"I'm not personally a misogynist. I don't have those inclinations, but I liked to write songs that were violent in those days.”
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Nick Cave has addressed accusations that his 1996 album 'Murder Ballads' recorded with the Bad Seeds was violent towards women.
The Australian singer-songwriter, 65, stated that he is “not personally a misogynist” and that he is glad music has the capacity to "outrage", explaining the album was violent not just to women but to everyone.
He made the comments on The Louis Theroux Podcast, adding that his early lyrics with the post-punk band The Birthday Party and the album 'Murder Ballads' “were just violent records.”
“There were heroic women, and female murderers, and all sorts of stuff going on in that record, and songs before that. But I'm not personally a misogynist. I don't have those inclinations, but I liked to write songs that were violent in those days.”
Cave has often written disturbing lyrics and some in 'Murder Ballads' depict murder (clue was in the title), torture and sexually graphic encounters. The album is a masterclass in storytelling that is equal parts beautifully macabre and unnervingly romantic – in an Edgar Allan Poe sort of way – especially on songs like ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ and the very explicit ‘Stagger Lee’.
"I just enjoyed the thrill of language, being able to write about violent things in the same way that a thriller writer maybe likes to write about violent things too," he went on to say, commenting that challenging people’s virtues was “the number one thing” punks did.
Cave also talked about censorship in art: "This troubling of the waters, that is the self-evident value of art and that if we're to put art through a kind of righteous sieve and take all the unrighteous bits out, what we get is just the bland and the morally obvious."
He previously shared how art can be both problematic and enjoyable, using the song ‘Stagger Lee’ as an example. During an UnHerd Club interview host Freddie Sayers, Cave stated that he never thought in terms of “whether it’s offensive or not.”
“There’s a particular song of mine called ‘Stagger Lee’. This is a famous Bad Seeds song, and it’s offensive on many, many levels," said Cave. "I won’t go through all the different sorts of people that it offends, but it’s pretty much everybody. It’s a highly problematic song. It is sort of spoken-sung over this crawling, predatory music.”
He concluded: “But in all my days of playing ‘Stagger Lee’, and that’s hundreds of times of looking out into the audience, I have never seen anybody looking askance or offended at it. They’re just swept up within the music itself. So all sorts of things can be said in music and art that’s problematic, but at the same time just hugely enjoyable.”
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available for free exclusively on Spotify. Nick Cave is currently working on a new album with The Bad Seeds, following the release of 2019’s 'Ghosteen'.
Additional sources • Press Association
FAQs
Nick Cave addresses 'Murder Ballads' controversy: 'I'm not a misogynist' "I'm not personally a misogynist. I don't have those inclinations, but I liked to write songs that were violent in those days.”
How many children did Nick Cave lose? ›
After all, this is a man who has lost two sons over the past nine years. In 2015, 15-year-old Arthur died after taking LSD for the first time and falling from a cliff near his home in Brighton.
Who is Nick Cave's muse? ›
They were a leader of Melbourne's post-punk scene in the late 1970s, playing hundreds of live shows in Australia before changing their name to the Birthday Party in 1980 and moving to London, then West Berlin. Cave's Australian girlfriend and muse Anita Lane accompanied them to London.
Why is Nick Cave so important? ›
Nick Cave (born September 22, 1957, Warracknabeal, Australia) is an Australian singer-songwriter, actor, novelist, and screenwriter who played a prominent role in the postpunk movement as front man for the bands the Birthday Party and the Bad Seeds.
Is Nick Cave still married? ›
Nick Cave is smiling again as he enjoyed a romantic outing with his wife in London following years clouded by tragedy. The Australian rocker, 66, and his wife of 25 years, Susie Bick, shared a passionate kiss while shopping in Notting Hill this week.
What song did Nick Cave write for his son? ›
Produced by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Ghosteen was written in the aftermath of the death of Cave's son Arthur in 2015. It was recorded primarily in Malibu and West Hollywood, California in the United States, with further sessions in Germany and England.
How long did PJ Harvey and Nick Cave date? ›
Its origins stem from an intense romantic entanglement with Nick Cave, which ended in 1996 with an abrupt phone call from Harvey. They'd been together only a matter of months, and Cave was caught completely off-guard. “I was so surprised I almost dropped my syringe,” he admitted years later.
What happened to Nick Cave's son Jethro? ›
1 Jethro Lazenby, the child of Cave and Beau Lazenby, was found dead of undisclosed causes at a motel in Melbourne, Australia.
What happened to Anita Lane? ›
On 27 April 2021, Lane died at age 61.
Why did Nick Cave create the soundsuit? ›
Trained as a fiber artist and dancer, Nick Cave named his ongoing series of Soundsuits for the rustling he heard as he moved around in them. He created his first suit in response to the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers in 1991.
A white shirt with a dark suit is about as elemental as men's fashion gets, and about half the time you see Cave, that's what he's wearing. He doesn't mess with the formula either. You'll never see him wearing a deconstructed take on the suit, or a suit matched with (ugh) a graphic tee.
Does Nick Cave have tattoos? ›
In the latest response on his Q+A site The Red Hand Files, Nick Cave recalls getting his skull and crossbones tattoo with ANITA's name on it while in Sydney's red light district with The Birthday Party bass player Tracy Pew, and gives another fan advice on whether to get a tattoo or not.
Is Nick Cave vegetarian? ›
I've enjoyed The Red Hand Files as a whole, but the second most recent post, answering “What made you become a vegetarian?”, is especially poignant. His interpretation of suffering is sharp and important.
Does Nick Cave meditate? ›
For the last six years he's been practising Transcendental Meditation (TM).
What genre is Nick Cave? ›
Did Nick Cave live in Brazil? ›
In 1989, following some live shows in Brazil, Nick Cave relocated to Sao Paolo, which was to remain his home for the next four years. While Cave recalls this as a time in which he didn't do a lot of work, the albums The Good Son, 1990, Henry's Dream, 1992, and Let Love In, 1994, were released.
Who is Nick Cave's first wife? ›
Cave has another son, Luke, from his marriage to his first wife, Viviane Carneiro.
Who was Jethro Lazenby's mother? ›
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