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I’m not in the business of telling people what to do. I’m much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them.

Nick Cave

My records are basically a litany of complaints against the world, and I’m quite like that in real life as well.
NICK CAVE

Real Records World
I’m an Australian, and when I grew up much of my influences were American – blues music and country music, all that sort of thing.
NICK CAVE

Country Grew Influence
Inspiration is a word used by people who aren’t really doing anything. I go into my office every day that I’m in Brighton and work. Whether I feel like it or not is irrelevant.
NICK CAVE

Anything Inspiration Office People
I’m unable to really write the kind of song that doesn’t have a visual element, which most songs don’t.
NICK CAVE

Elements Song Writing
Kylie Minogue is the greatest thing that has happened to Australian music.
NICK CAVE

Australian Country Day Happened People
Everyone wants to feel that they matter.
NICK CAVE

Feels Matter Want
The singing tells everybody what to do musically.
NICK CAVE

Everybody Musically Singing
Moving to the country is a very bold thing to do. You can have vague romantic notions about doing that, but in actuality, it can be a terrifying thing.
NICK CAVE

Country Moving Notion Romantic
Certainly being proficient in an instrument does have its problems. Because the better you get, the more you just start sounding like an ordinary guitarist. There are certainly guitarists that transcend that and do really find their sound and all that sort of stuff.
NICK CAVE

Country Ordinary People Sound
I’ve always had an obligation to creation, above all.
NICK CAVE

Always Creation Obligation
I write songs in batches and then record them and then can’t write again for ages. I try and build one song upon another, they may not obviously look inter-related but often one song acts as a springboard into another.
NICK CAVE

Age Country Obvious People Song Writing
You write a scene, and it works or it doesn’t. It’s immediate.
NICK CAVE

Immediate Scene Writing
It’s always a risky business inviting somebody on stage. You never know what they’re going to do. I try to avoid letting people join me onstage because it can be very distracting, and overly theatrical.
NICK CAVE

Business People Risky Trying
I have things that I’m interested in, and I’m not really interested in writing about anything that I’m not interested in. But it’s important to me to be able to see it from a different perspective, and add something new to the whole picture.
NICK CAVE

Important Perspective Writing
I love being manipulated by what I see. I love weepies and romantic comedies where you’re reaching for the Kleenex at the right moment.
NICK CAVE

Comedy Moments Reaching
That’s what we [outsiders] feel America is really about – the kind of crazed ravings of the Christian right – when it’s probably something quite different.
NICK CAVE

Christian Country Different People

I’m not in the business of telling people what to do. I’m much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

I’m not in the business of telling people what to do. I’m much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Nick Cave Quotes