I think it would be interesting to take a trip down memory lane and revisit Polly's albums together. I would love to hear what your memories of each album are and how you feel about them now. Was it an instant like or dislike, what's your favorite or least favorite song, any song you'd like to discuss in particular or have wondered about, thoughts about the era or look, favorite performance?

I remember sleeping on Dry for the longest time while listening to more obvious choices like Rid of Me and TBYML. I love all the catchy hooks, the powerful but somewhat humorous songs and the raw sound. If I had to pick a favorite it would be Dress, never tire of that one–least listened to is Joe, never cared for that one. I also think the Demonstration versions of the songs are just as good if not better than the final ones; and finally I've always wondered about Plants & Rags, is it about homeless people?

What are your thoughts on Dry?

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I'll rub it, until it...

Good idea, Shadowboxer. I'll leave some comments on 'Dry' when I've got time.

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Wiggins is so superbly unassuming, he looks like he's about to say 'Pop the gold medal in the post, I'm nipping out for some biscuits'

Mark Steel

I need to listen to it again!

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Click to see the PJ Harvey Gigography

apparently Plants and Rags was inspired by a photograph.

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you can't straighten my curls

Dry was the second PJH album I owned. I remember being excited about getting to hear more from "this girl" and at the same time having doubts that it would be as good as Rid Of Me was. That thought was gone by the end of Oh My Lover. Some recordings sink very deep instantly and touch a place that makes me very aware they will never leave, Dry is one of them.

Add in Demonstration and I'm off to the dessert island with a smile.

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how will you ever walk again...

:O I was way off.


bluesman, I love your review.

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I'll rub it, until it...

Really? Wow I ask because its my fave from dry.

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I don't really have a particular favorite PJ song. For me it always changes. Dry is a great album. I always loved the poetic songs like victory and plants & rags. Plants & rags has a really nirvana esque acoustic sound, like if you've listened to nirvana's unplugged session. PJ harvey's music is unique because of the way that she utilizes really complex rhythms (I think Rob Ellis is an awesome drummer.) There is a lot of himeolas and Cuban clave rythyms in her songs. Like the rhythm in dress. I play it a lot on the guitar and it has a lot in common with yuri-g as far as chord progressions and rhythm goes. Sheela na gig has a really interesting dynamic between the woman and the man. The lyrics have a sort of "Oh no he didn't" side where she talking about him referring to her as a Sheela na gig/exhibitionist. I also like the content in the lyrics of fountain too.

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Can you use a hyper-dermic needle?

I think Dry was the second album of Polly that I heard, after TBYML. I liked it a lot and still do. I think it's actually a very impressive debut - as opposed to debuts of other great artists - such as Bjork's "Debut" and Radiohead's despicable "Pablo Honey". It's a great guitar album and I really can't find a flaw in it (maybe Joe really isn't that good), but it's not so high up on my list because Polly has evolved so much since then and has broadened her range so much. It's immensely enjoyable listening to it, and Demonstration as well is great - I like the Happy and Bleeding demo more than the one on Dry. and as for Plants and Rags, my favorite, my association to the lines "house and home, who thought they could take away that place" has always been to the Holocaust, though it doesn't really add up with the "quietly" part. I'm just a fucking Jew.

I discovered my love for Polly by browsing Youtube videos, and "Oh My Lover" was the first song that made me realize something about her was very special. In fact, it was the first time a song made me...I guess you could say musically horny, a description that--to my surprise--ended up being common for PJ songs. I honestly believe that song is the greatest possible opener to her impressive career.

That said, I remember being frustrated the the rest of the album did not affect me as instantaneously as "Oh My Lover" did. It's a challenging album in that it puts the listener in a chokehold for 11 songs. Slowly, however, Dry grew on me to the point that I wondered how I ever questioned its acclaim.

Now, my favorite tracks are "Oh My Lover", "Dress", "Victory", "Plants and Rags", and "Fountain". "Joe" and "O Stella" used to prove difficult to listen to, but the demo versions are so superior that its almost absurd.

i always thought it was about a relationsship

My favourites from dry is "plants and rags", "oh my lover", "fountain", "sheela na gig" and "victory". Actually in "victory" i dont think the beginning is that great but the "come on boys"parts are just astonishing! but "sheela na gig"and "plants and rags" are just perfect..gosh "put money in your idle hole"..who comes up with that? purrfect!

i remember thinking that "oh my lover" felt sinister, i suppose is the word, and a bit haunted- a completely different vibe than the demonstrations version which to me felt like begging for them to stay and that things can work out. that low growling guitar in the dry version gives it that desperate sinister-ness. then to have the next song start with just a vocal saying "stella marie you're my star," the guitar then, and the bass bumping in with the drums for again that growling sound just pulled me right in. the album has me completely hooked the entire time. i also remember when listened to sheela-na-gig and figuring out what a sheela-na-gig was, i've never listened to that song the same because i crack up every time with it's slightly ambiguous sexual humor ("put the money in your idle hole," what hole do you speak of, polly? ) i remember dress also had me completely hooked from the beginning because the mental movie i think of with that is just this woman being so pissed that she has to wear a dress just to please a guy and the only thing she wants to do is take the damn thing off! haha cracks me up.

when i tell people how much i love peej, they usually say (that is, if they know who she is) "god she's so angry;" and i know they're referring to dry and rid of me but i never heard anger, just humor. i completely understand polly when she says the first two albums were just complete fun and humorous.

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if there's a want for something new, you might find me at the start, or where it ends for you.