Nick Cave on challenging fans
“For some of us, moments of genuine emotional resonance are rare; we are besieged by insincere forces and have become cynical and suspicious of the world. Many letters to The Red Hand Files signal a despair and anger toward the way the world operates, but they also display a deep love of beauty and a need for meaning. We want to make records that do not add to the hollow clamour that surrounds us but instead challenge people and guide them toward meaning. As I’ve said before, how we achieve this is, to an extent, out of our hands. As a band, we can only move toward what stirs us and this generally exists within the unfamiliar and unconventional. In this place, we are challenged, even unnerved, but ultimately rewarded and we hope that our fans are too. ”