizabeth, if you listened to the song before criticizing it, it would help.

This article is an absolute joke. It’s a clear portrayal of someone who’s too narrow-minded to see the charm in Joanna’s innovative writing style and refreshingly unique voice. There has never been anyone in music to this day whose music sounds like Joanna Newsom, and she is in my opinion, the best living lyricist today.

Though she is definitely a love her or hate her kind of artist, it is absolutely ridiculous to call her music boring or pretentious. This woman is a goddess. End of story.

I’m with rolling stone on this one.

“she went to school for fucking creative writing”

This explains a lot

Elizabeth Goodman is a joke.
Thank God RS doesn’t like Joanna- I would hate to see her piled in with the crap they prop up as popular music. I happen to have known nothing about here and 2.5 years ago I saw her open up a Neil Young benefit and was blown away. Albums or not, she is amazing.
Stuff it Lizze.

Well the verdict seems to be: Rolling Stone doesn’t suck, Joanna Newsom does (3), Rolling Stone is the irrelevant Satan of corporate wank and the cause of why music is mostly shit today (70). Cheers RS, your successful attempt at courting controversy has only proved how much music lovers despise you.

I don’t really care if Rolling Stone likes her or not or even if they feel the need to write a ton of articles about the fact that they don’t like her. Unlike them, I don’t presume to tell people what they can and cannot like. The thing that bugs me about this particular article is that it tries to lump all Joanna fans into the mindless Pitchfork sheep parade. I don’t like being told why I like something, especially if it has anything to do with Pitchfork because I hate Pitchfork with a fiery passion and disagree with them about 97% of the time.

Y’s is an amazing album. Lacks lyrical skill? she went to school for fucking creative writting. She is an amazing lyricist, and harpist and songwriter. What the problem here is justin timberlake is on a top song count for the year. Anything that is out of the normal people fear and you are afraid of something that is outside of the norm and not “safe”. Y’s is such a good story telling album, just like her album before “milk eyed-mender” she made another masterpeice and you are just to narrow minded, and blind to see it. Keep kissing corporate ass because that’s all you know how to do.

JP

Ha ha ha!! Rolling Stone magazine has had to resort to defending its pathetic 2 sentence review of this album in the face of mounting evidence that they are completely wrong and out of touch about this record.

They used to hate Led Zeppelin in the 70’s. Bet they hated the Velvet Underground too.

What a bunch of idiots.

So is Captain Beefheart, so are the Fugs, John Cage, Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground and Lou Reed, so are the Stooges and don’t get me started on the New York Dolls, the Ramones, or the Shaggs. Even atonal and total shite like the the Yeah Yeah Yeahs probably got a better review from this magazine. Sure they don’t sound like Maria Carey but I know who I’d rather listen to.

Anyway, I’m actually glad so many folks hate (yes hate) Joanna’s album. Her fans get to see her at small intimate venues for a while longer.

Regardless of Rolling Stone’s credentials or lack thereof, it is blindly obvious that those who are unable to recognize that this album is the plague of nations lacks a genetic predisposition towards tonality. It’s pretty obvious that this album makes babies cry and you’ve been had.

It’s going to be great fun watching you being proved wrong, wrong and wrong again over the coming months.

Ys is a great work of art despite the challenging (to some) vocals.

If you think her music is impenetrable and pretensious then I guess you really can’t stand Bob Dylan either or punk rock or Shoenberg.

Just stick to American Idol. You’re on safe ground there YOU MORON.

I find this article comical at best. It seems that if anything, all that has been created here is a rediculous article by another individual contributing to nothing but the never ending depletion of awareness and ability to see beauty.
Thank you Elizabeth!

Wow RS you really have your finger on the pulse of the music industry, don’t you? Unfortunately, that pulse belonged to Ronnie Van Zant.

this article is ridiculous, stop demeaning something you don’t even understand.

Um, Rolling Stone? Do you want me to turn down the racket on my radio? Should I get off your lawn? Do my clothes make me look like a ragamuffin/streetperson/slut?

Don’t forget your iron pills and prunes, dear.

Joanna Newsom vs Bob Dylan vs The Red Hot Chili Peppers…? What the fuck! Joanna Newsome is a truly unique artist who is rightfully finding a devoted audience. I remember as a teen my mother wouldn’t let me play my favorite LP ‘Bringing It All Back Home’, because she said it sounded like somebody was strangling a cat and the songs didn’t make any sense… Hmmm.

