Line #40 Music/StoriesFromTheCityStoriesFromTheSea


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3b025056017f403ecafd06c52ebb8fa6.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: ''This is love that I'm feeling! Even in the summer, even in the spring. You can never get too much of a wonderful thing!'']]
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4	''Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea'' is the fifth studio album by Music/PJHarvey, released in 2000. It was a notable NewSoundAlbum for the singer because the sound is more accessible than her earlier records, yet remained true to her AlternativeRock roots. Widely acclaimed as one of her best albums, ''Stories'' followed in the footsteps of ''Music/ToBringYouMyLove'' and helped make Harvey an icon in her native England. It also allowed her to break into US markets thanks to its [[LocationSong lyrics centered toward]] UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, where she lived for about a year before the album's release.
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6	Harvey has stated that the album was a culmination of her musical concerns at the time, a reconciliation of her more DeliberatelyMonochrome attitudes with melodic sections interpolated throughout the record. Her music was tied to other best-selling female artists of TheNineties such as Music/AlanisMorissette and Music/ToriAmos, while she gained a foothold in the AlternativeIndie revival during the TurnOfTheMillennium. Additionally, in the wake of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror, Harvey's music became more popular as it resonated with New York listeners, who were healing from the devastating terror attacks.
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8	''Stories'' is best remembered for the hit singles "Good Fortune," "A Place Called Home," and "This Is Love."
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10	----
11	!!Tracklist:
12	# "Big Exit" (3:51)
13	# "Good Fortune" (3:20)
14	# "A Place Called Home" (3:43)
15	# "One Line" (3:14)
16	# "Beautiful Feeling" (4:00)
17	# "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore" (4:01)
18	# "This Mess We're In" (3:57)
19	# "You Said Something" (3:19)
20	# "Kamikaze" (2:24)
21	# "This Is Love" (3:48)
22	# "Horses in My Dreams" (5:38)
23	# "We Float" (6:07)
24
25	[[AC:Bonus track in the UK and Japan:]]
26	# "This Wicked Tongue (3:42)
27
28	----
29	!! ''So I trope my good fortune...''
30	* AlliterativeTitle:
31	** "The '''W'''hores '''H'''ustle and the '''H'''ustlers '''W'''hore."
32	** The album title: '''''S'''tories From the '''C'''ity, '''S'''tories From the '''S'''ea.''
33	* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores[=/=]BigRottenApple: "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore" seems to refer to the dark underbelly of New York life:
34	--> ''The whores hustle and the hustlers whore\
35	Too many people out of love\
36	The whores hustler and the hustlers whore\
37	This city's ripped right to the core''
38	* BigApplesauce: And, on the other side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, Harvey meant the album as a genuine tribute to New York City.
39	** "Good Fortune"
40	--> ''When we walked through Little Italy''
41	--> ''I saw my reflection come right off your face''
42	** "You Said Something"
43	--> ''On a rooftop in Brooklyn, one in the morning''
44	--> ''Watching the lights flash in Manhattan''
45	--> ''I see five bridges, the Empire State Building''
46	--> ''And you said something that I've never forgotten''
47	* ContinuityNod: "Kamikaze" talks about "''his horses coming in,''" while "Horses In My Dreams" speaks of "''horses in my dreams.''"
48	* CrapsackWorld:
49	** "Big Exit"
50	--> ''I walk on concrete''
51	--> ''I walk on sand''
52	--> ''But I can't find a safe place to stand''
53	--> ''I'm scared, baby, I wanna run''
54	--> ''This world's crazy, gimme the gun!''
55	** "The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore"
56	--> ''The whores hustle and the hustlers whore''
57	--> ''Too many people out of love''
58	--> ''The whores hustle and the hustlers whore''
59	--> ''This city's ripped right to the core''
60	* {{Crossover}}: Thom Yorke of Music/{{Radiohead}} performs on four tracks.
61	* EpicRocking: "Horses in My Dreams" and "We Float" both break the five-minute mark thanks to their instrumental sections.
62	* FaceOnTheCover: P.J. passing by in CoolShades.
63	* FemaleGaze: "This Is Love"
64	--> ''I can't believe life's so complex''
65	--> ''When I just wanna sit here and watch you undress''
66	* GirlsWithGuns: "Big Exit," which may or may not be [[HeavyMeta self-aware about her own perceived sex appeal were she to carry a gun]].
67	* LetsDuet: Thom Yorke of Music/{{Radiohead}} sings along with P.J. Harvey on "This Mess We're In."
68	* LikesOlderWomen: PJ sings about a boy who likes her in "Beautiful Feeling:"
69	--> ''A smile from San Diego\
70	He is still a boy\
71	Two ends to every rainbow\
72	And a train from Mexico\
73	But he's the best thing\
74	A beautiful feeling''
75	* LoveNostalgiaSong: "One Line:"
76	--> ''Do you remember the first kiss?\
77	Stars shooting across the sky\
78	To come to such a place as this\
79	You never left my mind''
80	* MessianicArchetype: Referenced toward the end of "We Float:"
81	--> ''So will we die of shock?\
82	Die without a trial\
83	Die on Good Friday\
84	While holding each other tight''
85	* NewSoundAlbum: Compared to her earlier albums, ''Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea'' was LighterAndSofter, but still good enough to keep her AlternativeRock audience drawn in.
86	* OneWordTitle: "Kamikaze."
87	* OutlawCouple: "Good Fortune:"
88	--> ''And I fantasize of our leaving''
89	--> ''Like some modern-day Gypsy landslide''
90	--> ''Like some modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, on the run again''
91	* ThePowerOfLove:
92	** "This Is Love"
93	--> ''I wanna' chase you round the table''
94	--> ''I wanna' touch your head''
95	--> ''This is love that I'm feeling''
96	** "Beautiful Feeling"
97	--> ''And when I watch you move''
98	--> ''And I can't think straight''
99	--> ''And I am silenced''
100	--> ''And I can't think straight''
101	--> ''It's the best thing, such a beautiful feeling''
102	* PrecisionFStrike: "Kamikaze"
103	--> ''Where the fuck was I looking when all his horses came in?''
104	* RecordProducer: Rob Ellis and Mick Harvey (no relation to PJ Harvey) produced the record.
105	* TheRunaway: Both "We Float" and "Kamikaze" seem to feature runaway narrators.
106	* SelfBackingVocalist: "A Place Called Home," which features layers of harmonizing that would have been out of place in Harvey's previous, rawer records.
107	* SomewhereSong: "A Place Called Home"
108	--> ''One day I know we'll find a place of hope''
109	--> ''Just hold on to me''
110	* SopranoAndGravel: "This Mess We're In," where P.J. is the soprano and Thom Yorke the gravel.
111	* SpecialGuest: Thom Yorke (Music/{{Radiohead}}) performs on this album. He sings and plays keyboards on "One Line" and also provides vocals on "Beautiful Feeling" and "This Mess We're In".
112	* WorkingClassHero: PJ establishes herself as one in "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore:"
113	--> ''Speak to me your song of greed\
114	Speak to me of your inner charm\
115	Of how you'll keep me safe from harm\
116	I don't think so, I don't see\
117	Speak to me of your inner peace''

Context Music / StoriesFromTheCityStoriesFromTheSea