The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey (all from Australia), guitarist George Vjestica (United Kingdom), keyboardist/percussionist Toby Dammit (United States) and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos (United States). The band has released sixteen studio albums and completed numerous international tours, and has been considered "one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward".
The band was founded in 1983 following the demise of Cave and Harvey's former group the Birthday Party, the members of which met at a boarding school in Victoria. By the release of their fifth studio album Tender Prey in 1988, they shifted from post-punk towards an experimental alternative rock sound, later incorporating various influences throughout their career. For example, the 2008 album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! and the side-project Grinderman were strongly influenced by garage rock. Synthesizers and minimal guitar work feature prominently on Push the Sky Away (2013), recorded after Harvey's departure from the band in 2009.
The project that would later evolve into Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds began following the demise of The Birthday Party in August 1983. Both Cave and Harvey were members of the Birthday Party, along with guitarist Rowland S. Howard and bassist Tracy Pew. During the recording sessions of the Birthday Party's scheduled EPs Mutiny/The Bad Seed, internal disputes developed in the band. The difference in Cave and Howard's approach to songwriting was a major factor, as Cave explained in an interview with On The Street: "the main reason why The Birthday Party broke up was that the sort of songs that I was writing and the sort of songs that Rowland was writing were just totally at odds with each other." Following the departure of Harvey, they officially disbanded. Cave also said that "it probably would have gone on longer, but Mick has the ability to judge things much more clearly than the rest of us."[8]
Cave and guitarist Kid Congo Powers during the band's 1986 tour.
An embryonic version of what would later become Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was formed in the Birthday Party's then-home of London in September 1983, with Cave, Harvey (acting primarily as drummer), EinstĂĽrzende Neubauten guitarist Bargeld, Magazine bassist Barry Adamson, and Jim G. Thirlwell. The band was initially formed as a backing band for Cave's intended solo project Man Or Myth?, which had been approved by the record label Mute Records. During September and October 1983, they recorded material with producer Flood,[9] although the sessions were cut short due to Cave's touring with the Immaculate Consumptive, another project formed with Thirlwell, Lydia Lunch and Marc Almond.[10] In December 1983 Cave returned to Melbourne, Australia, where he formed a temporary line-up of his backing band, due to Bargeld's absence, that included Pew and guitarist Hugo Race. The band performed their first live show at Seaview in St. Kilda on 31 December 1983.
Following a short Australian tour, and during a period when they were without management, Cave and his band returned to London. Cave, Harvey, Bargeld, Race and Adamson formed the project's first consistent line-up, while Cave's longtime girlfriend Anita Lane was credited as a lyricist on the band's debut album.[citation needed] The group, which up to this time had been nameless, adopted the moniker Nick Cave and the Cavemen, which they used for the first six months of their career. However, they were later renamed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in May 1984, in reference to the final Birthday Party EP The Bad Seed.[citation needed] They began recording sessions for their debut album in March 1984 at London's Trident Studios and these sessions, together with the abandoned Man Or Myth? sessions from September–October 1983 that were recorded at The Garden studios, formed the album From Her to Eternity, released on Mute Records in 1984.
