Nick Cave: a Distortionist
Imagine a man who has gone after his truth all his life. He is the kind who went to art school because he thought he was the best painter as a young boy. Nick Cave is someone who knew what he had at an early stage. He is a distortionist. The only difference is that he walks on words that are connected to one another…
Nick Cave faces the question “What if you had the chance to swap your voice with Frank Sinatra?” after stating that his voice is unlikable. He answers “That would be like getting thrown onto a frying pan. Plus it wouldn’t be any more than a bad trade for Sinatra and I.” Like I said, he lives only for his fears, pains, and excitements. Not for anyone else…
Sin, swearing, and a curse
Nick Cave started music by making punk covers at the end of the 70’s, during a period when rock stars like Lou Reed, David Bowie and Alice Cooper were around. After a one-album-adventure with The Boys Next Door, he began his Birthday Party Project. What is important here is that with his song “King Ink” from the “Prayer on Fire” album (1981), he did something different than the others; “King Ink” is also the title of Nick Cave’s firs published book. Clearly, it’s a breaking point for him.
When Nick Cave inserted religion, death, love, America, and violence lyrics into post-punk, rock, gospel and a little bit of blues, The Bad Seeds were born, which he has been the front man of for the past 30 years. With this project, Cave created what he though was his one and only foundation; a dystopian world where he merged his memories with gothic fantasies.
“People may like my music, however I don’t think they would like to be like me.”
Brighton, West Berlin and Sao Paulo
Living in Australia as a musician in the 80’s was no different than living outside of a beautiful city. Knowing where the music scene was in the world, first he moved back to his real home in Brighton, continued by West Berlin. Maybe he wanted to go after Lou Reed’s “Berlin,” which he’s been a fan of, who knows? After meeting his Brazilian wife, author Viviane Carneiro (who he was married to for 6 years), he lived in Sao Paulo for 3 years before returning back to his real home.
When his short relationship with PJ Harver that bore a beauty such as Henry Lee ended, Nick Cave met English model Susie Bick, which was the last stop in his love life. Having found the pure and unconditional love he wrote about in his songs, he married Susie Bick before 2000. To understand the relationship between these two, looking at the cover of “Push the Sky Away” (2013) will be enough.
15 albums passed with hallucinations
Completing a new chapter in his story with “The Bad Seeds,” Nick Cave says that he knew he had to bury his demons before moving on to the next level. This way, Cave achieved building a wall between what has been and what is. This actually explains why we always find ourselves in a dead-end in his 15-album-long discography…
It would have been easier for me to open up every single Nick Cave album, however it’s best if I don’t spend too much time in a man’s temple, whose father urged him to read crime novels at the age of 12. Since we’re in there, “Let Love In” (1994) should have a different place than the rest of his albums. Obviously a masterpiece like “Red Right Hand” is a part of this album, however that is not what I am trying to say. In this album, NickCave reflects wishing someone ill with giving a helping hand, ugliness with beauty, being ruthless with kindness in perfect harmony to his music and lyrics. What did I say in the beginning? He is a distortionist.
There is one truth about Nick Cave, and that is that he has all tones that a man is supposed to have. His song “Tender Prey” (1988) is the best album that exhibits that. With this album, Nick Cave yells out uncontrollably that he has all tones of the likes of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Joe Cocker, Tom Waits and others. What is left is to respect him.
A dark soul on the big screen
Not only his voice, Nick Cave has a charisma that reflects his uncanny, emotional and painful charm. Having starred in German director Wim Wenders’ cult movie “Wings of Desire,” Nick Cave acted with Brad Pitt in “Johnny Suede.” The most important one is the autobiographical documentary “20.000 Days on Earth” which he wrote and starred in. We get a chance to look into the reflection of his memories, which he names as fiction.
A tragedy and rebirth
Nick Cave lived his most painful day on July 14th, 2015. One of his twins, Dave, from his marriage to Susie Bick, lost his life after falling from a cliff. Announcing that his family needed compassion after having to go through such a rough time, Cave kept quiet for a year. He disrupted his silence with his 16th album “Skeleton Tree,” and the announcement of his new movie “One More Time With Feeling.”
Brightening his whole career by shedding a light on his untouchable memories, the whole world, along with myself, are curious to see how NickCave will come out of this blind hole. He is a courageous narrator who can reach the darkest corners of his soul after all….