The Red Hand Files Edition
On Nick Cave, dialogue, and a gentler Internet
Colin here. Personal, hyper accessibility to fans isn’t in the traditional rock and roll playbook. In the past, artists would cultivate an intentional detachment, build elements of mystique, and position themselves as something larger than mere mortals. The element of idol worship and larger-than-life-ness was kinda the point. Obviously, social media has broken down many of these walls: superstars engage more directly with their fans in ways that go far above and beyond a backstage meet-and-greet. The dialogue is going 24/7, and some artists manage to thread the needle between a high concept approach while also being open and accessible. Lady Gaga would be an example.
Another example comes in a much more analog form. Nick Cave has always been symbiotic with his ravenous and highly engaged fan base. It’s readily apparent when you watch the energy exchange in his live show. The crowd becomes active participants, even semi-ritually crashing the stage as part of the final tunes of the night.
But another project of his is the most interesting to me: The Red Hand Files. It is an ongoing dialogue with his fans. It comes in the simple form of letters and emails and Nick’s personal responses. The questions from the mundane to the profoundly spiritual and emotional. And it is an experiment that has evolved over time. This has also confounded expectations of Cave as an artist. As the New Yorker explains,
This openness is at odds with Cave’s reputation as a prickly, wild-eyed, indefatigable bandleader, armed with the verve of a hellfire-spitting preacher. For the better part of forty years, currently with the Bad Seeds and formerly with the volatile post-punkers the Birthday Party, he has forged demented narratives about doomed characters, detailed crises of faith, in God and people alike, and outlined the anxieties that both consume us and remind us that our hearts beat for yet another day. Though he gives himself over completely as a performer, Cave also operates with detachment. A lovesick couplet from “The Boatman’s Call” can seem as though the songwriter plucked the words from your diary, but Cave himself still feels unknowable, at a distance.Cave’s newsletters both demystify his persona and directly address longtime fan curiosities…
Why is this interesting?
A lot of Cave’s songwriting is obtuse, referencing myths, a cast of characters, and the hairier parts of Leviticus in equal measure. However, his responses to fans are much more clear, poignant, and straightforward.
For example, this question and answer:
How do you forgive somebody whom you love very much but has done something truly terrible?
An excerpt from Cave’s full response:
So, Mel, how do you forgive the one you love for doing something truly terrible? I would try to see the idea of forgiveness as an act of insubordination, a non-compliance to the forces of malevolence, a recognition that you will not be defined by the offence that has been inflicted upon you. See forgiveness as a gift, not to the person who has committed the injury, but to yourself, in the form of self-protection. The sooner you start the process, the less time you may spend imprisoned by resentment and bitterness, hopefully moving toward a more resilient self. To try and fail is in itself a form of betterment. There are times forgiveness is beyond us but still we must reach, still we must strive.
Love, Nick
It’s not all heavy subject matter. The answers can be at times playful, ruminating on a storied creative career, replete with odd run-ins with Nico and an ode to a favorite memory from a favorite bar in Brazil. Regardless of whether or not you’re a fan, there’s gold in the response and the interactions. As the Guardian characterized it, “Nick Cave is showing us a gentler way to use the Internet.” (CJN)
Map of the Day:
The best-selling vehicles in America by state. [via Ryan M] (NRB)
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Quick Links:
Qatar past and present on Flickr (CJN)
A conversation between Michaela Cole and Donald Glover in GQ (CJN)
The plot to kill Assange (CJN)
Thanks for reading,
Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN)
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