So gracious for them to explain so many basic realities to this interviewer. Rob is spot on and brilliant, and PJ is so young here! Interesting to watch her unique gaze. Sweet and genuine with an endearing sort of world-weariness. Probably just tired of sitting through interviews like this.
3:33 and 28:28 Urrrgh, interviewer is major league hateful of her. Saying the media - I think they are his own misogynistic thoughts. Love how she handled herself so well. Her talkative bandmate is an absolute legend as well. The sexism was just repugnant.
This kind of video makes you realise why PJ may have wanted to evolve so often - she clearly feels pigeonholed here and possibly grew out of the image of her band as a three piece.
i think its a good interview and i find it funny that many seem to think the interviewer is doing a bad job when essentially he succeeds in getting to what the band thinks about themselves
I like that the interview is amateurish and awkward and completely natural. Its a reminder that we are so conditioned and controlled by the world we grow up in, but if we let it, there is a uniqueness and spirit in us all.
Some of the questions are annoying, but I actually like this interviewer; he challenges them. Especially when it comes to asking an artist about their lyrics. I always found the "it's all in there" response to be rather pompous, especially considering the abstract nature of many lyrics. I like her answers better today on these subjects, where she says she just doesn't want to explain because she wants people to make their own interpretations. But I totally agree with the guy when he says that when people are interested in a book, movie, etc., and have the chance to talk to an artist about it, they naturally want to know more about the inspiration, meaning, etc. They also contradict themselves in this (understandable considering their relative youth). For example, PJ says their label "isn't interested in making money," then the interviewer asks why they even sit down with interviewers, and Ellis says, "because it sells records," lol.
While I agree with most you said, selling records does not always equal making money. Or rather making money does not need to be the motivation to sell records. The motivation might be getting wider influence or fan base.
The interviewer was lousy. He had low-energy, and none of his questions we're challenging, they were mediocre and boring. PJ and Rob looked bored as Hell. And you can tell Rob is getting irritated. And on the other hand, this is their first taste of what comes with the territory of being in a band while getting the unexpected attention all of a sudden out of nowhere. Taking consideration that who knows what how many interviews they had before this one or maybe this was a very first big interview who knows but they weren't ready for it !
@Dissmusic and Rob is saying that I bet because the record label is telling them that that's what they have to do, as in that comes with the territory. If you want to make records and your your gonna be bombarded with interviews ! That's what Rob meant. You miss interpreted.
i think its a good interview and i find it funny that many seem to think the interviewer is doing a bad job when essentially he succeeds in getting to what the band thinks about themselves
I think she’s right. If she had to explain what her songs are about, that would mean that the songs are incomplete. That’s a good point to me. As listeners we’re obsessed with the meaning, the story that lies behind, but this is something we should be dealing with for ourselves, the artist is nothing to do with it
I love polly and the boys but I think the interviewer is actually doing a good job of explaining his questions and making some good points in the face of, let's face it, a somewhat difficult interviewee. Having said that, I am only 26 minutes in haha
Well answered all around. The interviewer was certainly of his times. Goodness, were he to know how important PJ would continue on to become as a musician first and foremost. She was very patient & Rob and Steven very aligned.
Gender roles and stereotypes people cant see past them geesh. Its human nature but perpetuated by religion and culture. The lyrics and music speak for themselves like she said its all there. In college as I was at the time, I appreciated the expression of this band and also Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses. 2 women with very unique and raw expressions of gender roles and perspectives.
Alright as soon as he said MANLY instrument as if instruments was ever for one gender irritated me. How she kept herself calm is not only respectable but admirable. Wasted her time to be honest. I would ask her more about the band and how they’ve come along during tours and the song writing process rather than the boyish remarks.
This interview was in 1992. And how many hits had Joan Jett Had long before 82 playing Boyish Guitar ??? Yikes~~~ The Interviewer has just lost all his credit within 5 min of a 50 min interview. Ackkkkk ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DSqp-W1pWoU.html Way to hang in there PJ/Rob/And SV
This is Funny cause Poison Ivy of The Cramps once said that she thinks its rediculous that the guitar is male oriented cause to her the guitar is a more feminine technique !
A boyish thing to do to play that sort of guitar? I guess this guy has never heard of Sister Rosetta Tharpe? I guess that way of playing is regarded as a masculine thing to do but PJ Harvey certainly wasn’t the first to play like that. Don’t know what his point is really other than some people regard it as a bit strange, which is very strange to me. It’s like saying women are rarely aggressive or something - really weird.
Thing is, the interviewer was basically correct about her playing guitar in a boyish way. I can understand hers and Rob’s annoyance at that characterization, but the passage of time has shown that most women in music really do gravitate toward acoustic guitars and ukuleles and keyboards and not so much the distortion and feedback and bent notes/dissonance that marked PJH’s distinctive style. It’s too bad that that’s the case, but it’s just a fact, especially with Millennials and Gen *Z* that music has gotten softer, newer girl musicians that have cropped up *do* *not* play the way Polly did, and if anyone is playing aggressive rock music (which has generally fallen out of favor across the board, sadly), there are still far more boys doing it than girls. I don’t know why that is. Does anyone?
open.spotify.com/album/6RdfrSuuoZBUcvVHlWW2Wd?si=XdNHWJlpS6iQAVSBzigwPQ I agree with the statement however the interviewer phrased it horribly. check out St. Vincent if you're looking for contemporary art-rock
You're wrong. Wye Oak, The Breeders, Sleater-Kinney/Wild Flag, Throwing Muses, The Donnas, St. Vincent, Savages, Lianna Le Havas, Haim, Courtney Barnett, Hole, Angel Olsen, Liz Phair, Elastica, Gabriela Quintero, Bikini Kill, Thao Nguyen, Mitski, Caroline Rose. All electric guitarists from the past 30 years. That's just off the top of my head. You're just wrong and, worse yet, generalizing like you're some kind of authority on something you know nothing about.
I’m wrong about what? I didn’t say there weren’t any other female rock guitarists besides Polly Harvey-certainly in the last 30 years, of course there were and are. I lived through it and am a fan of several of those you mentioned. Liz Phair and Kristin Hersh are brilliant guitarists, and Kim Deal and her bands are probably my favorite on the planet. And yes Sleater-Kinney are very aggressive and accomplished players. My POINT was that such female guitarists are the exception in music because most female musicians DO NOT play aggressive rock. You cannot seriously think Angel Olsen plays guitar like that! Like PJ Harvey? Come on, man. At least go with Marissa Paternoster or something. I maintain in the face of all evidence that female singer/songwriters who are also *aggressive* rock guitarists in the style of Polly Harvey are... non-existent, really. And I was thinking about the prevailing style of music NOW, not of the past 3 decades. Surely you’ve noticed music has mostly gone soft?
