Out on 9 September. Put your anticipation and eventual love for it here.
― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, 2 June 2016 13:57 (seven years ago) link
I keep thinking that Nick cave has left the Bad Seeds behind him and moved onto other things. So somewhat surprised taht this forthcoming release is under taht name.I read a 1984 interview with Mick Harvey http://www.bad-seed.org/~cave/interviews/84_on_mharvey.html where he was talking about trying to talk the rest of the Birthday party into changing the band name to the Bad Seeds at the time Phil Calvert left which would have meant they were still challenging themselves which he seems to think they thrived on and possibly the lack of challenge left to complacency which might be why he was bowing out before the band drew to a complete halt and reading post departure from the Bad Seeds interview with him it does look like it was a similar feeling that lead to him leaving them. & instead of the birthday Party retaining its 4 piece line up and staying together under a changed name they just called the e.p. they were bringing out that and wound up imploding not that long afterwards. Then the band name came up again after a solo Cave had tried working under several other names in 83/84. Just reminded by that interview that the first gig I thought was the Bad Seeds was actually the Cavemen, I thought it was just mislisted/misadvertised.
Looks like to Harvey at least keeping releasing music under one project name can involve a degree of laurel resting.I would have thought Nick cave's name was strong enough to sell whatever he was releasing.& might have thought that the project that began with Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld onboard might want to change its name once they had both left and Warren Ellis had taken over being the musical foil.
On the other hand Push The Sky Away was a pretty great lp even if some of the lyrics did seem a little clumsy.
Hope thsi upcoming lp is going to be as good as the last 2 were.
― Stevolende, Thursday, 2 June 2016 14:09 (seven years ago) link
I keep thinking that Nick cave has left the Bad Seeds behind him and moved onto other things. So somewhat surprised taht this forthcoming release is under taht name.
Huh? Except for his Grinderman foray, ALL his work from the mid-80s to present is with The Bad Seeds.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 2 June 2016 14:16 (seven years ago) link
I am, admittedly very excited for this, though I am little surprised, after the death of his son last yr I certainly wasn't expecting a new album anytime soon. Buried in the press blurb for the film there's a little reference to the "delved into the tragic backdrop of the writing and recording of the album". But so, I'm very curious to see the movie and hear the record.
Love the last record. And I was pretty impressed by the Sick Bag Song poem/book.
― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 2 June 2016 14:28 (seven years ago) link
THere have been 3 lps in 12 years. During which he has also worked on writing both books and films.I would have thought that the form of band that worked for him 30 years ago might not work for him any longer.& that he might come out with a music project under a different name. He has also released a number of soundtrack lps with Warren Ellis and others.
Obvioulsy him and Mick Harvey are different people but I did think he might want to continually reinvent things in the way that he set out to do back in the 80s. Not sure what to expect from this lp.Trying to think if Push The Sky Away relied on Hammond grooves the way that previous lps seem to. I quite like his Hammond grooves and influences from that type of music but do we want what we expect from him to be what we expect from him?
― Stevolende, Thursday, 2 June 2016 14:57 (seven years ago) link
Seems like he can make the Bad Seeds do whatever he wants, noisy rockers, pastoral accompanists, experimental Sherpas, etc, they see adept and flexible at whatever the songs require, so why not keep being NC & the Bad Seeds?
― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 2 June 2016 15:16 (seven years ago) link
It strikes me that his response to the death of his son is much more interesting than what the band happens to be called.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 June 2016 15:29 (seven years ago) link
I'm queasy about looking at the album through that lens, probably due to my own wimpiness. I don't even have kids, but somehow that subject matter is harder for me to want to engage with than, say, an album Bowie makes that deals with his own mortality/death.
But of course I don't know what this album will actually be like, press blurbs notwithstanding.
― dc, Thursday, 2 June 2016 16:24 (seven years ago) link
One More Time With Feeling A unique one-night-only cinema event directed by Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly), One More Time With Feeling 2D and 3D will be your first opportunity to hear Skeleton Tree, the 16th studio album from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.
Originally a performance-based concept, One More Time With Feeling evolved into something more as Dominik explored Skeleton Tree's tragic backdrop. Interwoven throughout the Bad Seeds' filmed performance are interviews and footage shot by Dominik, accompanied by Cave’s narration and improvised rumination.
The result is fragile and raw – a testament to an artist trying to find his way through the darkness.
One More Time With Feeling 2D and 3D will screen in cinemas across the world on Thursday 8 September, the night before the release of Skeleton Tree.
Members' priority booking is open now, and tickets go on sale to non-Members on Thursday 9 June.
― mario vargis loosa (wins), Thursday, 2 June 2016 18:02 (seven years ago) link
I'm not really interested in this album but I might go to this
― mario vargis loosa (wins), Thursday, 2 June 2016 18:03 (seven years ago) link
Trailer for the film...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svru1jNLIK8
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 3 August 2016 11:48 (seven years ago) link
Glad to see he's back on the horse... and not that i expect it will reflect on his personal loses, my ears will still hear it based on such -- especially given how broody the soundtrack material can be. Albeit, Ellis seems to sound like the more direct conduit to the everafter...
― bodacious ignoramus, Saturday, 6 August 2016 22:57 (seven years ago) link
I find it difficult to get excited for soundtrack music. I'd rather hear new Grinderman.
