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Bad Seed: The Biography of Nick Cave
A widely acclaimed biography of one of rock's most compelling, uncompromising and influential singer-songwriters, Ian Johnston's BAD SEED offers a superb overview of Nick Cave's career to date.
Through Cave's fronting of the incendiary bands The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds, producing music of unfettered expression and explosive intensity, to his creative collaborations outside of the rock industry in film and literature, BAD SEED illustrates a life lived in barely controlled chaos: and unravels the motivation and unique appeal of a reluctant icon whose songs, according to the Rolling Stones, possess "the authority of the most primal kind of myth."
Through Cave's fronting of the incendiary bands The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds, producing music of unfettered expression and explosive intensity, to his creative collaborations outside of the rock industry in film and literature, BAD SEED illustrates a life lived in barely controlled chaos: and unravels the motivation and unique appeal of a reluctant icon whose songs, according to the Rolling Stones, possess "the authority of the most primal kind of myth."
335 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
60 people are currently reading
1165 people want to read
About the author
Ian Johnston
3 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
As a freelance writer, Ian Johnston has contributed numerous articles on film and music to various publications. He has also worked on several music videos. His book on the career of the The Cramps was described as "one of the best and most diligently researched music books of all time."
As a freelance writer, Ian Johnston has contributed numerous articles on film and music to various publications. He has also worked on several music videos. His book on the career of the The Cramps was described as "one of the best and most diligently researched music books of all time."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 15, 2020
CRITIQUE:
Obsession
I'm very tempted to increase the star rating for this definitive biography of Nick Cave to five stars. Instead, I've retained a rating from when I first entered the book in My Books.
My main justification (rationalisation) is that the book was published in 1996, and doesn't deal with any of the many albums after “Let Love In" (April, 1994). Thus, it's necessarily incomplete, and warrants an update/supplement.
The book is well-structured and more or less devotes one chapter to each album by each of Nick Cave’s three bands: the Boys Next Door, the Birthday Party, and the Bad Seeds.
Just as the band names begin with the letter “b", I started to make a list of the most common adjectives used in the description of their music, their performances and their fans, and these adjectives began with the letter “f": fanatical, frantic, freakish, frenetic, fervent, fervour (admittedly a noun related to the previous adjective).
Discretion
The content of each chapter is subtly built around interviews with key band members and production staff who witnessed the production of albums and videos. The interviews interlock perfectly and sometimes imperceptibly with Ian Johnston's narrative.
However, despite the quality of what appears on the page, Johnston doesn't seem to have conducted (or used) any interviews with Nick Cave himself (the most authoritative source seems to have been Mick Harvey, "who is blessed with an incredible memory."). All quotes from Cave are attributed to interviews by other music journalists. It's not explained why this happened. (Maybe, he didn't want the book to read like an authorised biography.) Nick Cave has had a fluctuating relationship with music journalists, particularly those from the influential UK music papers like NME, Melody Maker, and Sounds.
Sometimes, these journalists promoted Cave, and at other times they attacked him. He bemoaned that "I have to spend hours talking to fucking idiots like you." To them, he was a "journalist's nightmare." Ironically, at key stages in Cave’s career, Johnston's opinions stick pretty closely to those of Matt Snow, Don Watson and Chris Bohn from NME.
Likewise, Johnston expresses few critical opinions on the music itself. He's content to quote reviews in the UK music papers. It’s not that he's an uncritical fan of the man or the music. His greatest interest seems to be the context surrounding its production and performance. This is the essence of the Nick Cave story he wants to tell.
Possession
The consumption of heroin and speed was so routine (particularly in London and Berlin), it's a wonder the albums were written, let alone recorded. Whether or not they were on tour, no matter how poor the musicians were at the time, they still managed to locate, and score in, the local red-light district. Drugs also placed enormous pressure on personal relationships, even if some of Nick Cave’s partners co-wrote lyrics or plays (Anita Lane) or were the subject of lyrics (which in the case of Melbourne actress, Deanna Bond, would become “the bane of [her] existence”).
In January, 1988, during the recording of “Tender Prey" in London, Cave was arrested for possession of 884 milligrams of heroin. In order to escape a prison sentence, he entered a two month, residential detoxification facility in August. The treatment was successful, and for the rest of the book, he is clean, although he resumed drinking after a long US tour.
Profession
After the US tour, Cave flew to Sao Paulo in Brazil, where he met his future first wife. On his return to London, he started writing material for the next album:
Meanwhile, he awaited the publication of his first novel, “And the Ass Saw the Angel", and the release of “The Good Son" (which featured “The Ship Song").
Confession
Johnston summarises this album in these terms:
Progression
By the end of the book's narrative in 1994, producer Tony Cohen says, “I reckon that some of the best stuff is going to come out of this slightly more melodic direction.” Similarly, Chris Carr at NME speculates, “The best is yet to come.” Their next album (which was already recorded) would be “Let Love In". It featured two of their most impressive songs, “Do You Love Me?” and “Nobody's Baby Now".
VERSE:
Breakfast (Without You)
All morning he loudly begs
For some toast and scrambled eggs.
You deplore his attitude,
Eating breakfast without you.
Nowhere Near the End
He's a god, he's a human
He's a ghost, he's a guru.
He's the devil down below
He's most adept at voodoo.
He reads his way through history
Hoping to solve the mystery
Why people, they ain't no good
And they don't do what they should.
