http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k8w65v3_I When I first heard that the owners of two of the most melancholy voices of the 21st century were going to record together my cynical assumption was that they could never create something greater than the sum of their already devastatingly brilliant parts. And I'm glad to say that I got that completely wrong. Taken from PJ Harvey's Mercury Award winning 'Stories from the city, stories from the sea', this two-hander is the sound of anger, despair and ultimately desire. In contrast with 'Hey!' by the Pixies, the two characters of this story don't seem to be tied, they're writing a mutual 'Dear John', letter, but despite their posturing, they still seem to need to hear each other's voice. And this is where the song reveals its genius; they're saying the same, mostly negative, sometimes positive things, just not to each other, but about themselves. The lovely double track of the vocals tells the story where they're singing the same words - "What was it you wanted? I just want to say don't ever change, and thank you I don't think we will ever meet again... the sweat on my skin, oh, this mess we're in." This is no one night stand, rather its depression, much like Florence's 'No light, no light", this is the story of a mutual mess that neither party can admit to. The music is breezy and light, which intensifies the power of the words. It finishes with a metaphor of the New York skyline, 'The cities sun set over me'. It's over.
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash