In praise of ... Seventeen Seconds by The Cure

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My album of 1980.

Before relistening to any album from 1980 The Cure's second longplay intuitively was my first choice. But when I had heard the three contending records (#3 was Joy Division's Closer) for a moment it was Fehlfarben's Monarchie und Alltag. I have to agree to what many German critics say about this release. That it is the best German rock album. But sometimes this is not enough. Under normal circumstances the result of a serious match England-Germany in rock music is as predictable as in football. The outcomes of those two games are quite opposite though. 1980 wasn't an exception to the rule.

Many fans consider Pornography or Disintegration the pinnacle of The Cure's art but I cannot agree. I never really got into Pornography. Too many songs which lose me. Last time I heard Disintegration I found it hadn't aged well. Something about the production repelled me. Seventeen Seconds is my favourite of theirs. For me it somehow conjures up shadows of the past. It is about the lightness of being sad. And it has the most mysterious title of all their records. I advise you to listen to it in the dark. The impact is much stronger that way.

Keyboards sounding like a jew's harp start the first track and fuse into a simple slow theme played by the guitar and the piano setting the atmosphere of the record. Dark but not heavy almost like a piano piece by an English Satie A Reflection engraves itself on the memory of the listener. A minimal opener preparing us softly for things to come.

Play for Today has already all ingredients of a good upbeat Cure song. A bass forming the base, propelling lively guitars, some spacy synthie, hypnotic drum beats and Robert Smith's unique sombre high-pitch but not whining vocals. And it is so tuneful, so pop. The Cure were the Beatles of dark wave (I don't like the term goth rock). Sounding as fresh now as then. The first highlight.

Secrets is dominated by a simple bass line and is a very rhythmic affair. An impressionist track serving as a transition to the next piece.

In Your House is very heavy, Smith sounds extremely tired. A hint to future ominous musical developments. Like pretending to be deep and profound. This is the first Cure song which sucks a little. Many more were to come later on in their career. Until there was nothing else. Until Robert Smith would sound like a ridiculous parody of himself. But even in this rather dull song there are bits which almost save it. The end is a release when there are only synthie, meandering guitar and drum machine left.

The two instrumentals (except Smith background radio voice) following are rather weird. I love them though. Experimental, almost atonal, mounting the tension and leading directly to the heart of this album:

A Forest. One of the best songs of all time. Starting slowly with the theme repeated a couple of times by the acoustic guitar with brooding synthie sounds and suddenly accelerating to an irresistible beat when the drums and finally the bass kicks in. Nobody can stop this hypnotic trip into the night. Dark power pure.

And did you ever listen to the lyrics? I did before but I never really got the meaning. It seems clear now. They are about hopelessly falling in love. Told from the point of view of the guy of course. He runs after the girl without paying attention to the outside world. He only sees her or thinks he sees her. And suddenly he realises that he is lost. In the forest. And she isn’t there. He has been chasing a phantom. He didn’t fall in love with her but with his picture of her. And now he is on his own, lost in the forest. Running towards nothing. And he will do it again and again and again and again.

It’s difficult to think of a bigger contrast to the black (without the 'and white') A Forest than the following song with the obscure title M. We are almost back in sunny pop country now. The guitar jangles, the synthie wooshes like the ocean waves, there is hope. Beauty still exists. And

You’ll fall in love with somebody else
Again tonight

Can there be a better succession of songs than A Forest and M in the world?

At Night is the abyss. It can’t get more desperate anymore. A weighty song which works though.

I sink in the night
Standing alone underneath the sky
I feel the chill of ice
On my face

At the end some improvisations on the theme promise a brighter future.

Seventeen Seconds is a serene finish. The world is still sad but we have accepted it. Though I didn’t get it yet:

Seventeen seconds
A measure of life

Some mysteries should remain...

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:34 (twenty years ago)

Except Faith is better. (Don't hit!)

Lovely album indeed, solid writeup. Haven't heard it in a long while and I intend to keep it that way for another month until the reissue, when it will be fresher to my ears all around.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:40 (twenty years ago)

Faith is my fave.

― Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:41 (twenty years ago)

woah...xpost ned.

― Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:41 (twenty years ago)

I'm with you Alex. Especially about "A Forest."

― Ken L (Ken L), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:43 (twenty years ago)

HARI I'M IN YOUR HEAD.

