Over the past few months, British indie rock artist PJ Harvey has become a subject of controversy in DC after releasing a song called “The Community of Hope” about the city’s problems with poverty and gentrification. The song—released on her April album The Hope Six Demolition Project, which also featured tracks titled “River Anacostia,” “The Ministry of Defence” and “Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln”—angered local politicians, who found her lyrics to be unfair and surface-skimming.
Over the weekend, Harvey stopped by BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show to perform “The Community of Hope” and talk about her visit to DC with photographer Seamus Murphy, which she says was mostly spent “on the streets” in Anacostia “talking to people” and “collecting notes as a journalist.”
Listen to the song and interview below, and wait for the inevitable complaints.
