Joanna Newsom is one of the worst singers ever to be let near a microphone. She's not just bad - her voice is
actively unendurable to anyone with a trained ear. I asked four people I know what they thought she sounded like and, without any kind of consultation among themselves, three of them described her as sounding "like a retarded elf". The last went with "retarded nine year old".
The Orange cellphone network used one of her songs in adverts for a short while last year, but pulled the ad after receiving a large number of comments to the effect that a phone company should not be making its customers wish they were completely deaf.
(Smiley aside, I really am not joking.)
Albums of this year I has hearded so far, in no particular order:
Fear of a Blank Planet (Porcupine Tree)
Judgement (VNV Nation)
Todo Cambia (Slovo) - yes, I know it isn't Officially out yet; I have a PRLE copy.
The Threads EP (Thea Gilmore) - LE of 1000 and all sold, or I'd pimp it. Thea's a great young British artist who deserves all the support she can get.
Blue Satin Alley (Abigail Hopkins) - forthcoming album from Hannibal Lecter's daughter, of which I've managed to acquire a press copy. It's fucking dire IMO.
At The End of Paths Taken (Cowboy Junkies) - not as good as One Soul Now, but a big step up on E21CB.
And one from the arse end of last year:
Around in Circles (Dan Arborise) - sounds a lot like John Martyn crossed with Elbow.