― Fastnbulbous, Sunday, 7 August 2016 14:23 (seven years ago) link
Most or all of Skeleton Tree was recorded before his son's death.
― nostormo, Sunday, 7 August 2016 14:42 (seven years ago) link
I guess i didn't get the impression that it was a soundtrack rather the movie was a documentary about the new album??
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 7 August 2016 14:57 (seven years ago) link
Some of the album was definitely recorded after his son's passing judging from the press release information/chronology of events.
― Position Position, Sunday, 7 August 2016 16:47 (seven years ago) link
Here's the first video, "Jesus Alone": https://youtu.be/9iGxoJnygW8
― one way street, Thursday, 1 September 2016 14:11 (seven years ago) link
...stately and ponderous, on first listen, and a little too close to the template for Push the Sky Away, but maybe it'll grow on me in the context of the album.
― one way street, Thursday, 1 September 2016 14:21 (seven years ago) link
Reminds a bit of the b-sides from Push the Sky Away, "Needle Boy" and "Lightning Bolts", I like it but kind of hard to get a read on it. I feel like the first single from the last record was the same way.
And obv, doesn't seem like this is going to be a record of bangers
― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 1 September 2016 15:25 (seven years ago) link
sounds great, very tense
― niels, Friday, 2 September 2016 08:28 (seven years ago) link
I love that. Best Bad Seeds thing in a long, long time. Also, the great swells of strings are a bit Melody Nelson.
― Position Position, Friday, 2 September 2016 13:42 (seven years ago) link
Powerful 6-Minute Clip From Andrew Dominik’s Nick Cave Documentary ‘One More Time With Feeling’
― ArchCarrier, Friday, 2 September 2016 17:23 (seven years ago) link
i like this more than anything from push the sky away except maybe jubilee street
still wishing for some wild-ass nick cave/seeds a la dig lazarus dig, but it seems unlikely
― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Friday, 2 September 2016 17:49 (seven years ago) link
"You're an African doctor / harvesting tear ducts"
― Wimmels, Friday, 2 September 2016 19:35 (seven years ago) link
There are some really cool subtle details to the mix that I didn't notice until I listen to it on headphones (and didn't watch the video 'natch).
― chr1sb3singer, Friday, 2 September 2016 19:50 (seven years ago) link
The simultaneous cinema broadcast of One More Time with feeling is tonight at 9pm. JUst ben feeling tired all day so not got it together to go. So hoping i get a chance to see it later.Not sure what's included in the broadcast so hope I won't be missing anything I don't get a chance to see at a later point.
― Stevolende, Thursday, 8 September 2016 15:38 (seven years ago) link
chr1s was nice enough to give me his tickets so I'm going to the movie tonight, excited
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 8 September 2016 15:50 (seven years ago) link
Early reports on the film say it's a hell of a watch, seeing things like this:
https://twitter.com/Dorianlynskey/status/774009934316961793
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 8 September 2016 22:27 (seven years ago) link
Not long back from seeing it. Very powerful. As a film it looks and sounds beautiful, as a "story" it's very raw and vulnerable. Musically sounds great.
― michaellambert, Thursday, 8 September 2016 22:53 (seven years ago) link
seeing it in a couple hours; am I gonna cry?
― dc, Thursday, 8 September 2016 22:55 (seven years ago) link
Well, my eyes were itchy but that was genuinely because they were itchy. It's moving in places, quite philosophical, but it depends how easily you cry normally.
― michaellambert, Thursday, 8 September 2016 23:03 (seven years ago) link
It's quietly funny in places too, though.
― michaellambert, Thursday, 8 September 2016 23:04 (seven years ago) link
Sadly, the film wasn't playing anywhere near here. Is there any information about distribution afterwards? Album's on Spotify.
― the european nikon is here (grauschleier), Thursday, 8 September 2016 23:10 (seven years ago) link
The album is every bit as devastating as one would expect. Almost percussion-free, drone ballads with no resolution.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Friday, 9 September 2016 08:20 (seven years ago) link
Guardian had this earlier this weekhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/05/five-hidden-gems-from-nick-caves-catalogue
― Stevolende, Friday, 9 September 2016 09:05 (seven years ago) link
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), vrijdag 9 september 2016 10:20 (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Otm. Nothing ore to add, really. It's top heavy.
Who's the woman singing on Distant Sky?
― Le Bateau Ivre, Friday, 9 September 2016 12:06 (seven years ago) link
Else Torp
― willem, Friday, 9 September 2016 12:09 (seven years ago) link
Dank!
― Le Bateau Ivre, Friday, 9 September 2016 12:09 (seven years ago) link
"Almost percussion-free, drone ballads with no resolution" is really scaring me away from this
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 9 September 2016 12:23 (seven years ago) link
Gotta admit I was pretty disappointed with it after three listens and figured it was an album I wouldn't be spending much time with, but listening again after seeing the film I'm finding it pretty powerful/affecting. Not sure if I would've come around to it (or given it the time) if I hadn't seen the film.