He's known all along that death,
It's only the beginning,
It's nowhere near the end
And the Lord is his best friend.
SOUNDTRACK:
Obsession
I'm very tempted to increase the star rating for this definitive biography of Nick Cave to five stars. Instead, I've retained a rating from when I first entered the book in My Books.
My main justification (rationalisation) is that the book was published in 1996, and doesn't deal with any of the many albums after “Let Love In" (April, 1994). Thus, it's necessarily incomplete, and warrants an update/supplement.
The book is well-structured and more or less devotes one chapter to each album by each of Nick Cave’s three bands: the Boys Next Door, the Birthday Party, and the Bad Seeds.
Just as the band names begin with the letter “b", I started to make a list of the most common adjectives used in the description of their music, their performances and their fans, and these adjectives began with the letter “f": fanatical, frantic, freakish, frenetic, fervent, fervour (admittedly a noun related to the previous adjective).
Discretion
The content of each chapter is subtly built around interviews with key band members and production staff who witnessed the production of albums and videos. The interviews interlock perfectly and sometimes imperceptibly with Ian Johnston's narrative.
However, despite the quality of what appears on the page, Johnston doesn't seem to have conducted (or used) any interviews with Nick Cave himself (the most authoritative source seems to have been Mick Harvey, "who is blessed with an incredible memory."). All quotes from Cave are attributed to interviews by other music journalists. It's not explained why this happened. (Maybe, he didn't want the book to read like an authorised biography.) Nick Cave has had a fluctuating relationship with music journalists, particularly those from the influential UK music papers like NME, Melody Maker, and Sounds.
Sometimes, these journalists promoted Cave, and at other times they attacked him. He bemoaned that "I have to spend hours talking to fucking idiots like you." To them, he was a "journalist's nightmare." Ironically, at key stages in Cave’s career, Johnston's opinions stick pretty closely to those of Matt Snow, Don Watson and Chris Bohn from NME.
Likewise, Johnston expresses few critical opinions on the music itself. He's content to quote reviews in the UK music papers. It’s not that he's an uncritical fan of the man or the music. His greatest interest seems to be the context surrounding its production and performance. This is the essence of the Nick Cave story he wants to tell.
Possession
The consumption of heroin and speed was so routine (particularly in London and Berlin), it's a wonder the albums were written, let alone recorded. Whether or not they were on tour, no matter how poor the musicians were at the time, they still managed to locate, and score in, the local red-light district. Drugs also placed enormous pressure on personal relationships, even if some of Nick Cave’s partners co-wrote lyrics or plays (Anita Lane) or were the subject of lyrics (which in the case of Melbourne actress, Deanna Bond, would become “the bane of [her] existence”).
In January, 1988, during the recording of “Tender Prey" in London, Cave was arrested for possession of 884 milligrams of heroin. In order to escape a prison sentence, he entered a two month, residential detoxification facility in August. The treatment was successful, and for the rest of the book, he is clean, although he resumed drinking after a long US tour.
Profession
After the US tour, Cave flew to Sao Paulo in Brazil, where he met his future first wife. On his return to London, he started writing material for the next album:
“The songs Cave was writing shared a seductive classic structure and a direct lyrical simplicity to express his sense of sadness at something lost never to be recaptured [for which sense he used the Portuguese word, ‘saudade’].”
Meanwhile, he awaited the publication of his first novel, “And the Ass Saw the Angel", and the release of “The Good Son" (which featured “The Ship Song").
Confession
Johnston summarises this album in these terms:
“Thematically the songs that comprised ‘The Good Son’ set were amongst the most frank and personal that Cave had yet written. Couched within their narratives...were discernible autobiographical allusions intertwined with emotional evocation of lost innocence, remorse and regret.”
Progression
By the end of the book's narrative in 1994, producer Tony Cohen says, “I reckon that some of the best stuff is going to come out of this slightly more melodic direction.” Similarly, Chris Carr at NME speculates, “The best is yet to come.” Their next album (which was already recorded) would be “Let Love In". It featured two of their most impressive songs, “Do You Love Me?” and “Nobody's Baby Now".
VERSE:
Breakfast (Without You)
All morning he loudly begs
For some toast and scrambled eggs.
You deplore his attitude,
Eating breakfast without you.
Nowhere Near the End
He's a god, he's a human
He's a ghost, he's a guru.
He's the devil down below
He's most adept at voodoo.
He reads his way through history
Hoping to solve the mystery
Why people, they ain't no good
And they don't do what they should.
He's known all along that death,
It's only the beginning,
It's nowhere near the end
And the Lord is his best friend.
SOUNDTRACK:
February 10, 2018
4/5 stars
I'm finding it hard to rate this book, or even give my honest thoughts for it. I feel as if I'm rating someone's life events, as this is a biography, and that's a strange thing to do. There were times in which I admired Nick, but there were others in which I was scared for him and his behaviour, but that was his life and I don't want to judge the book by it. One things for sure, this book definitely didn't glamorise the 'rock and roll' lifestyle, but rather gave a raw and intriguing portrayal of Nick Cave's life. I found this to be a very interesting and compelling read, mostly because I'm such a fan of the artist so it was good to hear context to his songs and his life. I especially appreciated the use of interviews by band members and friends throughout the novel, making it seem like an honest portrayal of events. I really enjoyed this read, but I still feel quite apprehensive about rating it or judging its content.
