Nick Cave

So Nick Cave has a new album out - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! with 3 exclamation points mind you. Cave is a guy who I don't listen to a ton, but I always am interested in. He's just such a fascinating presence to me - the kind of rock star that you don't get very many of, and even less of these days. Rock has always been a young man's game, and I almost feel like it's moving more and more in that direction. In the glossy Rolling Stone (the magazine, not the band) world there's less room for cranky, gnarly old men in rock. I mean, where is Lou Reed anyway? Or Frank Black? Or countless others who could still be making music but are off on the sidelines. And yet, here's Nick Cave. He's 50, he looks like he's from a totally different era, and he really only sings about 3 things: 1. Dirty sex. 2. The Bible. 3. Murdering people. He's an intense man, and the fact that I don't listen to him every day is no indication that he's not amazing - just that his music can get a bit intense - as Q and Tex will perhaps recall from my forcing them to listen to Murder Ballads back in the day.

Anyway, this is mostly just a rambling excuse to post some videos, but I do think it's a shame that the kind of individuality from a guy like Cave is so often bred out of rock. Or maybe I'm just becoming a cranky old man myself.

Here's a classic from Mr. Cave which you really must watch:



And the new single: