Recently I realized that Nick Cave (and the Bad Seeds) have sort of replaced U2 for me as my number 1 listen. As different as the music is, there are also plenty of similarities in theme and ambition.
I've been struck by how Cave's art has deepened and widened over the last couple decades, while U2's has grown shallower and more constricted.
Some of the things I used to go to U2 for--artistic risk taking, new sounds/vibe every album, exploration of spiritual depths--Mr. Cave does in spades, whereas U2 hasn't really been that band since the 90s.
Why does one artist/band continue to flourish creatively, while another sort of stagnates?
I like him and the Bad Seeds. Great artist and writer and is amazing live. Not really fan of last two Bad Seeds albums though.
My favourite album is Let Love In...
I have also discovered him lately. He cannot alone replace U2 for me - I listen a lot to Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM and Depeche Mode also - but hey, Vortex, There She Goes My Beautiful World and As I Sat Sadly By Her Side is up there among U2’s best work.
When I saw this thread in the active topics list this morning I just KNEW the second post would be from @Alvin
I like Nick Cave (and The Bad Seeds) but I can't seem to truly dive into them. I like everything I listen to but it doesn't have any magnetism for me, somehow I don't feel impelled to listen to them.
I also like the guy himself, I like reading his interviews and rants. But man, the dude has gone through some heavy shit, eh?
First your 15 year old son falls off a cliff after taking LSD, and a few years later your 30 old son dies a few days after being released from the prison where he was after attacking his own mother. DAMN!!! Who could still be the same after that tragedies?
The simple fact Nick is still going and releasing music instead of getting all depressed at home -or at the asylum- is a wonder. Poor man.
Nick certainly goes for it in life. His style is just too literate for my tastes. I should give him another try. I have friends whose musical opinions I respect really like Grinderman and the Warren Ellis stuff.
He's a tough artist to get into, since there's such a strong flavor to his work and the sounds/styles change a lot from album to album.
Anyone who enjoys the acoustic vibe of SOS would probably really like Nick Cave's recently recorded "Idiot Prayer, Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace." Just the man and a piano doing a bunch of songs from throughout his career.
I have really got into Nick Cave since the release of Ghosteen in 2019, the back catalogue is a hard listen in places but very rewarding. LPs from 2012s Push the Sky Away and 1990s The Good Son through to 1998s The Boatmans Call are superb