I was so excited when I found this book! I'm a huge fan of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, so of course I had to buy this book. I'm not sure if someone who didn't know their music would have enjoyed this book because it was quite specific. In saying that, this book also dealt a whole lot with the music industry, rock and roll culture and music history. I'm not very knowledgable about music history, but this book made it easy to follow without information dumping. I'm really interested with how the entertainment world works, so the parts that dealt with the production side of music made me really intrigued. It's also interesting to compare the workings of this world from the 80s till now.
Even though this is the biography of Nick Cave, it felt more like an evolution of him and his band. This wasn't necessarily a good or bad thing, especially since it ties well with the style of the book. There were a lot of interviews and quotes from various band members, producers and friends with the author, but none of Nick Cave. The only snippets of Nick Cave that we got were from other interviews conducted. I actually really liked this, because it gave many different perspectives of events. Sometimes there were two contrasting recounts if the same event, which really highlighted the differences of each and member and the direction that they were going. I think it was an interesting, outsider look into Nick Cave's life and what he was like to others.
This book definitely doesn't romanticise the rock and roll or punk lifestyle. I know that these people didn't live the most pure life, but I wasn't expecting such a nefarious book. It was so interesting and dark, but then it hit me that these people actually lived like this and it feels kinda strange to have a dark enjoyment in their story. I think this was everything I was expecting from such a mysterious group of people, and more.
Some parts of this book I did find quite slow and hard to chew, but I think that's only because it was a non-fiction biography. I'm not used to reading non-fiction, because I usually stick to fast aces books that I can read as fast as possible. The book definitely wasn't boring, it was actually the complete opposite. I was so intrigued in everything, the band, the music and the people. I especially loved it when they talked about a song that I've heard, and what actually went in behind it. I felt like I was apart of this weird inside joke in a way.
This isn't exactly apart of the review, but I did find this very strange while I was reading. This book was written in the 90s, and Nick Cave has had a long career after this date. I feel weird thinking that I know more than he does about his life whilst I'm reading. Does that even make sense? Like, I'm reading about these people and their thoughts, but they don't even know what's coming in their lives, and I do. I'm really excited to read a biography of Nick Cave written later in his life. Perhaps then I'll feel less strange about it.
I'm finding it hard to rate this book, or even give my honest thoughts for it. I feel as if I'm rating someone's life events, as this is a biography, and that's a strange thing to do. There were times in which I admired Nick, but there were others in which I was scared for him and his behaviour, but that was his life and I don't want to judge the book by it. One things for sure, this book definitely didn't glamorise the 'rock and roll' lifestyle, but rather gave a raw and intriguing portrayal of Nick Cave's life. I found this to be a very interesting and compelling read, mostly because I'm such a fan of the artist so it was good to hear context to his songs and his life. I especially appreciated the use of interviews by band members and friends throughout the novel, making it seem like an honest portrayal of events. I really enjoyed this read, but I still feel quite apprehensive about rating it or judging its content.
I was so excited when I found this book! I'm a huge fan of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, so of course I had to buy this book. I'm not sure if someone who didn't know their music would have enjoyed this book because it was quite specific. In saying that, this book also dealt a whole lot with the music industry, rock and roll culture and music history. I'm not very knowledgable about music history, but this book made it easy to follow without information dumping. I'm really interested with how the entertainment world works, so the parts that dealt with the production side of music made me really intrigued. It's also interesting to compare the workings of this world from the 80s till now.
Even though this is the biography of Nick Cave, it felt more like an evolution of him and his band. This wasn't necessarily a good or bad thing, especially since it ties well with the style of the book. There were a lot of interviews and quotes from various band members, producers and friends with the author, but none of Nick Cave. The only snippets of Nick Cave that we got were from other interviews conducted. I actually really liked this, because it gave many different perspectives of events. Sometimes there were two contrasting recounts if the same event, which really highlighted the differences of each and member and the direction that they were going. I think it was an interesting, outsider look into Nick Cave's life and what he was like to others.
This book definitely doesn't romanticise the rock and roll or punk lifestyle. I know that these people didn't live the most pure life, but I wasn't expecting such a nefarious book. It was so interesting and dark, but then it hit me that these people actually lived like this and it feels kinda strange to have a dark enjoyment in their story. I think this was everything I was expecting from such a mysterious group of people, and more.
Some parts of this book I did find quite slow and hard to chew, but I think that's only because it was a non-fiction biography. I'm not used to reading non-fiction, because I usually stick to fast aces books that I can read as fast as possible. The book definitely wasn't boring, it was actually the complete opposite. I was so intrigued in everything, the band, the music and the people. I especially loved it when they talked about a song that I've heard, and what actually went in behind it. I felt like I was apart of this weird inside joke in a way.
This isn't exactly apart of the review, but I did find this very strange while I was reading. This book was written in the 90s, and Nick Cave has had a long career after this date. I feel weird thinking that I know more than he does about his life whilst I'm reading. Does that even make sense? Like, I'm reading about these people and their thoughts, but they don't even know what's coming in their lives, and I do. I'm really excited to read a biography of Nick Cave written later in his life. Perhaps then I'll feel less strange about it.
May 26, 2023
For a better formatted version and a picture of Nick Cave you won't see just anywhere, go here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...
Some things about this book.
