catapult magazine

So I was looking for sites online that talked about Nick Cave and Christianity because I just got his most recent album, which continues the trend toward positive—even joyful God-praising music. After looking at a few frustrating and some pretty good sites, I scrolled down to find catapult magazine and a totally relevant piece on rock’n’roll and Christianity that I hadn’t read before. Thanks, Rob. I can’t believe we haven’t discussed him at all so far on this board! Are there any other Nick Cave fans out there?

I dig him. A lot.

Never heard of him. Please educate us…

There is a movie called The Cave coming out. Is Nick somehow related to subterranean prehistoric creatures? No seriously, fill me in. Always on the lookout for good music.

JaBirdV: Here’s a great article about Nick Cave from Salon.com that could give you an introduction to Cave’s work.

i suppose a link to Rob’s article would be relevant as well. and i could mention that the music that accompanied the memory for this poem was Nick Cave’s [i:4793d1e4fa]No More Shall We Part[/i:4793d1e4fa]. if i’m being evasive in describing his music, it’s because i have a hard time applying words and categories. i think of Nick Cave’s music when i read Gerard Manley Hopkins’ words of gratitude for “all things counter, original, spare, strange…” and i think of his music when i hear the title of the one woman show about Dorothy Day: [i:4793d1e4fa]Haunted by God[/i:4793d1e4fa]. i’d be interested to hear how others describe (or can’t describe) it…

One of my favourite movie moments is Nice Cave’s performance of “From Her to Eternity” in Wim Wender’s film “Wings of Desire.” Absolutely mesmerizing. Thanks grant, for introducing me to both Wenders and Cave back in the day.

I’m reading a biography on Cave right now called “The Bad Seed”. An excellent source for background info, if you’re really interested. Cave is an Australian born rockstar who’s band “The Birthday Party” was punker than punk. Cave used to kick audience members in the head and crash cars for fun. He’s struggled with drug use and led a pretty rough life, but has always dropped little snippets of ideas about God and love. He seems to be a romantic at heart. One of my favorite moments is in an album called “Murder Ballads”. The entire album is filled with songs from the perspective of murderers or the victims of gruesome crimes. It starts out scary and moves further into despair and horror until the very last song turns all this evil into hope. The song, called “Death is not the End”, actually transcends and holds onto the comfort that as powerful and horrific evil seems, death does not ultimately have the last word. Cave reminds us again and again that we’re all “on fire” and deserve our own damnations, but that love is still there and will always be there. The newest album features more of this hope than anything I’ve heard by him. It’s great praise and worship music! Gospel choir and all. Buy it. You can also check out his book, “And The Ass Saw the Angel”. The title comes from the passage on Balaam and the donkey and the book has that deep dip into old mythology in a contemporary context.