Exit routes are a big deal when it comes to safety inspections. If your emergency exits are blocked for whatever reason, inspectors aren’t going to have much sympathy for you. Recently, inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited discount retailers Dollar Tree and Dollar General for repeat exit route violations. Accordingly, the latest EHSDA Song of the Week is PJ Harvey’s “Big Exit.”
“Big Exit” is the opening track off 2000’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea album, which marked a shift in sound for the UK artist, who never makes the same album twice. This particular album was much more upbeat and poppy than Harvey’s previous four studio releases. It was partly inspired by time spent in New York City.
While “Big Exit” was not released as a single, it’s an appropriately rollicking introduction to Harvey’s new sound at the time. The album reached #42 on the U.S. Billboard album chart and was nominated for two Grammy awards. She has continued to evolve her sound and remain interesting in the years since, with a new album out now that sounds nothing like Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea. But when it comes to PJ Harvey, that’s always a good thing.