Monday, October 1, 2007

Golden Shoulders (featuring Joanna Newsom) – The Honey, the Power, the Light


I'm mildly obsessed with Joanna Newsom. She's my favorite performer at the moment and the connection I feel with her music and love I hold for it has been rivaled by only a few other bands in my life. Actually, that may be an understatement. I recently contacted Benjamin Vierling, the painter who is responsible of the cover art of Ys, and thew down $150 for a limited to 100 print of the original painting. Over the weekend I took it into AC Moore as they had a 50% off all custom framing sale and picked out a super nice wooden frame with high-end glass for $180, original retail being $360. Okay- I LOVE Joanna Newsom. My obsession with her music is only exceeded by that of my 9th and 10th grade Weezer obsession, though in terms of emotional connection to the music, Joanna wins no contest. When I want happiness, I turn to Joanna. When I'm down in the dumps and I'm looking to cry it out, I'll again turn to Joanna. "Sadie" and "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" during those times particularly turn me into a bumbling wreck, but of the greatest sort. Rather than some emo wallowing in your sadness state, it's more a re-affirmation of life...a different type of tears. It feels so powerful and amazing.

The love I hold for the Newsom also means that anything she touches, anything she recommends, I'll undoubtedly look into. When I heard she contributed to three songs on a Golden Shoulders record, a semi-obscure rotating line-up band from Nevada City CA, Joanna's hometown. She appears on 2002's Let My Burden Be, a year before Joanna even started to record her own music and while she was still an active member of the Pleased. Out of the three songs with her "The Honey, the Power, the Light" is my favorite. It's a great song, where Joanna duets with Adam Kline, the primary guy behind Golden Shoulders. The song is minimalistic, only acoustic guitar and occasional percussion bells.

Golden Shoulders - The Honey, the Power, the Light

Lyrics aren't anywhere online...I just ordered the physical album myself, so hopefully they'll come with that.

Here's a very literal unofficial video for the song. This is definitely better than lyrics:



Golden Shoulders - Let My Burdon Be @Amazon.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello wayfarer. could you please re-up this post? I am also a HUGE follower of Joanna and I'm looking for this album. Also, did you hear the work in progress title she did recently? (maybe 2008, actually.) The cover art is beautifully done. Has a justified antiquated look about it. All the best. Leigh

mattadactyl said...

Okay- I just re-upped the mp3. What work in progress/ cover art are you referring to? The newest Joanna news I've heard is a rumor of a new album this September but still no confirmed date, title or cover art.

Anonymous said...

she's on the new golden shoulders cd as well, piano and singing on a song