quiet paws.

After watching the guest program on Rage last weekend (for those overseas readers, Rage is an Australian music video program) and enjoying the really eclectic selection of videos, I got to thinking about what I would program on my list of music videos to share with the televisual world. Of course the list starts out with an obvious blend of a whole range of tracks from artists that you feel should be represented – musicians such as David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Iggy Pop, and so on. However rather than end up with a list of what could be described as ‘really important songs’ from ‘really important artists’, I wanted to filter my song choices in some way. What better way to filter than to apply some random rules to the process?

So the two rules I applied to my guest programming selection are that:

(1) My list could only include a total of 30 songs; and
(2) I had to actually own the song which I was selecting.

Suddenly my list changed dramatically from what it was originally. And then began the extremely difficult task of narrowing my selection to only 30 tracks. So without further delay, I hereby deliver for your viewing (or listening) pleasure, the 30 songs which I would guest program on Rage (with no preferential ordering):

1. Radiohead: Paranoid Android (OK Computer)…Radiohead as always are fascinating and thoughtful.
2. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds: The Mercy Seat (Live Seeds)…Nick and the boys totally rock it live, and the crazy energy of this song deserves to be appreciated loud and raw.
3. Beck: Scarecrow (Guero)…a difficult song to categorise, but displays a seriously unique style and thumping beat.
4. Eels: Mr E’s Beautiful Blues (Daises of the Galaxy)…The Eels are just so cool and this video is fun and happy (just like the song).
5. Mirah: The Garden (Advisory Committee)…the beat on this song kills me…it’s irresistible!
6. Cat Power: Sea of Love (The Covers Record)…delicate, respectful cover of a most beautiful, fragile song.
7. Beck: Everbody’s Gotta Learn Sometimes (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Soundtrack)…Beck’s voice is incredibly powerful and soulful as he communicates longing, sadness and acceptance.
8. Radiohead: Creep (My Iron Lung)…I have a rather major band crush on Radiohead. This song is beautiful, angry and is the perfect blend of emotional and musical contrasts.
9. Jeff Buckley: Hallelujah (Grace)…intense, sorrowful, sweet and captivating.
10. The White Stripes: I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (Elephant)…Kate Moss is gorgeous beyond belief in this video directed by Sofia Coppola.
11. The Stranglers: Golden Brown (He Died With a Felafel in his Hand Soundtrack)…I’m not sure why, but I’ve always loved this song and the exotic luxury of this video just feels so right.
12. Smog: Our Anniversary (Supper)…not sure if there’s an official video to go with this track, but the song just had to be included as it is intimate, warm and ‘real’ beyond belief.
13. Lykke Li: Little Bit (Youth Novels)…interesting, dreamy video. I love the sense of movement throughout (also check out the beautiful B&W video for her other song, ‘Tonight’).
14. M.I.A: Paper Planes (Kala)…addictive song and compelling ‘raw’ video which avoids complicated styling. M.I.A is mesmerising.
15. Damien Rice: The Blower’s Daughter (O)…beautifully conveys the right balance of pain and aching sadness. The video features scenes from Closer (such a cast…the chemistry between Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman is amazing! … I have issues with Jude Law so he doesn’t count).
16. Beastie Boys: Ch-Check It Out (To the 5 Boroughs)…these crazy kids always have fun, and this video is no exception. Street rage, heaps of costume changes, and a final fatal explosion…what more could you want?
17. Hawksley Workman: Ice Age (Treeful of Starling)…just a stunningly beautiful, romantic song (in fact, the entire album is the same).
18. Johnny Cash: Hurt (American IV: The Man Comes Around)…wonderful cover by an absolute music master, the video is perfect in visuals and pace…and oh so sad…gets me every time…
19. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (featuring PJ Harvey): Henry Lee (The Best of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds)…gets my vote for the sexiest music video ever. Seriously. You must watch it!
20. Pop Levi: Pick-Me-Up Uppercut (The Return to Form Black Magick Party)…he’s just so crazy, I love it! This song always makes me smile.
21. Bjork: It’s Oh So Quiet (Post)…wonderful Spike Jonze directed video with fantastic ‘popping’ colours, cleverly mixed-up pacing and great use of choreographed dancers.
22. Gary Jules: Mad World (Donnie Darko Soundtrack)…fantastic visuals in the video directed by Michel Gondry are the perfect accompaniment to this beautifully measured and sad song.
23. Basement Jaxx: Romeo (The Chillout Sessions 3 – Ministry of Sound)…hello Bollywood!
24. Elvis Costello: I Want You (The Very Best of Elvis Costello)…love the beat and range of emotions in this song (see if you can track down the Fiona Apple cover…it’s awesome as well).
25. Kings of Leon: On Call (Because of the Times)…love the boots and the subdued opening before the song suddenly bursts to life.
26. The Beatles: Let It Be (The Beatles Anthology 3)…simplicity in delivery and style at its very best.
27. Blur: Tender (13)…a big beast of a song that begs to be sung along with. The B&W totally works for me.
28. Jem: Come on Closer (Finally Woken)…this song just sounds so ‘naughty’ (in a very, very good way).
29. John Lennon: Imagine (Lennon Legend)…I love the dreamy opening as John and Yoko walk towards their home, the white shutters which are opened to let in the bright sunshine, and the shared look of love.
30. Seu Jorge: Life On Mars? (The Life Aquatic Soundtrack)…great Bowie song + great cover = awesome video. Steve Zissou rocks!

