[ursulabear]

[Weirdelves]

Nothing trumps Only Skin. Simply put, it's too huge to not win this tournament.

[polliwog]

Only Skin...You and Me, Bess...Only Skin...You and Me, Bess...

This tournament requires decisions, so I made decisions, and now I stand in the uncomfortable position of being the cause of spoiled perfect record. Geez Louise! How many times have I told you guys that my favorite song is usually the one I'm listening to at the moment? Must I listen to Only Skin again so I can change my vote? I could change my vote about almost any of them if I allowed myself to make a change every time I listen to Joanna's music. It's not like Only Skin isn't going to win in this round by a healthy margin. Give the Godfather a break.

[Jordan~]

Don Girino...

[polliwog]

[LawnsOfDawns]

Hey guys can we get some more votes for clam crab cockle cowrie plz. I think it may be the only MEM song that has a chance to stay. And there are two versions of it!

Also, does anyone have a link to a great piano version of Only Skin? The only one I've found thus far is shitty quality, and I love pianos and Only Skin's.

[Ann]

I think the only version available is pretty shitty. As far as I know (though I admit, I'm not the avid live show collector like some of y'alls) there's just that one, which I imagine is the one you're talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5nIuS8-xC0

Does anyone know of another version? I'd be very interested in hearing it.

[polliwog]

If the polls are still open...

Group 1: - Easy
Group 2: - Sprout And The Bean
Group 3: - Emily
Group 4: - Only Skin (You And Me, Bess)
Group 5: - Good Intentions Paving Co.
Group 6: - Have One On Me (Swansea)
Group 7: - Sawdust & Diamonds
Group 8: - Cosmia (Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie)

Original vote in parentheses.

[Steve]

Third Round - My Votes

Group 1: - Flying A Kite*
Group 2: - Kingfisher
Group 3: - Baby Birch
Group 4: - Only Skin
Group 5: - Go Long
Group 6: - Have One On Me
Group 7: - En Gallop*
Group 8: - Cosmia

In Group 1, I had intended all along to vote for In California, but when I listened through all the songs in this group, it was Flying A Kite that sent the shivers down my spine. The next five groups were all fairly straightforward choices for me, though I was sorry to have forsaken Emily (my ringtone!), This Side Of The Blue, and Good Intentions Paving Co. Group 7 was my hardest decision so far in the tournament as I feel both Sawdust & Diamonds and En Gallop are among the very best, and I would not have been disappointed had either of them emerged as ultimate winners. Had either of these been in Group 8, I am sure I would have voted for it, but this group already contained three very well matched songs: Sadie demonstrates perfectly that early eccentricity that drew me to her in the first place; the extended Cosmia on the Ys Street Band EP is just beautiful, as is Clam, Crab Cockle, Cowrie: it took a very careful set of listens before I made my choice.

[Steve]

Twenty-one people cast votes this time round, the same as in the Second Round, but two fewer than in the First Round. The total number of votes cast was 166. The full results were as follows, with the bold songs passing through to the Fourth Round, either as group winners or as one of the 8 closest runners-up –

Group 1: In California 17 / Easy 2 / Flying A Kite* 1
Group 2: Monkey & Bear 11 / Kingfisher 5 / Sprout And The Bean* 5
Group 3: Emily 12.1 / Baby Birch 7.1 / This Side Of The Blue 1
Group 4: Only Skin 21 / You And Me, Bess 0, Inflammatory Writ* 0, Picture [JN/RP] 0
Group 5: Go Long 13 / Good Intentions Paving Co. 7 / On A Good Day * 1
Group 6: Have One On Me 8.2 / Colleen* 5.3 / Swansea 5.1
Group 7: Sawdust & Diamonds 14 / Peach, Plum, Pear 3 / En Gallop* 3
Group 8: Cosmia 12.1 / Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie* 6 / Sadie 2.1

Groups 1, 4 and 7 produced comfortable wins for In California, Only Skin (which, after polliwog’s update, held onto its record of not yet having been voted against in the whole tournament), and Sawdust & Diamonds. Kingfisher and Sprout And The Bean were tied in second place in Group 2, but were a long way behind Monkey & Bear. The remaining groups were considerably closer. Emily maintained the Ys dominance over HOOM by holding off Baby Birch in Group 3, and Go Long scored a solid win over the radio-friendly Good Intentions Paving Co. in Group 5. The ‘group of death’ was number 6, with the result in the balance until the final few votes, which took Have One On Me from third place to group winner, ahead of Colleen and Swansea.

