Nick Cave has used his latest blog post to give fans a greater insight into his thinking, revealing how he has find himself repelled by “woke culture”.
If you’ve been paying attention to the parlance of the times, you’d likely be aware of the usage of the phrase “woke”. The term of course refers to being awake to the happenings of the world, and being conscious of the racial discrimination, sexism, and other forms of oppression that humanity frequently turns a blind eye to.
While it is rooted in a good place, the idea of “woke culture” has often found itself criticised, with some feeling as though people take it too far, while others claim it has since been appropriated and used as a mocking term for those that value political correctness.
However, if those who subscribe to the notion of being woke hoped to find an ally in Nick Cave, they’ll be sorely disappointed, with the musician using his latest post on The Red Hand Files to soundly criticise the idea.
After being quizzed in terms of both his political leanings and wokeness, Cave responded to the latter by noting that aspects of such a culture “repel” him, regardless of their “virtuous intentions”.
“Living in a state of enquiry, neutrality and uncertainty, beyond dogma and grand conviction, is good for the business of songwriting, and for my life in general,” he explained.
“This is the reason I tend to become uncomfortable around all ideologies that brand themselves as ‘the truth’ or ‘the way’.
“This not only includes most religions, but also atheism, radical bi-partisan politics or any system of thought, including ‘woke’ culture, that finds its energy in self-righteous belief and the suppression of contrary systems of thought.
“Regardless of the virtuous intentions of many woke issues, it is its lack of humility and the paternalistic and doctrinal sureness of its claims that repel me.”
Check out ‘Waiting For You’ by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds:
Nick Cave continued his post by expanded on some of the aspects of wokeness that don’t sit right with him, while also reminding his readers that they need to be ready to evolve lest they become wrapped up in what they’re often protesting.
“Wokeness, for all its virtues, is an ideology immune to the slightest suggestion that in a generation’s time their implacable beliefs will appear as outmoded and fallacious as those of their own former generation,” he continues.
“This may well be the engine of progress, but history has a habit of embarrassing our treasured beliefs.
“Some of us, for example, are of the generation that believed that free speech was a clear-cut and uncontested virtue, yet within a generation this concept is seen by many as a dog-whistle to the Far Right, and is rapidly being consigned to the Left’s ever-expanding ideological junk pile.
“This is not to suggest we should not have our convictions or, indeed, that we should not be angry with the state of the world, or that we should not fight in order to correct the injustices committed against it.”
In related news, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds recently released their latest album, Ghosteen, earlier this month. Despite having only been out for a handful of weeks, it’s already on track to be one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of the year.
Check out ‘Bright Horses’ by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds:
