Pitchfork

Do not hire Joanna Newsom to DJ your dance party. She'll clear the place out faster than a skunk. However, if you'd like to lull your guests sweetly and gently to sleep, or send their brains on a cosmic journey to inner space, she picks the perfect soundtrack as guest DJ on this episode of NPR's "All Songs Considered".

In between her selections, which include Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today", Van Dyke Parks' "Laurel Canyon Boulevard", Lindsey Buckingham's "Shut Us Down", and Sandy Denny's "Next Time Around", as well as cuts from her latest record, Ys, Newsom chats with soft-spoken host Bob Boilen about how she started playing the harp, the process of creating Ys, and, yes, that amazing squeak in her voice.