So I’ll just continue where I left off last time, maybe I’ll get this all finished here and maybe I’ll need a third part. If the scroll bar gets smaller than the width of my thumb I think it can be a bit much. Then again, I am the idiot who thinks that maybe one day some people will be willing to read all of these. That’s not what I’m here to talk about today though. After Pornography it seemed like everything was over. The band hadn’t officially disbanded, but one of the three members that were still around by the time Pornography was being recorded left and so it was just Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst who I think mostly played the drums and sometimes the keyboard at that point. Then they decided to take some time away from recording or performing for a while, and it probably felt at the time like The Cure was finished. Then after some months, out of nowhere and sounding nothing like before The Cure came out with a new single, Let’s Go To Bed. The first of several that would be released over the following couple years. It starts off sounding almost like a song from a children’s tv show, like one of the sesame street songs or something. It’s really bouncy and there’s this “doot doot doot” noise that sounds like a toy horn or something and then Robert’s voice comes in alongside humming “doot doot doot” to match it. Then after about a minute in this jangly guitar playing starts, and the vocals seem a little less playful for a bit before slipping back into that same jovial feeling and back and forth until the end. This is the first track on the Japanese Whispers compilation album, which collects all the standalone singles released in the period between Pornography and the next full studio LP along with some of their b-sides. If you’re going through their discography in chronological order this album, and Let’s Go To Bed specifically as the first track you hear, will stand out as a total change of direction immediately. I would absolutely consider this to be a crucial part of their discography and worth listening to along with their albums, unlike the other singles compilations Staring At The Sea and Greatest Hits because JW is much more consistent and focused on a short three year period. None of the tracks on it were on another album like most of the ones from the other compilations either. There have been other standalone singles from The Cure and they’re definitely worth listening to, Charlotte Sometimes is probably in my top five songs from the band, but you can just check them out any time.
There is an undercurrent of melancholy still present even here though, for example the second track The Dream which is supposedly about a miscarriage. The song starts with these weird noises, like a chorus of kittens yelping and mewing and a synthy sound in the background. The vocals are a little more gloomy than the last track but it still sounds like Robert is having fun on here. The drums on this song are also really unique, they feel almost spongy if that makes sense. It’s quite a weird one, next up is the closest sounding to their previous stuff. Just One Kiss almost sounds to me like it could have been originally something intended for Pornography but reworked quite a lot. The drums are heavier like on there, but yet for whatever reason instead of sounding completely oppressive there’s this hopefulness. Not just from the drums, I get that feeling from the song as a whole, it’s like they tweaked all the most important elements of Pornography just enough to completely change the vibe but yet keep a very similar sound. Even the lyrics are very similar in style “somebody died for this… somebody died” Robert moans at you but then “for just one kiss” and the whole mood is relaxed a little. I don’t need to go over every song on here, that’s what ended up bogging me down so much last time. There is a general theme you get from this project, the tracks are mostly pretty similar in tone. Some are more synth based or guitar based etc. There’s weird little things like the kittens and this twinkling that shows up a lot and The Walk has this oriental sound to it. It’s like the band rediscovering a love for music and experimenting with ideas and just having fun again. I said with Pornography that it was not for background listening, well this is the exact opposite, it’s perfect to have on when you’re not doing anything serious and want to keep the mood light. I actually listen to this one a lot in the evening when I want to keep positive and get /comfy/. I don’t really have any memories associated with any of the songs on here, maybe La Ment because it was one of those few songs I was listening to a lot in that early period when I first discovered the band so I associate it with that time. The miserable goth rock icon had been replaced by a weird parody of the pop stars of the era.