What’s especially amusing is that this critique is coming from a magazine that voted the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the second best record of the year. Rolling Stone has probably often been out of touch with genuine taste over the last decade, but this one takes the cake.

This type of rant is much more suited to a personal blog, not an official magazine blog. There’s a difference between “I believe this artist was undeserving of this honor, and here are my well-thought out reasons why:” and “OMG SHE IS TEH SUXXORZ CUZ I SIAD SO!!111″ As far as I know, she did not kick your cat or bang your husband, so you can stop acting like she did. Stop acting like a petulant teenager and grow up, thanks.

I think the greater travesty is Timberlake at number one, but hey.

Whatever sinks your submarine.

You know, for years I’ve thought that RS has had 0 street cred. Nobody genuinely cool reads it, and it’s written by a bunch of out of the loop pot head hacks. Whenever an interviewer asks any question about what an artist gets high to, or dropped acid to, you know you’re reading something by a magazine struggling to stay hip thirty five years after it’s prime. You’re Christian era Bob Dylan, and I don’t see a second coming any time soon.
I’m going to finish by saying this: You guys say that Joanna Newsom lacks lyrical skill? Let’s take a look back: You guys are JAMES, FUCKING, BLUNT’S buttboys! “My life is brilliant, My love is pure, I saw an angel, of that I’m sure”, mmmm. Golden. Crispy. Pre-Pubescent. “She could see by my face that I was fucking high.”
wow.
You guys are obviously turned around, and like to kiss the ass of the jock rock/pot heads that are so popular today, so there’s really no reason to even re-iterate any of my points.
You’re hacks.
You’re has beens.
You’re pot heads and you flaunt it, which is childish.
You bashed Stairway when it first came out.
You’re nothing without Crowe and HST.

Joanna Newsom is moving. She is not a static rigid object that may wait for you to assess it.

She is a humble traveller who is moving on a journey, searching, finding her way, navigating, creating, experimenting things…what you have heard is but one imprint of a waypoint of a traveller’s road–you don’t like it-so be it, but don’t think she’ll stop to wait for you there…

Rolling Stone has no street cred so whats the big deal..When’s the last time you heard someone say they were going to check out an artist after reading a good review in rolling stone?? its the complete opposite of pitchfork..basically just entertainment weekly with more music articles.

she is a harpist you moron.

Not jock rock enough for you huh?

She may not have the best singing voice, but I can tell you that she sings from her heart and soul.

Which is probably why you can’t identify with her.

You dont have one.

Rolling Stone, pronounced “shit sandwich” (what…you didn’t know that?)

What do I think of this? It only confirms my suspicion that Rolling Stone went to the dogs a long, LONG time ago.

way to go Rolling Stone - reading right out of the neo-con culture warrior songbook. Any fool with a web browser and the address www.metacritic.com will see that the vast number of reviews of Ys are positive. They may mention the complexity of the music, but they also say it’s worth it. and it is. Your original review was pathetically shallow, although that’s the treatment 90% of music gets at your hands nowadays. But to come back with this - what, do you think you’re “punk” or something, bringing down the bloated excesses of soulless folk rock?

get over yourselves.

This is why I don’t read Rolling Stone reviews (most times I don’t read Rolling Stone period). For YEARS you fucks have been putting down artists simply to make names for yourselves, not because you actually give a damn about the music. Now, you bitches want to move into indie.

No, no, no. You fratboys stay the hell in mainstream where you belong.

Guys, if it’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that Rolling Stone magazine always knows its shit.

I have never read an issue of RS before, and thanks to this article, I don’t think I ever will. The “writer” here seems to have a chip on their shoulder about this harpist girl and all the “kool kids” who seem to like her.

Congratulations, Rolling Stone, for reaching a new low. Go back to kissing the wrinkly arse of Bob Dylan.

Rolling Stone is public enemy number 2, falling narrowly behind MTV and I think this review is a stunning example of why that has happened.

