Something 4 The Weekend # 237

Grinderman: Grinderman 2: "Palaces Of Montezuma" [mp3]

I just finished watching season 2 of Luther over at Netflix, and this was the song played over the closing credits of the final episode. If you haven't seen Luther, I highly recommend it. Idris Elba plays the fearless and brilliant detective, John Luther, taking on London criminals that are so absurd in their extremes that they could have been ripped from the cheesiest of comic books. As any good show of these times, seemingly everyone is morally ambiguous, or compromised to one extent or another, although in the end, like any good cop show, the good guys win. Anyways, Luther is an extremely well-done and engaging crime drama that I cannot recommend enough.

Grinderman is damn awesome too.

Hotcha! Hank

EVERYTHINGATHON! November 2008

It's the 1st of November, and that means a new episode of EVERYTHINGATHON! is uploaded and streaming over at my website of the same name...

http://www.everythingathon.com/home.htm

This month's episode is called THE NICK CAVE MYSTERY HOUR, and it's simply an hour of Nick Cave tunes threaded through an old DICK DIAMOND radio mystery...

Good stuff, so check it out through the month of November...

Hotcha! Hank

Dig!!! Sideways Maneuver Dig!!!

Probably only Nick Cave would take the name Lazarus and flip it to Larry. Would have Larry returned from the dead by God/Jesus only to slowly spiral back downward into poverty, addiction and despair. Would have Larry desperate to dig himself back into his grave, and death...Would still suggest like a true believer that there really is an afterlife "up there", and it must be amazing beyond comprehension, to drive a poor soul like Larry so crazy, to make him wish so bad to die again...

Dig, babycakes! Dig!

Hotcha! Hank

Something 4 The Weekend # 63

Last weekend I briefly mentioned favorite bands, and how it's become impossible (and silly) for me to narrow it down to just one. I mentioned a few bands that quickly came to mind, but I definitely forgot Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on that short list.

Man, I love Nick Cave. I mean, it's basically nothing less that a total mancrush at this point in my life. It basically boils down to the idea that Mr. Cave is one of those people I wish I could be, but never will be.

He's a total inspiration to me because he's one of those rare artists who simply improves with age, whereas so many artists, even the best of the best, typically go through a significant creative slump in their middle years, only to emerge on the other side with the experience and wisdom to once again elevate their artistry. Bob Dylan is the example I always cite regarding this phenomenon - an artist of the absolute highest caliber who went through a severe artistic drought for a good 15 years before emerging in his 50's again as a force of creative nature.

But Nick Cave...He's been a songwriter/singer/musician for nearly 30 years now, and as far as I can tell, has never gone through any sort of creative slump whatsoever. Oh sure, sometimes his albums aren't as good as his best, but he has NEVER disappointed, and as I'm arguing here, has actually improved with age. Even if you disagree with this idea, we must agree that he's been evolving his craft all along. It may be a slow evolution, but an evolution nonetheless, and not only has his music continued to impress and entertain, but he's branched off (rather successfully, I might add) into novel writing, screenwriting, and film-scoring over the past decade or so.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!: "We Call Upon The Author" [192k mp3]

So here we are, with another Bad Seeds record, and it's easily among the very best of Cave's career. Again, the record isn't a radical departure from his past, but again, there are slight evolutions in sound and lyrics that keep the whole damn thing fresh and exciting.

I've only had the new album since Tuesday, but I've been spinning it endlessly at work, and I gotta believe that when the dust settles on 2008, it's gonna be near the top of my fave list for the year.

Do yourself, and Nick and the band, a huge favor, and buy the damn thing right now.

Hotcha! Hank

Something 4 The Weekend # 38

Nick Cave is a pretty intense performer, and so it was a hoot seeing him on Letterman's show, fronting Grinderman, an overtly racous RAWK band, laden with noise, serious facial hair, and Cave himself, the prowling preacher grinding out a big organ sound with one hand, while summoning angels or demons with the other, his voice, as always, larger than life...

And in the bridges, there he was, bless his heart, buzzing into his microphone like a honeybee...

Grinderman: "Honeybee (Let's Fly To Mars)": 188k mp3

It was a hoot because I'm guessing that Letterman's audience skews pretty heavily towards the retired community and cornfed tourists who fear God in a slightly more innocent way than Nick Cave does, and I can only imagine the looks on their faces while Cave & Co. were laying it down...

A heavy gospel that night, yeah...

Hotcha! Hank

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Stagger Lee

Hotcha! Hank

Something 4 The Weekend # 15

BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!

Why is the biggest shopping day of the year called "Black Friday"?

Is it an ironic nod to the fact that the stores, the restaurants, the parking lots and the roads are an absolute nightmare on this day? This holiest of consumer celebrations?

Why do the news anchors say "Black Friday" with a smile on their faces?

Is it because they're comfortably removed from the bedlam, sipping coffee in their offices?

Quite frankly, I don't care about Black Friday, since I traditionally stay in the house on this day. I listen to music, maybe read a little, take a nap every few hours and in general try to forget that the reason for the season involves things like Best Buy Reward Zone Bonus Points.

Black Friday brings Nick Cave to mind.

Nick Cave: Up Jumped The Devil: 128k mp3

Dissonance abounds this time of year!

Ahoy!

Hotcha! Hank