Nick Cave and Blixa; B-day
June 23 2007 Today’s my birthday. Although I’m sick as hell with a sore throat and fever, I managed to get out of bed and share a Chinese dinner with my roommate. Also, I got some lovely cards, sweet phone calls from friends, and my favorite present, a copy of the 1982 Nick Cave ”Hate Every Cop” poster (at top left) which I promptly hung on the wall above my computer desk. It’s fabulous having such an “arresting” image of ‘Young Nick’ over me, at all times. 
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I was browsing YouTube and found a rare live video of Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld singing “Where the Wild Roses Grow.” What you are about to see was taped for Rockpalast, a German TV broadcast of live concerts. In this particular show, the crowd evidently expected Kylie Minogue to show up and sing her popular duet with Nick. Instead, the band managed to pull off something original and entertaining for their cheering fans. It was pure genius.
The duet is played to the hilt for a wildly appreciative crowd, with Nick giving Blixa ‘the flower’ in a teasingly sweet kind of way, and taking Blixa’s hand for the final bow. Here is a unique video document of Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld in what is now a classic live performance from 1996.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Where The Wild Roses Grow
Bizarre Fest, Köln, Germany, 1996
Der Kuss: What is popularly referred to as the ‘Nixa Kiss’ was commonly practiced between the two performers during 1997 and 1998 when Blixa sang the duet with Nick. They ended the song that way and it was a huge crowd pleaser. Is is not beautiful? I think so, whether it is perceived as homoerotic imagery or as a snapshot capturing the natural expression between two men who made music together for 20 years, a time during which they obviously shared an intensely creative passion.
Here is another video of the same song, 2 years later. You can see how much they enjoy performing what has become a fan favorite. There’s other stuff going on, too. They’re tired, a little drunk, Blixa gives him a look, Nick plays him, Blixa lets him, and a good time is had by all. Hot stuff, guys. LOVE IT!
‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’ – Live at Midtfyns, Denmark 1998
Please visit the Nick Cave Fixes – a blog inspired by the Nick Cave pages I originally created here at Morgan’s Musings. The blog features bi-weekly posts: news, album releases, tour info, and commentary on Nick Cave, retro Bad Seeds stuff, Nick’s formers bands, Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party, and a ‘fix’ to keep (MP3s, rare video clips, photos, links to bootlegs, etc.). Don’t miss out: some stuff has limited availability. nickcavefixes.wordpress.com/
Page updated on 23 May 2009.
Hi Morgan,
I found your blog following the photo of Nick and Blixa kissing each other on Google.
I’m a new Nick Cave’s fan, since I’ve discovered him just two months ago.
The way you analyse their friendship it’s interesting: I live in Italy, one of the most omophobic place in the world. Here things are black or white: a man simply cannot kiss another man without being a gay.
I’m a woman, so I can look at this photo from a completely different point of wiev, and I wholly agree with you.
This photo gives me a thrill, a strong emotion. It’s difficult to write anything else.
Bye.
Hi Darjeeling,
Thanks for your comment. Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of Nick Cave.
I agree with you that viewing the Nick-Blixa kiss photo is thrilling and emotionally evocative. Have you read ‘Ways of Seeing’ by John Berger? I highly recommend it for its perspective on ‘The Gaze.’ It helps answer questions about what pushes our buttons as FEMALE fans, viewers, and consumers, of visual art! Very interesting.
See:
Notes on ‘The Gaze’
Laura Mulvey on film spectatorship
Dear Morgan,
thank you for your precious advice. I red ‘Ways of Seeing’ and I found a reasonable answer to one of my questions: why are women so tolerant towards the representation of their body as an object? Why don’t they feel abused? It’s incredible how our society conditions our way of perceiving, so a nude used for selling any kind of good seems simply obvious.
Darjeeling, you are welcome.
Berger was, in his time, pretty ballsy for saying women SPLIT in two when they’re watching an erotic scene. He argued that women identify with the subject and with the male viewer’s gaze.
