Nick Cave: A Study of Love Death and Apocalypse

by Roland Boer

Cave Droppings analyses the work of Nick Cave, a singular, idiosyncratic and brilliant musician, specifically through his engagements with theology and the Bible. It does so not merely in terms of his written work, the novels and plays and poetry and lyrics that he continues to produce, but also the music itself. Covering more than three decades of extraordinarily diverse creativity, the book has seven chapters focusing the modes in which Cave engages with the Bible; the total depravity of the worlds invoked in his novels and other written work; the consistent invocation of apocalyptic themes; his restoration of death as a valid dimension of life; the twists of the love song; the role of a sensual and heretical Christ; and then a detailed, dialectical analysis of his musical forms. The book draws upon a select number of theorists who provide the methodological possibilities of digging deep into the theological nature of Cave's work, namely Ernst Bloch, who is the methodological foundation stone, as well as Theodor Adorno, Theodore Gracyk and Jacques Attali.

Genres: Theology

192 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2012

About the author

Roland Theodore Boer is a Marxist philosopher based in China. His research concerns the many dimensions of the construction of socialism, especially in China but also elsewhere.

Reviews

[Crippled_ships · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where were the editors (!) when this thing was sent off to be printed??? It's a real mess... A lot of factual errors, unnecessary repetitions, and clumsy use of language, as well as rather questionable conclusions being drawn (e.g. the queering of "Brompton Oratory"). This book made a lot of promises, but did not deliver. The only good thing I can say about it is that it is short. A waste of time, imho.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read for someone as unfamiliar with the Bible as I am. I enjoyed the analysis but kept getting annoyed with the factual errors - for instance referring to Foi Na Cruz as a "Spanish" song. It's Portuguese! We can agree to disagree on the merits of The Boatman's Call.