Woah. Just when exactly did Joanna Newsom pee in your cheerios? I can tell you one thing, I am no hipster. I can’t stand anything even remotely ’scene’. In fact, I’m a classical musician, and I adore Joanna Newsom. Her album has enjoyed marvelous, well deserved reviews — although the critics do remark upon her albeit arcane lyrical content — but it’s preposterous to write it all off as hype. Whimsical, haunting melodies, impressive orchestral arrangements, and an originality that’s obviously far beyond RS’s ken. Perhaps if she had been afforded the luxury of falling into your inbox branded as ‘progressive’ or ‘psychedelic folk’ rather than ‘indie’, you wouldn’t have written this stellar album off. Either way, this is a major blow to your magazine’s credibility. Niiiice.

don’t be such a fat and jealous bitch.

NOT!!!!!!

Do you even have ears? Your magazine sux so bad. I think everyone should burn it in protest to your uneducated assumptions.

Wow, you guys are so utterly clueless. Clearly the two reviews that didn’t like Ys have it right. The other hundred and something publications are all kidding themselves so they can look cool. That sounds feasable. Rolling Stone has been laughable junk for a long time, but this is just pathetic, mean-spirited crap.

“Most reviews of Newsom’s new album “Ys” follows the same thesis: Her music is dense, lacks melody, tonality, humor and listenability, is somewhat off-putting and often cloyingly pretentious, but if you work hard enough you will feel her genius radiate through you and then you will know you are cool.”

Lacks melody and tonality? I don’t think you should be writing for a music magazine if you don’t even understand such basic principles.

It seems like you are the one trying to be cool, Ms. Goodman. It’s cool to hate something that the majority of critics like, right? You are being different, congratulations!

But wait a second, it’s really Joanna Newsom who is different. She and Van Dyke Parks created a beautiful and strikingly original album unlike anything I’ve ever heard. It’s rare that something like this comes along.

You don’t have to like it, and I’m sure plenty of people agree with you, but please don’t write junk hate articles like this just because you’re annoyed that other people find it a masterpiece.

You know what - in one way you’re right: Ys isn’t as good as the online publications are saying it is, and I think it’s going to be turning up in the second hand racks a lot in a couple of years. But you’re totally full of shit in saying that this musician has no merit and her success exists only because of some hipster consensus. Her first album is a beautiful set of haunting, heartfelt songs with an atmosphere all of its own, and she’ll make great stuff again in the future.. So you’re welcome to Stadium Arcadium and whatever other crushingly dull stuff the Rolling Stone staff like to fill their ears with.

I admit that list does suck but rolling stone you have no authority to describe what’s “cool” anymore you lost all creditability in the 70’s

um, do you guys even know what the word “melody” means?

“In the history of rock music few artists have benefited as much from the hipster audience’s fear of seeming stupid than Joanna Newsom.”

Wait…WHAT? What kind of fucking historian are you Elizabeth Goodman? History of Rock? Great use of hyperbole!

I said GOOD DAY.

Don’t even bother blowing your lids! If Rolling Stone were a respected music reviewing magazine, then we would have something to be angry about. But…

http://mockingmusic.blogspot.c om/2006/11/mocking-rolling-sto ne.html

“We are particularly strongly reminded of its suckage in this moment…”

“I am particularly strongly reminded of your suckage in this moment…”

Read below if anyone cares about proper journalism.

How many times have you changed the title of this article?…1…2…3…Yes, that seems correct. Do not worry Rolling Stone, I will not “judge” you. But could you atleast tell me why? Is it because the original title, “Joanna Sux” was not “hip” enough for your readers? As a first time and last time reader of your meaningless regergitation, I always thought Rolling Stone was “cool” and “know” people who write or speak of its “suckage” are “uncool.” Thee (pronounced “thee”) shalst read your garbage, thee shalt be cool. You are critizing music? How about critizing journalism? Perhaps that is where the problem lies…”kudos!”(even if Regina Spektor “sux”) Hold on, what was your article about again?

Rolling Stone has been gathering moss for well over 20 years.

This article has to be the biggest piece of garbage I have read in the music industry in years. As a former subscriber to RS, I have totally lost respect for RS and won’t be renewing my subscription any time soon. Ys is easily one of the best albums of the year and RS loses a lot of credibility in it’s obvious lack of understanding of what makes great, original and cutting edge music.

Oh you ask how I like the list, it is a hell of a lot better than the RS list.

“Most reviews of Newsom’s new album “Ys” follows the same thesis: Her music is dense, lacks melody, tonality, humor and listenability, is somewhat off-putting and often cloyingly pretentious, but if you work hard enough you will feel her genius radiate through you and then you will know you are cool.”

