Tag: joanna newsom

Necessary Evil 2020 pt.5 (60-51)

~ Lex Leeson ~ 12 Comments

#60 Halsey: Manic

Halsey sits in that awkward position of being an extremely, very, absolutely great artist, but at the same time being weighed down by almost being suffocatingly overrated by some corners. Also, she’s often really annoying.

Now that last (factual) statement may actually be problematic. Would I refer to Halsey’s objective annoyingness if she were a man? Truthfully, if she were a man I’d probably call her a ‘cunt’, but I’m always aware of how vicious it can sound to use such violent language when referring to a woman, so I’m slightly more polite. Is that sexist? To self censor my language and treat women more ‘gentlemanly’? Am I actually doing it because I feel that the curse is hilariously infuriating to a man but actually hatefully offensive when said to a woman? Is that idea sexist?? Should I maybe not be calling anyone a ‘cunt’??

Jump in any time, these are good topics.

If you show me that you understand this reference, I will honestly send you £50
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My Life in Albums (part 2 97-06)

~ Lex Leeson ~ 4 Comments

You want an intro? You got that in part one! Let’s get down to the dirty, sticky and dangerously unhygienic business:

1997

This was an important year for me, this was when shit got real. Yeah, Labour won the election, which I was aware I was supposed to celebrate but not yet conscious enough to know exactly why, just that ‘our team won*. Princess Diana died, inspiring a nationwide reaction that even 13 year old Alex Palmer recognised as being a bit fucking much**. All that was meaningless background noise though, as most importantly 1997 was the year that I became really switched on to new music. Before this point, most of the albums I’ve listed would have been discovered by me later and posthumously lusted after in the kind of nostalgic necrophilia that I would later grow to despise. Yeah, sorry if you’ve already imagined me as an incredibly cool seven year old bopping his head to Soon by My Bloody Valentine. From this point on, these important albums in my life and personal development were pretty much all discovered as contemporaries. Seriously though, ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah’ was the first CD that I ever owned. Yeah. I’m that cool/weird.

young-man-mohawk-carried-personalised-floral-tribute-while
“Dad, this is why you’re only allowed to see me one weekend every other month…”

Continue reading “My Life in Albums (part 2 97-06)” →

30: Joanna Newsom: Divers

~ Lex Leeson ~ Leave a comment

No! No! No! I need more time! I need more time! Can’t we put the end of 2015 back a few months this year? I’m sure if we did list in June 2016 rather than November/December this year I would spend far more time drowned inside this album and feel far more qualified to speak of how magnificent it is. And it will be magnificent, I’m certain, once I’ve listened to it maybe a dozen more times, once I’ve picked through the dozens of layers that obviously lie here, at the moment unfortunately I can only legitimately call it ‘very, very, very, very good’. While her last album was a ridiculous 3CDs of intense work that not one person alive had time for, ‘Divers’ is a far more dynamic attempt, rather than any massive revolution in sound it merely attempts to condense all the many disparate and intriguing strands of her musical career so far into a brisk 56 minutes (‘brisk’ by Newsom standards: it takes her 3 hours to brush her teeth and do her first morning dump). I’m in no position to talk though: talk to me in 12 months and this will be my favourite album of 2015.

joanna newsom

‘Fun’ Fact: You’ve probably got ideas of the type of family Joanna grew up in. Well, they forbade her from watching TV or listening to the radio so you’re right: that type.

Aaaaaaah! We’re running out of time here! Just recommend a song you feel best represents the album, quick! Aaaaaaah! Erm, er, I guess ‘Divers‘ is halfway through and, erm, it’s the title track and everything