Greetings! I know it's been a long time since my last post, but it's not often that I have anything to add, since it seems like those of you in Europe have a finger poised on the Nick Cave pulse at all times. Here's the post I've been wanting to write since I got back from the U.K. last month. For those of you in London, I apologize, this post will probably be a bit of a bore. If I've made any incorrect assumptions about the life and times of Londoners, please don't hesitate to correct me, I assure you I meant no offense. My trip to London was WONDERFUL!!!! It's an incredible place. I was somewhat disappointed with the record stores that I came upon, as U.S. music seems to be the hot commodity. It was comforting to realize that there's a sort of mutual love affair and fascination between the U.K. and the U.S. bands like Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers seem to be very, very popular, and probably considered as exotic as the Cure, and Siouxsie seemed to those of us in the U.S. at one time. The only U.K. bands that I found in great quantity were the obvious: The Beatles, The Sex Pistols and Pink Floyd. However, "Crime & the City Solution" is a lot easier to find in the U.K., I came upon "The Bride Ship" and "Shine", at either Tower or HMV (the Virgin Megastore was an incredible disappointment). One weird thing that I realized is that bands like Pearl Jam and Green Day are imports to Londoners. The U.S. really does produce some incredible music, and I got a whole new appreciation for that while I was away. I chose a rather unfortunate time for a nap, however, I'll give you the story
in a nutshell. The Dirty 3 were playing in London during my stay, and I had
decided to go to the show in the hopes that Nick might be there. I went
back to my hotel to take a nap before the show, and at the last minute
decided that I was too tired to go, and that Nick's being there was a long
shot, anyway. I assumed that Nick would be spending the winter in
Australia, which was his original plan when he moved to London... and I knew
that he had been spotted in Melbourne several weeks prior. To make a long
story short, Nick was at the show and I missed it... The coolest thing I did during my trip was to take a trip out to Tender Prey
Management and to Mute Records (they're pretty close to one another). The
people at Tender Prey were not accustomed to visitors, but were nevertheless
incredibly polite, and seemed genuinely excited to have a fan go on such a
quest to find them (the office is WAY out of central London). I took a
couple of pictures of the office, bought a couple of t-shirts (one of Nick in
his Calvin Klein briefs, which appeared in the Peter Milne book), got to see
some pictures that had just returned from the photographer (which are going
to appear in a German magazine), and got some information... here it
is...
Murder Ballads is going to be released on February 5th, in the U.K., and they
are pushing for a February 21st release in the U.S. If it is not released
in the U.S. on 2/21, it won't be released until the second half of March. A
new Murder Ballads t-shirt is now available through Tender Prey Management.
A U.S. tour has not been planned for the Murder Ballads CD, the only places
that have been confirmed are Australia (for Big Day Out), and Japan.
At Mute Records I learned that Nick does not want to play the U.S. (ever
again, in fact). Everyone is pushing Nick to play the U.S. (they think
Murder Ballads will be the cd to break the U.S.), but he is refusing; he does
not want to do it at all. We'll see what happens... perhaps a few letters
to Nick would persuade him... Tender Prey Management, Ivebury Court,
Unit #4, 325 Latimer Road, London W10 4RE.
I was able to buy all of the stuff available in the Mute catalog while at
Mute, but they too were unprepared for visitors (although very nice about it,
they brought merchandise out to me while I sat in a waiting room).
Apparently they are building a Mute Bank Store, but is is not yet complete.
I got some Bad Seeds posters, Mick Harvey's "Alta Marea & Vaterland",
"The Ship Song" single, Barry Adamson's "Delusion", Laibach's "Macbeth", Anita
Lane's "Dirty Sings", and the "Gas, Food, Lodging" soundtrack. I asked them
about the Birthday Party Box Set, and they had never heard of it (sigh). All
things considered, the excursion was a success. I also encourage you to get
on the Mute Mailing List.
The coolest place I found for used cd's and lp's was a place called Camden
Market. There I found a collaboration between Lydia Lunch and Rowland S.
Howard, called "Some Velvet Morning", the "Wings of Desire" soundtrack, and a
collaboration between Barry Adamson & Anita Lane "And the Thought System of
Love/These Boots are Made for Walking". I found some cool videos too,
unfortunately, they were in PAL format, thus, it would have cost me an
additional 30 pounds (approx $48.00) to have them converted to U.S.
format... (sigh).
Londoners seem to have a real affection for vinyl, as most of their used
stuff is in this format. I managed to get two pieces of vinyl home in my
suitcase, but I have to admit that I feared for their safety. Used CD's are
not easy to come by, much to my disappointment.
Yes, the rumors you've heard are true... there really is a Dr. Marten's
department store in the U.K. It comes complete with a cafe in the basement,
and a hair salon on the top floor. I almost missed my flight back to the
U.S., 'cuz I was too busy giving my money to Dr. Marten. My friends were
happy to see me return, since I came home bearing shoes. I got some okay
deals on shoes, but with the difference in the currency exchange the amount
wasn't as significant as I had hoped.
God... can you see why I waited so long to post this??? I knew it was gonna'
be a daunting task to get it all down on paper. There's still so much to
tell, but these are the highlights. Hope you weren't bored. If you get an
opportunity to visit London, don't pass it up!!!!!
Long winded, |
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