Yeah, thats why only 2 publications (Rolling Stone included) gave Ys a sub 70 score on metacritic. With 7 publications giving it a perfect score.

Do us all a favor and recognize good music when it comes out.

Rolling Stone wouldn’t know good music if it jumped up and kicked it in the face.

Case and point - Stadium Arcadium being their #2 CD of 2006.

Rolling Stone put JAR JAR BINKS on its cover and wrote a lengthy feature about how he was the coolest thing since guitars when electric. ‘Overcompensate by giving eager fanboy props’? Pitchfork learned it from watching YOU, Dad. They LEARNED IT FROM WATCHING YOU.

corporate magazines still sucketh

Has Christgau been given the power to fire people? Perhaps he can save a few subscriptions. But not mine. Goodbye, RS.

Goodman’s a poor writer. Stating that the only reason anyone likes Newsom is because they’re scared of seeming uncool? Newsom’s success is attributable to hipsters’ fear of seeming stupid if they say they don’t like her? How old is she, nine or something?

So cowardly and spineless are the saps that RS employ to write this drivel that they even see fit to remove comments that defame their writers in the same fashion they defame artists. Like the one I posted earlier, which has now mysteriously disappeared. Are you afraid of your readers, Rolling Stone? Oh dear! So much for free speech.

i usually check out pitchfork, largeheartedboy, stereogum, and brooklynvegan. Thats about it. And most of the music i pick up is from word of mouth and opening bands.

While I do think pitchfork’s current position as the leading pop/rock tastemaker does lend itself to some criticism - namely that their reviews tend to be from a cultural perspective “it would be cool if you could like the yin yag twins” - I do value the scope of what they choose to review, I’ve been turned onto a lot of albums through pitchfork that I wouldn’t have otherwise heard. I think in the end thats what makes a successful music crit. publication - what you choose to review. But otherwise make up your own mind, who cares what some writer thinks about an album? If you don’t like Joanna Newsom or whomever then cool, don’t like them. But to have this rant against pitchfork and some perceived hipster/elitest bias sounds a bit like sour grapes. As a source for new music RS has been lame for years and maybe Elizabeth Goodman senses that and decided to write an article about something more relevant.

I don’t see the point of the argument. The editors at Pitchfork are entitled to their “informed” opinion, just as readers/writers of this site are as well. As a critic myself, I think that Pitchfork is okay at what they do, except that they love to clutter their analysis in with flowery and ridiculously superfluous language. (Notice the co-opting of their position?) Critics should concentrate on the music itself, that way readers can clearly discern what the critic thinks, and why they believe it.

so what magazines do you guys read for music news? you hate rs and pitchfork…are you guys spin readers? awww, thats cute

this coming from the magazine who said that “Ridin” was the third BEST song of 2006…

I have say that I’m not a big fan of Y’s. I like Milk-Eyed Mender but Y’s just doesn’t do it for me. Now is that a crime? No, because it’s my opinion and from the looks of it most of you would disagree with me. I personally don’t have any of my fav’s on either RS or PFM lists and I think that this year hasn’t been that spectacular. I love the Neko Case, M.Ward, Califone, and Thom Yorke albums but thats it.

on 12/18/2006 @ 5:44 pm EST Joanna Newsome said: “Pitchfork has your ass” - and i was thinking; why doesn’t she call her next cd PITCHFORK HAS YOUR ASS?…

RS is so off base. When I want seem hip, I tell people I bought the TV on Radio album, not some little girl with a squeeky voice playing harp.

Meanwhile, I haven’t gotten through the TV on Radio cd once, and I can’t stop listening to Ys.

First off, Rolling Stone is the most irrelevant, archaic music publication out right now. Anyone who gets most of their music news and reviews from RS is a full blown retard, good thing it’s not many people.

Second, there is absolutley no reason to go out of your way to bash Newsom. She’s just an honest girl with a harp that happened to have her record blow up this year. I doubt she picked up a harp one day and decided, “Hey! I’m going to go make complicated “hipster” music so that Pitchfork and the internet love me!”

