The Cure 'The Cure': Intial thoughts, C/D?

OMG!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone on Slsk have "Going Nowhere" and the b-sides?

Also, OMG ANGST ON A CURE RECORDING WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM???

Dan OTM.

Also, OMG ANGST ON A CURE RECORDING WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM???

-- VengaDan Perry

Oh, you. Obviously the brilliance of "Lost" is more in the arrangement and performance, but it's a very clever chord progression, and it's not catchy per se but it's very moving - obviously there must be something there in the songwriting that elevates it above many of the other tracks, which also feature plenty of impassioned yelping and blazing guitars and yet suck so very much ("Alt.End" and "Labyrinth", I'm looking at you).

Here you're completely stretching what I said out of context. "Killing An Arab" is great, "One Hundred Years" is great, "The Kiss" is great, "Disintegration" is great, etc. But this time around the rage is so lyrically unfocused and backed by such ineffective songwriting that it's pointless (which ties nicely into the paragraph above).

(For the record I do prefer swoony girly Cure to angry doom Cure, tho.)

The Cure (* ½) Forty-five is the new 18, or so one might gather from these sophomoric tirades from middle-aged mope-rocker Robert Smith and colleagues on their latest effort. Songs such as Us or Them and alt.end may hint at more substantial subject matter than post-post-adolescent navel-gazing. But the caterwauling Smith still hasn't figured out the difference between addressing pain and taking a bubble bath in it. Nor has anyone informed him about the advances in recording technology that now enable the most musically challenged singers to sound pitch-perfect on their CDs. Or maybe he's afraid that singing on key would make him sound too grown up. —Gardner

I just ordered the Japanese import WHEEEEEEE.

The guy is sooooo sweet when he talks about Mary.

It seemed plausible because I'd long since abandoned any creative expectations I'd had of the man.

The only place for 'Lost' is at the start of the album, thought it was really good they should start with something so deliberatley tuneless. When I was drunk last night, I had convinced myself it was the best opening track to a Cure album since 100 Years.

So far I think the album was what I'd hoped Bloodflowers would be, changing from sounding like one amorphous whole to a distinct collection of songs the more I listen (which is always the sign of a good Cure album), something which never happened at all with Bloodflowers.

I like. It's a bit looser than the last three or four albums, and Robert's voice sounds fuller, too. Song-writing is cure-for-sure, and it's more upbeat than the last one.

I was secretly hoping the bagpipes would suddenly become the hot rock music accessory, but that hasn't happened yet.

Also, I saw a review call "us or them" a tirade against terrorism? Where are the political lyrics?

Are you talking about the Boston Phoenix review? That had me in serious stitches.

Um.

Anyway, there's no way that "Mint Car" can be the sweetest little thing in the whole wide world when you've got "The Lovecats", "Lovesong", "Hey You!!!", "To The Sky", "This Twilight Garden" and "Home" to choose from.

Not as much as Anthony I suspect, though I just wanted to get it off of my chest since Ned was pulling out the fake bigass words that begin with "crap."

2. Robert spends far too much of the song yelping in the ugliest, most aurally-unattractive manner possible. This would be great if this was an angry, unattractive song, but it's supposed to be an endearing pop song about being in lovelust.

3. Like many of the _WMS_ songs, the production makes the band sound like they're playing through a pillow while Robert sounds like he's singing from the bottom of a well.

4. The third verse is the only thing lyrically that I have any time for and all of the pleasure I would get from that is pissed upon by the aforementioned screechy, yelpy delivery.

The only track that features ultra-yelpy Robert with completely dissimilar music that I really like is "Dressing Up" and that's largely because the melodic line he comes up with is completely killer (especially the repeat of the opening line SWOON).

All of WMS sounds very 'plinky', it just reminds me of reheated microwaved coffee (black, one sugar), although lyrically Mint Car probably scrapes the bottom of barrel. ('I'm sooo fizzzy I could burst!!!')

Ultra yelpy Bob can be a lot of fun (see Joining the Dots -particularly the years 1982-87).

