Rebellious Jukebox: PJ Harvey

Once again you find weird routes to people — where did I find Polly Jean Harvey? A Canadian Music show they used to show on Anglia television at 2 in the morning. She was sitting in the window of a shop from what I remember performing songs for Rid Of Me and answering questions from both the crowd and the interviewer. She was so small and yet she was so fucking huge — she kicked arse and you knew it from the first song of hers you ever heard and my introduction was, strange for this show considering which album it focused on, Sheelagh Na Gig … fucking great, it rocked. I was hooked.

I had  Dry, Rid Of Me and the new album To Bring You My Love within the week. And then as good fortune would have it, unbeknownst to me she was going to be one of the backing acts at the Zooropa show that I was going to. She was great there but slightly impeded by the quality of the PA system; but still, I had seen her and it confirmed what I already knew: that unless she went seriously wrong somewhere down the road, that i was going to be a long-term fan.

Do I sound gushy? Well, maybe, but she was something different to what we had and she is something different to anything we have had since. Intelligent, gutsy — she tackled blues, punk, goth and made them all her own; made them something different. She made herself something different too; it is like there isn\’t a single Polly that made all these albums but someone changing skins and souls for every record. Still, she has one of those voice that when you hear it you know it\’s her.

It is always an exciting prospect when PJ Harvey has a new album out — you never know where it is going to go. Who would have thought the piano-driven White Chalk would be the next step? Who would want it any other way?

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Now playing: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Stagger Lee
via FoxyTunes