But We Had Music

But We Had Music (The Universe In Verse, 2024 feat. Nick Cave) from Daniel Bruson on Vimeo.

How, knowing that even the universe is dying, do we bear our lives? The finitude and yet vastness of both our deeds and the cosmos through a fleeting moment of contemplation.

"But We Had Music" is a poem written by Maria Popova, performed here by Nick Cave and transformed into animation by Daniel Bruson, using charcoal drawings, light caustics and optical distortions with glass. The film was made as part of the seventh annual Universe in Verse — a many-hearted labor of love, celebrating the wonder of reality through science and poetry, that took place on April 7th, 2024, on the eve of a total solar eclipse.

More information on The Marginalian: themarginalian.org/2024/04/06/but-we-had-music/?mc_cid=4012e1f8d6&mc_eid=dee49e1ab2

Poem by Maria Popova
Reading by Nick Cave
Animation and Direction by Daniel Bruson
Music by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Voice edit by Pêu Ribeiro

Created for The Universe In Verse, a project by Maria Popova.

Cassiel's Song - Nick Cave

For obvious reasons - I have always loved this! 

Nick Cave Live From Los Angeles: Feb 21, 2013

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Live In L.A. on February 21, 2013
 24 Hour HD Re-Broadcast  (Full Video)

"It was another title track, though, that represented for me the night's most profoundly emotional moment: A massive, knee-wobbling, tear-inducing version of “From Her to Eternity,” his great song of obsession with a woman living in the flat above. It’s a sparse, menacing track that suggests Elvis Presley possessed by a demon Kurt Weill.

I never thought I’d see him play it live, and its performance — with Ellis leading a scraping string section, Savage poking out that off-kilter piano melody and Adamson offering keyboard clusters — was overwhelming, music that conjured heaven and embodied the kind of bliss only present in the purest of expressions. The heavens opened over those five minutes, and I'm still buzzing about it."

-  Randall Roberts

Los Angeles Times Pop Music Critic