FUCKING DANCE: 26 Jan 2008

After watching a succession of music documentaries this weekend I’ve been thinking about my most vivid and life defining moment of music and I have come up with one very very short period in time.

That time was seeing PJ Harvey perform 'Who The Fuck?' live on Jools Holland sometime in early ’04. At which point I would have been an not so great 13 year old. I was into all the stuff that was in the charts and all my friends at the time were of a similar disposition. I wasn’t the greatest pupil at school (understatement of the year – I was a complete terror) and I hadn’t a clue about anything outside of school playground politics.

Anyway. On this particular episode of Jools, PJ Harvey was wearing a yellow mini dress and her hair was a fierce black set against the intense paleness of her skin. I remember seeing her and thinking to myself that she looked a bit mad.

Then the song began and instantly I was captured. The way PJ tore into the opening lines was amazing. The entire thing was so effortlessly angry but sexy at the same time.

I’d heard my fair share of angry music and swear words by age 13 but this was something completely different. It seemed like everything clicked into place for those two minutes.

That performance showed me that it was okay to be angry outside as well as inside and that not knowing what to do with your life was acceptable. It showed me that it was possible to not care what people think of you and that you could be cool doing your own thing by yourself. And ultimately it led me straight to the path of music with more than just a pretty face.