So that’s my list (at least at this particular moment in time) – please share your thoughts. What would you include on your own personal music video list? …(feel free to apply my rules, adapt your own limitations, or choose to give yourself no boundaries at all…).

With exposed wooden floor, subtle lighting and patiently waiting instruments, the stage was quiet and still, like a stagnant body of water which lies absent of life and devoid of life-giving oxygen. And then a whisper of air builds and quickly rises into a breeze which flows across the surface of water, stirring it into action and unleashing a chaotic clashing of waves which travel from one side to the other. In such a way the stage wakes to life in hushed reverie as PJ Harvey enters the concert hall. Suddenly the heart and soul of the stage unites in perfect harmony with her presence. The performer has arrived.

She does not rush, she is calm and at peace as she wafts across the stage in a lyrically inscribed Edwardian dress. Similar though to our surface agitated body of water which stretches away to unknown depths, there is a slight feeling of tension below the surface which takes several songs to dissipate as Harvey relaxes into the performance.

Harvey is a surprisingly energetic and warm performer, and while she stands alone on stage she does not feel lonely. Surrounded by an array of instruments (piano, acoustic and bass guitar, zither, keyboards, harmonica and percussion), a sprinkling of fairy lights and tiny animal figurines she casts a spell of ethereal beauty and dreamy creative energy, yet at the same time exudes a commanding strength of spirit. Her only other occasional stage companion throughout the evening was long time collaborator Mick Harvey who accompanied her on piano.

While the purpose of her visit to Australia was to showcase work from her latest album ‘White Chalk’, Harvey would not have disappointed long term fans as she drew widely from her extensive back catalogue of music. Highlights from Harvey’s early nineties albums included emotionally raw and passionate performances of Rid of Me, Bring You My Love, Down By the Water and Send His Love to Me. Her intense stage demeanour is absorbing as she brings poetic drama to her musical stories infused with anger, love, loss and desperate longing.

It is no surprise though that some of the best songs of the evening featured from one of my all time favourite albums, the 2000 release ‘Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea’. Horses In My Dreams was delicately delivered, conjuring up an extraordinary sense of hopeful space and freedom. Big Exit was the perfect contrasting piece, a rough and raucous description of a dangerous and unstable future. From ‘Uh Huh Her’ the standout for me was The Desperate Kingdom of Love, a stark and sad tale of the personal journeys we make in the name of love.

Of course most of the evening was given over to material from White Chalk, and with this album PJ Harvey demonstrates her unwillingness to maintain the status quo artistically, she always looks to push herself further on to a new creative plain. This is especially clear with the incorporation of the piano into her repertoire – a new instrument for Harvey, and also her stripped back vocals which display a greater fragility and higher pitch than previous recordings. Title track White Chalk typifies the feel of the entire album which seems more grounded and natural than earlier work, exploring the organic connections which exist between people, places and the environment.

Grow, Grow, Grow raises questions of how love can be found and cared for, Silence offers a remembrance of the obliterating focus of love, When Under Ether travels to that unseen place where things are not as they seem, and The Mountain has us soaring above the world as we gaze down on the broken things that lay below. So much beauty radiated on this one evening in Brisbane that it is too difficult a task to separate the musical roses from the bountiful display on offer.

PJ Harvey is a rare talent who presents a dazzling range of styles and sounds. She is elegant and refined, yet unafraid to challenge musical categorisation and pre-conceived expectations of how a song should be arranged and the way it should make the listener feel. She is a true evolution in progress and we are fortunate indeed to be able to grow alongside her.