You need to know a little about the Higgs Boson, and a little about Nick Cave to get this song. Nick is not a typical Christian, but he is a Christian, so the spiritual decay he sees is not some request to put prayer in schools, or for people to follow his religion or something, it is a deeper, existential crisis in modern society. The Higgs Boson is called the "God particle" because it is an attempt by physics to find the most elementary particle, the particle that is essentially at the bottom of everything. Now that they've found it, there is no fulfillment, nothing is better, and the spiritual crises is still there, God particle or no. It's an existential emptiness type thing. Lines like "saving the savages with the Higgs Boson blues" are easily explained by reading people like Christopher Hitchens writing about howt he Iraq war was a good idea to civilize people, and bring them our wonderful, perfect modern ways of life and views. The references to MIley Cyrus are obvious, she is a great poster child of our empty, fame-groping, celebrity obsessed pop culture.
Nick Cave's relationship with religion and God has always been quite complex. He was brought up Anglican but didn't identify very much with the God that was presented to him. He talks in lot of his early interviews of a more personal identification with God, removed from the dogmatic trappings of church services. He's also talked a great deal over the years about his doubts, and in one interview said specifically, “I don’t think a person truly believes unless they doubt as well. My faith kind of swells up and subsides”.
Nick Cave's relationship with religion and God has always been quite complex. He was brought up Anglican but didn't identify very much with the God that was presented to him. He talks in lot of his early interviews of a more personal identification with God, removed from the dogmatic trappings of church services. He's also talked a great deal over the years about his doubts, and in one interview said specifically, “I don’t think a person truly believes unless they doubt as well. My faith kind of swells up and subsides”.
Whatever his specific beliefs are at any given point in time, he's always drawn inspiration from religion and spirituality in his work, and it's ok to interpret his work through that lens as chances are that really was what he was going for.
You need to know a little about the Higgs Boson, and a little about Nick Cave to get this song. Nick is not a typical Christian, but he is a Christian, so the spiritual decay he sees is not some request to put prayer in schools, or for people to follow his religion or something, it is a deeper, existential crisis in modern society. The Higgs Boson is called the "God particle" because it is an attempt by physics to find the most elementary particle, the particle that is essentially at the bottom of everything. Now that they've found it, there is no fulfillment, nothing is better, and the spiritual crises is still there, God particle or no. It's an existential emptiness type thing. Lines like "saving the savages with the Higgs Boson blues" are easily explained by reading people like Christopher Hitchens writing about howt he Iraq war was a good idea to civilize people, and bring them our wonderful, perfect modern ways of life and views. The references to MIley Cyrus are obvious, she is a great poster child of our empty, fame-groping, celebrity obsessed pop culture.
@ZachZinn , In 20,000 Days on Earth Nick states, quite clearly, that he does not believe in any sort of God.
@ZachZinn , In 20,000 Days on Earth Nick states, quite clearly, that he does not believe in any sort of God.
Nick Cave's relationship with religion and God has always been quite complex. He was brought up Anglican but didn't identify very much with the God that was presented to him. He talks in lot of his early interviews of a more personal identification with God, removed from the dogmatic trappings of church services. He's also talked a great deal over the years about his doubts, and in one interview said specifically, “I don’t think a person truly believes unless they doubt as well. My faith kind of swells up and subsides”.
Nick Cave's relationship with religion and God has always been quite complex. He was brought up Anglican but didn't identify very much with the God that was presented to him. He talks in lot of his early interviews of a more personal identification with God, removed from the dogmatic trappings of church services. He's also talked a great deal over the years about his doubts, and in one interview said specifically, “I don’t think a person truly believes unless they doubt as well. My faith kind of swells up and subsides”.
Whatever his specific beliefs are at any given point in time, he's always drawn inspiration from religion and spirituality in his work, and it's ok to interpret his work through that lens as chances are that really was what he was going for.