Re: the question about distribution -- I noticed in the end credits a reference to a DVD, so you should be able to see it at some point. I went into the theater mildly annoyed that it was filmed/released in 3D and for the first couple of minutes thought that it was going to be a distracting gimmick, but I ended up being surprised at how it really added a particular level of intimacy that I don't think I've felt from a documentary before. Anyway really a heartbreaking thing to watch. I don't think I've ever seen Cave stumble through thoughts or be at a loss for words before.
― early rejecter, Friday, 9 September 2016 14:06 (seven years ago) link
Have not seen the film, but after a few listens I really love the album. I don't find it top-heavy at all - actually, the closing two tracks are probably my favorites.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Friday, 9 September 2016 14:11 (seven years ago) link
saw it last night.got a bit long for me but it was powerful.
there were some nice little moments of humor as people mentioned, warren and nick clearly have a affectionate relationship and have a nice little private sense of comedy, the part where warren shows nick this new shiny aluminum violin he had made and says it was $3000, nick says i hope it sounds good and warren says "no, but it looks awesome" was good
but yeah really the parts that are the core (outside of the performances) are towards the end with nick and his wife talking about their son. after all these years, and all the mythology and mystique of nick cave you just see him as a father, as a man grieving and having no more more answers than any of us....one particular scene, his wife shows a painting they found that their son did at age 5 that was of the area where he eventually died, she is talking about it and how it was framed with a black matte and how that seemed ominous in retrospect and nick is just sitting there you can tell he's almost crying...anyway she quiets and he's sitting there holding her hand and then awkardly offers "do you want me to set it over here" and then struggles a bit with setting the painting against a chair....i don't know there was just something about how he was focusing on this little insignificant task instead of the grief as a way of helping and supporting his wife that reminded me of my father or the fathers of my friends
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 9 September 2016 14:48 (seven years ago) link
i think the new album is very powerful but i listened to it after the movie so i have no idea how to separate the two now
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 9 September 2016 15:05 (seven years ago) link
film was excellent and very moving but perhaps about 20 minutes too long. not sure the 3D added anything but then the cinema i saw it in was swelteringly hot and my glasses kept steaming up.
― stirmonster, Friday, 9 September 2016 15:40 (seven years ago) link
yeah i saw it in an old theater that didn't offer 3D so we were wondering what all the talk about that during the film was
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 9 September 2016 16:43 (seven years ago) link
this is brutal - like a numb man attempting to avoid disintegration and not necessarily succeeding
but it's also definitely the best work he's done since dig lazarus
― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Friday, 9 September 2016 18:30 (seven years ago) link
if i were gonna rank it against like, the other ballad-heavy nick cave albums, i'd put it behind boatman's call but ahead of no more shall we part, nocturama, push the sky away...really all of them except good son
― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Friday, 9 September 2016 18:32 (seven years ago) link
Not really selling it like that. These are mostly clunkers
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 9 September 2016 18:51 (seven years ago) link
rank it against other clunker-heavy nick cave albums
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Friday, 9 September 2016 18:54 (seven years ago) link
anyway i've only watched the clip linked above and both the song and the way it was filmed were incredibly powerful
i think i'm the world's biggest fan of "push the sky away" i love that album so much
― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Friday, September 9, 2016 1:32 PM (twenty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
also this feels a lot different, obv i guess it's quiet and they are largely "ballads" but they feel way different less singer songwritery
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 9 September 2016 18:58 (seven years ago) link
my old roommate loved and played that album so much that now i am a huge fan of it too
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Friday, 9 September 2016 18:59 (seven years ago) link
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, September 9, 2016 1:51 PM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
what do I need to do to get you into this Nick Cave meditation on grief? Tell ya what, my manager won't like this but I'm going to upgrade you to the LX trim package, gets you heated seats and a Bose soundsystem
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 9 September 2016 19:00 (seven years ago) link
i used "ballad-heavy" because it seemed like the best basic umbrella term, i guess - but yeah, more than a few of the skeleton tree tracks are not ballads in any sense, they're sounds over which he vents grief
― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Friday, 9 September 2016 19:11 (seven years ago) link
the only truly clunker-heavy nick cave album is nocturama and even that has "babe i'm on fire"
― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Friday, 9 September 2016 19:12 (seven years ago) link
...and then struggles a bit with setting the painting against a chair...
Yes, this. So perfect and so sad. A lesser director would have cut this for sure. But there was a whole world there in that little scene.
― Position Position, Friday, 9 September 2016 19:13 (seven years ago) link
to each his own - feel like his music became too portly and laboured from 'No More...' onwards
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 9 September 2016 20:02 (seven years ago) link
did you not like dig lazarus dig or the grinderman albums?
― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Friday, 9 September 2016 20:10 (seven years ago) link
not that much - still felt kinda forced
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 9 September 2016 20:17 (seven years ago) link
Thomas Wydler has naff all to do here. When he popped up in the movie I thought hello, here we go, bit of the old blood and chunder. But he just tickled the hi-hat for a few minutes then fucked off. Probably got paid for his time too. Nice work if you can get it. Weird drumming by Sclavunos on "Anthrocene". Sounds a bit like something a four-year-old does in music class. No wonder they keep fading it in and out all the time.
