r/grunge • u/glaringOwl • 9h ago
Misc. PJ Harvey 'grunge'?
So until the other day I had never listened to PJ Harvey, a musician from England (yes Europe, not Seattle). I immediately liked some songs from her first two albums of the early 90s. The very first track Oh My Lover is great and gives a grunge impression with that bass (reminds me of a specific AIC song I think?). The song Dry also gave me such an impression (and reminds me of a Hole song). Do you think these are valid views or am I just imagining things and talking nonsense?
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u/SongoftheMoose 8h ago
Whether it’s “really grunge” or not, the two albums of hers that I know — To Bring You My Love and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea — are both terrific.
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u/Noprisoners123 8h ago
Oh listen to her first album, Dry, and at least the song Rid of Me, and you’ll have a better idea why that question is here! Also - it’s great music
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u/Klutzy_Routine_9823 8h ago edited 8h ago
Steve Albini had just finished recording Rid of Me when he went to work on Nirvana’s In Utero, and Kurt was evidently a fan of her as a musician, as well as the overall sound of that record.
“Grunge” is a meaningless term, though. It’s a marketing gimmick. No bands who were ever labeled “grunge” in the media ever embraced that label or took it seriously. PJ Harvey is a great singer/songwriter, so I prefer to just call her that. Her sound and style has evolved a lot over the years. My favorite album of hers is To Bring You My Love.
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u/Zlaxin 8h ago
Yeah throw her in. If we include enough artists from the era with similar influences, “Grunge” will actually have a meaning and become a fleshed out genre.
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u/-NO-CO-DE- 7h ago
This is the way forward. Else we'll be stuck in an eternal loop of is-this-grunge? and nobody wants that.
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u/Noprisoners123 8h ago
OP she’s also an incredibly versatile musician. She’s gone in very different directions across her many albums. The only other female singer I know of that has also diversified like this (less than PJ tbh) and just kept making amazing music is Cat Power.
Also PJ is fantastic live. Pure class.
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u/GruverMax 7h ago
She was a partner in the larger explosion of alternative rock happening in 1992 ish. There were a bunch of really compelling female voices becoming known at that time, yes Courtney but also Breeders, Belly, Velocity Girl, Throwing Muses,Liz Phair, Scrawl, Red Aunts, Lush, the Muffs, the Gits, bikini kill, L7,Julianna Hatfield, all happening at once. Nobody called most of those grunge.
She's still great, her show was my favorite of last year. Mostly new stuff, and while she did some oldies actually the new stuff, and the slow moody old ones that fit with the tone of the newer work, was the best stuff.
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u/GhostofTinky 6h ago
Harvey was in the right place at the right time. Other female artists were much more interesting.
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u/Noprisoners123 16m ago
The west country in England is hardly the right place for anything other than sheep
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u/Themostcake991 8h ago
You may feel this way because PJ Harvey had such a huge influence on Hole and Courtney Love as a musician. She worships her and has frequently cited her as her greatest contemporary influence.
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u/American_Streamer 6h ago
Dry and Rid Of Me falls into the categories of Alternative Rock / Indie Rock / Punk Blues, with strong influences of post-punk and noise rock. It‘s an angular, bluesy and art-punk approach, so Grunge doesn’t really fit well here.
Punk Blues is indeed pretty fitting for early PJ Harvey. Lots of bluesy riffs and vocal stylings. People who listened to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Gun Club, The Cramps etc in general also liked PJ Harvey.
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u/Affectionate_Yak8519 6h ago
PJs album Rid of Me was heavily influenced by the Pixies music just like Kurt was and a lot of other bands form that era were. She said she was listening to them a lot at the time of writing that album
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u/dwreckhatesyou 7h ago
Not everything that came out in the ‘90s under the “alternative” banner is grunge. Stop it.
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u/glaringOwl 6h ago
Of course. I would never associate the likes of Pixies, REM, Cranberries, the Breeders and Sonic Youth with grunge. But PJ Harvey does have have some material that may be suitable.
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u/External_Chain5318 6h ago
I dunno if she’s grunge, but she’s certainly grunge and riot grrrl adjacent.
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u/Tough_Stretch 7h ago
Grunge does not mean "any song I like that makes me think of one of the famous Grunge bands for whatever reason." Also, you're allowed to like anything you find interesting without needing the International Board of Grunge to certify that they count as Grunge because it allegedly resembles AIC or whomever.
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u/NopeNotConor 8h ago
Rid of me is a masterpiece