Getting To Know: Joanna Newsom

Getting To Know: Joanna Newsom

Harping on Weirdness : Aidin Vaziri | She wears poofy medieval maiden dresses and sings 17-minute songs about winged creatures. Her new album features just five songs. And she could really use some work on her nails. Here are some other reasons why goth harpist Joanna Newsom is the best thing to happen to music this year.

SHE'S NOT LIKE OTHER POP STARS She's young, blond and popular with the bloggers, which might lead you to think, "Oh, she's just like Gwen Stefani!" But, in reality, Newsom is quite different from most of her microphone-accosting pop peers in that her instrument of choice is the harp, she sings long songs about birds flying into windows and seems to do all her clothes shopping at the Renaissance Faire. OK, maybe she is just a little bit like Stefani.

THE COVER OF HER NEW ALBUM IS QUITE 'INTERESTING' On the sleeve of her critically praised second album, "Ys" (pronounced "ees"), the 24-year-old Nevada City native appears in a painting by artist Benjamin Vierling. It depicts her sitting on a throne, wearing a garland of flowers in her braided hair, holding a sickle in one hand and a framed picture of a moth in the other and ignoring the blackbird with the red berry in its mouth that is standing in the window ledge directly behind her. What does it all mean? Well, upon closer inspection, possibly that she could use a good manicure.

HER VOICE IS A BIT ODD One of the hardest things to pin down about Newsom is her childlike voice. It has drawn comparisons, good and bad, to the likes of Björk, Kate Bush and "The Simpsons' " Lisa and Marge. The one clear thing about it is that it is uniquely her own and irks as many people as it mesmerizes. Making it through one of her concerts requires total devotion. Appearing with a six-member ensemble that includes banjo and accordion players, Newsom performs a dense 95-minute set that features the entire new album, plus a few choice cuts from the first done a cappella. Those who are on the fence about high-pitched, medieval-flavored, prog-folk songs with titles like "Monkey & Bear" and "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" should probably just stay home and watch "Mad About You" reruns.