So after a few years of just releasing occasional singles but mostly not doing anything with the band it was time to get back and work on something new. Not to say that the members and former members weren’t doing other things. Smith for example had recorded a psychedelic collab album with a different group called The Glove which is actually really cool (Blue Sunshine it’s called if you want to check it out) and also been touring as a temporary member of Siouxsie and The Banshees and was on a few tracks on their album Hyaena. Anyway, on The Top they decided that it was time to get even weirder. Clearly heavily influenced by the psych pop he’d been around and involved in a lot, some of the songs on here were even considered for being on Blue Sunshine instead, this album feels like a trip. In both senses actually, because a few of the songs have sounds influenced by different styles of music from around the world. Bird Mad Girl and The Caterpillar both have a very mediterranean feel, The Wailing Wall naturally has a middle eastern vibe (so does the cover art for the album I think, the font seems inspired by Arabic lettering) and The Empty World sounds inspired by the military parades from any one of the small tin-pot dictatorships of south america. I can definitely understand why a lot of people don’t like this album, it was critically panned at the time from what I understand, but I think that it’s quite unique in The Cure’s catalogue and it’s probably the most wacky album they ever put out. It takes a lot of the ideas and sounds they’d been experimenting with up until this point and makes something that is tonally the complete opposite in one sense from what came before. The gruesome/ violent imagery in the lyrics is there, but with Robert’s delivery (changing pitch mid sentence, yelping and shouting and laughing maniacally, etc.) and the music it accompanies being so different the entire effect is different. You have the guitar being played very much like it was on the opener to Pornography, in that spiralling kind of way, on a few tracks. I really think that if you haven’t given it a go yet you should check this out. I didn’t listen to it for quite a while, only after one of the customers at work heard me listening to the band and recommended it did I get around to it. It’s not something I listen to often, because it requires a specific mood and if you’re not in that headspace it just feels abrasive and irritating but when it’s the right moment it’s a really good time.
After The Top came The Head On The Door, and I’ll be honest I don’t really like it that much. It’s grown on me but it’s just kind of… unimpressive, at least compared to what they’d been doing up until this point. Supposedly the goal was for the album to be like an anthology with each track being it’s own separate thing rather than there being a more overarching theme to the album. The opening track Inbetween Days sets the mood very well, it’s like the chart pop singles of the day, with “catchiness” being a deliberate goal going into this project. Robert even said this himself in interviews around the time of the release. He also said that this was the first Cure album made without the assistance of frequent drug use. The weirdness still comes out at times, for example The Blood which is like a slightly cleaned up version of a song that could have appeared on The Top and Six Different Ways which was apparently inspired by a conversation the band had about how many ways there are to skin a cat. I still enjoy the songs that sound like they were made with the charts in mind like Push, the intro and of course A Night Like This too. Listening back to this after not hearing it in quite a while was really enjoyable, but it’s just one of their less creative albums I feel like. The anthology idea is interesting, but I think it’s executed way better on the album Kaleidoscope by Siouxsie and the Banshees which was where Robert got the idea. A lot of the music and ideas for the band Robert had seem to be influenced by them actually, but while usually I find it to be an improvement in this case not so much.
Going back to A Night Like This though, I do have another fond memory associated with it which is why it’s a highlight on the album for me as I get to relive that a little. Again it was before I had heard the full album. During my training for the job I have now, I had to stay quite late for one of the practise shifts. I wasn’t alone of course, there training me was this Polish woman who was maybe 10 years or so older than me. She actually left very soon after I started, I think I was her replacement. Anyway she seemed to actually give a shit about me, which was odd. Not because of anything about me it was like she was this way with everyone, like an actual nice person. I mean it’s not like most people aren’t friendly, and some even have done things to help me before, but she was just warm and in a way maternal. I felt like a child when around her, I never was really attracted to her or saw her in that way even though she was objectively speaking quite pretty. I remember at one point I accidentally touched this hot sandwich maker in the back and she seemed really concerned and grabbed my hand to put it under cold water like you would with a little kid. It probably says a lot about me that this and all the other little things like it were something I liked so much. I won’t deny that I’m kind of developmentally stunted and probably looking for a mother figure. Being complimented various times, her making a real effort to get me to talk and be comfortable, bringing a warmer jacket for me because I had been cold on another evening shift there, her not seeming uncomfortable holding my arm or standing right near me, etc. all were appreciated. After about half a year of being pretty isolated and basically living like a complete hikikomori NEET having someone like this around was really helpful. Like I said she seemed to be like this just generally, I remember her fussing over one of the other girls who worked at the shop checking she was ok because apparently she had been ill just before I started my training. She helped make that transition from a NEET to having a job way way easier than it could have been and I really appreciate it. It’s also nice that I was able to have a genuinely positive acquaintanceship with a woman (even if only for a few weeks) that wasn’t tainted by me becoming attracted to her or developing some kind of romantic feelings like has happened with my various oneitises over the years. Sure I get along with my other female co-workers and manager and I’m not interested in them like that (other than the ones I’ve mentioned in previous posts obviously) but with them interactions are always pretty awkward. I feel like I make them uncomfortable like I do with almost everyone on this fucking planet, and even if I’m just imagining it I’m not imagining how they make me uncomfortable. I spent way too long on background information though, the memory itself is actually very quick to explain. It was one of my last training shifts with her, I had to stay really late until way after dark and I just remember getting home and listening to that song because I’d been enjoying it a lot already around that time and feeling like I was finally out of this prison I’d been in for the last half a year before that. Sure I might sometimes miss those NEET days when I’m halfway through a long week there but overall my life has improved noticeably since getting this job. I have more money to waste on things, I’m not completely isolated anymore and she helped me with that more than anyone else ever did. I wish more people were like her, life would be immeasurably easier for people like me. So now whenever I hear that song it takes me back to that period of time when I was doing my training, a time which I will always remember very fondly.