Today's Lesson
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
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A gun like a jawbone down the waistband of her jeans, oh yeah
Mr Sandman, he could recite today's lesson in his sleep
He says there oughta be some kind of law against me going down the street yeah
And little Janie pipes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
Hoo, yeah tonight
Down the back of Janie's jeans she had the jawbone of an ass
Mr Sandman, he runs around the corner, trying to head her off at the pass
He sticks his head over the fence and he yells something way too fast
It's uh, it's today's lesson, yeah, something about the corruption of the working class and
Little Janie wakes up on the floor and she says
"We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
Come on
Janie says we're all such a crush of want half-mad with loss
We are violated in our sleep and we weep and we toss and we turn and we burn
We are hypnotised, we are cross-eyed, we are pimped, we are bitched
We are told such monstrous lies
Janie wakes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
(Real cool time)
Mr Sandman, he has a certain appetite for Janie in repose
He digs her pretty knees and that she is completely naked underneath all her clothes
He likes to congregate around the intersection of Janie's jeans yeah
Mr Sandman the inseminator he opens her up like a love letter and enters her dreams
Little Janie wakes up and she says
She says "We're gonna have a real good time tonight"
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
We're gonna have a real cool-cool time
Come on, come on, come on, come on
We're gonna have a real cool time
The lyrics of Today's Lesson by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds describe the corrupt and twisted reality that many people face in their daily lives. The song starts with Little Janie waking up from a nightmare where she has a gun like a jawbone in her jeans. Mr Sandman, who seems to know all about the corruption, is present as well, reciting today's lesson in his sleep. Janie and Sandman start talking about having a cool time tonight, and it's apparent that their version of fun is pretty unusual. Janie has the jawbone of an ass down the back of her jeans, and Sandman confesses that he has an appetite for Janie in repose. This showing of Janie's vulnerability culminates with a sense of twisting, erotic tension.
The lyrics of Today's Lesson address the marginalization and violation of the working class, inequalities, and the abuse of power in society. The lines, 'violated in our sleep and we weep and we toss and we turn and we burn' speaks about how we are all affected by the poison and corruption around us. The song's chorus, 'We're gonna have a real cool time tonight' is a paradoxical statement suggesting that in our turmoil and fear, we still seek out pleasure and the release of the night's joys. The lyrics are provocative and haunting, and they confront a harsh reality with a dark humor that is both unnerving and engrossing.
Line by Line Meaning
Little Janie, she wakes up from a dream
Janie is waking up from a dream.
A gun like a jawbone down the waistband of her jeans, oh yeah
Janie has put a gun in her jeans.
Mr Sandman, he could recite today's lesson in his sleep
Mr. Sandman knows what's happening in the neighborhood.
He says there oughta be some kind of law against me going down the street yeah
Mr. Sandman knows he shouldn't be going down the street.
And little Janie pipes up and she says
Janie speaks up.
She says "We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
Janie is excited about tonight.
Down the back of Janie's jeans she had the jawbone of an ass
Janie still has the gun in her jeans.
Mr Sandman, he runs around the corner, trying to head her off at the pass
Mr. Sandman is trying to stop Janie from doing something.
He sticks his head over the fence and he yells something way too fast
Mr. Sandman is yelling something quickly.
It's uh, it's today's lesson, yeah, something about the corruption of the working class and
Mr. Sandman is warning Janie about the danger of the neighborhood.
Little Janie wakes up on the floor and she says
Janie is knocked down and wakes up.
"We're gonna have a real cool time tonight"
Janie is still excited about tonight despite being knocked down.
Janie says we're all such a crush of want half-mad with loss
Janie reflects on the desperation and pain in the world.
We are violated in our sleep and we weep and we toss and we turn and we burn
Janie describes the suffering of the people.
We are hypnotised, we are cross-eyed, we are pimped, we are bitched
Janie speaks of the people's manipulation and mistreatment.
We are told such monstrous lies
Janie speaks about the lies people are told.
Mr Sandman, he has a certain appetite for Janie in repose
Mr. Sandman is attracted to Janie when she's vulnerable.
He digs her pretty knees and that she is completely naked underneath all her clothes
Mr. Sandman is interested in Janie's body.
He likes to congregate around the intersection of Janie's jeans yeah
Mr. Sandman likes Janie's body.
Mr Sandman the inseminator he opens her up like a love letter and enters her dreams
Mr. Sandman intrudes into Janie's thoughts and desires.
We're gonna have a real cool-cool time
Janie is excited again.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Nicholas Cave
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PrimitiveInTheExtreme
🎧▶🎶📖
@melvinwren
the chorus reminds me of the stooges, and then the last time around it kinda goes into a ramones chorus.
@melvinwren
i just wanna have something to do
@robertedwards9961
& the Bad Seed's album's were pretty boring. A return to form for Mr. Cave, excellent.