(This could probably be summed up as TS: "Happy The Man" vs "New Day")

I've been listening to the Cure for the most time in years recently, and I think the stuff that works best is where his voice is 'behind' the guitars and big keyboards (ie Chain of Flowers, Breathe, Fear of Ghosts, One More Time).

The new album is sort of growing on me and I think its quite good, but I still think it pales into insignificance next to the last trembling blue stars record, which is where I (prefer to) think the lineage of what I liked in the Cure has ended up.

The picture disc of the new single looks really cool, though.

Did you hear the last album?

The added songs = URGENT AND KEY

But then it was also his intention for the album to have the same 12 tracks no matter where in the world you bought it so good luck.

"Us or Them" is garbage but the rest of the album is pretty good, musically anyway.

Wouldn't be entirely surprised, he likes Mogwai, they're on the tour....

so the setlist from the first show is sort of a bummer, a pop song show.

ARGHAGAHDFASDH. Hopefully that will improve.

i was just hoping for some songs that havent been played for a while ..maybe 'like cockatoos or homesick or anything else but the same old singles

It seems the tour is kicking in. Last night's setlist:
Lost, Shake Dog Shake, Before Three, High, The End of the World, Anniversary, Lovesong, Pictures of You, Siamese Twins, Maybe Someday, Like Cockatoos, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, A Strange Day, One Hundred Years, Never, The Promise

Encore: The Drowning Man, Charlotte Sometimes, Faith.

Not bad, even if it'll never happen. When I saw them at HFStival and they started "One Hundred Years," though, I felt like I was entering an alternate universe where something like VengaDan's setlist would be played. It was incredible. I hope they play it again this weekend in Boston (I'll be there). They could just play through the whole Pornography album live and I'd eat it up.

plainsong / pictures of you / closedown / kyoto song / a night like this / just like heaven / catch / last dance / fascination street / lovesong / cold / the walk / a forest / inbetween days / the same deep water as you / prayers for rain / disintegration

E1: lullaby / close to me / let's go to bed / why can't i be you
E2: homesick / untitled / faith
E3: the figurehead / one hundred years / m / boys don't cry / 10.15 saturday night / killing an arab / forever

"Thank you very much, and good night. And I'll never see you again."

Nearly 15 years ago.

1st night:
Out Of This World, Watching Me Fall, Want, Fascination St., Open, The Loudest Sound, Maybe Someday, Shake Dog Shake, The Snakepit, Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Inbetween Days, If Only Tonight We Could Sleep, Siamese Twins, Prayers for Rain, 100 Years, 39, Bloodflowers

1st Encore: Cold, The Figurehead, Pornography
2nd Encore: There Is No If, Trust, Plainsong, Disintegration
3rd Encore: Boys Don't Cry, A Forest.

2nd night:
Out Of This World, Watching Me Fall, Want, Fascination St., A Strange Day, Last Day of Summer, Pictures of You, Where The Birds Always Sing, The Kiss, Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Inbetween Days, Sinking, 100 Years, Shiver & Shake, End, 39, Bloodflowers

1st encore : All Cats Are Grey, The Drowning Man, Faith
2nd encore : M, Play for Today, A Forest
3rd encore : Just Like Heaven, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab.

and the trilogy shows didn't need to get advertised much, they sold out really fast.

yeah i know, but it wasnt word of mouth was it?

The Cure take the icon test
By Tim Weber
BBC News Online business editor

British Goth-pop band The
Cure have been declared an
'MTV Icon', with 26 years of
music making honoured at a
tribute concert at Old
Billingsgate Market in
London.

Uh-oh... wasn't it just a few
years ago that I bobbed along
to The Cure's Inbetween Days?

Nope, I'm clearly getting old - it
was the mid 1980s, at which point The Cure had already been
around for some eight years.

Now, a good quarter of a century after starting out and with
numerous platinum albums hanging on the walls of frontman
Robert Smith, can The Cure really live up to their new iconic
status?

The invitation-only event in London's old fish market was
packed.

Teenage angst

Floating on a big screen above stage was a full moon, eerie
enough to persuade any werewolf to give away his game.

None came forward, but the evening's compère Marilyn
Manson was probably as good a replacement as one could
find.

