“Wow”: the 2020 song that made PJ Harvey think there is “no greater pleasure”
The issue with most ‘legacy’ musicians is that they often spend too much time attempting to recreate their best material, forgetting to move forward and make the art they actually want to make.
Perhaps this is why many other musicians, like PJ Harvey, regard Bob Dylan as the antithesis of all expectations. As someone who, like her, does only what he wants to do, constantly shifting with the times and releasing music that best reflects who he is at any given moment in time, Dylan sets the standard for everything an artist should be, and has done since day one.
This is also why Dylan has barely had to lift a finger to gain respect or recognition for his work. Even in his early days, when people had to fight especially hard to get their voices heard, Dylan was essentially hailed as the next best thing. This meant that he didn’t have to push as hard as others to gain respect; he simply did what he did best, and that was enough to see him rise from the depths of gritty folk clubs to the top of the ranking order.
But the real test, as it always does, came with time. Many musicians can and have achieved success in the moment, with popular hits that elevate their status from so-called nobodies to household names overnight. But even fewer have struggled to keep that momentum or progress as artists, beyond their initial breakthrough.
Dylan, however, has never shown signs of slowing down or staying in one place. His extraordinary work across the 1960s cemented his position as a leader in the singer-songwriter boom, but his groundbreaking ability to shift and adapt through turbulent times and still remain at his rightful place at the top is what makes him one of the most significant cultural leaders.
Which is also why he’s one of PJ Harvey’s favourite people on this planet. As she once said, Dylan is a “master” of blending music and poetry, an outlier whose existence in the industry seems entirely impossible, but whose “dense language” and thought-provoking personal musings prove how high he raised the bar for literary expectation in music.
But above all, Harvey adores and respects Dylan because he’s also the gift that keeps on giving. He doesn’t give in to trends or chase nostalgia for the sake of it. He keeps moving, making music that feels right, and because it’s exactly what he wants to do. His 2020 album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, was one of the most powerful moves he ever made in his career, with an unmatched lyrical density that proved that, no matter how much time passes, Dylan is the standard.
Harvey agrees with that observation, saying that ‘Murder Most Foul’ was an “absolutely astonishing” epic about the assassination of John F. Kennedy that includes multiple references to other songs. Alongside loving the record for showing Dylan on top form, Harvey also appreciated it for presenting everything an artist should embody in the current climate.
“I find no greater pleasure than when I see an artist who I’ve admired all my life, doing their best work as their most recent work,” she said, concluding, “I think, ‘Oh, wow.’ That just fills me with such pleasure. And I felt that with Bob Dylan’s entire Rough and Rowdy Ways album.”
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