Ian Johnston has pulled off something quite special. It is a biography written without the involvement of the (living) subject and yet it is not what one might call 'unauthorised', that is to say, the subject is not hostile. It is obviously done with the utmost cooperation of all those around Cave. Overall I feel this gave Johnston a great freedom. By not engaging with the subject himself, he can say what he thinks is right to say and right to include, and not what will make the subject happy. The fact that Nick Cave is very much a product of those around him is nowhere better demonstrated than when he accepted 'his' Aria Hall of Fame award for the various members of The Bad Seeds and The Birthday Party/Boys Next Door. Video here.
Ian was already by this stage the author of a noted book on The Cramps. But he was also very close to the scene of Bad Seed. His brother is James (Gallon Drunk), who played briefly with the Bad Seeds as a stand-in in 1994, and he collaborated with various colleagues of Cave's including Lunch and PJ Harvey. The author, in other words, is connected.
There is the odd review on the internet complaining that it finishes too early, Cave had hardly started. But one of the fabulous things about this biography is precisely its prescience.
Another review or two complain that it's boring. Not for me, it wasn't, I could scarcely put it down. But it does depict the excruciating boredom of that world, the on tour, waiting to go on tour, recording, waiting to record world. John Malcovich dealt with the waiting boredom of acting by knitting. For Cave and his gang it was by getting drunk, shooting up.
Put these last two points together. You have young men singing badly, deliberately playing sort of anti-music, wanting to antagonise their audience, hating what they needed; they are addicted to alcohol, various drugs including heroin and often have to do bad things to score; their shows are often cancelled, sometimes because the venue is scared off them, sometimes because the band doesn't turn up, scarcely a page goes by without one or more of them doing something that could end in death and very often that person is Cave. The violence is brutal. They are misogynistic. The world is full of such stories. What young disaffected boy hasn't had a go in a garage band? They come and go, they might die, go to gaol, or get straight and become a Chartered Accountant.Still part of the same bullet point, but all the time this is going on, there are important people who immediately recognise and appreciate that they have Something. How to describe that Something is another matter. For Peter Lillie (Melbourne musician par excellence) 'There nothing I've heard in the 70s that's really, err, 'turned me on', that really hits the nerve', he said....If you asked me what bands I liked, I couldn't name one Australian band I like particularly, but I like musicians in various bands'. Lillie does, however, have some respect for the Boys Next Door. 'I think they're the only people around who've got any energy. They've got that elusive thing . . . the music they do is totally foreign to what I'd want to do — I couldn't do anything like that. But they're just a band around that's got that spark '
So, in the mid-nineties, Nick Cave was both scarcely half way to what he has become, but at the same time already remarkable. As a survivor of addiction. As a creator of exquisitely beautiful songs. As a person who could have been sucked into the vortex of the ghastly audience he had created, and yet in the end he saw and understood what he'd done.
Nick Cave cares for the approval of others, but wants to travel his own road. Getting those things in balance is a feat which he was already achieving in the mid-nineties.
There are many things one could say about this book. Noting the particular absence of a review by Paul Bryant, goodread's doyen of popular music, I wondered why. Perhaps the next point has something to do with it.
When Nick Cave and his cohort first went to London they were shocked by it. They had expected a civilised, superior sort of Melbourne, but instead it was the opposite. Grim, poverty-stricken, with an insolent attitude. I first went to London a few years later, and quickly came to the conclusion that if you weren't rich, London was a dreadful place to live. On top of it, they still thought they had an empire - in fact maybe even now they haven't quite figured out that they live in a city-state in a third world country. And yet the Brits dared to be patronising towards others, certainly towards Australians, and Nick Cave and co most specifically. They were dirt poor, they had to steal their food and lived in squalor, but they had a mission. I could not be more in awe. And in awe too of that small handful of people who saw past the paraphernalia and bullshit of their lives and recognised that shining thing at the end of their tunnel and believed in their capacity to get there.
Nick Cave comes dangerously close to being cult material and it would be very easy to rewrite history by changing the meaning of the early years to fit in with the story of the later ones. That's what I really love about this book, it describes in blow by blow detail from the point of view of then, not now. It was the only time to try to capture that, and Johnston does a great job.
Some things about this book.
Ian Johnston has pulled off something quite special. It is a biography written without the involvement of the (living) subject and yet it is not what one might call 'unauthorised', that is to say, the subject is not hostile. It is obviously done with the utmost cooperation of all those around Cave. Overall I feel this gave Johnston a great freedom. By not engaging with the subject himself, he can say what he thinks is right to say and right to include, and not what will make the subject happy. The fact that Nick Cave is very much a product of those around him is nowhere better demonstrated than when he accepted 'his' Aria Hall of Fame award for the various members of The Bad Seeds and The Birthday Party/Boys Next Door. Video here.
Ian was already by this stage the author of a noted book on The Cramps. But he was also very close to the scene of Bad Seed. His brother is James (Gallon Drunk), who played briefly with the Bad Seeds as a stand-in in 1994, and he collaborated with various colleagues of Cave's including Lunch and PJ Harvey. The author, in other words, is connected.
There is the odd review on the internet complaining that it finishes too early, Cave had hardly started. But one of the fabulous things about this biography is precisely its prescience.
Another review or two complain that it's boring. Not for me, it wasn't, I could scarcely put it down. But it does depict the excruciating boredom of that world, the on tour, waiting to go on tour, recording, waiting to record world. John Malcovich dealt with the waiting boredom of acting by knitting. For Cave and his gang it was by getting drunk, shooting up.