― Position Position, Friday, 9 September 2016 20:45 (seven years ago) link
just listened to it for the first time tonight. i love it. it's so bare and sad. hurts to hear it but i am glad he released it.
it's funny, it's always been oh goth nick cave etc but as a fan for 20 odd years it occured to me while listening tonight that this is what his sadness *actually* sounds like, and it really gave me pause. like, is it ok that i'm listening? it feels so private. and there's some really beautiful writing here but damnthe personal cost
i got a very strong wh auden feeling from this, maybe just the depth of grief idk
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 11 September 2016 06:03 (seven years ago) link
IS Nick Cave Goth, thought he was absolutely dismissive of taht even in the beginning. There was a thing he wrote in the NME in '82 about the ship sailing or something that tried to distance him from that.
Plus he seems to have a lot of influences that seem a lot more upbeat. Do love those hammond grooves he put on several lps which would seem more linked to mod or soul or r'n'b or something than goth really.Though not sure what goth actually sounds like , it went through major stylistic changes in the 80s as bands like The Mission got into hoary 70s rock stuff.Not sure what a Goth listens to these days but would be surprised if it was 60s soul/r'n'b and whatever was influencing Cave up to now.
Kind of think of Cave as being Cave so still somewhat surprised he's even still doing Bad Seeds instead of a more temporary project when he wants to release music. But this is in the wake of great loss of course
― Stevolende, Sunday, 11 September 2016 09:56 (seven years ago) link
Blasphemous, but starting to think Ellis years >>> Harvey years
― Wimmels, Sunday, 11 September 2016 10:00 (seven years ago) link
You seem to be bizarrely fixated on Cave continuing to use his band's name to release his band's music xp
I imagine (hope) this album will grow with a few listens but for me atm there are too many songs that feel like half-finished attempts at something better.
― get outta the way! here comes (onimo), Sunday, 11 September 2016 11:46 (seven years ago) link
very unrelated but when I read "Skeleton Tree" inside my head Bob Dylan is singing "skeleton KEEEEEYS"
seeing the movie 2night, hope it doesn't bring me too far down
― niels, Sunday, 11 September 2016 12:41 (seven years ago) link
You seem to be bizarrely fixated on Cave continuing to use his band's name to release his band's music xp>That just seems to propfoundluy miss the point. cave seems to be an artist with recognition in a number fo fields so it is surprising to me taht he is still making music with the same group of people when he would presumably have the choice of a much wider group of people.THere have also been several years interval between the last few lps.
After reading the Mick Harvey interview I linked to near the start of the thread I'm aware of how short term Harvey seemed to look at projects as being and that certainly at the time of the interview he felt that each thing should be able to stand on its own feet instead of relying on the kudos attached the band name or other formerly earned laurels. Harvey and Cave are obviously not the same person but would have thought Cave's thought might be more along the same lines.
So surprised that Cave isn't working up music with new people more frequently.
― Stevolende, Sunday, 11 September 2016 13:09 (seven years ago) link
i never said nick was actually goth i was fake quoting general media idea of him, if that was unclear
and i think nick stays with the bad seeds because he trusts them. and maybe he's insecure at heart about striking out alone. ai think he probably enjoys the creative language that he's established with the seeds vs teaching new people how to understand what he wants
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 11 September 2016 15:20 (seven years ago) link
i don't think that's a bad thing nor an impediment to creativity
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 11 September 2016 15:21 (seven years ago) link
Goth is like Balearic really, it's just a feeling, nearly every genre has its goth Wing and there is literally no version of goth that excludes Nick Cave.
― Matt DC, Sunday, 11 September 2016 18:24 (seven years ago) link
Everyone goes goth in the end. It's just a question of how they get there and what they do when they're there.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 11 September 2016 18:31 (seven years ago) link
Hammond grooves and bespoke clothing. Isn't Cave a mod?
― Stevolende, Sunday, 11 September 2016 18:48 (seven years ago) link
the movie is devastating. the 3D doesn't add much except that sometimes that you feel situated in the weird folds and corners of the rooms they occupy. i didn't feel like it was too long, felt like it stopped right when it hit a wall, which is the inarticulacy and illegibility of grief and trauma, but also the song where the camera telescopes out into a view of the earth rotating literally lifted me out of the movie at its deepest emotional pocket. everything else was v beautifully shot and staged, the lighting arrangements in the studio in particular.
I also love the scene early on where cave is talking about overdubbing a vocal on an improvised song and how it was hard to find the one, because everyone playing "didn't know where the one was, or each had a very different opinion of where the one was"
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Monday, 12 September 2016 04:42 (seven years ago) link
So surprised that Cave isn't working up music with new people more frequently.― Stevolende, Sunday, September 11, 2016 8:09 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
His son died. He even said in the movie he couldn't function without Warren.
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 12 September 2016 12:00 (seven years ago) link
Not everybody has seen a movie that just got limited distribution one night last week
― Stevolende, Monday, 12 September 2016 12:36 (seven years ago) link
Regardless of that, your surprise that Cave continues to work with a tried and trusted group of collaborators is frankly baffling.
― heaven parker (anagram), Monday, 12 September 2016 12:44 (seven years ago) link
At one point I thought the idea of reinvention was pretty core to Cave, Certainly seems to have been to Mick Harvey in that interview from the mid 80s. So I'm surprised that he is still sticking with the same band structure that he has done for 32 years.I don't think there are many artists who do stick to the same structure for that long.I find it pretty creepy that you would find that idea baffling. It seems to be more common for artists to change as life alters the way they see things and new influences come into play.I thought I'd explained that several times. So if you still can't understand that i think that might just be your problem not mine.