Manson, complete with trademark sneer and white face paint,
played the role of story-telling uncle, taking the 1,000 strong
crowd through a night of music and video flashbacks.

And there were plenty of glowing tributes from musicians and
bands who claimed to have been influenced by The Cure's
moody tunes.

From Limp Bizkit to Linkin Park,
Embrace to Red Hot Chili
Peppers, Dizzee Rascal to
Metallica and many more - is
there any musician out there
who does not claim to have
been under the spell of Robert
Smith's yelps?

Kicking off the evening was
probably the best tribute of
them all, cover versions of Cure
songs played by four bands
that have carried the torch of teenage angst into the 21st
century.

Skate punkers Blink-182 produced a relatively tame rendition
of A letter to Elise, with Robert Smith joining them for All of
This.

AFI did their fast and furious best with Just Like Heaven.

The tribute highlights, though, were an incredibly edgy version
of Boys don't Cry played by Razorlight, and a thundering If
Only Tonight We could Sleep performed by the Deftones.

Nothing pleased me more when, for technical reasons, the
Deftones were asked to retake the song.

Subconcious recognition

During the many set changes of the evening, old Cure videos
entertained the crowd - providing another shocking
realisation: an incredible number of Cure songs and videos
have entered our subconscious, just waiting to be hummed
again.

Remember Inbetween Days, Lovecats, Let's go to Bed,
Charlotte Sometimes, Close to Me, A Night like This, Just Like
Heaven, Love Song, Lullaby, and the incomparable Friday I'm
in Love... and many more.

So, the music is iconic, and
Robert Smith is still clad all in
black, with trademark eyeliner,
red lipstick and wild hair.

But has the band grown as
stale as Smith has chubby?

It was well past midnight when
The Cure themselves finally
took to the stage, and from the
first riff it was obvious that
they have managed to haul their music firmly into the 21st
century.

The Cure may still be the masters of mourning, but their
performance had an edge and drive that would do any Nu
Metal band proud.

Even old favourites like Friday I'm in Love were - almost -
purged of the popcorn sound of the New Wave 1980s.

It's The End of the World, proclaims one song on the band's
most recent album.

The Cure, though, are far from being finished yet.

MTV Icon -The Cure will be shown in the UK on 31 October
2004 at 2100 GMT.

Perhaps that is where I saw it. I read that the producer had an alternate preferred tracklist with 3 (or 5?) songs different that are much darker.

This is easily my favorite album of the year.

I note amusingly one of the new B-sides is called "Why Can't I Be Me?"

porl=saxaphone and another serious songwriter in the studio

Still haven't heard the record yet. Thought I might wait and only give the alternate 'darker' version a listen.

of course i'm only into their poppy happy songs.

on a positive note Lost did make me guffaw outloud. those lyrics are like a parody of Cure lyrics.

Also "Why Can't I Be Me" and "Your God Is Fear" are WOW WOW WOW (esp. "YGIF").

I love this band so much.

What's yr take on "Truth, Goodness And Beauty"?

Yes, yes it does. (Who the hell was complaining about it being a bad opener? It's a PERFECT opener!)

I really liked "Truth, Goodness and Beauty," it's one of the ones that is sticking with me still as the album progresses. The vocal in particular is grand, I appreciated the (at least initially) spare arrangement.

There's a fine way around individual fillips in these songs -- the shift between sections on "Labyrinth," the stateliness (for lack of a better word) on "Anniversary."

Ned, have you heard "This Morning" yet?????

This album is still great, guys. "Us or Them" is kind of weak, though.

"Lost", "Labyrinth" and "The Promise" are still totally kick-ass (especially the latter) but I'm not sure about the rest.

"Anniversary", "Before Three", "Going Nowhere", "Truth, Goodness and Beauty", "Fake" and "alt.end" all run the gamut from really good to outstanding.

I am ashamed for saying "goff"

You should be. And yes, album still fantastic.

Meh...

About half a dozen great songs, half a dozen passable-to-boring ones. (Haven't heard the b-sides or anything, just the USA regular issue.) So overall, it's not as good as Bloodflowers or Wish or Disintegration, but much better than Wild Mood Swings. And that's basically it.

