Spun: Yoko Ono

By Jordyn Marcellus

While known by many–for good or ill–Yoko Ono’s music can be both brilliant and utterly inaccessible, depending. Her latest collaboration cum remix album, Yes, I’m a Witch, is a collection of old Ono songs redone by some of the largest bands in indie rock, the only thing in common with the old tracks being Ono’s vocals. With acts like the Flaming Lips, Le Tigre, Peaches and Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons fame) Yes, I’m a Witch runs the musical gamut. Despite the amount of different artists and genres, there is not one weak track on the album. Every song brings something new to the table, whether it’s the cool trip-hop of Shitake Monkey’s version of “O’Oh” or the Polyphonic Spree’s poppy edition of “You and I,” every song manages to not only be a fantastic song in itself, but also add to the original Yoko song it plays on. Unfortunately, the weakest part of the album is in the source material itself; Yoko Ono’s voice just isn’t that enjoyable to listen to for long periods. A notable offender is in the minimalist pop of Antony’s “I’m Waiting for a Boat.” While this is a minor quibble, it does detract from an otherwise fantastic collaboration album that is a good entry-point into a decades old back-catalogue of one of the most infamous women in music.

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