Thirdly, Pitchfork is a more relavant music news/reviews publication than Rolling Stone and Pitchfork is just a FREE website. I know that must bother RS’s dinosaur writing staff that won’t let The Stones, Dyland, etc. go, but they’re gonna have to deal with it.

so when was the last time RS was even relevant? Was it when you were giving 4 star reviews to bands like Nickelback, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears? Or was it when you were supporting and maintaining the ‘legendary’ status of so many aging rock stars who are shells of their former selves. Last year the Stone’s Bigger Bang, second best album of the year? Why is it that all of your reviews of indie artists come out months after pitchfork and other indie websites such as dusted magazine, review the albums? Rolling Stone has become a monolith that caters to an aging baby boomer demographic that thinks if you weren’t making music in the 70’s you couldn’t possibly be doing anything worth listening too. If Rolling Stone wasn’t so concerned with suckling at the baby boomer tit, perhaps they would actually become relevant to the music community.

I always take anything Pitchfork says with a grain of salt. There is ZERO consistancy to what they consider good or bad. Although it seems that the music they consider “good” tends to be whatever they think will be the least popular. And the music they consider to be “bad” tends to be the best music you could want.
So, therefore, debating what Pitchfork picks as their “top 100 songs” is as useless as tits on a boar.

i hate BS

I hate RS.

Its good to see, besides rolling stone, only one other magazine holds the opinion that Ys is crap; according to metacritic.com.It is Now magazine.Is the reason why you are picking on this album because you can’t find any other respectable publishers who are on the same side you?obviously you care about what other magazines say.why would you get worked up about their lists otherwise?
You gave the album an ill-conceived bad review which moaned about how long the songs were! now you’re ashamed. you wanted to look cool by dismissing an ambitious work by implying it was pretentious.
That ugly word “pretentious” is used much too often for any work that tries something new.oh my god she’s broken the 12 songs per album rule! what?! she says “thee” somewhere! how dare she?!pretentious weirdo! put fergie on wont you? her London Bridge beats any nesom song any day.we dont have time for novelty or creativity.more ball-less ,soulless corporate dimwits please, thats what we need!
yes joanna newsom mutters “thee” once but Bob Dylan, on the other, mentions Alicia Keyes and you think THAT is great.i’m not dissing bob dylan. what im saying is nobody’s perfect.Not even Bob Dylan, and yet its a big deal when a small time indie artist writes an off putting word somewhere.and when you claim the general picture is that even the good reviews are banging on about Ys’ lacking melody,
tonality etc you are lying.

I agree with the majority of the people who posted responses to this: Rolling Stone has completely lost it. I’m not a Joanna Newsom fan, but Pitchfork runs circles around RS today. They review music RS doesn’t even know about — and they avoid rehashing the old days that RS relishes. RS going after Pitchfork is a little pathetic. Rather than bashing, why not improve your reviews and have the guts that Pitchfork has to say that “uncool” CD’s like those by Newsom and Timberlake are, in your opinion, good?

I’m going to move past trying to explain what makes Ys so great and move to the main problem here:

Why would you purposely go out of your way to pick on a small indie artist? We get it, you guys didn’t like Ys. Then why do you have to create an article for the sole purpose of insulting an artist? Quite frankly, there are thousands of more deserving individuals out there for us to be disappointed by. Whether you like her or hate her, you cannot deny that Newsom put a significant amount of effort and thought into this album. If you think it failed because it’s too showy? Then fine, but at least Newsom had the guts to reach for the best possible album she could create. But no, you had to go out of your way to ridicule her, even though this was already shown by a pathetic review. By the way, Newsom is a humble, sweet and gracious performer. You would be biting your tongue if you saw her live at SF tonight.

And you will never be able to convince me that I don’t love this album. I had a leak of Ys long before it hit retail and I simply could not live without it. Her elegant lyrics, superb production, and imagery beg to be explored the like the open window on her cover. It became a necessary requirement for me to listen to Ys at least once a day. After going to her show in SF tonight, there is little doubt in my mind that Newsom is for real.

PS: Maybe you should flip through a Ys lyric book to improve your diction a bit “awesome” and “suckage” don’t really cut it in professional journalism. Don’t you think?

It’s really sad how awful RollingStone has become. Just pathetic. Ys is a wonderful album.

If you don’t find humor in Newsom, you aren’t listening very closely, probably because you’re more interested in ranting and seeming edgy than in any actual analysis of the music.

the mindless death rattle of an old giant…

why don’t you run a Hunter Thompson tribute issue or something, and remind us when you guys were worth something that didn’t involve absurd generalizations about music you haven’t spent any time with.

