If Devendra Banhart is the bearded bard rhyming his strange truths, then Joanna Newsom is the female equivalent. Both are haunting, magical, and about as far from standard folk song structure as it gets. These artists are extremely important. They push the envelope for singer songwriters everywhere. It's refreshing. How can you dislike the Newsom song that includes the line, "I killed my dinner with karate"?

The biggest complaint I've heard about Newsom is her voice. Oh Jesus fucking Christ. These are the same people that worshiped Cobain and are currently listening to Isaac Brock croon his contradictions. No, her voice doesn’t sound like Joni Mitchel. So what. It's something different and the lyrics and melody alone will break your heart.

So everyone that listened to Newsom sing that opening word "Saaaaaaadddieeee" and cringed – please go back and listen more. I promise it's worth it. Of course you could walk down a crowded street listening to Modest Mouse's "Float On" on your MP3 player. Hell, that's pretty fucking cool too.