Nick Cave says he turned down likelihood to sing “barely foolish anti-woke screed” on new Morrissey tune
Nick Cave has revealed that he turned down a chance to collaborate with Morrissey, regardless of contemplating him certainly one of “the most effective lyricists of his era”.
The Unhealthy Seeds frontman opened up in regards to the determination to reject a collaboration with Morrissey throughout a brand new replace on his web site, The Red Hand Files. The dialog was sparked after a fan obtained in contact asking for an replace on his “relationship with” the Smiths icon.
“I’ve by no means really met Morrissey, which might be why I like him,” Cave started. “He’s undeniably a fancy and divisive determine, somebody who takes greater than somewhat pleasure in pissing folks off.
“As satisfying as some might discover this, it holds little curiosity for me, however for the truth that Morrissey might be the most effective lyricist of his era – definitely the strangest, funniest, most subtle, and most refined.”
Cave continued: “We had a number of nice e-mail exchanges final yr wherein Morrissey requested if I’d sing on a brand new tune he had written. I’d have been pleased to take action, nevertheless, whereas the tune he despatched was fairly pretty, it started with a prolonged and fully irrelevant Greek bouzouki intro.”
“It additionally appeared that he didn’t need me to truly sing on the tune, however ship, excessive of the bouzouki, an unnecessarily provocative and barely foolish anti-woke screed he had written,” he added. “Though I suppose I agreed with the sentiment on some degree, it simply wasn’t my factor. I attempt to maintain politics, cultural or in any other case, out of the music I’m concerned with. I discover that it has a diminishing impact and is antithetical to no matter it’s I’m making an attempt to realize. So, I politely declined. I mentioned no.”
He went on to loop in one other query from a fan, which instructed to him that “craving” will be the final “human situation”.
“Craving is, certainly, the essence of being human. We stay our lives with a way of incompleteness, of abandonment, a sense of one thing missing,” the ‘Into My Arms’ singer wrote.
“The craving you converse of is the common craving for what is nice, stunning, and true. We exist on this world and ache for this reality, for this magnificence, in its seeming absence. Sure music has the power, not less than briefly, to fill that void, making us really feel complete and fewer deserted. We really feel full after we hearken to music we love, whereas being guided in the direction of the goodness of issues.”
He progressed: “I discover that Morrissey’s music, no matter how jaundiced and disaffected the songs might generally appear, does exactly that – ushers us towards what’s true.”
In addition to praising Morrissey’s songwriting, Cave additionally went on to share that he had spent his morning listening to rising New York rock group YHWH Nailgun, and praised them as each “fully superior” and in a position to “level us to the heavens by going all the best way down”.
The band have been featured on the NME 100 at first of the yr, listed as one of many prime rising artists to control in 2025. They then featured on The Cowl in April and advised NME about how they seize inspiration from “the whole lot increasing from blurriness, color, mild and darkish”.
The newest entry on the Pink Hand Recordsdata isn’t the one time that Cave has spoken out about Morrissey and the controversy surrounding his private views.
Again in 2019, Cave took to the platform to encourage folks to separate Morrissey‘s political beliefs from his music and permit the songwriter to talk his thoughts. “No matter inanities he might postulate, we can not overlook the truth that he has written an unlimited and extraordinary catalogue, which has enhanced the lives of his many followers past recognition,” he mentioned on the time.
The feedback got here across the identical time that Morrissey claimed that Nigel Farage would make an excellent Prime Minister, and shared his reward for the far-right For Britain celebration.
Then, final yr, Cave touched upon the topic of separating an artist from their work once more, saying that he had chosen to make peace with the gifted individuals who have “upset” him – offered that the artwork they make is “genuine”.
“Our lives are difficult and all of us suppose and do issues which can be usually unfathomable to at least one one other, however we achieve this as a result of we stay our experiences and discover our truths elsewhere,” he shared.
In a 2023 interview with NME, Cave additionally instructed that among the strongest music usually comes from probably the most divisive personalities.
“I don’t significantly care the place my artwork comes from. It doesn’t trouble me if somebody wears a For Britain badge [Morrissey] or is an anti-semite or no matter they usually’re making extraordinary music,” he defined. “It’s not that I agree with their politics, which I don’t, I simply suppose that what they’re placing into the world [with music] is actually good so it must be inspired.”
“It’s no accident that the actually nice stuff is commonly made by probably the most problematic folks,” he continued. “I don’t fairly perceive it, however there’s definitely no metric that claims that virtuousness makes good artwork.”
In different Nick Cave information, final month the songwriter used his Pink Hand Recordsdata web page to share a listing of his favorite movies, which included Scarface, Bambi and Love Really. He additionally kicked off his European solo summer season tour final week, starting the dates with three live shows in Zurich, Switzerland. Visit here for remaining tickets.
As for Morrissey, the singer lately shared the total footage of his New Yr’s Eve 2024 live performance, which was recorded on the Hollywood Palladium. He’s at the moment within the midst of a summer season tour with stops within the UK, Europe and past.