50 ft Queenie: The long overdue PJ Harvey thread

[BurtReynolds]

Amazingly consistent over the years.

[nyquillyn]

I fucking love her.

[BurtReynolds]

It's nice to see at least someone has some taste around here.

[Lament]

THE BEST EVER AND I AM READY TO FIGHT ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE.

[BurtReynolds]

The best PJ ever, for sure.

[Lament]

My personal favorite...





Fuck, I am gonna end up posting even more in this thread than I did in the Stevie Wonder thread.

[Lament]

From when Josh Klinghoffer was playing lead in her band in 2004. That was a fucking killer line-up she had that tour.

[nyquillyn]

I love her so much I went to a U2 show to see her.

[Lament]

[Lament]

Her show at the 9:30 Club in DC on September 10th, 2001 (yep), is one of the two greatest shows I've seen in my entire life.

[Lament]

[BurtReynolds]

There isn't a bad song on Is This Desire or Stories From The City...

[Lament]

Is This Desire is disgustingly underrated.

Her first five albums are almost perfect. Uh Huh Her & White Chalk are smidgeon below, but Let England Shake is right back at the level of the first five, and you could even argue is her greatest artistic achievement yet.

[nyquillyn]

Is This Desire? is my least favorite album of hers.

[Lament]

Care to elaborate what you don't like about it? It's spent significant stretches as my favorite. I love how subtle and moody it gets, and how it's got an almost a detached, emotional chill to it while still being as intense and soul-baring as the first three albums.

[nyquillyn]

I just couldn't resist.

1. Rid of Me
2. Dry
3. To Bring You My Love
4. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
5. Uh Huh Her
6. Let England Shake
7. White Chalk
8. Is This Desire?

4-Track Demos would probably be No. 1 if it counted.

[Lament]

Well, if we're gonna open up that can of worms, then why not?

Fuck, this is hard, and it changes pretty regularly. At this very moment though...

1. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
2. To Bring You My Love
3. Is This Desire
4. Let England Shake
5. Rid of Me
6. Dry
7. White Chalk
8. Uh Huh Her

The first six are definitely in my top 100 records of all-time. It's entirely possible all eight would be.

[nyquillyn]

Care to elaborate what you don't like about it? It's spent significant stretches as my favorite. I love how subtle and moody it gets, and how it's got an almost a detached, emotional chill to it while still being as intense and soul-baring as the first three albums.

To me, it really lacks focus. She sacrifices the anger and swagger of her previous albums and replaces them with obtuse lyrics and needless sonic layers. It's not terrible by any means, just my least favorite. I think she really nails a more "mature" sound on the next album (Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea).

[LuNY]

Let England Shake is a classic album. Played that one over and over for a good while.

[Lament]

Let England Shake is one of those albums that annihilates the myth that an artist can't still be making jaw-dropping, legacy defining records twenty years into their career.