Nick Cave - Nocturama
Published January 20, 2003
- The airborne starlings circle
Over the frozen fields
The hollyhocks hang harmlessly
And the old lion yields
And you've got me eating
You've got me eating
You've got me eating
Right out of your hand
"Bring it On" acknowledges that after all deflections have been exhausted and despair has been mined clean, only emotional honesty remains: even if it begins as novelty, it begins nonetheless.
"Dead Man In My Bed" shakes off the beautiful lethargy of the first four songs and rocks with a steaming, dizzying authority Cave hasn't expressed since the Birthday Party - he is arisen indeed. Cave tells us straight out to take the lyric literally:
- I ain't been feeling that good too much no more, she said, I swear
She pointed at the bedroom door and said I ain't going in there
She leaped out of her seat and screamed someone's not concentrating here
There is a dead man in my bed, she said
I ain't speaking metaphorically
His eyes are open but he cannot see
There's a dead man in my bed
Besides rocking the cobwebs off an entire Halloween town, the Cave of "Dead Man" is funny, frightening, and stunningly alive (in contrast to the dead man in the bed).
The next few songs drop a notch from the brilliance of the opening five but are not without interest. Returning to rare form is "She Passed By My Window," where we are reminded that love is a rare and precious thing, far more often lopsided, sabotaged or simply insufficient, than a 1+1=1 magical union:
- For apple, plum and brand new pear
Soon wither on the ground
She slapped the snow from off her glove
And moved on without a sound
Cave and friends end with a raving 15-minute gutting of the tradition of "fire"-themed songs, flaming every incendiary cliche along the way in no less than 43 verses, all of which end with "Babe, I'm on fire":
- The horse says it, the pig says it
The judge in his wig says it
The fox and the rabbit
And the nun in her habit says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire
My mate Bill Gates says it
The President of the United States says it
The slacker and the worker
The girl in her burqa says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire
- Nick Cave - Nocturama
- Published: January 20, 2003
- Type:
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Alternative Rock
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments on this articleComments
I saw him once and he was very powerful - lots of people are better live than on record for any number of reasons, but this one finally works as a record.
I'm sure you'll like it (Anti in America, still Mute everywhere else).
Anti in America, still Mute everywhere else
Wouldn't that make a great slogan for a band? I'm going to post it on my site.
As for Nick Cave, while I wasn't that enthused about his last two albums, I still think "Henry's Dream" is one of his best albums, and while I never got a poster for "The Good Son", maybe with the kiddie pr0n hysteria, that is a good thing.
As for the Anti, I have an emusic account, so it will be available in about two weeks.
Some of my best lines are unintentional.
I thought The Boatman's Call was superb, but I'm older than you guys... Nick's duet with Shane MacGowan on "What A Wonderful World" would have to be on my "31 Songs" list... And be sure to track down Track "Zero" from the X-Files TV soundtrack...
Hazy Dave, been there, done that, got all of them. Do you have the "Dogs In Space" soundtrack with The Boys Next Door?
How about buying "Johnny Suede" for the Nick Cave appearance. Plus the Live Seedsw album with the photo book, and the double gatefold vinyl of My Funeral, Your Trial, etc.
The Boatman's Call was good, but I was somewhat "meh" about it because it doesn't really have any dynamic.
I'm only a casual fan, I don't have anything like a complete collection, just thought I'd highlight a couple "non-LP" favorites. I don't really miss the ranting side of Cave on The Boatman's Call, but I understand that Birthday Party fans must miss that. I stumbled upon a late night talk show with Cave and some Bad Seeds playing "Into My Arms" and was blown away...
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/2737)
Eric, I only got about two lines in and had to comment, so if this sounds like bullshit, it probably is.
I first saw Nick Cave in Montreal (the show is on a video / DVD of the Bad Seeds on tour) and I knew of him from The Birthday Party (long arguement about Junkyard, junk or better off in the yard).
And then I saw him live (got in for free, was working The Wolfgang Press - where are they now?) and he just blew me away. You have to keep in mind this was in a 1920s theatre, a perfect setting. But he just nailed it including an extended Isaac Hayes version of "By The Time I Get To Pheonix". He just came out on the stage, grabbed everybit of attention in the room and made one of the most memorable performances I've ever seen.
I've seen him about five times (and a friend who has visited London England has seen him twice at this restaurant, which it turns out Cave owns). I eagerly await his new record. And it's on Anti (home of Solomon Burke, Tom Waits, Merle Haggard).