By Shawn Anderson/Wikipedia.

Antagonistic forest nymph Joanna Newsom gave an interview to the Guardian yesterday in which she said a number of backlash-y things about Lady Gaga and Madonna, whom she accuses Gaga of emulating. “Gaga’s approach to image is really interesting, but you listen to the music, and you just hear glow sticks. Smart outlets for musical journalism give her all this credit, like she's the new Madonna ... Although I'm coming from a perspective of also thinking Madonna is not great at all. I'm like, fair enough: she is the new Madonna, but Madonna's a dumb-ass!” Cue overrated harp-playing in a minor chord, please.

In a follow-up email, Newsom did a terrible impression of someone who’s apologizing: “I shouldn't have called Madonna a dumb-ass. Her music and she have just gotten so boring to me, this last decade.” And regarding Lady Gaga, Newsom justifies her distaste with a thoughtful reference to dialectical materialism: “[Gaga] seems to take herself so oddly seriously, the way she talks about her music in the third person, like she's Brecht or something.” Can Newsom atone for the cardinal sin of Madonna slander with a single nod to Marxism? A toss-up, in our book.

See also: The Virile Man's Guide to Liking Joanna Newsom.