Rolling Stone Raves
Compiled by: Anthony Bozza
Source: Rolling Stone Raves! (book)

Under the Influence
Polly Jean Harvey: Blues is what I grew up listening to. I was very lucky to have parents with a fine, fine record collection. God knows what I'd have turned out like if I didn't. I was brought up listening to [John Lee] Hooker, to Howlin' Wolf, to Robert Johnson and a lot of [Jimi] Hendrix and [Captain] Beefheart. So I was exposed to all these very compassionate musicians at a very young age, and that's always remained in me and seems to surface more as I get older and have more experience myself. 1995

Everyday I Read the Book
Polly Jean Harvey: The Bible - everything is possible as far as I'm concerned and nothing is impossible. I enjoy reading it for that. It's like, if you want to let your imagination run wild, dip into a few Bible stories. Why take a trip on acid when you can read the Bible? 1995

Play That Funky Music
Polly Jean Harvey: Soft Cell singing "Tainted Love" is probably one of my favorite songs of all time. 1995

Home Is Where the Heart Is
Polly Jean Harvey: Where we lived was very remote and cut off from other people. I lived in one of those very, very tiny villages, named Dorset, and we don't have a shop or anything like that. We just have one bar. That's it. And everybody that goes to that bar has been going there for the last seveteen years. So I lived quite a quiet lifestyle and didn't have that many other children in the village when I was young. 1995

Whole Lotta Love
Polly Jean Harvey: Tom Waits doesn't care and is not interested in making money. He explores all different avenues, like writing film music, acting, doing music for theater. That's what I'm interested in as well, just making the most of your time here on Earth, seeing how many different ways you can push yourself and explore. 1995

Nice Threads
Polly Jean Harvey: When I was younger, I used to dress up all the time - in Mum's clothes. Then I got serious. And wore black. 1993

Artist Bios
Polly Jean Harvey's raw, introspective songwriting has won her a rabid following since the release of her debut, 1992's Dry, as P.J. Harvey.