PJ Harvey, "The Last Living Rose"

PJ Harvey, “The Last Living Rose”

Nestled in the extremely heartening announcement that Polly Jean Harvey could be releasing a follow-up to 2007’s White Chalk early next year was a clip of “The Last Living Rose,” a new song that she premiered live last year at the Camp Bestival fest. Why it took so long for a new PJ Harvey song to make its way to someone who considers herself a pretty big fan of the performer in question is a matter that will likely be part of my endless ruminations about the unwieldy nature of “keeping up” in an era where there is simply too much media, and how the resulting glut leads to even the most well-meaning people having their brains overcluttered with minutiae regarding phenomena like 3Oh!3 and Jersey Shore. But for real, I could go on about that for days. (And I really don’t need to trigger any more dreams about Jersey Shore, thanks.) So let’s put that aside for now and enjoy the song, which was apparently written on the Autoharp Peej wielded on White Chalk yet possesses a gritty edge reminiscent of her earliest material. [Via]