Put these last two points together. You have young men singing badly, deliberately playing sort of anti-music, wanting to antagonise their audience, hating what they needed; they are addicted to alcohol, various drugs including heroin and often have to do bad things to score; their shows are often cancelled, sometimes because the venue is scared off them, sometimes because the band doesn't turn up, scarcely a page goes by without one or more of them doing something that could end in death and very often that person is Cave. The violence is brutal. They are misogynistic. The world is full of such stories. What young disaffected boy hasn't had a go in a garage band? They come and go, they might die, go to gaol, or get straight and become a Chartered Accountant.Still part of the same bullet point, but all the time this is going on, there are important people who immediately recognise and appreciate that they have Something. How to describe that Something is another matter. For Peter Lillie (Melbourne musician par excellence) 'There nothing I've heard in the 70s that's really, err, 'turned me on', that really hits the nerve', he said....If you asked me what bands I liked, I couldn't name one Australian band I like particularly, but I like musicians in various bands'. Lillie does, however, have some respect for the Boys Next Door. 'I think they're the only people around who've got any energy. They've got that elusive thing . . . the music they do is totally foreign to what I'd want to do — I couldn't do anything like that. But they're just a band around that's got that spark '
So, in the mid-nineties, Nick Cave was both scarcely half way to what he has become, but at the same time already remarkable. As a survivor of addiction. As a creator of exquisitely beautiful songs. As a person who could have been sucked into the vortex of the ghastly audience he had created, and yet in the end he saw and understood what he'd done.
Nick Cave cares for the approval of others, but wants to travel his own road. Getting those things in balance is a feat which he was already achieving in the mid-nineties.
There are many things one could say about this book. Noting the particular absence of a review by Paul Bryant, goodread's doyen of popular music, I wondered why. Perhaps the next point has something to do with it.
When Nick Cave and his cohort first went to London they were shocked by it. They had expected a civilised, superior sort of Melbourne, but instead it was the opposite. Grim, poverty-stricken, with an insolent attitude. I first went to London a few years later, and quickly came to the conclusion that if you weren't rich, London was a dreadful place to live. On top of it, they still thought they had an empire - in fact maybe even now they haven't quite figured out that they live in a city-state in a third world country. And yet the Brits dared to be patronising towards others, certainly towards Australians, and Nick Cave and co most specifically. They were dirt poor, they had to steal their food and lived in squalor, but they had a mission. I could not be more in awe. And in awe too of that small handful of people who saw past the paraphernalia and bullshit of their lives and recognised that shining thing at the end of their tunnel and believed in their capacity to get there.
Nick Cave comes dangerously close to being cult material and it would be very easy to rewrite history by changing the meaning of the early years to fit in with the story of the later ones. That's what I really love about this book, it describes in blow by blow detail from the point of view of then, not now. It was the only time to try to capture that, and Johnston does a great job.
August 18, 2023
I enjoyed this because of much information I did not have, as a biography, it has quite a lot to wish for though. First it covers Cave's biography as a musician, his background is visited only in 'flashbacks', secondly, for a biography it seems to cover the main person quite proportionally little. I seem to have learned about some of his associates more than the man himself and for direct quotes, there's much more from other people than from Cave. Another drawback of course is that it was written in the first half of the 90's. Despite frequent reissues, there's been no additions, which basically means we get less than 20 years of history, but omitting close to 30...
August 14, 2022
do pełni szczęścia potrzebowałbym, żeby ktoś opisał późniejsze lata po albumie let love in, z pewnością ta osoba miałaby ogromne pole do popisu
August 19, 2018
wiecie no fajnie się czytało o tym jak powstawały niektóre płyty słuchając ich, ale koleś ewidentnie nie umie pisać, tłumacz też schrzanił sprawę, a na prawie każdej stronie była literówka i ogólnie trochę się męczyłam
April 15, 2008
I really love and appreciate and even respect Nick Cave as a singer and songwriter. I was really looking forward to reading Bad Seed to find out more about this guy, especially The Birthday Party. And, while Bad Seed is full of well researched information, there's something about Johnston's writing style that just doesn't deliver. I wouldn't say the book is boring or even difficult to get through but the writing is almost amateurish.
I did feel like I got to know Cave a little better and what I read certainly reinforced my impression of him as a truly unique individual, completely unaffected by the music industry or entertainment media. I love that he hates critics and identify with that thoroughly. Any time I read a music bio, I end up wanting to listen to the music discussed and reading Bad Seed showed just how little of Cave's work I have in my collection. The tales of The Birthday Party were pretty good and there was a great deal of attention paid to the events of Cave's life but this book comes off like a timeline that was fleshed out a bit for publication. The facts are here if not the fire.
Having said that, I will definitely seek out and read Johnston's bio on The Cramps and I would recommend Bad Seed to fans of Cave, The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds alike. However, if I hadn't been so into the subject, I may not have enjoyed this book as much as I did.
I did feel like I got to know Cave a little better and what I read certainly reinforced my impression of him as a truly unique individual, completely unaffected by the music industry or entertainment media. I love that he hates critics and identify with that thoroughly. Any time I read a music bio, I end up wanting to listen to the music discussed and reading Bad Seed showed just how little of Cave's work I have in my collection. The tales of The Birthday Party were pretty good and there was a great deal of attention paid to the events of Cave's life but this book comes off like a timeline that was fleshed out a bit for publication. The facts are here if not the fire.
