POLY JEAN HARVEY, known to us all as PJ Harvey, was
born in Bridport, Dorset, England on 9 October 1969.
Happy 55 to a remarkable singer-songwriter with a remarkable career
scoring several masterly albums. So far she recorded/released 10 LPs
with I Inside The Old Year Dying (2023) as the most recent one.
. PJ always followed her own capricious path, exploring herself and her art from
different angels. With every album she surprised and she triumphed. Not many
can claim the same. One of the most compelling artists of her generation. Hands
down.
Well, another year has come to an end. A year stuffed with a tsunami of striking tunes
and stunning albums, as TUTV already displayed on its 2023 best-tracks and best-albums lists.
But that was just a fraction of this past year’s superb music extravaganza. Let’s go out with
a big bang. 20 Top Tunes from 20 Top Albums that made our ears go bonkers in 2023.
Tiny Desk Concerts is a video series of live concerts organised by NPR Music at the work desk of host, musician and media personality Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C. The series started in 2008.
All sorts of music genres was/is featured, starting artists and a series
of big names such as Sharon Van Etten, Yo La Tengo, The National, Jake Bugg,
Wilco, Coldplay, and The Flamings Lips (full list here) did their acoustic thing
in a small, yes, very tiny little place.
Today singer-songwriter legend PJ HARVEY (10 albums since 1988, aged 54) was
the guest. She did a 6-song set, 5 pieces from her new album I Inside the Old Year
Dying and one oldie.
“I Inside the Old I Dying”
“A Noiseless Noise”
“A Child’s Question, August”
“I Inside the Old Year Dying”
“White Chalk”
Her performance is nothing less than wonderful, gripping and masterly.
Down to earth, genuine, and wholehearted.
NME said: “The Dorset-born musician’s first album since 2016 is both elusive
and mesmerising. It takes a little time to immerse yourself in Harvey’s world,
but once there, you won’t want to leave.”
She’s on tour now to promote the album. Last night, she played
the 2nd of two consecutive nights at the Albert Hall in Manchester.
PJ invited former The Smiths‘ guitar hero Johnny Marr (who joins
someone on stage every other week) for these 3 (old) songs.
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad cuts just
added to this rad 2023 playlist.
The Los Angeles based project of musician and songwriter Sarsten Noice and producer Claire Morison.
The track narrates facing the consequences of your own actions and the desire
to change the reality of a situation but ultimately having the resignation that you
can’t.
Poison The Well has a magnetic synth vibe that sticks
on the spot and actives your limbs. Strike!
Former chief of Manchester’s heroes Oasis still knows how to write an instantly appealing song. There She Blows is grooving and amusing. From NG’s new longplayer Council Skies.
A cover of a Nick Drake (1948-1974) song from his 1969 LP Five Leaves Left.
A mesmeric rendition by PJ Harvey’s longtime collaborator/producer and the sparkling voice of songstress Aldous Harding. It features a brand new tribute album named The Endless Coloured Ways – The Songs Of Nick Drake.
Songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist
from Los Angeles whose music transcends genre.
Asha:“Hard Shit is about dating and how awful it is, especially due to the inventions of dating apps and how the culture has changed. There are just too many options for everyone now, so no one wants to stick around long enough to have something real. I think this song is super relatable and fun!”
I love Asha‘ no-nonsense and direct approach of this topic
and the song’s avid EBM pop resonance. Top shit!
These Manchester’s cacophonous indie craftsmen score with their new high-energetic corker that resounds like a pop melody backed up by layers of guitar furor, eager bass play, bang-on drum hits and lively vocals. Tremendously catchy stroke!
These British gunslingers kick-start your adrenalin production from the first chord on with this peppery pop-punk cryout fed by schizo guitars and distressed vocals. A thrill, although the song is about the wake of a breakup, an anthem of self-loathing, regret, and ultimately, forgiveness. I said it a million times before, heartache can lead to explosive catharsis in music.
This shoegazy dream pop titillation gets under your skin slowly but surely driven by its melodic brightness. And kudos to these Canadian indies to comment on the crushing amount of daily promo for artists/records.
“There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with doing some self promo, but sometimes there’s the temptation to lie and hide one’s true self to maintain their public persona. It’s disappointing to see, but the true pitfall of this kind of dishonesty is that it affects one’s own personal growth and self-discovery.”
