A Nick Cave Survey: Brutality, Bedazzled, and Bending
By Chris Stomos,
December 17, 2010 / 17:08
Nick Cave of Black Star has been very vocal about his love of rock music since his time as a student at the University of the Sunshine Coast. A member since 1989 of The Black Star Riots, the Australian rock band he co-founded, Mr. Cave’s style is deeply rooted in the Australian sound. He is known for his use of a very unique voice and for his ability to write songs that delve into dark undercurrents of human emotion. He has also been outspoken about his love of horror films.
However, Cave is not content to be a mere mimic of a particular era in rock music. He has also been vocal about the band in which he plays, Black Star. He has spoken of his obsession with music and movies, and his desire to return to the music of his youth. On the subject of Black Star, he has said, “I think that’s one of the great stories of rock. It’s the story of rock and roll, of bands like the Black Star going nowhere, and going nowhere fast.”
This week’s Nick Cave survey was part of a series of interviews. The purpose of the survey was to explore how Cave’s love of music is reflected through his work. In this respect, it was an opportunity to explore an artist who has the ability to write and perform music that is almost at once so stylistically varied and yet so deeply personal. With help from his band, the Black Star Riots, Cave was interviewed on topics ranging from the process of songwriting, to the bands strengths and weaknesses.
Cave himself has said that the songs on his most recent LP, The Nightingale, have all either been written in the last four years or since his previous release, the double-disc opus, The Complete Works of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Heartwood. The album has been compared to work from The Beatles and the Velvet Underground.
The lyrics of Cave’s songs are deeply
