Nick Cave — Loss, Yearning, Transcendence

On Being with Krista Tippett

On Being Studios

Society, Spirituality, Society & Culture, Sociology, Culture, Science, Religion & Spirituality, Krista Tippett, Social Sciences, On Being, Arts

4.7 • 10.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2023

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Here are some experiences to which Nick Cave gives voice and song: the "universal condition" of yearning, and of loss; a "spirituality of rigor"; and the transcendent and moral dimensions of what music is about. This Australian musician, writer, and actor first made a name in the wild world of ’80s post-punk and later with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He also underwent public struggles with addiction and rehab. Since the accidental death of his 15-year-old son Arthur in 2015, and a few years later, the death of his eldest child Jethro, he has entered yet another transfigured era, co-created an exquisite book called Faith, Hope and Carnage, and become a frank and eloquent interlocutor on grief. As a human and a songwriter, Nick Cave is an embodiment of a life examined and evolved. He sat with Krista in the On Being studio in Minneapolis, and the gorgeous conversation that followed is woven in this episode with his gorgeous music.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for on-being with Krista Tippett comes from the Fetser Institute.
0:04.0	Fetser supports a movement of organizations that are applying spiritual solutions to society's toughest problems.
0:10.0	Learn more at fetzer.org.
0:28.4	Here are some experiences to which Nick Cave gives voice and song as exquisitely as anyone with whom I've ever spoken. The universal human conditions of yearning and of loss, a spirituality of rigor, and the
0:39.1	transcendent and moral dimensions of what music is trying to say. This Australian musician, writer, and
0:46.7	actor first made a name in the wild world of 80s post-punk and later with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He also underwent public struggles with
0:56.5	addiction and rehab. I don't believe in an interventionist God.
1:07.0	But I know, darling, not that you do.
1:19.0	But if I did I would kneel down and ask him.
1:27.0	Not to intervene when it came to you.
1:40.0	Well, not to touch a hair in your head,
1:43.4	leave you as you are.
1:45.9	They felt he had to direct you and direct you into my own.
1:53.4	Since the accidental death of his 15-year-old son Arthur in 2015 and a few years later,
1:59.4	the death of his eldest child Jethro,
2:02.3	Nick Cave has entered yet another transfigured era.
2:06.0	He's co-created a gorgeous book called Faith, Hope, and
2:09.5	Carnage, and become a frank and eloquent interlocutor on grief to the many who write to him on his blog called
2:17.0	The Red Hand Files. traveling up allingly alone on a single
2:27.0	in the road.
2:30.0	Into the lavender fields that reach high beyond the sky.
2:39.0	As a human and a songwriter, Nick Cave is an embodiment of a life examined and evolved.
	...

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