The race to stay in the tournament as a ‘best loser’ was an interesting one. Here are the numbers of votes cast for the man songs that were NOT group winners this time out, together with their position within their group –
1 Baby Birch 7.1 (2nd)
2 Good Intentions Paving Co. 7 (2nd)
3 Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie* 6 (2nd)
4 Colleen* 5.3 (2nd)
5 Swansea 5.1 (3rd)
6 Kingfisher 5 (=2nd)
7 Sprout And The Bean* 5 (=2nd)
8 Peach, Plum, Pear 3 (2nd)
9 ‘En Gallop’ 3 (3rd)
As will be seen, Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie and Colleen were ineligible to stay in, as they had already used their ‘lifeline’ by being reprieved as ‘best losers’ in Round Two, and this means that Swansea stays in despite finishing third (behind the eliminated Colleen) in its group, whilst Sprout And The Bean is out, despite tying with Kingfisher.

The sources of the surviving songs break down as shown below (but don’t forget – you are voting for your FAVOURITE version of each, not necessarily the most official release). The figure before the + represents the undefeated songs, that afterwards counts those which have been reprieved. It is noticeable that the MEM representation has collapsed since the last round, eight songs being reduced to one surviving by the skin of its teeth. However, Ys goes from strength to strength, with all five tracks still marching on undefeated, although they can’t all win their groups this time out!
1 – THE MILK-EYED MENDER – 0 + 1 (8.3%)
5 – YS – 5 + 0 (100%)
6 – HAVE ONE ON ME – 3 + 3 (33.3%)
5 miscellaneous collaborations added as late entrants.

[Steve]

Here are the groupings for the Fourth Round of the Joanna Newsom Song Tournament. They comprise the 8 group winners from Round Three, plus the 4 closest losers (excluding those that had already been reprieved). In addition, there are two further songs which were previously overlooked. These are Same Old Man, a Joanna Newsom / Kevin Barker collaboration marked [JN/KB], and a rather lovely Smog piece called Sycamore. As usual, the ordering of the groups is random, as is the order of songs within each group. Except that the reprieved songs (marked *) are always listed third, and the two additional songs appear as the fourth named song in two randomly selected groups. Reprieved songs have been kept apart from songs they have already met in earlier rounds.

Group 1: - Have One On Me / Only Skin / Good Intentions Paving Co. / Same Old Man [JN/KB] / The Wheel† [BC]
Group 2: - Sawdust & Diamonds / Go Long / Kingfisher * / River Guard† [Smog]
Group 3: - Monkey & Bear / In California / Baby Birch * / Sycamore [Smog/JN]
Group 4: - Cosmia / Emily / Swansea * / Amour Fou† [V]

As in previous rounds, please select one song from each group as your preference, and post your list back into this thread by 12:00 midnight (BST) on Wednesday 20th April 2011. If you can't decide between two songs, please state both: the same applies if you can’t decide between three in a 4-song group. If you've no preference, or can't decide between all the songs in a group, leave that group blank. A best loser cannot go through as best loser for a second consecutive round, and so must win its group to stay in the tournament.

† The three songs marked with a dagger (collaborations with Vetiver and Bill Callaghan / Smog) were all added as late entrants after voting had started. Apologies for this mess, but I didn't want to leave anything out. The first eight voters are encouraged to review their choices in the light of this, and advise if they wish to make any changes. Thank you.

[Weirdelves]

Group 1: - Only Skin
Group 2: - Go Long
Group 3: - Baby Birch *
Group 4: - Cosmia

[ursulabear]

Group 1: - Only Skin
Group 2: - Go Long
Group 3: - Monkey & Bear
Group 4: - Swansea
Reallyreallyreallyreally hard.
Same Old Man [JN/KB] I haven't heard. Linky, please.

