During COVID I listened to his entire discography from BP to now over the course of a week or two. Having owned only Boatman, Dig Lazarus and the first Grinderman it was illuminating. Maybe a little too much cramming for me to go deep with a lot of the records but damn. Quite a body of work.

Super embarrassing take, but I'll go in for some mid grade Bad Seeds, like Nocturnarama shit over the first couple Birthday Party records. I get that they were way more energetic and innovative but I find much of their stuff a tedious listen. A great example to me of something that if you were there for it, in its time it was pushing all the right buttons but retrospectively not all that fun to listen to.

Nick Cave the dude and author is CRAP, but since this is about the Bad Seeds I'll just do the music.

Live Seeds is just about a masterpiece, missing out on one or two fantastic songs (there are entire bands whose sound is just "Stranger Than Kindness," c'mon man) and playing nonsense like "Oh Deanna." But the sound, the changes in arrangement - "Mercy Seat" is finally edited into his best song ever - and the timing of the album catching the band at its most dynamic . . . yea, a masterpiece.

The first two albums have a small handful of classics in-between a buncha minstrel shit. That covers album helped the band realize what they could pull off. The next few are fantastic, very little filler, Nick grows into this suave Cohen type without embarrassing himself.

Henry's Dream is okay, made redundant by the live album. Let Love In was my first Nick Cave album, and it led me to the life-defining insanity of The Birthday Party. It's one of the best major label albums by anyone, play it for your normie friends and see if you can't lead 'em to some freakier shit.

Murder Ballads can hang. Boatman's Call can not, it's horrible. After that the only one which grabbed me was Dig Lazarus Dig! which could be coupled with the Grinderman stuff for a late career breath of fresh air. Then the guy goes so far up his ass that it's almost sad. Maybe that self-importance and ignorance were always defining aspects of what made his shtick work, but it's such a goddamn bummer to see what's become of him and his music.

Bad Seeds are Not Crap, at their best they were as fearless as Los Lobos and The Pogues. Bands that don't even have a "sound," they just play music.

losthighway wrote: Thu May 23, 2024 10:39 pm Super embarrassing take, but I'll go in for some mid grade Bad Seeds, like Nocturnarama shit over the first couple Birthday Party records. I get that they were way more energetic and innovative but I find much of their stuff a tedious listen. A great example to me of something that if you were there for it, in its time it was pushing all the right buttons but retrospectively not all that fun to listen to.

Let me know when your band has a show, I will come well-stocked with tomatoes and heckles.

"A Catholic Skin" thru the break-up is just one wild, bizarre, insane song after another. I know they got more meat on their bones by Junkyard, but some of the most "what the fuck . . ." moments in rock 'n roll litter the two albums prior. Like seeing your first Pollock.

I saw the Henry’s Dream tour in a smallish venue and it really was insane. I had a friend on my shoulders and couldn’t figure out why there was glare in my eyes until I realised Blixa was reflecting the lights of his guitar and staring us down for our loutish behaviour.
But yeah Cave (individual) vs the Harvey era Bad Seeds is the c/nc dichotomy in a nutshell.

gotdamn wrote: Fri May 24, 2024 1:49 am

losthighway wrote: Thu May 23, 2024 10:39 pm Super embarrassing take, but I'll go in for some mid grade Bad Seeds, like Nocturnarama shit over the first couple Birthday Party records. I get that they were way more energetic and innovative but I find much of their stuff a tedious listen. A great example to me of something that if you were there for it, in its time it was pushing all the right buttons but retrospectively not all that fun to listen to.

Let me know when your band has a show, I will come well-stocked with tomatoes and heckles.

"A Catholic Skin" thru the break-up is just one wild, bizarre, insane song after another. I know they got more meat on their bones by Junkyard, but some of the most "what the fuck . . ." moments in rock 'n roll litter the two albums prior. Like seeing your first Pollock.

I knew this was going to get me in trouble.

matttkkkk wrote: Thu May 23, 2024 5:51 pm Yeah Harvey's departure and the ascent of Warren Ellis shifted the trajectory from "cool but occasionally irksome" to "irksome and maybe occasionally cool but I wouldn't know because irksome".

Completely agree. I saw them with Blixa and after. Ellis sucks a lot of air out of the room. A lot changed after Blixa left, not much of it good. I kind of mentally separate their career into Blixa / No Blixa. Even the album production got “worse” to my ears. Cave’s voice much more prominent in the mix, the harsh edges filled down.

Jubilee street live is amazing, I give Ellis that

I’m genuinely surprised at the almost 50/50 split. I’m assumed a 80/20 not crap / crap.

I guess that’s a reflection of the two sidedness of their career.

Gramsci wrote: Sat May 25, 2024 12:23 am I’m genuinely surprised at the almost 50/50 split. I’m assumed a 80/20 not crap / crap.

I guess that’s a reflection of the two sidedness of their career.

I think it's because he was once one of "our" artists but is now decidedly middlebrow. I make this observation neutrally.

Gramsci wrote: Sat May 25, 2024 12:23 am I’m genuinely surprised at the almost 50/50 split. I’m assumed a 80/20 not crap / crap.

I guess that’s a reflection of the two sidedness of their career.

Why thou!? I love TBP and I have been a casual listener to NC single band stuff along the way, and the only time I didn't wanna tell him to help out Sisyphus was when his band was really as equal or bringing more to the table. And that was an exception.