Joanna obviously isn’t for anyone, but the criticism is such an imprecise, generic shot at pretension that it becomes a parody of itself. Music critics are a nuisance; washed up music critics are almost completely irrelevant.

Don’t let a bitter half-journalist ruin good music for you. Go pick up Joanna’s first album, “The Milk-Eyed Mender,” its an earnest masterpiece. You will find a beautiful slice of innocent, genuine folk music. “Y’s” might be harder to swallow, but “The Milk-Eyed Mender” is gorgeously simplistic and it isn’t “hipster-fare” at all. Her harp work on that album reminds us why it is the instrument of choice for angels, and her voice shows that the harp is in the right hands.

Yeah, you’re not a total hypocrite at all…

any chick who says “pitchfork has your ass” has gotta be pretty baddass…

RollingStone only wrote this article because they were too busy nursing at Justin Timberlake’s tit to give the girl a proper review, and now that she is blowing up they need to use her name to get some attention to their magazine somehow.

How shameful. Stick to giving the RHCP and Nickelback those glowing reviews you worthless pop tabloid.

Rolling Stone is so far up it’s own arse that it won’t ever come down. You stopped writing anything worthwhile since the mid-90’s so don’t come on all intellectual about Joanna Newsom. The same goes for pitchfork, only they’re just idiots, so I’ll just ignore them. So just stick to your boring interviews with the likes of Hinder, My Chemical Romance,and the truly awful Red Hot Chili Peppers, who seem to be in RS every other issue. Then when things get really boring you come out with some shite about Tom Petty, and rate his cds with 4 stars.Someone really should take his guitar , and his massive overblown ego, away from him. Your best days have long gone RS.

I can’t stand either Pitchfork or Rolling Stone, but you’re being insulting by insinuating that listeners only enjoy Joanna Newsom because it makes them feel smart. That puts you a notch below Pitchfork.

I agree wholehartedly about Newsome’s overrated-ness, as well as Regina Spektor’s awesomeness. Goodman was dead on about the hipster mentality too.

It sounds like people are intentionally making unlistenable music just to sound arty or avant garde.

“Joanna Sux” Maybe your spelling problems are a good hint as to why Joanna Newsom baffles you. Or maybe it’s your inherent immaturity. NOTE: You are a journalist, not a 6th grader using Instant Messenger. This article has shown me one truth though: “Rolling Stone Sux.” Does the rest of the staff know that you are dragging their names through dense, illiterate dirt?

Rolling Stone, how dare you?

The only thing that could possibly be less cool is Rolling Stone, seemingly unaware of its own suckage. Have your own opinion, but seriously. You don’t like it, fine, but believe it or not a good many people find the album lovely without (shock) being at all pretentious. Not my favorite album this year, but worth more than this “ain’t I cool, I’m knocking Joanna Newsom” rag.

i don’t understand rolling stone’s irrational hatred of joanna newsom. she’s a unique, talented artist. sure, she didn’t make the album of the year. that was tv on the radio, but rolling stone didn’t get that right, either.

Can´t really grasp the sudden respect for Justin Timberlake. In a similar Danish music poll he also gets props, but why ???
Instead focus your energy on cutting edge music and artists that really evolve.
Mew is probably the best band in the world. Therefore it is an utter disgrace that a over-worldly beautiful anthem like “The Zookeeper’s Boy” is listed on a poor position like #92. May it change as they venture out on their 3rd US tour next Spring.
Acknowledge the fact: THE FRENGERS ARE TAKING OVER !!!!

Pitchfork, smitchfork. all these damn lists are lame. well, ok Figurines and MEw are both on the list. That’s kinda cool for us Danes ’cause Danish music rocks… check out moi Caprice you American lame asses, mush better than anything on that list

i think pitchfork is consciously trying to lose it’s superfluous viewers through obscure, elitist bands few enjoy…but then again, rolling stone thought ‘modern times’ and ’stadium arcadium’ were great so ill just read pfork with a critical eye

TV on the Radio suck too, just so you know. It’s supposed to be “fresh” and “new” but Wolf Like Me is just a bunch of swirling sound with mumbled lyrics over it….that’s been done before.

boopedy doo

ripping on other magazines is cool.

