Nick Cave

Latest Articles

Grinderman help liberate some bad seeds

Cave in
Whatever you want to call it, don't call it a midlife crisis.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 09, 2010

Finding a niche

The DeCordova's sculpture; Judi Rotenberg's farewell
The DeCordova's sculpture; Judi Rotenberg's farewell
By GREG COOK | June 04, 2010

Jew note

First Annual Boston Jewish Music Festival, plus the Klezmatics
Defining "Jewish" music is pretty much a fool's task — not much easier than defining jazz.
By JON GARELICK | February 25, 2010

The future of e-publishing can be found in one of the world's oldest books.
It hadn't been a pleasant millennium so far for books. But then, lo this past month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled his company's new iPad, and there was much rejoicing.
By CHRIS FARAONE | February 22, 2010

2009: The year in books

True stories - fact and fiction
Here, listed alphabetically by author, are 10 of the best books the Phoenix reviewed in 2009.
By JON GARELICK | December 22, 2009

Dirty old men

The Jesus Lizard return to rewreck rock
"We were kind of just . . . normal guys who liked to . . . enjoy stuff."
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 12, 2009

Drear leaders

The Black Heart Procession stick to the low road
On the Black Heart Procession’s first visit to Boston, back in ’98, the duo hunched on chairs at the Middle East downstairs surrounded by equipment — keyboards, guitars, a musical saw, an array of percussion.
By MATT PARISH | October 27, 2009

Carnal knowledge

Nick Cave’s bad Bunny
When I interviewed Nick Cave for the Phoenix three years ago and he told me — drolly, languidly, literarily — that his next writing project was about “a sexually incontinent hand-cream salesman” on the south coast of England, I assumed he was taking the piss.
By JAMES PARKER | October 06, 2009

Beauty in the beast

Dinosaur Jr. are much happier people now
"When J switched to guitar [from drums], he wanted to feel that same power. and the only way he could do that was to be, like, super loud. . . ."
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 30, 2009

Review: Castanets | Texas Rose, the Thaw and the Beasts

Asthmatic Kitty (2009)
Although based in a rustic, country-western sound, Ray Raposa's Castanets are irreverent, using familiar elements like pedal-steel guitars and gospel choruses in defiant ways.
By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | September 15, 2009

By | January 01, 0001

Father Murphy | ... And He Told Us To Turn to the Sun

Aagoo (2009)
Harking back to an America where one's own lonely voice was the only radio and a BBQ meant a spit in the middle of the desert, Torino's Father Murphy hide detuned industrial textures within stripped-down, spacy folk instrumentation, like a man in a black hat picking up a bullet-riddled guitar with which to serenade his captives.
By DEVIN KING | July 29, 2009

One shining moment

Fairhaven grab the brass ring at the 'BRU rock hunt
Fairhaven won a tight race at the 2009 WBRU Rock Hunt Finals at Lupo's on April 4.
By CHRIS CONTI | April 07, 2009

Marianne Faithfull | Easy Come Easy Go

Decca (2009)
The CD cover is deceptively retro Sinatra: here's Marianne encased in a lady's tux in front of a vintage microphone with "Easy" twice on the title and the subtitle "12 Songs for Music Lovers."
By GUSTAVO TURNER | March 23, 2009

The return of Swirlies

The Sneaky Flute Empire strikes back
I'm on the phone with Damon Tutunjian, one founder of the Boston indie-rock band Swirlies, and he's helping me to understand the Sneaky Flute Empire.
By RICHARD BECK | February 27, 2009

ICA artists ring in the new year

Andrew Witkin at LaMontagne, Douglas Weathersby at Judi Rotenberg
If you feel you haven’t spent enough high-quality time with ANDREW WITKIN at the ICA’s Foster Prize exhibition (which closes March 1) or you just weren’t paying attention — fear not.
By EVAN J. GARZA | December 30, 2008

2008 Listravaganza!

An absolute glut of cruelly reductive Top 10 lists from our dedicated staff of tirelessly enthusiastic writers
We are not at all sick of bands with animal names yet and seem to have a soft spot for Erykah Badu that we kept very hush about all year.
By BOSTON PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | December 31, 2008

Ladyhawke | Ladyhawke

Modular (2008)
Multi-instrumentalist Ladyhawke presents us with a treasure trove of found blips, as if the 1980s had been nothing but a mirror ball to smash and paste back together
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 15, 2008

Interview: Amanda Palmer

At home with the Dresden Doll's solo joint
So it’s the eve of the release of local sensation and Dresden Dolls vocalist/pianist Amanda Palmer’s solo debut album, and I’m sitting in her bric-a-brac-filled South End apartment drinking herbal tea.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 25, 2008

Generation gap

"Black Womanhood" at Wellesley College’s Davis Museum and Cultural Center
It’s an uneven show with a dour vision that leaves a mediciny taste in your mouth — and, I think, offers signs of a generation gap among curators.
By GREG COOK | September 23, 2008

Arresting developments

Joan As Police Woman lets her guard down
Lack of talent, charisma, and/or personality can prevent a good band from achieving greatness — but too much of a good thing can also be a problem.
By MATT ASHARE | September 16, 2008

Mesmerizations

Providence art: 2007 in review
Rhode Island confirmed why it’s the capital of New England art-making with two major developments in 2007.
By GREG COOK | December 18, 2007

Mutiny in Heaven

Philip Pullman ’ s fantasy novels are condemned as a crash course in militant atheism. But one BU professor thinks otherwise.
It is a truth now well established that the idea for a series of books about a schoolboy wizard did not , in fact, originate with its author, J.K. Rowling (as she has naively claimed), but was piped up red-hot and stinking from Below.
By JAMES PARKER | December 06, 2007