"Hello, my old country, hello..."

I have to be honest, when I first heard Joanna Newsom (I think it was around the time of Ys), I didn't think much of what I heard. But "Good Intentions Paving Company," from Have One On Me, has been one I've been turning up every time it comes on the radio since its release last February. It's like an early-'70s Joni Mitchell outtake, and I mean that as an enormous compliment to Ms. Newsom. It's just an amazingly good song, is what it is.