I do think that it would be interesting to hear other collabrations between him and new people. I thought that was something that kept things fresh for most artists.
I did think vegemite girl's point about "and i think nick stays with the bad seeds because he trusts them. and maybe he's insecure at heart about striking out alone. ai think he probably enjoys the creative language that he's established with the seeds vs teaching new people how to understand what he wants". was interesting and probably valid. But I would still like to think that Cave was an artist still in some level of flux so continually changing and that sounds like getting overly familiar with other artists quirks might not be the most conducive to.
Also I'm surprised that he still uses the name of a band that first came together with a couple of core co-founders who have long since left. Would have thought that bad Seeds might be replaced with another name when Harvey left. Which hasn't happened. but there have been a couple fo reasonably lengthy interval in band activity during that I think.
― Stevolende, Monday, 12 September 2016 13:31 (seven years ago) link
For me the Bad Seeds have never been much more than a glorified backing band (and yes i'm aware of Harvey's and Ellis' musical direction therein). His name as an (music) artist is Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, his name as a person is just NC. Kinda like the PJ Harvey band but the other way around
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 12 September 2016 13:48 (seven years ago) link
The Bad Seeds have always been one of the best live bands in the world, so I think they're rather more than "a glorified backing band."
I want to love the new one because he was once my favorite artist in the world and I can't even imagine his grief, but his balladeer style has always been pretty hit or miss for me & I considered the Boatman's Call 100% "miss" so I'm kind of avoiding actually listening to this.
― though she denies it to the press, (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Monday, 12 September 2016 14:06 (seven years ago) link
the last two records imo aren't really balladeer nick. they're slow-moving but very intense in their own way
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Monday, 12 September 2016 14:15 (seven years ago) link
for a long time my favorite cave record was no more shall we part and I don't think this record even takes place in the same world. it's a way more sinister and improvisational environment imo that only occasionally lapses into traditional prettiness
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Monday, 12 September 2016 14:21 (seven years ago) link
his balladeer style has always been pretty hit or miss for me & I considered the Boatman's Call 100% "miss"
noooooooo "far from me" is the best
― dc, Monday, 12 September 2016 14:25 (seven years ago) link
yeah this one is not particularly close to Boatman's Call in sound
― ciderpress, Monday, 12 September 2016 14:27 (seven years ago) link
my idea of this record also may be complicated by the movie, which, bc of both its framing and the musical way in which it's filmed, made me trust the songs as they were being performed more than I might have otherwise
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Monday, 12 September 2016 14:32 (seven years ago) link
I don't think there's a real clear analog to this album anywhere in his catalog tbh
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 12 September 2016 15:15 (seven years ago) link
If it's Nick Cave and your grannie on bongos, it's the Bad Seeds, but like Smith, he's a songwriter who's vision of a song requires the collaboration of a group. They build off of textures they hear, and need the input of other to make the flurries of text musical. Even though Cave is a good instrumentalist, he's not a chords/top line kind of composer. This record certainly reverses his recent trend in that direction, but he's always gone back and forth.
― juggulo for the complete klvtz (bendy), Monday, 12 September 2016 15:27 (seven years ago) link
If it's Nick Cave and your grannie on bongos, it's the Bad Seeds
Except when it's Grinderman.
― Matt DC, Monday, 12 September 2016 16:38 (seven years ago) link
Or soundtrack work which still seems to be mainly being done with Warren Ellis.
― Stevolende, Monday, 12 September 2016 16:45 (seven years ago) link
guys hash it out here
should the Bad Seeds still be called the Bad Seeds or is that an insult to the memory of Blixa's pointy boots?
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 12 September 2016 16:56 (seven years ago) link
― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Monday, September 12, 2016 12:42 AM (twelve hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Having heard the album without seeing the film, this makes perfect sense to me, and is one of the things I'm struggling with. If you told me this album was the result of Cave writing lyrics and then improvising melodies in real time--one take--over some of he and Ellis' soundtrack work, I'd definitely believe you. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but my problem is that very few of these songs are memorable beyond their (great, as usual) lyrics. The one song that even loosely approaches a 'pop' arrangement is "I Need You," in which NC seems to sing a different melody every time he sings the chorus, as if he's already forgotten it or something. I dunno, this has "I admire it more than I like it" written all over it. It sounds great, and the lyrics, as I said, are absolutely up to NC's high standards, but as an album, it's just not calling me back.
Of course, this makes me even more eager to see the film (and I empathize with those who live nowhere near the 'selected cities' where it is showing).
― Wimmels, Monday, 12 September 2016 17:01 (seven years ago) link
Listening again to "Rings of Saturn," an almost great song. He sounds like an MC who can't rhyme on beat.
― Wimmels, Monday, 12 September 2016 17:02 (seven years ago) link
If you told me this album was the result of Cave writing lyrics and then improvising melodies in real time--one take--over some of he and Ellis' soundtrack work, I'd definitely believe you.
