PJ Harvey - Straight (Live Veruca salt Cover)

Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 59

This is an mp3, either from 1995 or 1996, of Polly covering Veruca Salt's song Straight.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=6a8b76c6815f58cf36df4e8dca141969e04e75f6e8ebb871

Lyrics

You sleep better when you're,
you eat better when you're
you sing better when you're
You need me more when you're straight.
Is this the weekend?
Is that your girlfriend?
No, she's green and innocent.
You smoke her like she's incense.
You smile. [x3]
Stay straight for me. [x2]
I'll wait till summer's over,
I'll love you through October.
I'll give you everything.
I'll trade you anything for her.
Yeah, oh yeah.
Stay straight for me. [x3]

Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 233 Location: Italy

I didn't know about this! Thank youuuuu!

Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 107 Location: England

Nor me! Thanks.

Joined: 02 Nov 2007 Posts: 108 Location: Toronto, Canada

Great cover! thnxs alot!

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 11:26 am

Doesn't sound like PJ to me (except possibly that final "Thank you" after the song ends). When did she perform this? Where? It's interesting.

Joined: 05 Oct 2007 Posts: 148 Location: Madrid

If someone told me she is Courtney Love I would trush it. She sounds a little bit heavy

Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 15 Location: Vienna

Well, I'd never heard that before! It's probably from the 1995-10-05 concert in Boulder, CO, which I don't have in my collection and torrent of which is dead now. The Gigography at least doesn't know of any other "Straight" performance of hers.

What I did know is that PJ had been touring through the States in Aug/Sep 1995 with Live and Veruca Salt, bands she said she didn't have a tremendous amount of respect for, but enjoyed the challenge of reaching out to rednecks who would have never heard her music otherwise. Some in the audience were pretty upfront about who they were there to see, shouting abuse, but often she managed to turn the audience during a gig.

Anyway, the performance of "Straight" would have been shortly after the end of the stint with Live/Veruca Salt, with her as main act again. What's interesting about PJ performing this song in Oct 95 is that Veruca Salt didn't even record it until June 96 (and release it in Feb 97). So I guess it was a rather new song which PJ had come to like.

Another useless tidbit: part of Veruca Salt's "Shutterbug" is said to be about PJ Harvey:

It's freezing in Bristol
There's love on the telly
A girl grinning at me
She's doing the shimmy
And she's cool
And she's skinny
And she's a fool
For the last living rock king
It's her thrill it's her wonder
It's her will it's her way home
She's right where she always wanted to be
She can't change, change change

Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 59

You're all very welcome. Very Happy

And yes, it is definitely PJ Harvey, and it is the Boulder gig. I got this a while ago from the Veruca Salt web site verucasaltonline, but the site no longer exists...

There's a glimmer of info about Polly covering the song here, posted by StellaMarie:

http://www.atforumz.com/archive/index.php/t-255138.html

(But not much - just rumour, speculation, and a couple of out-of-date links to the song.)

Site Admin Joined: 26 Sep 2007 Posts: 2661

pinkandchipped wrote:

And yes, it is definitely PJ Harvey, and it is the Boulder gig. I got this a while ago from the Veruca Salt web site verucasaltonline, but the site no longer exists...

Yes! It definitely is. I forgot, I have this show.

ETA: And, it is in Gardenfiles 3. :smile:

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:31 am

Thank you pinkandchipped, for the file and info. This is comletely new for me.

Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 132

Back around that time, not Nina Gordon but the other one in Veruca Salt, stayed with PJ back in her Bristol home for a visit sometime after they were together on tour (drawing a name blank, once again.. but you know who I mean).

She discussed it in some video interview a few years after Veruca Salt's heyday. And yes, those lyrics from 'Shutterbug' are definitely about PJ, she confirmed it in the video interview (might still be up on youtube, in 2 or 3 parts). The mention of PJ was pretty short, under a minute, I think.

Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

Hey, I got this boot years ago. I can't remember who it was that had the master, but AFAIK (and whoever I got it from!) it is legit. Makes you wonder what else she's covered over the years we have no idea about...

Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 59

Hell and High Water wrote:

ETA: And, it is in Gardenfiles 3. :smile:

Hoping this isn't a really silly question, but what is "Gardenfiles 3"?

Joined: 05 Mar 2009 Posts: 378 Location: Poland

http://thegarden.forum5.com/viewtopic.php?p=6505&mforum=thegarden#6505

:smile:

Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 59

megique wrote:

http://thegarden.forum5.com/viewtopic.php?p=6505&mforum=thegarden#6505

:smile:

Thanks!

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:23 am

drools_for_entertainment wrote:

Back around that time, not Nina Gordon but the other one in Veruca Salt, stayed with PJ back in her Bristol home for a visit sometime after they were together on tour (drawing a name blank, once again.. but you know who I mean).

you're thinking of Louise Post, if I'm not mistaken.