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So PJ Harvey, tonight's 1001 Album Generator album is Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea....

I get from reading reviews, this might not be the normal way she sounds, like maybe it's mellower than normal, which is interesting because it strikes me as jangly indie music with a bit of an anger edge and a bit of a sonic youth feel - it's just kind of raw.

What's even more interesting, maybe because the music isn't exactly blowing me away, the lyrics seem to be taking the lead here. Is that the deal with her, because the lyrics are where it seems to be at. I'm not normally drawn to lyrics first. I am drawn to her voice though more than the music.

It's also fun to hear Thom trade verses with her on This Mess We're In... he's in full whine mode, but it still seems like a bit of edge versus smooth there.

She also has a huge Chrissi Hynde feel to her voice on this.

I like. We'll see what happens after a couple of listens.

(Full disclosure, about halfway through first listen now)
 
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Kamikaze is interesting, revved up and the higher register parts of the song remind me of Yoko Ono (not tonally - well voice texture tonally, but in that avant-garde dissonance way. It's kind of like the album just builds up... This is Love is primal MC5/Stooges pre-punk growl. The music starts to demand your attention in the way her voice and lyrics did in the first half... or maybe given it getting mellow again with Horses in My Dreams, the whole thing just ebbs and flows, kind of like New York on any given night, pockets of more activity than you could ever ask for surrounded by solitude and the feeling that you are alone in this world despite the PEOPLE EVERYWHERE....

It's an interesting album. I'm adding it to my list of albums worth spending more time with....
 
Lee Newman said:
So PJ Harvey, tonight's 1001 Album Generator album is Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea....

I get from reading reviews, this might not be the normal way she sounds, like maybe it's mellower than normal, which is interesting because it strikes me as jangly indie music with a bit of an anger edge and a bit of a sonic youth feel - it's just kind of raw.

What's even more interesting, maybe because the music isn't exactly blowing me away, the lyrics seem to be taking the lead here. Is that the deal with her, because the lyrics are where it seems to be at. I'm not normally drawn to lyrics first. I am drawn to her voice though more than the music.

It's also fun to hear Thom trade verses with her on This Mess We're In... he's in full whine mode, but it still seems like a bit of edge versus smooth there.

She also has a huge Chrissi Hynde feel to her voice on this.

I like. We'll see what happens after a couple of listens.

(Full disclosure, about halfway through first listen now)
Click to expand...
so your mentioning of the 1001 album generator got me intrigued. Thanks for.
Starting my journey with Duran Durans Rio, which is a total 80s blindspot for me
 
Lee Newman said:
Pitchfork sure didn't like it:
pitchfork.com

PJ Harvey: Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea

My philosophy has always included the tried-and-true motto, "You have to take the good with the bad, and the bad ...
pitchfork.com pitchfork.com

sounds like a different album than the one I just listened to. maybe this was the perfect entry point if it only gets better from here.
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It's probably my favorite from her, but she also hasn't missed. Her discography is worth checking out from the beginning, and if you found this one to be "raw," wait til you hear 'Dry' and 'Rid of Me!'
 
Jan said:
so your mentioning of the 1001 album generator got me intrigued. Thanks for.
Starting my journey with Duran Durans Rio, which is a total 80s blindspot for me
Click to expand...
Same. I started this as well when @Lee Newman posted something a few days ago. So far nothing I haven't heard yet....Cheap Thrills, LA Woman, and a couple I haven't listened to in awhile in Music For the Masses, and Hybrid Theory. Today is Van Halen's 1984.
 
Lee Newman said:
Kamikaze is interesting, revved up and the higher register parts of the song remind me of Yoko Ono (not tonally - well voice texture tonally, but in that avant-garde dissonance way. It's kind of like the album just builds up... This is Love is primal MC5/Stooges pre-punk growl. The music starts to demand your attention in the way her voice and lyrics did in the first half... or maybe given it getting mellow again with Horses in My Dreams, the whole thing just ebbs and flows, kind of like New York on any given night, pockets of more activity than you could ever ask for surrounded by solitude and the feeling that you are alone in this world despite the PEOPLE EVERYWHERE....

It's an interesting album. I'm adding it to my list of albums worth spending more time with....
Click to expand...

Very Patti Smith vibe on that album - Good Fortune is a great song
 
Alright, I need some schooling, the allmusic review states that the lyrics to She's Always a Woman are latently misogynistic.

"
She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child
But she's always a woman to me
She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free
Yeah, she steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me
Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind
And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
'Cause she's always a woman to me
Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind
She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
And she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me"

I don't see it. But then I'm a dumb guy... explain it to me.
 
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