Nick Cave: 10 Dark Masterpieces

9. Tupelo

http://youtu.be/ffKAlyzRao4 As well as 19 albums, a series of soundtracks, two screenplays and a very well-received lecture, Nick Cave also has two novels under his belt. The most recent €“ The Death of Bunny Munro €“ is coarse, frustrating and ultimately pointless. But his first novel €“ And The Ass Saw The Angel €“ is a brilliant work of pitch-black Southern Gothic that really couldn't have been written by anyone else. A lot of themes and images from And The Ass Saw The Angel appear in some of his earlier songs, which take on a startling new light as a result. Tupelo, though, is seemingly based on a true story €“ which makes not only the song, but also the novel suddenly appear a lot more grimly poignant. Elvis Presley's twin died shortly after being born. Cave takes this story and adds an insistent Lead Belly riff and a blinding succession of Biblical imagery to create an apocalyptic storm of a song that, when played, causes black clouds to form in the sky. This is what the end of the world will sound like.