But here the worlds of the Cave multiverse exist in harmony: the letters, the figures, the paintings, the instruments. With a man of such manic productivity, the objects to choose from are endless. Here, in a sleek Scandi waterfront building – in itself, another plot-twist in the globe-trotting path of an ever-shifting artist – across 800 square metres and more than 300 items, is Cave’s life, work and art.įeaturing handwritten lyrics, photography, videos, set design and artwork, the show is a multi-sensory pathway through eight rooms, each dealing neatly with different themes within the 62-year-old’s multi-faceted creativity. It’s a collaboration with Arts Centre Melbourne in his native Australia, home of the Nick Cave archive. Stranger Than Kindness is a huge, memorial-style exhibition showcasing Cave’s four-decade career as a musician, author, performer, soundtrack composer and man of letters.

But as he puts it in the 2014 auto-documentary 20,000 Days On Earth, he’s “always been an ostentatious bastard”. Not many people would admit that out loud. Stream it below.Nick Cave has long wanted a memorandum of his own life and work. Though it’s a finger-picked acoustic cover, Vile’s version maintains that eerie, dark atmosphere beneath his carefree voice. In that sense, Kurt Vile turns the song on its head here by reeling everything in, relying on his acoustic guitar, a few trickling piano notes, and, eventually, a faint wave of what sounds like an electric guitar’s whammy bar. In his original 1986 version of “Stranger Than Kindness” on Your Funeral… My Trial, Nick Cave slowly builds a rough, constant electric guitar strum into a massive, cathartic wail. This is the fourth track we’ve heard from the record, following Stone’s take on Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning”, The National’s cover of INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart”, and Damien Rice’s delicate swing of Sia’s “Chandelier”. Songs for Australia is a collection of cover songs organized by Australian folk singer Julia Stone (half of Angus & Julia Stone) with all proceeds benefiting ecological and firefighting charities. Kurt Vile is helping out with those last two by sharing his cover of Nick Cave’s “Stranger Than Kindness” from the charity album Songs for Australia, out today.

In these trying times, all you can really ask for is good health, kindness, and some excellent music to pass the time.

Nick cave stranger than kindness song