(And it should go without saying, it doesn't hold a candle to any of the '80s stuff.)

what is a "goff"?

a goth with a lisp, i'd wager

Okay so I just got tickets for the rescheduled concert tour.

Row P, seats 1-2.

I'm 15 rows back from the stage in a major arena.

I LOVE HAVING DISPOSABLE INCOME

:-D Nice. :-)

Heard “end of the world” today and noticed it sounds a lot like Pavement. Seriously add a lead guitar playing the same melody as the vocals and it’s very Malkmus-esque at least in the verses.

"lost" is so gd amazing

Yup

i loved this album when it came out and played it all the time and the first three tracks are prob my favorite start to any cure album, sorry i'm like this!!!!

*robert smith "before three" voice* YEAH YEAH YEAH

I thought this revive was going to be about that French interview doing the rounds where Smith dismisses the royal family as "fucking useless".

First two tracks are definitely really good, as is The Promise. At least to memory

"truth goodness and beauty" is also amazing

the us release was way too truncated even though i enjoyed the novelty of a modern cure record with a runtime that didn't approach an hour

i feel like i revisited this record only a few years ago but... i totally forgot about "anniversary" and it sounds like the best song in the world to me rn

feels like them successfully accessing the faith/pornography gloom again

*almost inaudible voice* shout out to jason cooper on "anniversary"

i would remove "us or them" from this album and replace it with one of the several excellent b-sides and it would be the best post-wish cure album easy. easy

it probably still is

Heard “end of the world” today and noticed it sounds a lot like Pavement. Seriously add a lead guitar playing the same melody as the vocals and it’s very Malkmus-esque at least in the verses.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Tuesday, April 12, 2022 6:52 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

"never" is also extremely '00s indie rock to my ears

recursive influence... robert smith being like "these interpol guys are pretty good"

There's some Mogwai in there too imo

(also recursive)

I thought this revive was going to be about that French interview doing the rounds where Smith dismisses the royal family as "fucking useless".

The accuracy.

'How dare they presume they could give me an honour? I'm much better than them. They're fucking idiots.' pic.twitter.com/1yroYGYzLI

— j (@jrc1921) June 3, 2022

it was "fucking idiots" not useless!

Oooo, somehow I missed that there were more tracks on the non-U.S. and vinyl versions. Off to Slsk. What b-sides are worth tracking down?

literally all of them

"truth goodness and beauty" and "going nowhere" are essential to the record; my other favorites are "this morning," "your god is fear," and "fake"

Brad OTM, pretty much every song called out (including extra tracks/b-sides) is fantastic and "Us or Them" is very, very unfortunate (every time I've felt like "oh this lyric I've written to amuse myself is terrible" I remember that Robert put "The doleful cant of a bigot/Blinded by fear and hate" into a song and said "nailed it")

just wanna rep for "before three." kind of "doing the unstuck" meets "a strange day." love love love.

and yep: non-album songs for this are all top gear.

Nice revive. Unfairly panned album although some of the pop stuff (Taking Off, Alt End was pretty disposable) and Us Or Them was indeed an aberration (extrapolating everything bad about Watching Me Fall). Never heard the derided Ross Robinson influence on it tbh. Got a special place for I Don’t Know What’s Going On too

there was nothing bad about Watching Me Fall except that it could have gone on for another couple of choruses

A quick update on the 'Robert Smith considers the royals' train of thought:

CITIZENS NOT SUBJECTS X #CITIZENSNOTSUBJECTS

— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) June 3, 2022

Revisited this today, strong album until it falls over at the 3/4 mark - if it went straight from Alt.End to The Promise then ended with Going Nowhere then good LP - Ross Robinson probably a knob but the recording is ok and the band sound energetic

Felt that it was overlong at the time & the economy of the new LP really confirms it - IDK what’s going on / Taking Off / Never all totally disposable b-side material - The Promise goes on a bit but it seemed important to him at the timd

Controp perhaps but I quite like Us Or Them - successful attempt to work up some Shiver & Shake Dog Shakey vitriol - and as for That Line, a bit ripe perhaps but let us not forget that the beloved Faith contains “r___ me like a child / christened in blood” - which feels just as needlessly florid to me

Ok