Here's Nick Cave on Lazarus, from
"Ever since I can remember hearing the Lazarus story, when I was a kid, you know, back in church, I was disturbed and worried by it. Traumatized, actually. We are all, of course, in awe of the greatest of Christ's miracles - raising a man from the dead - but I couldn't help but wonder how Lazarus felt about it. As a child it gave me the creeps, to be honest. I've taken Lazarus and stuck him in New York City, in order to give the song, a hip, contemporary feel. I was also thinking about Harry Houdini who spent a lot of his life trying to debunk the spiritualists who were cashing in on the bereaved. He believed there was nothing going on beyond the grave. He was the second greatest escapologist, Harry was, Lazarus, of course, being the greatest. I wanted to create a kind of vehicle, a medium, for Houdini to speak to us if he so desires, you know, from beyond the grave. Sometimes, late at night, if you listen to the song hard enough, you can hear his voice and the sad clanking of his chains. "I don't know what it is but there is definitely something going on upstairs", he seems to be saying. It is, most of all, an elegy to the New York City of the 70's."
2 comments:
That's interesting about Houdini. In Ebert's review of The Prestige, he mentioned how Houdini was so different from the guys in the movie because he wanted his audience to realize there was no true magic but that the stunts were illusions. I used to worry about Lazarus too - maybe it woulodn't be so great to be brought back.
What's with the 1970s disco used car salesman look?!?!
Fun song. Can't say it resonates for me the way I would like a song about Lazarus to resonate.
I do like what he has to say about Lazarus, though.
Not sure I would want to be brought back either. Wind up on the soup line in NY. Then the madhouse.
Post a Comment