Cheers to Nick Cave

I know I just praised the man for his entertaining book reading at Barnes & Noble, but I must wish Nicholas Edward Cave a very happy 52nd birthday.

Nick Cave Takes On NYC

Yesterday (Sept. 14), the always brilliant Nick Cave descended upon New York City's Union Square to take part in Barnes & Noble's Upstairs at the Square event. Cave just issued his long-awaited book, The Death of Bunny Munro, and this was his only U.S. stop in support of the novel.

Dressed in a gray suit with a boy-blue dress shirt, the lanky Bad Seeds frontman, sans mustache, seemed thrilled to be there. The fourth floor setting was absolutely packed. I got there at 4:30 (and the reading was scheduled for 7pm) and people were already pouring in, aiming to get a seat up close. Luckily, I landed in the sixth row.

The Q&A session, lead by author and journalist Katherine Lanpher -- aka the co-host of the Air America Radio program, "The Al Franken Show," in 2004 and 2005 -- was quite enjoyable. Nick was incredibly funny and charming. He'd tell me later at the book signing that it was "quite nerveracking" to be up there, on stage, doing such a thing.

During the near hour-long discussion, he and Lanpher chatted about the new book (Nick said that writing this book was "a joy to write" and "easy" versus the three years it took to complete his first novel, And the Ass Saw the Angel), how fatherhood has affected him, and how Warren Ellis first came into his life, and more. There was a lot of laughing from both Nick and the crowd. He also read a bit from the new book.

He's Got Mojo

I haven't bought MOJO in ages ... well, I haven't bought any of those British music mags in a long, long time. I used to worship Q, Vox, and Select, and NME and Melody Maker when they were still in newspaper format. Anyhow, MOJO still hammers out a slick issue now and then and its latest is a good example: Nick Cave dons the March 2009 cover and here, the original Bad Seed reflects upon his three decades in rock in a 15-page spread.

"I'm dressed up -- cufflinks and all -- for your photo session, but I don't wear a suit in a dandyish way. I wear it as a worker. Someone who prepares himself for the job. It's always been like that."

See? Such class.

There's also a killer interview with Brian Eno and another piece with Johnny Marr, but Paul Trynka's reflective piece on Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton is really stellar -- Iggy Pop, J Mascis and James Williamson pay tribute.. Asheton passed away last month at the age of 60. He lived in my old neighborhood on the west side of Ann Arbor ... a cool as hell musician, but just a regular guy. Still sad about this one. RIP Ron Asheton.

Do You Like Rock & Roll Music?

Forgive me ... I'm a little behind on this blog thing. Anyhow, the annual Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Poll came out last week. Here's what ruled my ears in 2008.



The year in music is already shaping up nicely for 2009. Franz Ferdinand's third LP, Tonight, dropped today, while Morrissey's Years of Refusal follows February 17th and U2's long-awaited studio effort, No Line on the Horizon, is released March 3rd. More good stuff from M. Ward, Neko Case ... the list goes on and on.

BUT! Can someone please explain Animal Collective to me?

I want a new Doves album. It's been nearly four years since Some Cities. But word on the street is that their fourth album is finished. New tracks will be debuted in their native UK in mid-March, and first single "Kingdom of Rust" is slated for a March 30th release.

St. Nick

Joyeux l'Anniversaire to a man who needs no introduction simply because he prefers to take care of that kind of thing himself: Nick Cave. The Aussie singer/songwriter turns a fantastic 51 today. The Sultan and I get to see Cave and his Bad Seeds -- who are currently touring the U.S. in support of their 14th album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! -- perform at NYC's WaMu Theater, Saturday, October 4th.

Also in Nick Cave news, the Guardian recently announced that the long-awaited follow-up to Cave's 1989 novel, And the Ass Saw the Angel, -- Death of Bunny Munro -- is slated for September 2009.