― Wimmels, Monday, September 12, 2016 12:01 PM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
So the impression I get is that for the second Grinderman record and "Push the Sky Away" that the writing process was essentially this, followed by a second longer (? I guessing here I don't really know) writing/recording session with the whole band(s) where everything was shaped a bit more into "songs" and some of the looser qualities were buffed out.
But, this record, with what they've said in the movie and kind of reading between the lines is, that instead of the second session they basically just tweaked what was already recorded, possibly instead of overthinking what they'd already done and maybe cuz it doesn't like they are going to tour anytime soon they didn't have to really worry about "how are we going to play this live?".
Pure speculation.
I liked the movie, I like the record so far, agreed on the vocals/lyrics are great, I've listened to a it few times, might let it marinate for a little bit before I go back to it.
― chr1sb3singer, Monday, 12 September 2016 17:20 (seven years ago) link
It sounds exactly as you describe. I appreciate the approach, but I'm just not sure it works.
― Wimmels, Monday, 12 September 2016 17:32 (seven years ago) link
"Rings of Saturn" sounds like Cave's version of "E-Bow the Letter" to me
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Monday, 12 September 2016 17:34 (seven years ago) link
anyone else feel kind of gross about the existence of this album and movie
― Immediate Follower (NA), Thursday, 15 September 2016 17:42 (seven years ago) link
not trying to police anyone else's grief and how they deal with it. i can't imagine doing the same thing but i haven't been there. but something about the circumstances around the album investing it with extra meaning feels ... cheap somehow. not saying this was done intentionally or cynically. i guess the solution is to come back to the album/movie in five years and seeing how they hold up out of context.
― Immediate Follower (NA), Thursday, 15 September 2016 17:45 (seven years ago) link
the only thing that made me go o_O was the decision to show the movie in 3d which just seems so gimmicky. im still stoked to see it.
― kurt schwitterz, Thursday, 15 September 2016 17:54 (seven years ago) link
I didn't see the movie in 3D, but there were a couple shots I could tell were done with that effect in mind (the focus-pulling shot in the stairwell comes to mind, a couple of other spots) and while I think it would have been cool to see in the way Godard's 3d feature was cool to see I don't think it was crucial to my experience of it.
Maybe if I could have seen Warren's beard flying at me that would be sweet though.
As far as the "gross"-ness...the press surrounding the album/movie *cough*Amanda Palmer-thinkpiece*cough*feels a lot grosser that the actual product.
I think on some level it's clear that movie is his way of having to avoid interviews & touring while still doing something for his fan base. The moment in the movie where he talks about realizing he's snapping accidentally at a fan who is saying "we're all with you man" was pretty affecting, even if he immediately inverts it by wondering how he became a figure of pity.
― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 15 September 2016 18:17 (seven years ago) link
I also I really don't like the millennial whoops on "Rings of Saturn" but I might feel worse knowing that's what they're called.
― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 15 September 2016 18:19 (seven years ago) link
yep. I liked that song until I followed that stupid hyperlink, now I want to kill myself
― Wimmels, Thursday, 15 September 2016 18:25 (seven years ago) link
My feeling is that while there may be a bit of catharsis, I have to imagine that much of this work was already "in the pipeline" and instead of putting the whole project on the shelf why not go ahead and delve? Look, first and foremost, the guy's a father, and nothing wrong with working through the grief of it all -- secondly, he's an artist, so, why the fuck not throw it out there? It's not like we're talking about some superficial dweeb like Kanye or something, this is Nick-fucking-Cave; and there's no filthy lucre in sight.
― bodacious ignoramus, Thursday, 15 September 2016 18:27 (seven years ago) link
Some people need to get back to work as soon as possible after such a traumatic event just in an effort to restore some normalcy to their lives.
― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 15 September 2016 18:32 (seven years ago) link
yeah, his wife said work was the only thing could keep her mind somewhat off what had happened
― niels, Thursday, 15 September 2016 18:40 (seven years ago) link
It's not as if he's following the Eric Clapton playbook for financializing his child's death.
― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 15 September 2016 18:41 (seven years ago) link
Wonder if he's ever going to rethink the idea of doing a memoir. Would love to read his take on things. Could be the being vehemently against doing something like that is something he left behind a while back.
Just hoping also that he's taking care of himself. Hate to hear that after a history of struggling with substance abuse he returned to something negative.
― Stevolende, Thursday, 15 September 2016 18:48 (seven years ago) link
I find the set quite affecting, more than anything he's done since Abattoir Blues, maybe earlier. But yeah, the project as a whole brings out a lot of mixed feelings, which I wrote about over here http://dustedmagazine.tumblr.com/post/150358081791/nick-cave-and-the-bad-seeds-skeleton-tree-bad
― juggulo for the complete klvtz (bendy), Thursday, 15 September 2016 19:21 (seven years ago) link
D0rian Lynskey on twitter today: "I hope Skeleton Tree doesn't get pinned to its backstory forever. It's so beautiful and compelling even if you come to it knowing nothing."
