Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!

  Nick Cave said:

Ever since I can remember hearing the Lazarus story, when I was a kid, you know, back in church, I was disturbed and worried by it. Traumatized, actually. We are all, of course, in awe of the greatest of Christ's miracles - raising a man from the dead - but I couldn't help but wonder how Lazarus felt about it. As a child it gave me the creeps, to be honest. I've taken Lazarus and stuck him in New York City, in order to give the song, a hip, contemporary feel. I was also thinking about Harry Houdini who spent a lot of his life trying to debunk the spiritualists who were cashing in on the bereaved. He believed there was nothing going on beyond the grave. He was the second greatest escapologist, Harry was, Lazarus, of course, being the greatest. I wanted to create a kind of vehicle, a medium, for Houdini to speak to us if he so desires, you know, from beyond the grave.

#1 Dig, Lazarus, Dig! – 4:12

#2 Today's Lesson – 4:41

#3 Moonland – 3:54

#4 Night of the Lotus Eaters – 4:53

#5 Albert Goes West – 3:32

#6 We Call Upon the Author – 5:12

#7 Hold on to Yourself – 5:51

#8 Lie Down Here (and Be My Girl) – 4:58

#9 Jesus of the Moon – 3:22

#10 Midnight Man – 5:07

#11 More News from Nowhere – 7:58

On my first listen. The sound is sort of somewhere between his most recent (and quite harsh) side-project Grinderman and more recent Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds records. Which I think is nice. And come on, any dude who can rock this 'stache needs respect.

Your thoughts? (on the album or the mustache)

I liked that Grinderman record, so I'll probably check it out

i like his older weepier stuff. haven't heard grinderman though which got great reviews.

I really enjoyed Abattoir Blues/Orpheus as well as Grinderman. I'll definitely be picking this one up. As with Tom Waits, he just seems to keep getting better with age. And his lyrics actually contribute a great deal towards my enjoyment of his music. Lyrics are usually pretty secondary for me, but the man has a way with words.

I know the feeling, Zephyr. I pretty much only listen to two types of music - electronic music for the shear enjoyment of complex rhythm and melody, and singer/songwriting type stuff like Waits/Cave/Dylan/Cohen/Darnielle. I guess I like a lot of different music actually, but those two types rank the highest.

def a nice mustache.

The whole album's posted for previewing on myspace right now!

http://www.myspace.com/nickcaveandthebadseeds

  Quixote said:

I know the feeling, Zephyr. I pretty much only listen to two types of music - electronic music for the shear enjoyment of complex rhythm and melody, and singer/songwriting type stuff like Waits/Cave/Dylan/Cohen/Darnielle. I guess I like a lot of different music actually, but those two types rank the highest.

Those are the two main types of music that I make. My tastes are all over the board though. Waits, Nick Cave, Elliott Smith and Nick Drake are my favorite singer/songwriters. Cohen's lyrics are amazing, but his musical arrangements usually turn me off. I should listen to more of his old stuff. Is there anywhere online where I can hear some of this Darnielle fellow(?) you mentioned? I couldn't find an artist by that name on myspace.

Listening to the songs on his MySpace page and this is excellent.

I've read nothing but positive reviews and it seems they're justified. I'll be picking this up ASAP.

  Zephyr_Nova said:

The whole album's posted for previewing on myspace right now!

http://www.myspace.com/nickcaveandthebadseeds

 

  Quixote said:

I know the feeling, Zephyr. I pretty much only listen to two types of music - electronic music for the shear enjoyment of complex rhythm and melody, and singer/songwriting type stuff like Waits/Cave/Dylan/Cohen/Darnielle. I guess I like a lot of different music actually, but those two types rank the highest.

 

Those are the two main types of music that I make. My tastes are all over the board though. Waits, Nick Cave, Elliott Smith and Nick Drake are my favorite singer/songwriters. Cohen's lyrics are amazing, but his musical arrangements usually turn me off. I should listen to more of his old stuff. Is there anywhere online where I can hear some of this Darnielle fellow(?) you mentioned? I couldn't find an artist by that name on myspace.

He's released an album or two per year since like 1994 or so. Releases under the name "the Mountain Goats". Started out very lo-fi (recorded on a tape-deck) and moved to the studio since 2002.

My favs are the yo-yo 7" singles (New Asian Cinema, Isopanisad Radio Hour, Devil in the Shortwave) and a few others from the time period like On Juhu Beach and the Subpop 7" (Jam Eater Blues). The best starting albums are probably The Coroner's Gambit, Full Force Galesburg, Tallahassee, All Hail West Texas, Sweden.... ok almost everything =P.

Mind you he's one of the guys that you either become obsessed with or hate with a passion, but he fits in well with people like Cave and Waits.