Having said that, I will definitely seek out and read Johnston's bio on The Cramps and I would recommend Bad Seed to fans of Cave, The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds alike. However, if I hadn't been so into the subject, I may not have enjoyed this book as much as I did.
April 27, 2020
2.5 ⭐️
This should be titled ‘Evolution to the Bad Seeds’ as it reads like a chronology of events taking the reader from formation of The Boys Next Door, through The Birthday Party to The Bad Seeds with a few personal events of evolving band members mixed in. It seemed to be missing so much essential matter to me; to be a biography of Nick Cave, it needed way more Nick. He is there, and I did glean a better understanding of him, but he’s a bit too obscured by a plethora of tour dates and album releases, and a cast of extraneous characters. The narration also ends too abruptly on the release of Let Love In (maybe that’s what comes of a biography that ends when the subject is only 37 and his life events continue on). I did enjoy being side tracked to Nick’s early movie appearances and Bad Seeds’ sound track contributions, and the documentary ‘The Road to God Knows Where’ (available on YouTube) is great insight to The Bad Seeds on the road in early ´89) I have gained a huge appreciation for Mick Harvey, and the Nick Cave who emerged from rehab, but overall, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for.
This should be titled ‘Evolution to the Bad Seeds’ as it reads like a chronology of events taking the reader from formation of The Boys Next Door, through The Birthday Party to The Bad Seeds with a few personal events of evolving band members mixed in. It seemed to be missing so much essential matter to me; to be a biography of Nick Cave, it needed way more Nick. He is there, and I did glean a better understanding of him, but he’s a bit too obscured by a plethora of tour dates and album releases, and a cast of extraneous characters. The narration also ends too abruptly on the release of Let Love In (maybe that’s what comes of a biography that ends when the subject is only 37 and his life events continue on). I did enjoy being side tracked to Nick’s early movie appearances and Bad Seeds’ sound track contributions, and the documentary ‘The Road to God Knows Where’ (available on YouTube) is great insight to The Bad Seeds on the road in early ´89) I have gained a huge appreciation for Mick Harvey, and the Nick Cave who emerged from rehab, but overall, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for.
March 13, 2020
This is the second time I read this book and I gave it three stars both times. Sometimes it seems really obvious that the book was written without Nick’s participation, though the author does manage to piece together a coherent story. The book ends in 1994 so there is a lot of information not covered here.
May 6, 2007
This bio was, so, so incredibly boring I could not even believe it; HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE NICK CAVE SO GODDAMN BORING????
September 8, 2025
Tato monografie Nicka Cavea se zaměřuje na jeho úplné (a dost bouřlivé) začátky se skupinou The Boys Next Door / The Birthday Party. Myslím, že Nicka Cavea snad není potřeba představovat, troufám si ale říct, že pokud ho znáte ve spojení s jeho dnešní tvorbou, jeho historie pro vás bude tak trochu šok. Já sama jsem na jeho koncertě slyšela spoustu hodnocení alternativnějších předkapel, která dost jasně naznačovala, že ne všichni mají ponětí o tom, jakou cestou Nick šel.
V knize se o této cestě dozvíte mnohé, od úplných začátků, přes komplikované formování kapely... Je ale důležité si uvědomit, kdy tato monografie vznikla, a že z dnešního pohledu už může působit neúplně. O střípky z osobního života zde také není nouze a řekla bych, že mnohé mohou být přímo šokující.
Líbilo se mi pojmenovávání kapitol podle alb, i když bych preferovala kdyby názvy nebyly přeložené.
Kniha nabízí fakta, střípky z rozhovorů, citace. Bohužel někdy na mě určité pasáže působily dost suše a nezáživně a nejsem si jistá, že je úplně tou pravou pro čtenáře mimo fanouškovskou základnu.
Informace ale působí vyváženě, kniha se nesnaží zaujmout jen těmi bulvárními momenty, ale zachovává si serióznost.
Osobně bych ji doporučila spíše těm, co Nicka znají, poslouchají, ale chtějí se dozvědět více podrobností o jeho cestě.
V knize se o této cestě dozvíte mnohé, od úplných začátků, přes komplikované formování kapely... Je ale důležité si uvědomit, kdy tato monografie vznikla, a že z dnešního pohledu už může působit neúplně. O střípky z osobního života zde také není nouze a řekla bych, že mnohé mohou být přímo šokující.
Líbilo se mi pojmenovávání kapitol podle alb, i když bych preferovala kdyby názvy nebyly přeložené.
Kniha nabízí fakta, střípky z rozhovorů, citace. Bohužel někdy na mě určité pasáže působily dost suše a nezáživně a nejsem si jistá, že je úplně tou pravou pro čtenáře mimo fanouškovskou základnu.
Informace ale působí vyváženě, kniha se nesnaží zaujmout jen těmi bulvárními momenty, ale zachovává si serióznost.
Osobně bych ji doporučila spíše těm, co Nicka znají, poslouchají, ale chtějí se dozvědět více podrobností o jeho cestě.
July 7, 2008
If you're fascinated by endless song title lists and sets and the finest details of recording contracts, then this is the book for you. If you wanted to read something more akin to a story of someone's life, not mere vignettes of their worst moments, sandwiched between record industry tables, then go ahead and save your money for Nick Cave's actual novel And the Ass Saw the Angel or for his records.