While I truly, truly sympathise with this, it's probably wishful thinking. A record like this will never be separated from the backstory I think.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 15 September 2016 19:22 (seven years ago) link
Hmm maayyyybe... I got into a lot of albums (can't think of many examples right now but we could do a thread) that are very concepty, Blood on the Tracks for instance, without any clue abt backstory
― niels, Thursday, 15 September 2016 19:24 (seven years ago) link
xpost - I don't know if it was a good idea to bring up Tom Waits as a counterpoint to Cave, not sure he's any less mannered or melodramatic than Cave! if anything his whole cracked hobo thing is more put on imo
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 15 September 2016 19:46 (seven years ago) link
Guardian reviewed the lp todayhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/15/nick-cave-and-the-bad-seeds-skeleton-tree-review-brilliant-music-on-the-verge-of-collapse
― Stevolende, Friday, 16 September 2016 20:35 (seven years ago) link
Great review
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 17 September 2016 02:43 (seven years ago) link
Very good review indeed. I'm not completely sure where he gets his info though. Believe it was mentioned in this thread that album recording was in progress when Cave's son died - but it's not very clear from the movie, is it? So when was the material written? It's true Cave talks a lot about fearfulness wrt artistic premonition, but he also suggests that both music and lyrics for Jesus Alone were improvised. Something that goes well with the director's comment that there's a certain helplessness to the recordings and Cave's discussion of allowing less accomplished, more intuitive lyrics.
― niels, Saturday, 17 September 2016 16:02 (seven years ago) link
I think this is a pretty incredible album, and is hitting me much more than Push the Sky Away ever did. Maybe I need to listen to that one again? Anyway, Cave sounds so ragged and weary on this, not in his usual stylized way but something much more haunted and hurt and hoarse. I'm trying to put my finger on something specific it reminds me of, something similarly incantation-y, but so far the comparison is eluding me. Not Leonard Cohen, not ... Scott Walker? Maybe later Scott Walker. I'll try to dredge it up.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 21 September 2016 19:16 (seven years ago) link
I really love this record. I had to step away from it for a bit and distance myself from the experience of the movie to really let it sink in, but I loved the last one but yeah this one is really amazing, his voice is so good, weirdly the other day I was thinking this is kind of his Tonight's the Night, kind of ragged, sad, loose...at the same time this record kind of defies any easy comparison.
― chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 21 September 2016 19:46 (seven years ago) link
yeah that's a good comparison i think, def feels like it sort of stands apart in his catalog the way TNT does in neil's
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 21 September 2016 19:53 (seven years ago) link
TTN is a good call
― Wimmels, Wednesday, 21 September 2016 22:40 (seven years ago) link
Totally in love with this now. It gets better with every play.
― get outta the way! here comes (onimo), Thursday, 22 September 2016 07:06 (seven years ago) link
They usually tour around the time of a record release but I can't see them going out to play this one live, not sure how it would work.
― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, 22 September 2016 07:07 (seven years ago) link
I listened to it once and it sounded fantastic (and devastating) but I need it to get colder and darker before I really immerse myself in it.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 22 September 2016 08:44 (seven years ago) link
Tonight's the Night of course being a kind of "fun" sad record in the way a drunken wake is "fun". This record just feels more like...sitting around the kitchen table after getting home in your funeral clothes and the world moving on and feeling hollow and sad.
I love the way he let's the meter & rhythm of lines spill over the music, like he isn't going to let when the measure ends stop him from getting out this idea he has.
Last night the thing that at dawn on me that makes his performance so striking...this is a Nick Cave record where he has no swagger, no confidence, no Grinderman dick swinging, no Birthday Party nihilism, no Bad Seeds Dylan-cum-Elvis-cum-Cohen he is just barely getting through it, except for one moment in "Distant Sky" where he leans in on the line "call the gas man, cut the power" which is kind of the weirdly heartbreaking moment of the whole record for me.
― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 22 September 2016 14:36 (seven years ago) link
Great post. So otm
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 22 September 2016 15:04 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, and none of the precision or poise of the previous ballad records - even the vocals on really downcast, gloomy songs like "Darker With the Day" never sounded less than elegant and considered.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Thursday, 22 September 2016 15:20 (seven years ago) link
This is growing on me, and I want to listen to it but I should really not listen to it
― Pull your head on out your hippy haze (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 25 September 2016 00:17 (seven years ago) link
One More Time With Feeling is being shown locally again on the 1st of December. So I assume that must mean it's being shown elsewhere on the same night.
― Stevolende, Thursday, 24 November 2016 22:35 (seven years ago) link
I saw a trailer for it the other night. Presumed it's going on general release.
― Eyeball Kicks, Friday, 25 November 2016 18:56 (seven years ago) link
Not sure how general. still seems to be limited. From the website it looks like it's a one off in a lot of places.
Thee was an article on him and the director in the Guardian todayhttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/24/nick-cave-doc-director-andrew-dominik-he-hated-a-third-of-my-movie
― Stevolende, Friday, 25 November 2016 20:23 (seven years ago) link
So got to see the film tonight and it is very moving.
Wonder if it is going to get a full distribution at any point, since i think tonight was just like September in only being a one off showing in a number fo venues.
Don't know if i've seen Thomas Wydler's drumkit before but it looks a bit weird dunnit? Pretty minimal. Is that what he normally plays?
― Stevolende, Thursday, 1 December 2016 23:35 (seven years ago) link
The Cave/Ellis 'Mars' soundtrack is really lovely stuff
― I hear from this arsehole again, he's going in the river (James Morrison), Friday, 27 January 2017 01:01 (seven years ago) link
Live sets from the Australian tour are around on torrent sites. Have seen 3 so far.
