Nick Cave

Songwriter, novelist, singer, screenwriter and dramatist Nick Cave's 15th record with his longtime backing band the Bad Seeds, "Push the Sky Away," is not a work to be appreciated casually. Cave delves into a meandering, meditative world that rarely offers the kind of hooks or tethers that dictate toe-tapping singalongs. But Cave fans understand that following such a mercurial and curious artist dictates adjusting expectations, adapting to new scenarios and, most important, listening closely.

Is it the scariest or sexiest thing imaginable to have Nick Cave scream at you, personally, for 15 minutes at Coachella? During the lightly attended but absolutely ferocious set Friday from the Aussie goth-menace, a typically beatific Coachella cutie climbed atop a guy's shoulders. She was dressed in flowing, wispy garments and some kind of floral headpiece. She swayed her arms around in a way that a Tiesto crowd might have recognized. Of course, that was pure bait for Nick Cave.

Many filmmakers saw little to no connection between the shootings at a "Dark Knight Rises" screening in Colorado last month and the movie that was playing as the shooting took place (or, for that matter, any other film). But the creator of one piece of violent entertainment says he believes there can be a direct cause-and-effect between films and those who commit acts of violence. Nick Cave, the musician-screenwriter who wrote the upcoming Tom Hardy gangster movie "Lawless," told 24 Frames that he thought it dishonest to pretend there was no connection in cases such as the Colorado shootings.

NEW YORK - Nick Cave, the moody Australian statesman of majestic post-punk folk rock, was only midway through answering the second question of an early interview in Manhattan when he stopped the conversation to try to clarify a point. Settling in at a corner table in the sumptuous lobby of a boutique hotel downtown, dressed in a striped satin shirt and black sport coat, Cave had been describing the improvisational approach he and his band, the Bad Seeds, took to writing the nine songs featured on their latest studio album, "Push the Sky Away.

Bursting with violence and laced with period atmosphere, the Depression-era tale "Lawless" opening Friday centers on three adult brothers known as the Bondurants who take up arms to protect their bootlegging trade from corrupt authorities and mobsters. It features stars - the brothers are played by Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke - and, perhaps more notably, a high body count. And if there's one thing screenwriter Nick Cave likes, it's some old-fashioned blood and brutality.

Those familiar with the work of musician Nick Cave will appreciate the juxtaposition of him working with a youth choir. The oft-menacing Australian-born singer, songwriter, screenwriter and novelist has long had a wicked streak. He's bellowed in deep voice of bloody hands, junkies ascending to heaven, embodied in song-damaged women, horrible men and their oft-poisonous interactions.  Yet there he was, the gangly 55-year-old who over a dozen-plus studio albums has walked a singular path through rock, country and blues, addressing about two dozen preteens between songs, apparently worried about their bedtime.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Outspoken rock 'n' roll balladeer Nick Cave traced his beginnings from “rural Australia” to the more comforting confines of his own imagination in a sprawling, hour-long chat at the South by Southwest music conference here. The standing-room-only Tuesday conversation focused largely on Cave's biographical history. The facts of the real world, however, weren't of as much interest to Cave as the more abstract matters of art. Speaking of his relationship with spouse Susie Bick, Cave said, “I feel that I know her better in the songs that I write about her than I do in real life.” Speaking of wanting to leave rural Australia for Melbourne, and then later Melbourne for London and then London for New York, Cave said, “Culturally, life has been a series of disappointments.

With screenwriting and film-scoring credits on "Lawless" and "West of Memphis," respectively, Nick Cave has spent much of 2012 focusing on his career in movies. Next year, though, the Australian polymath will return to rock with a new studio album by his longtime band, the Bad Seeds. "Push the Sky Away" is due out in the U.S. on Feb. 19, according to a press release; it's the first disc from the Bad Seeds -- which at the moment also features bassist Martyn Casey, drummer Thomas Wydler, percussionist Jim Sclavunos, singer Conway Savage and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis -- since 2008's "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!

AUSTIN, Texas -- There's no shortage of grizzled veterans at South by Southwest this year, from Depeche Mode to Iggy and the Stooges to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, the last of whom opened NPR Music's jam-packed showcase Wednesday night at Stubb's. For a good 45 minutes, in fact, Cave and his not-so-merry men were playing at the same time as the Stooges, right across Red River Street at the Mohawk. Alas, an old-dude bro-down never took place. Maybe next year. Wearing his customary slim-fit dark suit, black hair swept back from his high forehead, Cave sauntered onstage at Stubb's before sundown, which as you can imagine was not ideal.

NEW YORK - Nick Cave, the moody Australian statesman of majestic post-punk folk rock, was only midway through answering the second question of an early interview in Manhattan when he stopped the conversation to try to clarify a point. Settling in at a corner table in the sumptuous lobby of a boutique hotel downtown, dressed in a striped satin shirt and black sport coat, Cave had been describing the improvisational approach he and his band, the Bad Seeds, took to writing the nine songs featured on their latest studio album, "Push the Sky Away.

