"Heathen Child"
Single by Grinderman
from the album Grinderman 2
Released6 September 2010
RecordedAugust 2008–2010
Studio
GenreAlternative rock, garage rock
Length5:01
LabelMute Records/ANTI-
Songwriter(s)Nick Cave, Grinderman
Producer(s)Nick Launay, Grinderman
Grinderman singles chronology
"(I Don't Need You To) Set Me Free"
(2007) 		"Heathen Child"
(2010) 		"Worm Tamer"
(2010)

"Heathen Child" is the fourth single by alternative rock group Grinderman and first from their second studio album, Grinderman 2. Released on 6 September 2010,[1] the song is the first release from Grinderman in three years and is also the band's first limited edition double a-side single.[2]

Background and production

Singer Nick Cave spoke of the song with Uncut magazine, mentioning that "Heathen Child" was "a quest to break from narrative song-writing in to something more impressionistic."[3]

On 27 July 2010 the final studio version of the song was previewed on music website Soundcloud by Mute Records.[4]

Critical reception

The song was described on Sonic Masala as "squalid, diseased, filthy, and oh so seductive."[5]

Track listing and formats

Digital download
  1. "Heathen Child" – 5:01
Limited edition 12" vinyl
  1. "Heathen Child" – 5:01
  2. "Star Charmer"
  3. "Super Heathen Child"

Music video

A series of trailers for the album directed by John Hillcoat have been released on Grinderman's official website and by Mute Records since 28 June 2010. Recorded near Westway in London, the music video for "Heathen Child" features a "naked lady lying in a bath of something milky."[6] Cave explained elements of the music video noting that "the video follows the fortunes of a worringly young white girl as she sits in a bath, confronted by the panoply of fiends that occupy her subconscious." The video premiered on NME's Video Box on August 9, 2010.[7]

Musicians and personnel

Grinderman
Guest musicians
Technical personnel

Chart positions

Chart (2010–11) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[8] 41
UK Coalition (Official Charts Company)[9] 1
US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard)[10] 19

References

  1. ^ "Grinderman 2 single, Heathen Child, out Aug 30th". Nick Cave Fixes. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Grinderman". Facebook. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Nick Cave: 30 Greatest Songs". Uncut. No. September 2010. 2010. p. 42.
  4. ^ "Heathen Child". SoundCloud. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Most blogged artists: Deerhunter, Grinderman, Marnie Stern". The Independent. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 2022-05-09. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  6. ^ "Grinderman". Uncut. No. September 2010. 2010. p. 52.
  7. ^ "Grinderman - 'Heathen Child' NME Video Exclusive - NMETV Latest Music Videos and Clips". NME. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  8. ^ "Grinderman – Heathen Child" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  9. ^ "2010 Top 40 Coalition Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  10. ^ "Hot Singles Sales : Dec 11, 2010". Billboard. Retrieved May 1, 2014.



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