morning. It’s 65 f deg outside and sunny. There’s been another stabbing in the UK. This time in London. People had better not talk about it. The authorities are probably arresting people now for noticing things. You’re gonna need a license to recognize those crime patterns you know. Pitiful. Speaking of the UK, I just watched an ABC interview with one of England’s finest musical auteurs, Nick Cave. He must have a new album to promote or something. He was talking to Leigh Sales about his life and music and the angst that appears to inform his entire existence. I don’t get it at all.
Nikki
Stephen Cummings said in his book that Cave is like Chauncey Gardner the lead character in the movie, “Being There”, who rises to the pinnacle of Washington society by virtue of being an idiot savant, and being in the right pace at the right time. I tend to agree. This was one of the cringiest interviews I’ve seen in a while. Nick takes himself far too seriously. It’s like we’re in the presence of some kind of oracle. The wise man imparts his wisdom and truth to the masses. A lot of that is due to the fawning nature of the interviewer, Leigh Sales though.
The real truth blurts out occasionally. At one point he says he hates writing songs. I wish he would take his own advice and stop. I hate listening to them. It’s not that I seek out Cave’s music. During the program we get to hear snippets and snatches of his music. Every time I hear his stuff, I just LOL. It’s a kneejerk reaction I’m afraid. It’s like he’s taken Jim Morrison’s vocal style and put it through a strangulator. Jim Morrison could sing though. Nick Cave can’t. It always sounds like a wounded animal, but maybe that’s the point. Nick says we’re all “products of loss” or some such nonsense. Speak for yourself pal.
Chauncey
When it all boils down Cave isn’t very interesting really. He wears a pinstripe suit and a tie. It’s all shtick of course to give him gravitas. Leonard Cohen used the same costume. Nick may have even inherited that mantle by now. He’s a legend you know. The difference is that Cave flits from idea to idea like a moth to a flame, he can’t really sing, and his music is dull and painfully tortured for effect rather than because of it having any intrinsic value as music. To me he sounds inauthentic, and somebody who does something because he thinks it will sell, rather than having an organic reason to create art. In that way, he and Stephen are very similar. When I was songwriting with Stephen years ago he would often say, “we should write commercials”, something I wasn’t interested in at all.
Stevie
It appears Nick lately has found ‘religion’, although that wasn’t probed in the interview, it would have been interesting to find out what that actually means for him. Whatever man. Good luck to him. He’s convinced thousands of people that he’s deep, and has something they want to hear.
In a more mundane turn of events, I have to dismantle the front grille of my truck this morning, so that I can replace the power steering radiator. I hate doing stuff like this, but if I take it to a garage they’ll charge me much more than I need to pay if I did it myself. I was mowing the lawn (yes, I have a ride on mower) yesterday and the belt broke.
Mee
Now I have to remove the mowing deck to replace it. I don’t wanna do any of this shit really. It’s a challenge. Now that it’s cooler, I can at least think about it. I’m sorry I don’t have any tortured stories to impart here. I just can’t be bothered with misery, manufactured or otherwise. There are enough problems in the world already without trying to make a buck out of people’s mental issues that are so fucking obvious that to keep talking about them is just mental masturbation. Good day.