Anyway, back to talking about the band and not myself. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me is in my opinion another fantastic record. Being a double album it’s quite a lot longer than any of the other releases up to and after this point. I’ve listened to it a lot though, maybe almost as much as Seventeen Seconds and Disintegration which are the two that probably would be what I’d have to choose between if asked my favourite. If asked to describe this album quickly, I suppose I’d just give the name of one of my favourite songs on here Hot Hot Hot!!! It’s not just because of the fiery oranges and reds on the album art either, listening to this that’s how it feels. It’s the most energetic and vibrant they’ve ever sounded. They managed to take the intensity of Pornography, the psychedelic and hazy atmosphere of The Top and melt everything together in a pot to get something still as catchy and mainstream friendly as The Head On The Door. I really do mean “they” as well here. From interviews and articles it really seems like unlike The Top, which was all but a Robert Smith solo record, all five members of the band at the time contributed significantly to the project. This album might seem long, but there was just as much music that never got included and settling on the final 18 songs was difficult enough in order to make everyone feel included I imagine. This isn’t really anything to do with the album either by the way, but something that certainly added to that theme of heat and fire was that I was playing Dark Souls 2 and more specifically getting through Iron Keep the day I first heard this album in full. They go really well together, I get this feeling of moving steel contraptions and steam rising around me when I hear this album right from the intro now thanks to the association.
Anyway, I’ll get onto talking about some of my highlights from the record. Torture bursts out at you immediately with it’s aggressive drums and has this really cool bassline right the way through that keeps the energy up, and then towards the end these horns come in which ramp things up even more. How Beautiful You Are with what I think is a violin solo mid way through is another great one, the song itself is about a couple who encounter an impoverished man and his two children. The man looks at the woman and sees instead of sadness or empathy in her eyes a look of disgust, and in that moment realises she isn’t his soulmate but he was projecting who he wanted her to be or something like that. It’s kind of like what I was talking about in one of my earliest posts here isn’t it? It also serves as a perfect example of why I like this band’s music so much, there’s always this undercurrent of melancholy even when they’re at their most upbeat. Often even when I’m having a great time, meeting my friends and we’re laughing away all night or shitposting with the anons on /r9k/ and having a blast, I’ll get these occasional brief moments where I’m reminded that it’s only temporary and the gloom is just over the horizon waiting again. This experience is capture so well by The Cure, even if unintentionally. The Snakepit is this 6 minute long mostly instrumental mood piece near the middle of the album that slows the pace down briefly, yet still it has a lot of similar sounds. All I Want again is another track that’s just full of life, which is what makes this album so special in comparison to either their gloomy earlier stuff or their more standard chart pop like HOTD. This track has the sound that best represents the entire record, you can listen to this song and have a general idea of what the entire thing is like. Well, either that or Hot Hot Hot!!! which I already mentioned before. Another fantastically high energy song with a perfectly fitting title. You get real Fear And Loathing vibes, it feels like driving through the Nevada desert in a red convertible under the midday sun. The closing track Fight is another favourite of mine on here, ending the album with a hopeful and forward looking feeling. The total opposite of Faith for example, which was bleak and despondent, this album is able to build you up when you need it. So when the hurting starts and when the nightmares begin, remember you can fill up the sky. You don’t have to give in.
Looks like this will be three parts after all. I know this wasn’t as good as the first part I wrote, if I’m being honest as much as I enjoy almost all of their output the records I talked about last week are the ones that I have the most emotional attachment to and memories associated with. Other than Disintegration which I’ll save for next time I don’t have too much to say about what they made after this point. The thing is this is a blog I made to talk about myself primarily and last week’s part, while a good rundown of the band’s early discography (I hope), was strong because I was able to really get across why the band is so particularly special to me. With the memories associated with certain songs, and the way the albums resonate with me more generally. This isn’t an article about The Cure, it’s an entry on a personal blog about why they are my favourite band. I’m going to have a little conclusion at the end of the next part going into more detail on this I think. For now I just want to get this out because it took me longer to get started than I planned and I haven’t had anything out since last weekend.
Ramblings of a neurotic mess 