Dru Blood - I believe in the inherent goodness of all beings: Bring it On

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Bring it On

June 8, 2006

Remember a couple of weeks ago? I had that arm-wavey conversation with JM about Dirty Three & "Low & Dirty Three - Down By The River" and all things Nick Cave?

I remember, too, during the course of that 15-minute conversation, we discussed our mutual initial aversion to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Nocturama. I mean, it was bad enough that there was a 37 and a half hour song that consisted of the words "Babe I'm On Fire" and little else (OK, it's actually not lyrically that bad, but I can't listen to anything that repititious for more than, say, 5 minutes, without wanting to bash my head THROUGH a wall) but there was also a song called "Bring it On." BRING IT ON, folks. And this was, I believe, AFTER GW's ill-fated invitation to terrorists. It was definitely after the cheerleading movies of the same name had moved from theater to DVD. The next thing you know, the man will be singing about Frappacino's for god's sake!

Bring it on! The nerve!

So, that is why when I went for my walk last night, I was surprised by my desire to pop Nocturama into my walkman. Maybe I was setting myself up for some torture. No pain no gain. That kind of thing.

But no. I mean, yes...Nocturama is by far my least favorite of Nick Cave's offerings. I'm sorry, I don't buy that "Going back to my roots" crap, either. I think Cave phoned this one in, for the most part, and I see little redeeming value in a "Dead Man In My Bed" when I can have a Real Live Devil "Bucking and Braying and Pawing at the Floor" in such sexy tracks as "Loverman" (a is for any-old-how, darlin' - n is for n-e-old time!)(Ouch.)(I would say "Hurt me" but "V is for virtue, so I ain't gonna hurt you, and E is for even if you want me to.)(again...ouch, I say!)

But anyway, there is some redemption in Tracks like "Still in Love" - which appears to be another one of those "Who did Nick kill THIS time...or is it the man himself who has died?" songs. As well as the subtle simplistic sentiment of "Right out of your hand." And even though I cringe every.fucking.time. I hear the line about the trip to MALTA (really, nick? MALTA?) I gotta love the sappy star-crossed sentimentality of "Rock of Gibraltor." What can I say? I am kind of a sap.

Additionally, Warren Ellis' violin tremors tie the whole package together with a nice heaping helping of shimmering wistfulness. Like a vulture rising up from a carcass. And any good nick cave fan would understand that I mean that in a Good Way.

As I neared the end of my walk last night, though, "Bring it On" came on. I rolled my eyes, but then I quickly remembered how powerful that song really is. Ellis puts the punctuation at the beginning of the sentence, and from there we are led into a beautiful lyrical exploration of the true meaning of a phrase which has been made trite by popular culture. Cave, accompanied by Chris Bailey, sing to us about the starkness and raw power of laying yourself naked before the possibilities, both good and bad, inherent in loving someone. They remind us that we all carry "shattered dreams" and "useless fears" and we (at least *I*) yearn for someone to stand before me, unafraid of all of that, and tend my ordinary flowers as they scatter my sadness into the sea. And I yearn to do the same in return.

It's meeting nakedness with nakedness. Raw with raw. It's a declaration that is only made stronger by the cliche nature of it's declarative statement. Perhaps that was the point...perhaps it was not. But I returned from my walk last night, alive with possibility, understanding and hope that I did not have when I began.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Bring It On
This garden that I built for you
That you sit in now and yearn
I will never leave it, dear
I could not bear to return
And find it all untended
With the trees all bended low
This garden is our home, dear
And I got nowhere else to go

So bring it on
Bring it on
Every little tear
Bring it on
Every useless fear
Bring it on
All your shattered dreams
And I'll scatter them into the sea
Into the sea

The geraniums on your window sill
The carnations, dear, and the daffodil
Well, they're ordinary flowers
But they long for the light of your touch
And of your trembling will
Ah, you're trembling still
And I am trembling too
To be perfectly honest I donï¿½t know
Quite what else to do

So bring it on
Bring it on
Every neglected dream
Bring it on
Every little scheme
Bring it on
Every little fear
And I'll make them disappear

So bring it on, bring it on
Bring it on
Every little thing
Bring it on
Every tiny fear
Bring it on
Every shattered dream
And I'll scatter them into the sea

Posted at June 8, 2006 11:29 AM

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