This entire article reeks of unprofessionalism. Music publications such as yours are meant to educate your readers, not to bash an artist. There’s a time and a place for that, and it’s called “a review”. You reviewed YS (rather poorly, I might add. An EP? What?) and you gave it a poor score. Done, and done. Leave it at that. *sigh…*

P.S. Why does the comment system tell me to “slow down”? I haven’t even posted a comment yet… = /

I totally agree. Ys absolutely sucks, it’s pretentious which may be why pitchfork likes it. And you guys defending pitchfork, seriously we all read it but no one likes it. I do agree Rolling Stone isn’t the credible music source it once was but that doesn’t mean the writers can’t have opinions on less well known musicians besides, someone had to say something about Ys (other than talking loudly about its merits in the hope another hipster will hear you and recognise you as their own kind).

don’t fret, jo:
keep making good records, and rolling stone will ignore them.

then, 20 years from now, make a total boring piece of shit with topical lyrics that nobody with objective taste could ever like, and rolling stone will ADORE you.
works for:
bono, dylan, neil young, pearl jam, the who, sting, and tons of other dinosaurs.

the link to this story on the main page now says “judging joannna”.

it said “why joanna sux” a few hours ago.

tomorrow they will praise Ys and give her the cover.

ever notice how courtney love’s farts sound good to RS? yet joanna newsom is one of the greatest original voices to emerge in years, and she gets panned…..guess she should have made some easily digestable sucrets-box album for people with 0 attention span.

Pitchfork has your ass.

i totally agree with goodman. joanna newsoms fame seems to be a modern case of “the emperors new clothes”

Rolling Stone… you stupid stupid monkeys… Pitchfork has your ass.

Pitchfork does what a music magazine is supposed to do: raise awareness of new music and provide an outlet for artists to reach an audience.

This is why we read music magazines. Do you understand? We want to know what’s out there. And we want to know what’s good.

Rolling Stone just reinforces the status quo. And you are such hypocrites. You’ll offer some backhanded comment about how pop music has gone down the tubes, but if Britney should show up at your office with her dick in a box, you’ll suck that wrapping right off like the whores you are.

lucky strike means fine tobacoo.

Oh Man, if anyone’s dense, it’s Miz Goodman.

Rollingstone hasn’t been relavent in 10 years…stop trying to harp on actual, credible music sources and to bust on indie-artists while in turn putting played out snoop and britney on your mag covers.

I’ll take “coffee house sincerity” over the pap RS been pushing lately, any day.

i do agree w/ most everyone here. I am not here to critisize RS, I just want them to know that they should review albums based on honest opinions and on the album, I seriously feel that albums like the new album from the Who was very boring,not creative and forced. You gave it a great review, also you gave My Chem a great review and you gave Brand New a bad review. It seems that you review based on albums you think will sell because of gimics and previous sales. The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is artistic,loud,full of melody and heart, but most of all there was passion, it was not promoted and it got a bad review, The Black Parade on the other hand was a blatent rip off of thenselves,Smashing Pumpkins and Queen, it was boring, to poppy, an obvious gimic and it was promoted more heavily than anything I’ve seen all year. You just need to be fair and review the albums, not the artist or how much money you think they’ll make, you need toi get your cred back

As if Rolling Stone has any right telling anyone what cool is? Stadium Arcadium was your #2 album for christsake!

Look, I don’t particularly like Joanna Newsom’s music either, but I would never question her talent. Can you name another Harpist with her own record? I didn’t think so.

so, i think we should all (myself included) take a deep breath and relaize that complaining about a lack taste on rolling stone’s part is like comlaining about the lack of taste in a mcdonald’s burger…

The pfork list is aiight, even tho ’sexyback’ is a better song than ‘my love’.

Joanna Newsome sounds like an elf with a bad head cold. Hers is just another example of archaic and boring music dressed up as sophisticate…in 10 years she will rightly take her place next to Jethro Tull, with Ys’ being this decade’s “brick by brick”.

Oh, and Dylan’s “Modern Times” may also be archaic and boring, but it is the best album this year. He earned it…you youngsters need to pull up yr britches and stop snivelling…no rocker under 40 can even approximate the talent of the Dylan/Waits/Cohen axis.

