Yesterday the U.S. Postal Service was good to me and dropped off new albums from Nick Cave and Danny Cohen.
Nick's new band, called Grinderman, will release their debut album in April. The music is actually a throwback to Nick's early band The Bad Seeds -- not too surprising since the Grinderman guys are all alumni of that band (as well as The Cramps, The Triffids, and Dirty Three). Given the pedigree, it shouldn't be too much of a shock that the music is loud, raunchy, primal blues punk, not unlike Iggy and the Stooges, but with a far more literate songwriter fronting the whole ramshackle mess. The first single is called "No Pussy Blues" and goes "I bought her a dozen snow white doves/I did her dishes in rubber gloves … but she still didn’t want to, she just never wants to.” Okay, that doesn't sound all that literate. But it has a certain universal appeal.
Danny Cohen, whose new album is called Shade of Dorian Gray, is one strange but strangely appealing dude. I loved his last album We're All Gunna Die, and after one listen, the new one does not disappoint at all. Danny sings in a craggy baritone that wanders in and out of pitch, and writes long, rambling, discursive odes about '50s TV shows and women who lock themselves in the bathroom for days on end. He offers three songs about death ("Death Waltz," "Rigor Mortis," and "Beneath the Shroud" -- the latter loosely based on "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"). His primary musical accompaniment is church organ and drunken Salvation Army band. Just your standard Top 40 fare. I suspect this one could end up on my Best of 2007 list. We'll see. It will be released on February 6th.
And the title of the new Nick Cave album is...?
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ReplyDeleteBill, the advance copy I have (the album isn't out until April 10th) says "Grinderman." That appears to be both the name of the band (I'm fairly certain of that one) and the album (I'm a little less certain of that one).
ReplyDeleteThings can and do change between the release of review copies and an album's official release, but that's what I know now.
I met Nick Cave once, but I suppose that's neither here nor there. And I had a roadie from whatever band he was in at the time invite me to the hotel room party (I didn't attend).
ReplyDeleteAh, one's brushes with greatness.
Was it a Birthday Party?
ReplyDeleteNick Cave sent me some email about a year ago telling me that Paste was his favorite music magazine, and that he particularly enjoyed reading my back-page columns while sitting on the toilet. I was honored. I think.
Well there you go topping my story! Yeah, I think it was a Birthday Party. That sounds right. To be honest, I don't remember why I was there, but there's much about that time of my life that probably doesn't bear remembering! But I bet I was wearing a lot of black. And I probably had much much bigger hair.
ReplyDeleteWell, apparently my writing is good for the loosing of the bowels. Whether that makes it crappy writing or hot-shit writing is a matter for debate. In any case, I don't think it tops your story. I've never met Nick Cave, although I had bigger hair back in the day as well. Instead of getting longer, it gradually assumed a conical shape. It was a natural Beehive. Not many people could do that, and it's probably a far greater accomplishment than inspiring Nick Cave's bathroom ruminations.
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