applekisses said:

I fed you that night, and the next night and probably the next four That was one of the best nights of my life!

You know, I always had favorites off Rid Of Me but I honestly can say that it really isn't until now because of this thread that I have been able to appreciate the whole of it. I can understand why people consider it their favorite and why that Polly appeals to them the best. I think Rid of Me & especially Dry could use a little remastering. I love the evolution of the artist known as Polly Jean Harvey I even named my 2 cats after her. One is Polly, the other Harvey

HamsterHuey said:

sexy bitch!

applekisses said:

Me too. I wish we could've had a solid week just like that.

GangstaFam said:

You mean midnight dinners all week long?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

We could've invited the squirrels over too. That was a missed opportunity.

GangstaFam said:

They are hired actors. Andrea didn't pay her bill on time or we could have

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

She should've said something. I would've been happy to take up a collection for her. I feel so remiss now!

GangstaFam said:

Not that we didn't entertain them with our 3 hour after dinner convo

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I think I WAS an acting squirrel by the end of that.

GangstaFam said:

I think delirium was finally setting in at the end

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Hooray for fucking with limits!

GangstaFam said:

Midnight dining, near dawn conversations. Whew! I think we were all toast by the end of my vacation

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Apples tossing and turning, waiting to let you in. Felt bad about that.

GangstaFam said:

At least you were thinkin, It never even occured to me Sorry Apples!

HamsterHuey said:

Is that the photo Supa?

That's hot.

sextonseven said:

No It was one I'd never seen before.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

For some reason I'm dying to know what PJ pic luv4all7 finds puketastic.

Was it a pubes one?

sextonseven said:

I'll go searching for it

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I'm sure it's the crotch shot.

GangstaFam said:

Nuh-UH. This is the pic in question:

Ace said:

PJ poses in her undies a lot.

sextonseven said:

'S'alright by me.

Ace said:

Me too!





Separated at birth

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

totally! where's your camera?

GangstaFam said:

Someone needs to photoshop one in

OMG!!!!

Know what I just realized???? I left "No Girl So Sweet" Out of my post! How in the HELL! Why didn't anyone tell me!

And you know what is interesting, If you go to PJs official site, that song is not listed in the lyrics for "Is This Desire". Is there a story behind this I don't know about?



In came the girl with the saddened eyes
And asked him over again and again
"Was I too weak ? Was I a child ?
And can't we leave here and start again ?"

Said "I don't mind if you take me down"
And "I don't mind if you break it all"
But "how much more can you take from me?"
"How much more did you take from me?"

"I'd like to take you inside my head"
"I'd like to take you inside of me"
"You came from heaven" is all he said
"You came from heaven and came here to me
And I love you"

He drove it fast to make the night
And looked at his angel where she lay
Resting her head and closed her eyes
And outside the heat and the summer fades

Deep in the sky a storm he'd seen
Deep in the sky a storm he'd seen
"There ain't nothing no girl so sweet"

"Took her from heaven and gave her to me".....

This is probably the primest example of how excellently fused the electronic and natural are. Anyone who feels that they miss the old PJ and therefore neglect this album, can feast on this song because aside from Sky Lit Up, it's singly the performance that characterizes the PJ that people claim is missing from this album....

.
[Edited 12/21/06 12:10pm]

Reviews:

http://www.fastnbulbous.com/harvey.htm

Around the time To Bring You My Love came out, Polly Jean Harvey expressed restlessness with the restrictions of "rock 'n' roll." This is a common symptom of many ambitious artists - one that leads either to failure in excess (Prog Rock, for example), or groundbreaking success.

Given what she said, I expected her new music to be a psychedelic kaleidoscope of musical experimentation. What she produced was something more akin to a stark black and white photo, featuring mainly two textures - quiet, acoustic-driven ballads, and songs laced with electronica, but maintaining a harsh edge.

The songs do not unfold as immediately as some of her older, catchier work,
causing the fickle and impatient to abandon ship. But repeated listens reveal an intense, enduring and cohesive statement that moves laterally rather than leaping forward. The biggest change is her move from first person narrative to third person fictional.

Like all great fiction, these stories are told with passion and conviction, leaving no doubt the inherent truths embedded in them. Highlights include the sweeping emotions of "The River," the quietly powerful "Catherine" and the subtle beauty of "The Wind." "Angelene" might be an affectionate tribute to her musical soulmate and ex-lover Nick Cave. Even "difficult listening" songs like "Joy" and "The Sky Lit Up" are vividly memorable. Is This Desire? cements PJ Harvey's status as one of the most vital musical artists of the 90s.

.
[Edited 12/21/06 12:46pm]

http://www.yaleherald.com...ae/PJ.html

I know that 1994 was supposed to be the Year of the Woman in all fields of artistic endeavor--at least according to most critics. But I propose that this year, 1998, has quietly, but without any doubt, been the Year of the Woman in pop music.

The most spellbinding music to emerge this year has been produced by women, including Courtney Love (Hole), Lauryn Hill, Lucinda Williams, and Shirley Manson (Garbage). Joining in this cavalcade of amazing women is Polly Jean Harvey, whose sixth album, Is This Desire?, is an impressive addition to her already formidable body of work.

Is This Desire? is, for Harvey, a step away from the world of rock 'n' roll. On the album, she bathes her songs in a combination of harsh, metallic beats and ethereal orchestral instrumentation. The latter clearly suits her better, as in the heartbreaking melody of "The River." Lyrically, Harvey transcends the simplicity of her words, which concern obsessive love and its repercussions, with the sheer force of her singing.

In many songs, Harvey takes on the persona of a woman who has been destroyed by love and is filing a report from the depths of her nothingness. Her greatest album to date, the 1995 release, To Bring You My Love, vividly depicted the transcendence inherent in obsessive love, but Is This Desire? is far more interested in its after-effects.

The album's opener, "Angelene," tells the story of a woman who is driven to prostitution by the loss of her true love, but still believes in the possibility of personal redemption. The entire album hinges on this possibility of redemption. Harvey convinces us that in the depths of her suffering, the woman in "Angelene" believes that future joy is possible. In convincing us of this, Harvey allows us to step into her world--a world of love and loss, of retribution and anger and despair. Harvey makes it palatable for us by letting us see the light, though the flicker lasts only for a moment.

On the final song, Harvey asks, "Is this desire?/ Enough enough/ to lift us higher/ to lift us up?" She questions us, wondering whether all the anguish is worth it or whether love is merely a self-destructive enterprise. Harvey has, of course, already answered her own question at the beginning of this challenging work, when Angelene tells us she has "heard there's a joy untold/ lays open like a road in front of me."

PJ Harvey is an artist who refuses to be pigeonholed as a gloom-and-doom torch singer. In refusing to take on this mantle, she has succeeded in crafting one of the most compelling albums of the year. (Island)

A friend of mine drove her around town once (I believe on the ITD tour). I tried to ply her for details, but she's one of those too-cool-for-school types and would only say, "Oh, who remembers? That was yonks ago!"