This from the magazine that refuses to let go of 1968. I haven’t seen the list of top singles for 2006 yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see “Light my Fire” or “Stairway to Heaven” on it….

i think you guys tried to take a stance to seem relevent and edge and you just picked the wrong album and critic to make your case.

Your magazine = yawn.

Joanna Newsome sucks! If I wanted to to listen to a disney movie soundtrack id put bambi in.

Ys is an incredible album, but I am not really seeing why Rollingstone feels the need to pan Joanna so much. God, it’s not for everyone, we get it!!!

So Rolling Stone has deemed it necessary to trash the only artist in the last 5 years to actually try something new and different. Y’s might be too ambitious, but at least she tried to break up the monotomy of popular music that has been flowing freely from record label rectums. Go give Fergie another cover and set back female artists another 50 years. I also have no doubt that you will regret denouncing Joanna in 15 years when you put “Milk-Eyed Mender” in a rehashed “500 Greatest Albums” issue.

Remember when RS were too cool to care about other music magazines?

No, I didn’t think you did.

and btw joanna newsom is a fucking genius….
& RS is correct in implying that Pitchfork media is full of shit….

I think both Pitchfork and Rolling Stone’s top 100 lists totally sucked. Of course, I don’t know most of the bands on this list, so it’s hard to tell for sure, but least 1-99 aren’t The Arcade Fire. Pitchfork is too hip for its own good. It has become the Top 40 of pretentious people.

It’s such a bizarre list, too, because it has nothing but indie weirdness and top 40 trash. I guess they don’t like metal or rock. Just not “cool” enough for them. Their loss.

Just because someone once held some sort of cultural relevance doesn’t mean that they still do. Bob Dylan WAS a great songwriter, but Modern Times is just… boring.

RS only hates joanna newsom because the “hipster” community loves her. RS, in the pantheon of credible, cool, quality-based music publications, is like the the dirt below the base of the totem pole. their effort to make fun of newsom only exposes them even further for trying to be “cool”. didn’t RS hire a bunch of writers from Spin years ago to give their expired rag some kind of new “cred”? tell ya what, rolling stone: never put britney spears, aguilera, justin timberlake, or gwen stefani on the cover again, and STOP TAKING MONEY FROM LABELS IN EXCHANGE FOR GOOD REVIEWS, and maybe “cool” people will trust you….
just sayin’…..

This coming from the same bullshit magazine that gave My Chemiacal Romance 5 stars. At least Pitchfork has great articles and reviews for free and not 8 bucks to read about how awesome Evanescence (however the fuck you spell that) is.

THAT must be why you’re holding that reality show… OH. It all makes sense now.

Pitchfork will probably have her in their Top 5 tomorrow on their Best Albums list, but remember, back in August or September, they were responsible for her album leaking all over the internet in the first place, so you have to believe there’s a little bit of guilt in the Forkers “love” for Newsom’s album.

PS - Bob Dylan is still the greatest songwriter alive, and if you don’t understand that, then you really don’t have a respectable voice in the music community, so go over to Spin and complain about “Modern Times” to them

Oh, and let me just post your review of YS…

“Newsom is a classically trained harpist and singer who made a very good 2004 record, but this EP is hard to stomach: Five tracks, four of them more than nine minutes and one (”Only Skin”) sixteen-plus, with meandering strings-and-things accompaniment and indulgent vocal quirks that make Bjork sound like Kelly Clarkson.”

Congratulations. That has to be one of the most empty, unintelligent, and above all, IGNORANT reviews I’ve read all year. It sounds like an eight year old wrote it. I thought your magazine was supposed to be a music authority? Oh, wait. You just throw people at a review and let them write something an eight year old could do a better job at.

oh just put her on the cover of your mag and kill the music with your magazine’s endorsement. yay!

What do I think of the list? I think it’s sure as hell better than your list of top albums… At least Bob Dylan doesn’t show up ANYWHERE on it. Ick.

The review-tracking site metacritic.com shows Ys as having an average rating of 89%, making it the fifth highest rated album of the year. RollingStone holds the minority opinion. I do agree that Pitchfork appears to be playing both sides and I also agree that Newsom is unlistenable.

Finally! Someone speaks out against Ys! I can’t stand the album, and I can’t stand the reception it’s getting. It’s just barely worse than “Modern Times.”

Oh, wait. You guys called that the best album of the year. I was too busy being droned to sleep.

I don’t think of the list. I only think of Wolvaire.