September 13, 2017
Prior to reading Bad Seed: The Biography of Nick Cave, I was a bit of a Nick Cave fan. I own all of albums, 16 studio albums by the Bad Seeds, two by Grinderman, a few soundtracks by Cave and Warren Ellis, and a few Birthday Party records. I've read both of Cave's prose novels, And the Ass Saw the Angel and The Death of Bunny Monroe, and bought and enjoyed the films he has written, particularly Lawless and The Proposition. I've seen Cave in concert twice, once in Chicago as part of the "Dig Lazarus Dig" tour, and again in Louisville for the "Push the Sky Away" tour. So, take the rest of my review with however main grains of salt because odds are you won't line up on the Cave fan spectrum at the same level as myself, for good or bad.
That disclaimer out of the way, the biggest takeaway I had from reading Ian Johnston's book was that it was way to early in Cave's career to write any sort of a comprehensive biography. Johnson's book came out in 1995, which was prior to "Murder Ballads" being released. That's eight studio albums ago. That's before Grinderman was a band, and released two more. The most prolific collaborate or Nick Cave's career after Mick Harvey is Warren Ellis, who is not mentioned until page 302 (the book is 304 pages long). The book ends a decade before Cave published another novel or wrote his most successful films. So if you're looking for a book to discuss all of the amazing work in his career, this book will leave you with less than half of it.
The strength of this book is as a a biography of The Birthday Party band, extensively documenting their early years, discography and breakup. This portion of the book is 150 pages, or roughly the first half. The following half gets into Nick Cave's sobriety and increasing artistry, but as already outlined it is certainly an unfinished story.
The writing of the book is very detailed and features extensive quotes from people with firsthand knowledge of events. This ends up being the books greatest weakness however as well, as often Johnson will spends over a page quoting the same source and as a reader I would often lose track of who was recanting a story because a quote would go on for so long. It also seemed like for a work of scholarship the number of sources cited outside of interviews was on the low side.
It's obvious Johnston agrees Cave is a genius, and I learned a lot about Cave's early years and the critical reception of Cave early in his career by reading this book. I also got more of an idea as to his creative process and the personnel on the classic Bad Seeds albums. Perhaps a part two in another twenty years will help finish where this book leaves off, as Cave was just getting started when this came out.
That disclaimer out of the way, the biggest takeaway I had from reading Ian Johnston's book was that it was way to early in Cave's career to write any sort of a comprehensive biography. Johnson's book came out in 1995, which was prior to "Murder Ballads" being released. That's eight studio albums ago. That's before Grinderman was a band, and released two more. The most prolific collaborate or Nick Cave's career after Mick Harvey is Warren Ellis, who is not mentioned until page 302 (the book is 304 pages long). The book ends a decade before Cave published another novel or wrote his most successful films. So if you're looking for a book to discuss all of the amazing work in his career, this book will leave you with less than half of it.
The strength of this book is as a a biography of The Birthday Party band, extensively documenting their early years, discography and breakup. This portion of the book is 150 pages, or roughly the first half. The following half gets into Nick Cave's sobriety and increasing artistry, but as already outlined it is certainly an unfinished story.
The writing of the book is very detailed and features extensive quotes from people with firsthand knowledge of events. This ends up being the books greatest weakness however as well, as often Johnson will spends over a page quoting the same source and as a reader I would often lose track of who was recanting a story because a quote would go on for so long. It also seemed like for a work of scholarship the number of sources cited outside of interviews was on the low side.
It's obvious Johnston agrees Cave is a genius, and I learned a lot about Cave's early years and the critical reception of Cave early in his career by reading this book. I also got more of an idea as to his creative process and the personnel on the classic Bad Seeds albums. Perhaps a part two in another twenty years will help finish where this book leaves off, as Cave was just getting started when this came out.
February 5, 2017
While a bit dry, it covers Nick's early days with The Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party in great detail, as well as the formation of the Bad Seeds up through the release of "Let Love In," which was released shortly before the book. It only took me so long to finish thanks to the head cold that knocked me out for the past week, which basically turned my concentration to shit. I'd love to read anything as thorough on Cave's career for the past 20+ years; it's crazy to realize that he's been creating music for so long at this point that you'd need at least two books to cover it all up to this point.
May 9, 2017
I was really only familiar with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds so this gave me all the background and context for the Birthday Party years. I found it really useful and coupled with some youtube searches gave me an appreciation of the early years and maybe some insight into Nick Cave as a person. Amazing most of them lived to tell the tales.
January 26, 2022
Fantastic, thorough read on an otherwise reclusive artist. Would love for a continuation on this from Murder Ballads—where this book leaves off—up through the present. Great insight on his formative years, his time in the Birthday Party, and the formation of the Bad Seeds, as well his time writing his first novel and his collaborations with Lydia Lunch and Anita Lane. Really good stuff.
May 1, 2018
While not terribly well-written, I would say this is still a *must* for any serious Nick Cave fan. Gives great insight into the music.
July 9, 2018
3.5 stars
October 21, 2021
Nick is way too much of an interesting person for his biography to be so lame. It’s all about tours and concerts and tours and not so much about Nick and the Bad Seeds themselves.
October 27, 2022
Great biography.
August 9, 2025
I think he did heroin
November 12, 2025
One of the best biographies I have read in a while. It was like a well written story. Highly recommend for any Nick Cave fans to read this. It will give you a great insight into the man.