[Ann]

Group 1: - Only Skin
Group 2: - Sawdust & Diamonds
Group 3: - Monkey & Bear
Group 4: - Emily

God, I'm such an Ys devotee.

[claire]

Group 1: - Only Skin
Group 2: - Sawdust & Diamonds
Group 3: - In California
Group 4: - Swansea


What does Joanna do on "Sycamore"? I was under the impression that the only Bill Callahan song she played on was "Rock Bottom Riser" (unless you count possibly being able to hear her chatting/laughing at the end of "The Wheel").

[beverley]

Group 1: - Only Skin
Group 2: - Sawdust & Diamonds
Group 3: - In California
Group 4: - Emily

[Jessie]

Group 1: - Only Skin
Group 2: - Sawdust & Diamonds
Group 3: - Baby Birch
Group 4: - Cosmia

[madpawn]

Group 1: - Have One On Me (COMBO BREAKER!)
Group 2: - Sawdust & Diamonds
Group 3: - In California
Group 4: - Cosmia

[Jordan~]

Group 1: - Only Skin
Group 2: - Kingfisher
Group 3: - In California
Group 4: - Emily

In California vs. Monkey & Bear... So freakin' difficult!

[Steve]

Thank you, weirdelves, ursulabear, ann, claire, beverley, Jessie, madpawn, and Jordan~ for getting Round 4 off to a rapid fire start, all voting within the first 8 hours of voting. This has strengthened ny resolve to do the next (final) round as a series of pairs on a round-robin basis, each with just 3 days of voting: this will still mean it takes a total of 15 days, and it will be important to label the rounds so that we don't all get in a muddle!

SYCAMORE
Claire - I discovered a recording hiding on my stereo which I had sneaked off YouTube of a live version of Sycamore at the Presbyterian Church, SXSW, and which was billed as Smog + Joanna Newsom. On searching for it again today, I located it at and also at . It has a captivating melody, and is very simply constructed of Bill Callaghan's rich voice and delicate finger-picking, a violinist adding some long bowed notes that remind me of something I can't put my finger on, and Joanna playing a bedding on piano which erupts into a tinkling little phrase now and again. It's ctually rather lovely, and I think may have got a vote or two if it had been in an earlier round. I did question whether it really was Joanna - the video is shot in night vision and the female pianist is only occasionally visible, peeping out from behind her instrument, and wearing a large hat. But if the face is not completely distinct, and is largely obscured by piano, hat, and hair, it's the little nods of the head and faint smile (seen at the start, and more clearly around 3:20) that give her away ... and the way she drinks her water at the end. The recording seems to date from 2007, and this would tie in with the release of Sycamore on the album Woke On A Whaleheart (credited to Bill Callaghan, rather than Smog). I don't have this album, but according to the credits quoted on Wikipedia, there is no mention of Joanna, so it seems likely that she only appeared on this live version. A female violinist, Elizabeth Warren, is mentioned, so it is possible that it is she who appears in the video linked above.

SAME OLD MAN
Ursulabear - this one is much harder, I'm afraid! I discovered on an HD-recorder my early attempts to record music from YouTube videos or other sources that I could play on my computer. I think I did this in early 2008. It didn't work especially well, partly because I forgot to unplug my mic, so the already iffy sound was then further muffled by ambient noises at home. I had intended to return to it and make a better job of it, but forgot all about it until recently discovering on my blotter a scribbled note listing the contents of 'disc 28': "1. Same Old Man [trad.] live Brooklyn Academy of Music 31.1.08, Joanna Newsom vocal + Kevin Barker banjo". It's a short (2:36) snippet, with a slight air of the quieter parts of Colleen to it, but really nothing very special. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find the original video online anymore, but if I get a chance I will try my hand at making an mp3 of the recording I have and asking some advice for getting it out there. Incidentally, the other contents of disc 28 were a live version of Esme, a recording of RF & Lili de la Mora's Lifetime, Rock Bottom Riser [Smog], Sycamore (as referred to above), a snippet of a piano-led Baby Birch, and a song I had labelled as Barbara?? which we now know as Ribbon Bows.