― Stevolende, Friday, 27 January 2017 07:34 (seven years ago) link
Arena tour announced for the autumn:
http://www.nickcave.com/
Great that he's able to play arenas now, but I can't imagine how his fire-and-brimstone approach to live performance will translate to a barn like the O2.
― heaven parker (anagram), Wednesday, 8 February 2017 12:12 (seven years ago) link
Have you seen him live? He'll be fine.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 8 February 2017 12:28 (seven years ago) link
I meant for the audience.
― heaven parker (anagram), Wednesday, 8 February 2017 12:41 (seven years ago) link
I'm a bit wary of the size of these venues and it isn't what I expected after Skeleton Tree, but I hope they'll make it work. I also fear the price of tickets, but we'll try to go regardless.
― NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Wednesday, 8 February 2017 12:48 (seven years ago) link
seen him open air twice, he had no problems at all
that was before skeleton tree, tho
― niels, Wednesday, 8 February 2017 20:41 (seven years ago) link
If it was coming off the back of different kind of album maybe I'd feel less wary, but I'm sure they know what they're doing, so I've faith enough to buy tickets.
― NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Wednesday, 8 February 2017 22:38 (seven years ago) link
i have a review copy of the 3-disc greatest hits "lovely creatures" and it sounds great, everything is taken from the remasters, and actually does work as a representation of his artistic permutations in chronological order. why anyone would get the out-of-order 2 disc box set, tho, is anyone's guess
― royce jung (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 19 April 2017 21:33 (six years ago) link
I saw the movie on an airplane and it was as good as many said, even in 2D. (And on an airplane.) I did wonder, though, how much someone who didn't know Cave at all would get from it. It does tackle some universal themes, however elliptically, and it's quite artistic, but I dunno.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 19 April 2017 21:57 (six years ago) link
It's funny, I was just thinking of compiling a career overview and this does the trick very nicely. As with any of these I could quibble about a few tracks included or missing but overall it's great. It flows really well and reminded me how fantastic "Abboitior Blues" and "Dig Lazarus" are.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 19 April 2017 23:17 (six years ago) link
Excellent, wide-ranging new interview:
http://www.gq.com/story/the-love-and-terror-of-nick-cave
― heaven parker (anagram), Friday, 28 April 2017 07:52 (six years ago) link
yup good stuff, thx
love the Russell Crowe anecdotes that guy seems so hilarious
― niels, Monday, 1 May 2017 17:17 (six years ago) link
That is excellent, thank you.
― brain (krakow), Monday, 1 May 2017 19:52 (six years ago) link
yeah damn, what a great piece
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 2 May 2017 01:23 (six years ago) link
Chris Heath, doing the business again. Think he's incapable of writing a bad piece.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 2 May 2017 01:32 (six years ago) link
That GQ piece was impeccable. Didn't even notice it was Chris Heath.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 2 May 2017 11:25 (six years ago) link
wow, that is an incredible piece - thanks for sharing, anagram
also how the fuck is nick cave 59 years old
― adolf hitler, the moses hightower of national socialism (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 2 May 2017 11:41 (six years ago) link
I went to the two LA shows & they were great. I was impressed by how sinister some of the new songs came off live, specifically "Girl in Amber" and "Magneto". Actually the real gut-wrenching moment for me wasn't during any of the new songs, but during the climax of "Weeping Song" with Nick wading out into the hands of the crowd delivering the line "I’m so sorry, father/I never thought I hurt you so much"
It also doesn't get said enough but man the Bad Seeds are such a fantastic band.
― chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 15:08 (six years ago) link
saw him in berkeley a few days before that, it was easily the best performance I've ever seen him give. this iteration of the Seeds is a bit stripped down and sloppy compared to the last few that have been out but that seemed to work; but he himself, holy shit. Now that Prince and Bowie are gone, I cannot think of a more charismatic and engaging performer in rock music.
― akm, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 17:02 (six years ago) link
Same in Chicago a few days earlier.
The immersing himself with the audience resonated with me in a post-Batalclan way -- instead of fearing the audience, crowds, public, he goes even further into connecting with them.
Also, the projection of the audience onto the screen both made it more immersive and acknowledged how photographing a concert is now (and forever) part of the concert experience.
The old chestnuts feel...if not cartoonish at least detached in their violence. He's at the top of his craft now.
Here's a photo a friend shot from the Chicago show.
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds pic.twitter.com/kL6PKcHgFJ— Patrick Monaghan (@pkmonaghan) June 17, 2017
― Eazy, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 17:13 (six years ago) link
taken in conjunction with how he's spoken about how important it was that strangers came up to him and asked him if he was ok, and offered sympathy, and how that kept him and Susie alive after the death, the crowd interactions did take on another rather obvious dimension; but the obviousness didn't detract from it's meaningfulness.
― akm, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 18:10 (six years ago) link
beautiful picture there
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Thursday, 6 July 2017 08:45 (six years ago) link
There are a couple of recent live sets up on Dime. Got one lined up to play after what i'm listening to now.
― Stevolende, Thursday, 6 July 2017 09:36 (six years ago) link