June 5, 2014
Not exceptionally well written, structured or edited as well as it could be and Johnston's obvious love is the Birthday Party here but Bad Seed is still compulsively readable and easily devoured for Nick Cave fans. For those that came to NC in the 90s after his decade + of explosive nihilism was beginning to come in for a landing (of sorts) and the man of refinement and tailored suits was beginning to fully form, the early life and career of Nick Cave is a bit of shock. Pre-croon, pre strings, pre-piano ballad albums there was a raging, screaming demon of a youth trying to carve out a career in music and art in blood splatter, punk nihilism, dirty needles and wretched shooting gallery obliteration. It's a bit incredible that he survived to live a 2nd and 3rd act in life and headed strongly toward a 4th and final as a world wide star. The book is long and heavy on the debauched tales of Birthday Party era nihilism and vicious hi-jinx. Then the chapters seem to speed up as the albums go on and it ends at the completion of Let Love In. Commercial success and new artistic heights were just around the corner. At this point Let Love In is less than a half way point in Cave's career so to read Bad Seed now is to engage with a past artifact of sorts and certainly not one that has the vantage point of historical overview. But in some ways that also makes it an interesting read in that it is somewhat of the moment it writes about or at least closer to it. Much of the book is focused on Cave's epic, public battles with the press, their condescension and belittling of Cave at every turn and just how much the UK press meant to bands in the 80s. Cave's incredible life and legacy deserves a first rate biography but for now Bad Seed serves to throw on Henrys Dream or Junkyard, loud, late night, a greasy slice of pizza in one hand and a cheap beer in the other and pour through Johnston's tabloid tales of Cave's youthful overdoses and spitting, burning hatred of the whole world. In that, Bad Seed serves, fully.
February 8, 2011
Whilst I approached this book as a fan of Nick Cave's work, there's always a fear that a biography will be either a smear job or a sycophantic fan's ramblings. This book is neither of those: it presents a timeline of Cave's work with a warts and all approach, balancing the good stuff with the character flaws.
There are lots of direct quotes, both from Cave and his associates, making the book feel real and engaging.
There are some wonderful insights into his methiods of wroking and how he diversified into writing books and appearing in films.
There are awkward moments throughout the book, but it deals openly and honestly with a complex character and how he has interacted with other talented individuals to produce a staggering body of work.
Like him or not, anyone would have to concede that he's a prolific artist, who has battled through tough times (some of them self imposed granted!) to produce some startling music.
The book has added a lot to my appreciation of his work.
There are lots of direct quotes, both from Cave and his associates, making the book feel real and engaging.
There are some wonderful insights into his methiods of wroking and how he diversified into writing books and appearing in films.
There are awkward moments throughout the book, but it deals openly and honestly with a complex character and how he has interacted with other talented individuals to produce a staggering body of work.
Like him or not, anyone would have to concede that he's a prolific artist, who has battled through tough times (some of them self imposed granted!) to produce some startling music.
The book has added a lot to my appreciation of his work.
April 13, 2009
although this only covers up until the release of 'let love in,' the first 150 or so pages is pretty much everything you want to know about THE BIRTHDAY PARTY which is worth the price alone. its amazing that only tracey pew died but the music that the band made will never be equaled in its panic and klang and johnston does a great job of showing the increasing lack of barrier between cave the man and cave the singer. aside from the heroin, there are riots, fights, electrocutions, stolen cars, exploded cars, and some real insights out of some of the best music to come out of australia.
August 2, 2013
This book is an enjoyable read. But the writing is a bit stilted, mostly due to the author composing the book largely out of long, often multi-paragraph quotes interspersed with his own descriptions and analysis of of the goings on in in the lives of Cave and his bandmates. The most jarring issue I had with Johnson's writing was the rather frequent insertion of seemingly unrelated anecdotes in the middle of descriptions of otherwise cohesive narratives. That said, I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of Cave's work.
December 29, 2009
This is a great biography. It gives a detailed account of Nick Cave’s musical journey from his early days in The Boys Next Door, to the wild years of The Birthday Party, up to his first ten years as frontman of the Bad Seeds. We too journey with him, traveling from Melbourne Australia, to London, Berlin, New York and San Paolo. This was a good read and an excellent way to give a listen to all his discography again.
August 26, 2015
this book totally satiated...
favourite scrap... great description of growing up melbourne, reminds me of my own pull towards sydney, phoenix & rollins:
"...the work of his favourite painter at the time, brett whitely, seemed to offer some focus for his rebellious attitude towards moribund suburban melbourne. cave was intrigued by the intensity and diversity of the themes that the sydney-based painter included in his landscapes"
favourite scrap... great description of growing up melbourne, reminds me of my own pull towards sydney, phoenix & rollins:
"...the work of his favourite painter at the time, brett whitely, seemed to offer some focus for his rebellious attitude towards moribund suburban melbourne. cave was intrigued by the intensity and diversity of the themes that the sydney-based painter included in his landscapes"
January 11, 2009
Bright yet functional account of a mythically fun modern rocker. Never escapes the 'and then the band started work on this album/ and then they went on tour/ but not before this happened' structure of the majority of rock biography, but the anecdotes themselves are funny and ridiculous enough to satisfy.
December 18, 2014
I really hope that someday there will be an extensive and completely awesome biography of Nick Cave. Until then this book is lackluster, but much better than nothing.
In case anyone is wondering, the timeline of this book begins with Cave's childhood and ends between the release of Let Love In and the very beginnings of Murder Ballads.
In case anyone is wondering, the timeline of this book begins with Cave's childhood and ends between the release of Let Love In and the very beginnings of Murder Ballads.
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