From what I understand, Joanna Newsom's latest album was a flop commercially, but she is sort of grandfathered into 'good reviews' and coverage from most magazines. Probs also helps that she is dating Andy Samberg to 'keep her in the limelight' even though she is probably pretty/musically gifted enough to date a super rich bro, like some sort of Prince of Persia type of bro or something.

N e ways, her album cycle is 'winding down', so she just dropped a few last lines that would get her press in an interview with the Guardian. Basically takes a decent shot at Lady Gaga being a poor man's Madonna, and calls them both dumbasses, and sort of says that any journalistic outlet that critically oozes over Lady Gaga is 'just trying to get blog hits':

"I'm mystified by the laziness of people looking at how she presents herself, and somehow assuming that implies there's a high level of intelligence in the songwriting. Her approach to image is really interesting, but you listen to the music, and you just hear glow sticks. Smart outlets for musical journalism give her all this credit, like she's the new Madonna [...] Although I'm coming from a perspective of also thinking Madonna is not great at all. I'm like, fair enough: she is the new Madonna, but Madonna's a dumb-ass!"

Is Joanna Newsome 'better than' generic pop stars because she knows how 2 play the harp?
Wonder if she is right. I feel like I enjoy Madonna and Lady Gaga, but maybe it is because they really embrace 'being a piece of ass that sing pop songs and wear skimpy lil outfits.' Not sure if I care how they are critically received, just as long as they beg for my attention a few times per year, I will give it to them.

Maybe my relationship/interpretation with Joanna Newsom makes more sense now that I realize she isn't just trying to be a 'piece of ass' that blog bros are creaming their pants over.

In addition, J-New claims she doesn't read blogs because u can get ur feelings hurt by 'worthless bloggers and commenters who don't know shit abt anything':

Newsom admits to being “vulnerable to the call of the Internet” and knew that fans were ascribing titles to the unrecorded songs that would appear on Have One On Me. “When I was playing new songs, people would refer to then by these titles that I hadn’t referred to them by, and they would do it real authoritatively, like super know-it-all,” she says. “It really annoyed me.” But in September 2009, Newsom called it quits and stopped reading about herself, recognizing it as destructive and dangerous. “I’m a girl, and I’m human, and so probably the things that get to me the most are just when someone’s like, ‘that girl’s ugly,’ or ’stupid,’ or really playground shit,” she confesses. “Everything kind of affects me somehow if I read it, but that’s the stuff that drains your energy the most. Anything that engages the work is something that you somehow can step away from. I’ve read horrible, scathing reviews, and some of them are kind of good, kind of well-written, and occasionally they’re even funny. I remember with Ys, there were a few things that I read that made me laugh a lot, that were tearing it apart but making really good points. And somehow that doesn’t hurt my feelings as much. But there’s a class of insult that you can’t engage with at all, and you can’t defend yourself against in any way, and it just resonates with a very primal part of you. No one wants anyone to think they’re ugly and stupid, so somehow that’s the stuff that gets me.”

Do u think artists should read their reviews to stay in touch with the modern cultural zeigeist, or do they need to 'stay isolated' and do their best not to care what unqualified/inconsequential people have to say about them?
Will any female indie artist who wants to 'get headlines' talk shit about Lady Gaga for the next 10 years?
Do u respect Lady Gaga because she can 'man up' and use negative press in her favor?
What do u expect from females in music?
Was Joanna Newsom a 'failure' because her album didn't sell as much as Feist's?
If Lady Gaga could play the harp, would Joanna Newsome be obsolete as a musical resource / marketable product?
Should Joanna Newsom start walking around in her underwear to get more blog coverage/make better music that appeals to mass markets?

Joanna Newsom

Alternative Celebrity

Joanna Newsom is some indie songstress who plays the harp and writes weirdo songs that some ppl say are 'amazing.'

Lists: QTs, indie songstresses, 2k10 buzzbands

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Lady Gaga

Alternative Celebrity, Buzzband

Lady Gaga is the #1 modern slutwave artist of all time who tries 2 be all 'artsy' and mainstream ppl think she is 'interesting.'

Lists: mainstreamer, slutwave

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