Tuesday, February 15th 2011

News:  PJ Harvey

PJ Harvey To Become War Correspondent?

By Johnny Firecloud

Will PJ Harvey become the first musician to ever serve as a war correspondent? It’s possible, as the Imperial War Museum is considering sending the songstress to areas where the British Army is engaged in armed conflict.

Harvey’s new album, Let England Shake, is rooted in themes of war and was reportedly partly inspired by the conflicts in the Middle East. Speaking of the writing process behind the album on BBC Radio 4′s Front Row series, the singer told host John Wilson that she had spent two and a half years researching the issue.

“I started wondering where the officially appointed war songwriter was,” she explained “You have got your war artists, like Steve McQueen, and your war photographers. I fantasized that I had been appointed this official songwriter and so I almost took on that challenge for myself.”

The challenge seems to be meeting her halfway. Roger Tolson, head of collections at the Imperial War Museum told the Observer, “We are certainly interested in working with PJ Harvey.”

“It is something we can take forward as we have never commissioned anybody in that capacity,” he explained. “We have other kinds of works of art using sound… but we have never sent a musician out to a conflict zone.”

The idea will now go before the museum’s committee for further examination. If successful, it’s possible that Harvey could become the first modern officially commissioned musician assigned to an armed conflict.

At press time, Zack De La Rocha was unavailable for comment.