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. ”
Tom Waits - The Acting Years
“That’s Nanook, she’s a mute, she does this throat singing… she’s hilarious.”
I like this video by Leigh Singer in honor of Tom Waits’ 70th birthday on Dec. 20, 2019. It looks through Waits’ career as an actor. Some stuff in here I hadn’t heard of before like At Play in the Fields of Our Lord and Bearskin. I should dig in. Really makes me want to re-watch Short Cuts.
The Absurdist Philosophy Of Synecdoche, New York
I love this look at one of my favorite movies of all time, Synecdoche, New York. It comes from Tom van der Linden’s great YouTube channel Like Stories of Old. He uses the philosopher Albert Camus to analyze the absurdist themes in Charlie Kaufman’s underrated masterpiece.
He says:
“Camus believes there’s a metaphysical honor in enduring the world’s absurdity, and whenever we revolt, whenever we claim our freedom and make the most of what is given in this campaign in which we are defeated in advance, the universe will no longer be sterile, nor futile. The struggle is enough to fill our hearts.”
Yup.