It must be Monday, because Nick Cave has once again provided some colourful answers to some potentially controversial fan questions in his latest post for The Red Hand Files.
Previously, the musician has confronted the evolution of his relationship with hatred, taken down ChatGPT and mused on Love Island — but this time around, he's responded to two questions about Tom Jones's 1960s hit "Delilah" getting banned from playing at matches by the Welsh Rugby Union last week due to its "problematic" nature.
A couple of Cave fans named Tom and Dylan cited the song's omission from the half-time entertainment playlist as cause for concern over the singer-songwriter's own penchant for murder ballads, the literal namesake of his 1996 Bad Seeds album. "Just how worried are you about your future cancellation, and what is your view on such censorship?" Tom questioned, while Dylan asked if Cave thought these violent songs turned people into murderers.
"I just went online and found a Welsh male choir singing their rendition of 'Delilah' and I'm sorry to report that listening to this version of the song did make me feel like murdering someone, primarily the Welsh male choir," the musician wrote in response. "Or maybe it wasn't the choir, but the song itself that disturbed me. I just don't like it."
He went on to share that he does, in fact, like Tom Jones — with whom he duetted on "far superior murder ballad," Jones's 1967 track "Green, Green Grass of Home" — but "Delilah," well, "just sort of sucks."
Cave went on, "As someone who knows a thing or two about murder ballads, for my taste, it's all too waltzy and strident and hammy and mariachi and triumphant. And the words are ugly — 'I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more.' Really? Most damning of all, even The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time, couldn't do anything with it, although there is a wonderfully perverse attempt on The Old Grey Whistle Test," he wrote, citing the British music show that ran on BBC from 1971 to 1988.
"I can't get too animated by the fact that 'Delilah' has been banned," Cave admitted. "I understand there is a principle here, but on some level I like the fact that some songs are controversial enough to be outlawed. It fills me with a kind of professional pride to be a part of the sometimes contentious business of songwriting. It's cool. I like it. I just wish it was a more worthy song to be awarded that greatest of honours, indeed that supreme privilege, of being banned."
If you're going to write something controversial enough to threaten the sanctity of rugby arenas, at least make it good!
Previously, the musician has confronted the evolution of his relationship with hatred, taken down ChatGPT and mused on Love Island — but this time around, he's responded to two questions about Tom Jones's 1960s hit "Delilah" getting banned from playing at matches by the Welsh Rugby Union last week due to its "problematic" nature.
A couple of Cave fans named Tom and Dylan cited the song's omission from the half-time entertainment playlist as cause for concern over the singer-songwriter's own penchant for murder ballads, the literal namesake of his 1996 Bad Seeds album. "Just how worried are you about your future cancellation, and what is your view on such censorship?" Tom questioned, while Dylan asked if Cave thought these violent songs turned people into murderers.
"I just went online and found a Welsh male choir singing their rendition of 'Delilah' and I'm sorry to report that listening to this version of the song did make me feel like murdering someone, primarily the Welsh male choir," the musician wrote in response. "Or maybe it wasn't the choir, but the song itself that disturbed me. I just don't like it."
He went on to share that he does, in fact, like Tom Jones — with whom he duetted on "far superior murder ballad," Jones's 1967 track "Green, Green Grass of Home" — but "Delilah," well, "just sort of sucks."
Cave went on, "As someone who knows a thing or two about murder ballads, for my taste, it's all too waltzy and strident and hammy and mariachi and triumphant. And the words are ugly — 'I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more.' Really? Most damning of all, even The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time, couldn't do anything with it, although there is a wonderfully perverse attempt on The Old Grey Whistle Test," he wrote, citing the British music show that ran on BBC from 1971 to 1988.
"I can't get too animated by the fact that 'Delilah' has been banned," Cave admitted. "I understand there is a principle here, but on some level I like the fact that some songs are controversial enough to be outlawed. It fills me with a kind of professional pride to be a part of the sometimes contentious business of songwriting. It's cool. I like it. I just wish it was a more worthy song to be awarded that greatest of honours, indeed that supreme privilege, of being banned."
If you're going to write something controversial enough to threaten the sanctity of rugby arenas, at least make it good!
