In the past, Nick Cave has used his Red Hand Files newsletter to say nice things about Morrissey. In 2019, Morrissey wore a pin supporting For Britain, a racist far-right political party, on The Tonight Show. In the aftermath, Cave wrote, "Whatever inanities [Morrissey] may postulate, we cannot overlook the fact that he has written a vast and extraordinary catalogue, which has enhanced the lives of his many fans beyond recognition." In his latest newsletter, Cave again affirmed his admiration for Morrissey's music, but he also says that he said no to the opportunity to deliver "an unnecessarily provocative and slightly silly anti-woke screed" on a new Morrissey song.
Here's how Cave tells the story, after a fan named Astrid asked about his "relationship with Morrissey":
I’ve never actually met Morrissey, which is probably why I like him. He is undeniably a complex and divisive figure, someone who takes more than a little pleasure in pissing people off. As enjoyable as some may find this, it holds little interest for me, but for the fact that Morrissey is probably the best lyricist of his generation -- certainly the strangest, funniest, most sophisticated, and most subtle. We had a few pleasant email exchanges last year in which Morrissey asked if I’d sing on a new song he had written. I would have been happy to do so, however, while the song he sent was quite lovely, it began with a lengthy and entirely irrelevant Greek bouzouki intro. It also seemed that he didn’t want me to actually sing on the song, but deliver, over the top of the bouzouki, an unnecessarily provocative and slightly silly anti-woke screed he had written. Although I suppose I agreed with the sentiment on some level, it just wasn’t my thing. I try to keep politics, cultural or otherwise, out of the music I am involved with. I find that it has a diminishing effect and is antithetical to whatever it is I am trying to achieve. So, Astrid, I politely declined. I said no.
Cave goes on to say lofty things about how music can "fill that void, making us feel whole and less abandoned," and he continues, "I find that Morrissey’s music, regardless of how jaundiced and disaffected the songs may sometimes seem, does precisely that -- ushers us toward what is true." He also endorses the young band YHWH Nailgun, who he calls "completely awesome." Read the full post here.
