Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars) (2007)
By the mid-2000s, Nick Cave had become primarily known for writing haunting piano ballads and composing film scores. So it was a surprise when Cave returned in 2006 with an album from his Bad Seeds side project Grinderman that rocked furiously.
Named after a Memphis Slim song ("Grinder Man Blues"), the band was formed by Cave (vocals, guitar, organ, piano) and fellow Bad Seeds Warren Ellis (guitar, electric mandolin, violin, viola), Martyn P. Casey (bass, guitar) and Jim Sclavunos (drums). Cave had started writing new songs on guitar and was coming up with material that was rawer than what the Bad Seeds were playing at the time, so Grinderman was created to explore that different road.
Recorded in four days, the Grinderman sound was markedly different from the blues, gospel and gothic sound of the previous Bad Seeds album Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus. The raw, unhinged power of the project was impressive, especially considering these guys were pushing 50. Some compared it to Cave's early post-punk act The Birthday Party in terms of energy and feel.
The first two singles off the album were "Get It On" and "No Pussy Blues," two absolute rippers. But "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)" is the standout among standouts. It kicks off with organ and a pummeling riff as Cave rips into the first verse.
"Mad mullahs and dirty bombs/Alert the coastal command/Ack-ack positions everyone/She's my honey bee and here she comes/Cancer, rabies, SARS/Hairy beards and hurtling stars/Won't somebody touch me?/Won't somebody touch me?/Honey bee let's fly to Mars."
The song picks up in intensity as Cave rants and raves.
"There's a kid laying on the lawn/The neighbor's on the telephone/The dispatcher asks, "What's going on?/Please sir, what's going on?"/The kid is laying on the lawn/He's been giving me shit for years/He rides his bike across my lawn/Now he's laying on the lawn/Won't somebody touch me?/Oh, won't someone please touch me!/Honey bee let's fly to Mars."
The intensity of the song was perfectly used in a scene in episode 4 of the first season of the HBO show True Detective. The episode ends with an epic, six-minute tracking shot that follows Matthew McConaughey's character through a robbery/shootout/hostage situation/escape, ending with "Honey Bee" blaring in the background.
Grinderman only played 29 shows in support of the first album, mostly festivals and in Australia. The more raucous Grinderman sound carried over to the next Bad Seeds album, 2008's Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! After the Bad Seeds toured in the summer of '08, Grinderman 2 was recorded, going in a different direction that included psychedelia and Krautrock in addition to the garage punk sound of the first album. The album came out in 2010 and they came to Boston that fall, a show I was lucky enough to see. It was an early Friday night show at House of Blues, but Cave and the Grindermen raged through 80 minutes of awesomeness. It's the only time I've seen Cave in concert and he was one of the best frontmen I've witnessed. Truly an inspired experience.
Grinderman toured throughout 2011 and then called it a day at the end of the year, although they reunited to play shows at Coachella in 2013. Cave hinted in 2019 that a third Grinderman album was in the works, but five years later, nothing has been announced yet. The good news is Cave keeps releasing excellent albums, so at least there's that.
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