Nick Cave on creative failure

[Bramblethorn]

From Nick Cave's blog, some cheering words for those times when your work falls flat:

Nocturama is held in such universal contempt that its very title has become a byword for failure or disaster. “He tried his best but ultimately he met his Nocturama,” you may hear someone say, or perhaps “What a complete and utter Nocturama!” As the years have passed, the disdain for this record has not diminished, and Nocturama has become just another word for ‘loser’ – as in “Fuck you, you fucking Nocturama!” and still it continues to this day, so that when a Bad Seeds fan gets poked in the eye or kicked in the nuts, they cry, “Nocturama!”

Therefore it comes as no surprise that many of the questions I have received on The Red Hand Files circle around the failings of this sad, brave, little record.

Personally, I like Nocturama. I like that it is out there, moving around the place and spoiling things. I like it that someone may accidently play it at a party and people start throwing up in the ashtrays. I like it that everyone stands upwind from it. I especially like it that of the sixteen records the Bad Seeds have produced we only have one Nocturama, whereas with some bands half their records are Nocturamas, and with most bands all of their records are Nocturamas.

I think that in the end we all need our Nocturamas. Your Nocturama may, indeed, be the most important thing you ever do. Failure fortifies us. It moves us forward. It strips everything back to its essential nature and leaves us clean and pure, ready to begin again. You don’t create something as problematic as Nocturama without a certain risk and a little courage and the temerity to fail. I love this troubled record for that. It may just be my favourite.

 

[KimGordon67]

I know that discussion of the blog isn't the point of this post ... but I am somewhat ambivalent about it's existence. I kind of like the idea of it being used as a medium for engaging with his fans, whilst also allowing him to weed out the lunatic fringe, but the way almost every single post has been turned into 'news' or a message from on-high by, largely, the music press but also other parts of the media, has irked me a bit. I do think Cave is a genius in his field, and his comments on the process of creativity (like this one) are obviously interesting because he so freaking creative. But the tendency people have to hang on his every word is a little much. I go to every single Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds gig that comes to our shores (with the exception of the show that was scheduled for the same week as I was due to give birth), but I've avoided the 'evening with Nick Cave' tour for the same reason. I have an ongoing debate in my head about the nature of fame ... it's also linked to the whole #metoo movement, and the related narrative attached to people like Aziz Ansari and whats-his-face from Tool. (I also don't really think Nocturama is that bad of an album - it's got some great tracks on it, and pretty much every single album they've released as, for me at least, one or two clangers - I don't think I play any of them without skipping a track or two.)

Disclaimer - I adore NC&tBS, and may actually own a small Nick Cave doll. Maybe.

 

[Hypoxia]

Nick who? Am I too old for this?

 

[KimGordon67]

Nick who? Am I too old for this?

It would be more likely you're too young.

 

[KeithD]

Never heard of it--or of the blog. But then I don't have a smart phone either.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Nick who? Am I too old for this?

More likely too American. He's bigger in Australia and the UK, though if you're a fan of Johnny Cash or Debbie Harry you'll probably have heard some of his work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Cave

 

[ElectricBlue]

Nick who? Am I too old for this?

Nick Cave - one of Australia's rock legends, and a superb song writer in a dark Leonard Cohen kind of a way - in my opinion one of the few song writers who is in the same league as Cohen. Started in the eighties punk tradition with The Birthday Party, and then with The Bad Seeds, went on to make a number of gritty, bleak and astonishing albums. Murder Ballads is typical, Push the Sky Away is sublime. Their last album, Skeleton Tree, was mostly recorded after the death of his teenage son, Arthur, and is grief incarnate.

One of rock's great front men, too, a skeletal figure in a suit, like Death dancing. Crawls out over the top of the audience like some kind of spider.

An acquired taste, but if you like edgy rock, he's the man.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Nick Cave - one of Australia's rock legends, and a superb song writer in a dark Leonard Cohen kind of a way - in my opinion one of the few song writers who is in the same league as Cohen. Started in the eighties punk tradition with The Birthday Party, and then with The Bad Seeds, went on to make a number of gritty, bleak and astonishing albums. Murder Ballads is typical, Push the Sky Away is sublime. Their last album, Skeleton Tree, was mostly recorded after the death of his teenage son, Arthur, and is grief incarnate.

