Nick Cave : Classic or Dud ?

no worries, definitely worth another round of mockery

modern classics or dud?

https://i.imgur.com/TVoASfg.jpg

samples are here. I have to say I'm not encouraged

https://www.juno.co.uk/products/nick-cave-sings-the-modern-classics/846639-01/

ok actually the 2nd track sounds kinda good. "disco 2000" sounds dire. "sweetest embrace" sounds like kicking against the pricks style lounge classic, as does "suzanne" though honestly is there really call to cover "suzanne" some more, or "here comes the sun" for that matter

Are these new recordings or is this just a covers comp?

It's a bootleg

sure, but what are the sources here? the instrumentation, based on the samples, sounds largely from a single session

Someone should email that photo to Cave's fan question thingie - he'll probably cringe and make a good joke about it.

All The Pretty Horses sounds ripped straight from the track on the Current 93 album that Cave sang on.

Same with Cave singing Disco 2000 from the Pulp Bad Cover Version EP

so i'm guess it's a comped bootleg of obscure covers

(Not to digress, but has anyone been to the current tour with Warren Ellis?)

sure, but what are the sources here? the instrumentation, based on the samples, sounds largely from a single session

JCLC you might enjoy TOWERS OF SONG: a Nick Cave Sings Covers listening thread and poll

His Disco 2000 is lovely.

I love the Pulp cover as well - and it makes sense when put in context with the Bad Cover Version ep

I don't even have a functioning turntable currently but I had to grab one off Discogs. I'll frame it if nothing else.

(Not to digress, but has anyone been to the current tour with Warren Ellis?)

they added a second show in Oakland and I thought about going, there are still decent seats, but it's pretty pricey (as is every major tour these days). Not sure; I love Cave and at one point wouldn't have thought twice, but his cultural dominance in the past few years has been a little tiring to me. I'm sure it will be great though; I saw him with just Ellis many years ago and it was one of the best shows I'd ever seen up to that point in time.

those are all previously released covers. i can't tell if that collection it's an actual bootleg or they're just trying to make it seem like one as a bit - i guess stores like juno mightn't be stocking it if it was actually unauthorised (?), but there's no mention of it from any official source. looks like it first got released last year, and the label it's on ("b-vis") doesn't seem to meaningfully exist and is alternatively described being from spain or poland.

gotta be one of the best crowd reaction shots ever pic.twitter.com/rXguEzDMMd

— Sam Fishell (@SamFishell) March 9, 2022

stores like j***

Generally don't seem to be sticklers about that kind of thing, let's say.

Awful news, his second son Jethro has passed away. How much tragedy can someone endure.

https://www.nme.com/news/music/nick-caves-son-jethro-has-died-aged-31-3221399

Oh no, that's horrendous. I have a family friend who lost both of their children at similar ages - one early in college, then years later the other at 30 due to COVID. More painful than what I can imagine.

the article says he only learned that Cave was his father at age 8. Not sure how close they were.

(he was, iirc, born a few days after Cave’s first son.)

From the Pitchfork article, sounds like they had grown closer after that:

Lazenby was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1991, but said that he did not meet his father until he was about 7 or 8. Cave said in 2008, “To my eternal regret, I didn’t make much contact with Jethro in the early years, but I now have a great relationship with him.”

How incredibly sad.

Never followed him much, but this one got me, and seems appropriate today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc7mDChiiNU

ugh god that is awful

i don't think that's his second son, it was his first son; the twin of the one who passed away is still alive.

his oldest son Luke is still alive ie “first” son

jethro second

then the twins

Sounds like Jethro and Luke are virtually the same age, both born in April/May 1991. Reports today suggest Jethro was older by 10 days.

“White Elephant” with the full live Seeds lineup is incredible and a great set closer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aADVH5lqeFU
^^sound not great but yes, I can imagine being there would be kinda wild

i bought a ticket to see cave & ellis this year. they're not bringing the full bad seeds to australia for whatever reason this year but it looks like their previous carnage tour dates without the rest of the bad seeds were pretty heavy on ghosteen material so i'm looking forward to that

quite a lot of his material works better live, for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHb6bi3haQU

Recent concert at Hanging Rock

Didn't know Colin Greenwood was playing bass on this tour!

the guy is easily one of the greatest live performers I've ever seen.

it was just on the most recent australian leg, they also had larry mullins on percussion (who's been touring with the bad seeds since 2015) and a trio of backing vocalists. on the previous na/europe legs they had different backing bands

i saw them last month and it was a decent show, they played nearly all of carnage & ghosteen and not too much else, though they did play "breathless" which was lovely to hear. certainly not any sort of greatest hits show, leaving out most of the bad seeds staples. it was quite long (two & a half hours) and most of the material was quite slow, there'd just be the occasional burst of intensity here and there so it was a bit odd in that regard. ellis was ridiculously dramatic playing his little keyboard on his lap.

lol that video pretty much only includes the more energetic material they played

A good read:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/nick-cave-on-the-fragility-of-life

I had some thoughts about that New Yorker piece. (For the record, in the first 15 minutes after posting this newsletter, a half dozen people have unsubscribed.)

Nick Cave rules

what rules are these?

No smiles, no suntans

what rules are these?

When Morrissey's talking, you show some goddamn respect and listen politely!

there is something wrong with you

according to gossip, Nick Cave has good reason to be a bit nervous about cancel culture

life is too short to write long essays about why life is too short to read any more interviews with Nick Cave talking about the fragility of life.

otm times a thousand!!!

but how else can one show one's bravery these days?

boy, unperson, I've enjoyed your jazz coverage for a long time, but the bit about Cave's and Petrusich's grief is just really gross -- I can tell you're already in "well that's my opinion!"-land about it, so no point telling you, but it's a really shitty opinion you should consider maybe changing to a better one.

Cave can be insufferable, overly pious and out of touch, but as you state yourself -

Now, this is certainly justified in a way; two of his children (he has — had — four, with three different women) have died

in a way - come on! can you even begin to imagine what this must have been like? a lifetime is not long enough to deal with and process this. your piece feels like you are a human devoid of any empathy at all, which from reading other stuff you have written I know is not true. This piece feels like a BIG misstep.