I'll contribute as soon as I take a listen... Glad I'm off the hook for the dissertation though.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

That could very well be the hottest moment in the history of women.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I'll give it points the next time I'm there.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I kinda like that raw unpolished sound of her early albums. I think it's fitting considering the anger of most of her songs. If this production was given to Is This Desire, then yeah it'd be a little weird. My iPod is pretty much my primary source for listening to music these days, so I make sure my headphones are decent I actually had to adjust the main volume control on iTunes for this album and other albums. I'm dying to get my hands on those headphones by Bose....but who the hell is gonna shell out $300 for them. I heard they were the best in the world though. I love that Tonight Show performance too.....just PJ and her guitar and her facial expressions are cute when she stretches her mouth while singing....and the interview at the end Jay actually used to talk to his musical guest back then. That's a cool time to experience listening to The Wind.....during a storm. Perfect timing At 12 I had no clue what PJ was talking about. I just remember loving that song. Even to this day, I'm intrigued by the actual music before I am the lyrics. Trying to figure out the lyrics usually comes later for me. My interpretations are often off , which I guess that's the beauty of some songs. You're left to interpret them they way you see them. The mood of songs is what catches my attention first and the instrumentation. I wasn't into PJ as a whole at that age, only that one song and video. At 12 I was mainly listening to the oldies station religiously. I think Mariah and C.C Peniston were my favorite singers at the time too. I was aware of a lot of the artists that were out at the time, but at that age I felt like I didn't really have access to their music. I listened to whatever songs I could catch on MTV, when they actually played music that I liked.....during the whole grunge/alternative era. I saw an interview with PJ where she was saying that Is This Desire was the first album where she felt her lyrics were worthy of being written down. Could be why it's you're favorite. Like a lot of fans, I've noticed how her lyrical style differs on that album from Dry and Rid of Me.

AnckSuNamun said:

CeCe Peniston is one of my most favorite, completely underrated singers!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I might have to dig up Finally now. I haven't listened to her music since the mid 90's. I'm wondering if I've grown out of her.....like I have with Mariah. I remember loving "Inside that I Cried". This girl from my 6th grade class used to laugh at me for liking her music.

AnckSuNamun said:

Awwwww

I'm actually very sad that she has not become bigger than she did. I don't know why she isn't making music but with the right production and writers, she could have a major hit album. The girl can sing.

Funny story..... One time I went to the LA gay pride and we stopped by the first tent to see who was entertaining. We walked in and this girl I used to see perform at a local gay club when I was coming out, well she was on stage singing! Her name was Brenda Biagi So I start telling my friends Oh My God, I totally know that girl. They all looked at me like I was crazy and laughed saying "yeah right". No really, I really know her. I swear! She used to sing at the Frat House! They were like, that is Cece Peniston! Since we were so far back I guess I couldn't see her very well. I squinted and sure enough, it was Cece

Her albums are really hit and miss. There are really great songs on each of them but they are not great albums per se. I wish someone talented would get interested in working with her

Who is this girl?

What band is she from?

SureThing said:

She's the girl you thought was a dog!! Actually, PJ historically has had a great ability to hag out. This is not glamorous:





She is not In a band. She is simply P J Harvey

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Oh, well THAT picture changes EVERYTHING.

She's TOTALLY hot.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I'm no writer, I'm an art guy so I'll just do a brief song-by-song review of my first PJ album 'To Bring You My Love':



To Bring You My Love - Dark. I love it. There is some serious channeling of Diamanda Galás on this track, but I didn't know that when I first got this album. It's sparse, spooky, dirty and earnest--just like Diamanda.

Meet Ze Monsta - PJ picks up the pace with this marcher/stomper. I like the fuzziness of this one.

Working For The Man - Listen to that bass! Three songs in and I'm not surprised I liked this album so much when it was released in 1995 at the peak of my goth phase. It's so damn dirge-like! The vocals are more tender on this track which is a nice change of pace.

C'Mon Billy - The volume jumps up a little for this song which seems appropriate as PJ is pleading to be heard now. I love the earnestness (that word describes a lot of the songs here) of the vocals. It's also cool how the whole track is smoothed over by the strings.

Teclo - Maybe my least favorite song on the album, but still very cool. Somber and desolate.

Long Snake Moan - Oh yeah, PJ can rock! I just want to crank the volume up to 11 when I listen to this one. It reminds me of the anger from 'Rid Of Me'. AARRRRGGGHHHH!!!

Down By The Water - This was the first song I heard from the album when I saw the video on MTV. I had heard Flood was the producer and he had previously worked with a lot of artists I had liked at the time (NIne Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Book Of Love, Cranes) and I can clearly hear his influence in the electronic tinge this song has. The way the guitar is the foundation for the whole song is great.

I Think I'm A Mother - Another very Diamanda-sounding track. I like the subtle touches on the chorus(?).