One of rock's great front men, too, a skeletal figure in a suit, like Death dancing. Crawls out over the top of the audience like some kind of spider.

An acquired taste, but if you like edgy rock, he's the man.

Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue and that wild rose song - that’s great and I’m toooo you g for this. But I love it.

 

[yukonnights]

But; his comments about failure are spot on. There are cliches on this subject—If you haven't failed your aren't pushing hard enough. etc. I've recently had a couple of creative failures, and while being a bummer, once I accepted them I became more motivated to rectify the problems that were the root of the failure.

 

[Etaski]

Love-love! And a very nice blog thought! Thanks for sharing that, Bramblethorn.

Literally the response from my hubby when I showed him a Nick Cave song from 1988: "Where were you when I was full in my punk phase??"

I had stumbled upon the song by following Oglaf on Patreon--another Australia treasure, who posted MERCY PEAR!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/mercy-pear-25656624

Afterward, had to hunt down the original song, Mercy Seat

Husband loved it instantly.

Although truthfully, I've know the name of the band ever since the X-Files played Red Right Hand on one of their episodes. Awwwesome.

 

[KimGordon67]

Love-love! And a very nice blog thought! Thanks for sharing that, Bramblethorn.

Literally the response from my hubby when I showed him a Nick Cave song from 1988: "Where were you when I was full in my punk phase??"

I had stumbled upon the song by following Oglaf on Patreon--another Australia treasure, who posted MERCY PEAR!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/mercy-pear-25656624

Afterward, had to hunt down the original song, Mercy Seat

Husband loved it instantly.

Although truthfully, I've know the name of the band ever since the X-Files played Red Right Hand on one of their episodes. Awwwesome.

Unfortunately Red Right Hand has been pretty over done. But explore further - there's a huge output, and it's incredibly broad. Personally, Let Love In is probably my favourite album (although I do love the two more recent ones, they're quite a different thing).

 

[ElectricBlue]

Stagger Lee is one of my favourites - about a very bad man indeed, walks into a bar...


https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...4DE538BDABCEC4EC19AC4DE538BDABCE&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

[Bramblethorn]

I had stumbled upon the song by following Oglaf on Patreon--another Australia treasure, who posted MERCY PEAR!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/mercy-pear-25656624

Afterward, had to hunt down the original song, Mercy Seat

Maybe my favourite song of theirs, and I do love Oglaf. Just today received a T-shirt with one of their latest from the Patreon.

 

[MelissaBaby]

One of my all time favorite songs.

Into My Arms

 

[KimGordon67]

Maybe my favourite song of theirs, and I do love Oglaf. Just today received a T-shirt with one of their latest from the Patreon.

Weirdly, I actually prefer the Johnny Cash cover of The Mercy Seat.

Did you ever see Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead? I tried watching it again a while back - I still enjoyed it, but my husband was just confused and then went to bed.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Weirdly, I actually prefer the Johnny Cash cover of The Mercy Seat.

Did you ever see Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead? I tried watching it again a while back - I still enjoyed it, but my husband was just confused and then went to bed.

No, I don't watch a lot of TV or movies these days unless it's a social event. I'm sorry his sequel to Gladiator never happened though, sounds like that would've been memorable one way or another.

 

[KimGordon67]

No, I don't watch a lot of TV or movies these days unless it's a social event. I'm sorry his sequel to Gladiator never happened though, sounds like that would've been memorable one way or another.

Oh, it's a film that's probably 30 years old, if not more ... it was kind of 'of a moment', really, and has dated quite a bit, but still good. I think maybe Nick Cave's first film appearance - to the best of my knowledge, he wasn't involved with the script or soundtrack, although it was John Hillcoat's first-ish film, who went on to direct other films Cave was involved in.

LOL ... did I mention the Nick Cave doll? I just realised I sound like a bit of a Cave-ophile.

 

[Handley_Page]

Nick who? Am I too old for this?

I guess we both are