AUSTIN, Texas -- There's no shortage of grizzled veterans at South by Southwest this year, from Depeche Mode to Iggy and the Stooges to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, the last of whom opened NPR Music's jam-packed showcase Wednesday night at Stubb's. For a good 45 minutes, in fact, Cave and his not-so-merry men were playing at the same time as the Stooges, right across Red River Street at the Mohawk. Alas, an old-dude bro-down never took place. Maybe next year. Wearing his customary slim-fit dark suit, black hair swept back from his high forehead, Cave sauntered onstage at Stubb's before sundown, which as you can imagine was not ideal.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Outspoken rock 'n' roll balladeer Nick Cave traced his beginnings from “rural Australia” to the more comforting confines of his own imagination in a sprawling, hour-long chat at the South by Southwest music conference here. The standing-room-only Tuesday conversation focused largely on Cave's biographical history. The facts of the real world, however, weren't of as much interest to Cave as the more abstract matters of art. Speaking of his relationship with spouse Susie Bick, Cave said, “I feel that I know her better in the songs that I write about her than I do in real life.” Speaking of wanting to leave rural Australia for Melbourne, and then later Melbourne for London and then London for New York, Cave said, “Culturally, life has been a series of disappointments.

On the final night of the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, last year, a young folk-rock trio from Denver took the makeshift stage at a church a few blocks away from the main action down on 6th Street. The church was about half full, providing enough room for the band members to run the aisles, stand on benches and play music from a debut album they had yet to release. Attending that show meant missing out on more well-known entities such as Sleigh Bells, Norah Jones and Nas, but that baby band -- the Lumineers -- would go on to become one of the biggest acts in the U.S. As sprawling as SXSW has become - last year boasted more than 2,200 acts across 104 stages - the festival continues to reward those who favor the unknown rather than those who chase the big names.

Those familiar with the work of musician Nick Cave will appreciate the juxtaposition of him working with a youth choir. The oft-menacing Australian-born singer, songwriter, screenwriter and novelist has long had a wicked streak. He's bellowed in deep voice of bloody hands, junkies ascending to heaven, embodied in song-damaged women, horrible men and their oft-poisonous interactions.  Yet there he was, the gangly 55-year-old who over a dozen-plus studio albums has walked a singular path through rock, country and blues, addressing about two dozen preteens between songs, apparently worried about their bedtime.

Songwriter, novelist, singer, screenwriter and dramatist Nick Cave's 15th record with his longtime backing band the Bad Seeds, "Push the Sky Away," is not a work to be appreciated casually. Cave delves into a meandering, meditative world that rarely offers the kind of hooks or tethers that dictate toe-tapping singalongs. But Cave fans understand that following such a mercurial and curious artist dictates adjusting expectations, adapting to new scenarios and, most important, listening closely.

With screenwriting and film-scoring credits on "Lawless" and "West of Memphis," respectively, Nick Cave has spent much of 2012 focusing on his career in movies. Next year, though, the Australian polymath will return to rock with a new studio album by his longtime band, the Bad Seeds. "Push the Sky Away" is due out in the U.S. on Feb. 19, according to a press release; it's the first disc from the Bad Seeds -- which at the moment also features bassist Martyn Casey, drummer Thomas Wydler, percussionist Jim Sclavunos, singer Conway Savage and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis -- since 2008's "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!

Nick Cave is rock's patron saint of tortured souls, a cross between Elvis Presley and Elmer Gantry. His music explores classic issues of sin and salvation, misery and mercy, demons and doubts. This is not casual pop fare--and Cave, while rarely uninteresting as a writer, often has trouble on record framing his Gothic tales with enough accessibility or flair to make the albums reach much beyond a devoted cult.

A ustralian performer Nick Cave, who appears on Friday at the Wiltern Theatre with his band the Bad Seeds, first unleashed himself on the world in 1986 as leader of the punk band the Birthday Party. A snarling musical beast that raked its claws across the face of pop culture, the Birthday Party self-destructed in 1982, freeing Cave to form the Bad Seeds in 1983.

Bursting with violence and laced with period atmosphere, the Depression-era tale "Lawless" opening Friday centers on three adult brothers known as the Bondurants who take up arms to protect their bootlegging trade from corrupt authorities and mobsters. It features stars - the brothers are played by Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke - and, perhaps more notably, a high body count. And if there's one thing screenwriter Nick Cave likes, it's some old-fashioned blood and brutality.

Willie Nelson “feels much better, and no other tour dates are being postponed” after the 79-year-old country singer skipped a performance over the weekend near Denver, his spokeswoman said Monday. He had been slated to appear at a benefit Saturday for the Dumb Friends League animal shelter, but he reportedly experienced problems related to the city's altitude, and had to cancel. He was not, however, hospitalized because of breathing difficulties, as had been widely reported, said his daughter, Amy. “The papers have apparently blown things out of proportion,” Amy Nelson told The Times on Monday.