Send His Love To Me - My favorite song on the album. The acoustic guitar combined with the yearning vocals and Hammond organ is heaven. And those beautiful strings turn up again halfway through the song! Make that heaven X 2.

The Dancer - How the organ is used on this one is nice too. It's like I'm in a southwestern desert town. Good closer.

pic edit
[Edited 1/11/07 22:00pm]

And now a song-by-song review of my favorite PJ record, 'Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea':



Big Exit - My first impression is the guitars are almost clanging. The big difference already on this album is the vocals are much more refined--almost like PJ took some singing lessons or something. I loved PJ before, but these songs are the first ones that I really want to sing along to. The choruses are generally more upbeat and of course the lyrics reflect the happiness that was in PJ's life at the time and I can definitely hear it/feel it from the beginning.

Good Fortune - This is one of my favorite songs of all time by anyone. My previous description of sing-along choruses applies to this song more so than any other on the album. And when I do sing along and nail it, my eyes start to tear because it's so goddamn good like I'm channeling PJ's joy.

A Place Called Home - Another song with a winner chorus. Damn, these songs are catchy as hell! What makes this album my favorite PJ album and really special is that it's so uplifting. I'm shocked listening to it. "One day there'll be a place for us."

One Line - Is that Thom Yorke in the background during the chorus? It's very ethereal--like Radiohead. The same way the vocals are more refined on this album, so is the music. It's not dirty and fuzzy and messed up (but in a cool way) like on the old albums. PJ plucks her eyebrows and makes a very clean, glamorous record.

Beautiful Feeling - Thom's vocals are a little more upfront here. This might be the song that resembles most the old PJ in that it's very stark and somber, and you can hear some of the old effects on her voice too, but lyrically it's still happy.

The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore - Every PJ album needs a rocker and this track fills that need. There's some slight fuzziness going on with the guitars, but it's still nowhere near as dirty as on past albums. Another great chorus.

This Mess We're In - This one is an outright duet with Thom Yorke. I was never a big Radiohead fan so his appearance on this album doesn't wow me like it did other people. Their voices do sound nice together though.

You Said Something - My second favorite song on the album. I like the strong NYC references--way to win me over. Reading along with the lyrics makes me feel really good. How many times can I say that I love how happy and in love PJ is on this album?

Kamikaze - This is another semi-throwback to old PJ. She tries to scream a bit for the chorus, but it's totally different from how she did in the past--she's still tempered by the her relationship at the time.

This Is Love - PJ screaming how much she's in love sounds almost comical here. Musically this could have passed for another old PJ song except we get some nice keyboard flourishes during the chorus that I think would have sounded a little too precious in the past.

Horses In My Dreams - This song doesn't really kick in for me until about midway when PJ says "I have pulled myself clear". Before then it lumbers along until you get to that really nice plateau of a chorus (again!) which makes the whole song worthwhile.

We Float - And yet another song with a winner chorus. This final song makes a good summary for the entire album. I hear Tori Amos for some reason in the piano. Damn, I love this entire record. It's so smooth and uplifting. I need to listen to it more often.

pic edit
[Edited 1/11/07 22:02pm]

That's all you're getting out of me Supa.

sextonseven said:

Little do you know how much I want to mount you right now



I will vamp on this shortly....

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

You mean like how you mounted Dex?

I think you want to do that to every orger. I refuse to be another notch in your lipstick case.

sextonseven said:

too late! you already painted my lips with your words

This thread is really big!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

FIRE AWAY!

add edit
[Edited 1/12/07 10:09am]

sextonseven said:

You should know better than to challenge me

MikeMatronik said:

It's about to get bigger Just wait till I start dissecting lyrics

.
[Edited 1/12/07 10:37am]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

It's kinda strange becuase big threads are a Tori Amos affair here at the org!

MikeMatronik said:

Obviously Tori isn't the only goddess worth worshipping

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

the musical world is full of goddesses for us to worship: Tori, Kate, Madge, Siobhan, Alaska (the woman on my avatar!), Björk!

This thread is really making me want to be a fan just so I can enjoy the thread. I love these kinds of in-depth discussions and dissections. It happens all too rarely. If I knew anything about PJ I would just bring my pajamas and camp out...but I'm still workin' on Goldfrapp durnit.

sextonseven said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

MikeMatronik said:

If she's along the same vein of the other artists mentioned, then I'm gonna have to check her out.

AnckSuNamun said:

Blame that on the Pat Benatar appreciation thread.

heartbeatocean said:

Take your time. The payoff will be well worth it I'm workin on lyrics as we speak

oooookay. here we go. again...


i ever said i was a GOOD musician! or that i was a musician with TASTE!
(but you'd be right on both counts )

what am i looking at here? pj harvey? well i really love 'is this desire?' probably my second favorite behind 'dry'. very different albums, those. i love "perfect day elise", but all the songs are visceral in their own way.

oh god...'rid of me' is excellent, too. forgot about it for a moment.