In a photograph of two men engaged in an erotic embrace, women become the male spectator AND identify with both men in the image. That vicarious and yet identifiable thrill best describes how I feel when I look at the photo of Nick and Blixa. It doesn’t matter if they were ‘really kissing’ — this image provokes a powerfully erotic stimulus. Wonderful. That said…
When I read Laura Mulvey’s perspective on the two types of gaze — voyeuristic and fetishistic — I felt like the top of my head blew off. Mulvey:
“Fetishistic looking, in contrast, involves ‘the substitution of a fetish object or turning the represented figure itself into a fetish so that it becomes reassuring rather than dangerous. This builds up the physical beauty of the object, transforming it into something satisfying in itself. The erotic instinct is focused on the look alone’.”
Gawd. Consider that we ‘gaze’ on photos all over the web. Indeed, I get hundreds of hits from image seekers alone! We are insanely voyeuristic. And the internet has changed the rules on who can look at whom, for how long, and in what circumstances. In cyberspace, Mulvey’s schizm has merged into one. Technology has leveled the playing field insofar as ‘the gaze’ is concerned. Each of us, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation, is a voyeur who turns his or her ‘controlling gaze’ upon the images of desire, at will. In so doing, we transform them into fetishes — all within the privacy of our bedrooms, with the click of a mouse. Think about it.
I’d welcome more comments on this – if others have had film study or visual anthro classes or if you just have a thought or perspective on topic.
Best, Morgan
Jill,
I’m sorry I overlooked this thoughtful comment. Thank you for responding with such honesty and insight. I was most intrigued by your remark:
“so if i wanna say a thing about this photo…in my opinion its a kiss of two women …and you know for women it happens alot…it just come from a true friendship and love between two female and no sexuality things in it (or at least after the moment passes two female can easily understand where it came from)”
I think this gets at the heart of why it’s easy for women to understand and appreciate expressions of affection that might be misconstrued as having sexual overtones. Sometimes, women do kiss one another with ambiguous intentions, perhaps wanting the erotic charge of the forbidden but not necessarily wanting to follow through and go to bed together.
Women have very different ways of expressing their sexuality and fantasy life. The phenomenon of women writing and publishing homosexual fantasies between two well-known heterosexual male musicians, however, is something new to me. Love it! You cannot help but wonder: would it flatter or offend the parties involved to read it?
Interesting discussion! I’ll get back to this next week.
Off to party.
Morgan
Nick and Blixa are well known for pulling crowd-pleasing stunts, playing to crowds and courting controversy. How better to bake people’s noodles?
That said, I still interpret it as a tender moment between two friends who are comfortable with each other and their own sexuality. My best friends a bloke and I kiss him hello, goodbye etc. It is a way of showing tenderness and love of someone on a platonic level. It doesn’t always denote sexual feelings otherwise, we wouldn’t kiss our parents, kids etc. Sometimes, a kiss is just a kiss… Brave move boys
Sylvia
Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for the comment. I agree with you that this is a performance (and a good one, at that) and I also consider it an affectionate expression b/w two men who were friends and collaborators for 20 years. As far as I understand it, this same act was performed many times over a two-year period, which I did not know when I wrote this post. Indeed, I thought it was a one-time, unique thing, which made it very special. You are right, sometimes a kiss is just a kiss.
are we sure this is not photoshop?
Michael,
Absolutely positive. I’ve seen the photograph in color, as well. If you watched any of the Wild Roses Grow live performances you’d likely have seen them kiss. I have several friends who’ve witnessed it firsthand. This was a regular event between late 1996 and 1998 when Blixa began singing the female part of the duet. I have the 1998 Midtfyns performance on YouTube so you can see what I mean. Or come by Nick Cave Fixes and watch it there. http://nickcavefixes.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/nixa-at-midtfyns-271998/