The Pop Corporation

Nick Cave has chimed in about songs getting banned, and honestly, he’s talking like someone down the pub without any hysteria or nonsense and it’s nice to hear.

As an aside – he’s wearing a lot of theatre cake at the minute isn’t he? It’s making him look like someone’s wearing a Nick Cave rubber mask. That’s got nothing to do with anything at all, but y’know, we’re allowed to have these stupid thoughts.

Anyway, what’s he on about re: banned music? Well, he’s said that he likes “the fact that some songs are controversial enough to be outlawed”.

He was talking about ‘Delilah’ by Tom Jones being banned at sporting venues, because some people have decided it’s probably not good to have a bunch of people singing about a man murdering his wife in a fit of jealous rage.

He said: “I understand there is a principle here, but on some level I like the fact that some songs are controversial enough to be outlawed. It fills me with a kind of professional pride to be a part of the sometimes contentious business of songwriting. It’s cool. I like it.”

“I just wish it was a more worthy song to be awarded that greatest of honours, indeed that supreme privilege, of being banned.”

He continued: “I just don’t like it. I mean, I like Tom Jones. I sang a duet with him (‘Green, Green Grass of Home’ – a far superior murder balled) at a charity event a few years ago, and I like his version of ‘Weeping Annaleah’ which The Bad Seeds recorded on our ‘Kicking Against the P*****’ album.”

“As someone who knows a thing or two about murder ballads, for my taste, it’s all too waltzy and strident and hammy and mariachi and triumphant. And the words are ugly – ‘I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more.’ Really? Most damning of all, even The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time, couldn’t do anything with it, although there is a wonderfully perverse attempt on the Old Grey Whistle Test.”

“The inimitable Australian comic, Norman Gunston, lest we forget, also did a very funny parody of it back in the late seventies, which at the very least made you laugh.”

That was a fun take wasn’t it? More of that please.