Nick Cave Gives The Best Reaction to Bob Dylan's Paris Compliment: 'Penetrated My Exhausted, Zombied State'

In reaction to a recent positive tweet from the newly-active account of Bob Dylan, Nick Cave expressed his appreciation by describing the encounter as "a lovely pulse of joy."

Last week, Dylan took to his social media account to share his thoughts on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' recent performance in France. Specifically, Dylan mentioned the song "Joy" from Cave's acclaimed album, "Wild God," which had caught his attention during the show just two days prior.

He said in a tweet, "Saw Nick Cave in Paris recently at the Accor Arena and I was really struck by that song Joy where he sings 'We've all had too much sorrow, now it the time for joy.'

"I was thinking to myself, yeah that's about right," he added.

Upon catching wind of the remark, it seems Cave, who is a big fan of Dylan, was touched. He has gone into the musician's artistry before and has performed many of his songs.

Cave addressed the matter on his occasionally updated Red Hand Files newsletter, expressing his surprise at Dylan's acknowledgment and describing the tweet as "a lovely pulse of joy that penetrated my exhausted, zombied state."

Cave went on, "I was happy to see Bob on X, just as many on the Left had performed a Twitterectomy and headed for Bluesky. It felt admirably perverse, in a Bob Dylan kind of way."

He continued, "I did indeed feel it was a time for joy rather than sorrow. There had been such an excess of despair and desperation around the election, and one couldn't help but ask when it was that politics became everything."

In the past few weeks, there has been a growing curiosity surrounding the increased activity on Dylan's Twitter account. The recent surge in engagement seems to indicate a transition from promotional content to personal comments directly from Dylan.

In addition to sharing tips on where to find the best New Orleans dishes and paying a belated tribute to the late comedian Bob Newheart, Dylan has sparked curiosity about a mysterious woman known as Mary Jo.

In September, he tweeted, "Happy Birthday Mary Jo! See you in Frankfort."

Researching the variety of notable Mary Jos, Rolling Stone magazine identified several well-known individuals bearing the name, such as Canadian actor and culinary expert Mary Jo Eustace, boxer Mary Jo Sanders, and fantasy author Mary Jo Putney.

However, none of these Mary Jos are linked to Bob Dylan.

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Nick Cave, Bob Dylan