It's interesting how the breakdown among the three albums from 17 to Pornography run in terms of fan faves. Dan's choice, f'r instance, is Pornography.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:43 (twenty years ago)

side A of pornography is probably my favourite run of Cure songs.

― Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:46 (twenty years ago)

In Your House is very heavy, Smith sounds extremely tired. A hint to future ominous musical developments. Like pretending to be deep and profound. This is the first Cure song which sucks a little. Many more were to come later on in their career. Until there was nothing else. Until Robert Smith would sound like a ridiculous parody of himself.

I completely checked out after reading this.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:47 (twenty years ago)

Everyone who says "Faith" is better OTM. "17 Seconds" is great too though.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:49 (twenty years ago)

i think you checked out too soon, dan. the best songs were still to come...

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

I dunno, Dan, I fully agree with you that the Cure has NOT ended up there, but I think it's a valid approach to say that something about a band that you didn't like seems -- to you, not necessarily to everyone -- to have become an increasing detriment. Friend Stripey talked about that with reference to both U2 and the Cranberries, about how after a time (in the Cranberries case after the first indie EP!) it seemed the singers with both 'believed their press' and started living up to a caricature of what they did as opposed to continuing to explore their own voice.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

Of course "A Forest" never sounded better than in its extended album version. (Or, maybe it did, as it also sounds great on "Mixed Up")

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

i have faith on vinyl somewhere. listened to it once or twice and was extremely disappointed. maybe i should give it another try.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

Funeral Party/All Cats Are Grey/Faith

cannot be beat.

― Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

a forest always sounds good. it's so class. and i have never understood the mixed reception mixed up got, anyways. those are some of the best remixes i have ever heard in my life.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:59 (twenty years ago)

weird. i can see people arguing for other albums in front of 17 Seconds but Faith is a surprise. kind of patchy. Disintegration is my pick, for personal reasons, but purely on cold song quality, 17 Seconds is there. it's so coherent as a piece and consistent. nothing feels extraneous, even the short instrumentals have a crucial place. 'M' (how Smith referred to his gfriend/wife in liner notes) is poss my fave Cure song.

this has reminded me how much i love that album. one of two vinyl records that i wore out...

Loveless. what, you didn't ask? ok, sorry.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

Fine choice for the second, that.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

"Funeral Party", "The Drowning Man" and "Other Voices". All classic!

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

Well, I looked at what you wrote about "At Night" and between the commentary there and what you wrote about "In Your House", it seems that everything you despise about The Cure is precisely what I love about them.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

you said it, lee. 17 seconds is one piece. that's how albums should be. loveless is almost as consistent. though there was a 1991 album which i consider more complete.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

that's what makes a great band, dan. you can love it for opposite reasons...

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

I agree with Alx on this - 17 seconds is the only Cure album I listen to regularly. There's so much space in every song. And the instrumentation is somehow minimal and repetitive, without ever being boring. It's the most mysterious album, yes, and it has the Cure's best cover.
I find Faith a bit turgid, Pornography has a few terrible tuneless dark-goth tracks, and Disintegration is too long, too fussy, and hasn't aged well.

― paulhw (paulhw), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

The song 'Disintegration' could well be the best thing they ever did though.

― Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

Apart from "17 Seconds" and "Faith", I feel none of The Cure's "darker" albums have worked out throughoutly well. "Disintegration" and "Bloodflowers" are both pretty patchy in places, while "Pornography" has its moments but gets a bit too heavy in the long run (plus somebody really needed to get Lol Tolhurst away from that drumkit)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

Pornography has a few terrible tuneless dark-goth tracks

Okay, this is the second time I've picked on Paul today, but come on now; "tuneless" is really not applicable to anything that The Cure has put out, ever.

It would be really nice if people would stop using the word "tuneless" as if it was shorthand for "I don't like it"; a tune doesn't have to be repetitive or tightly-structured.

If I woke up one day and discovered that Pornography was "too heavy", I would probably shoot myself in the face.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:24 (twenty years ago)

i am both with and against Paul. Pornography is singularly without tune, but that's why it's so good and unique. just nasty, driving bile.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

Can you hum it? THEN IT HAS A TUNE. It's not a difficult concept!

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

by having no tune, i guess i mean no obvious melody. i don't think we need another dissection of musical terminology though...

― Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

xpost - Yeah, I was about to say. I've heard people say that Disco Inferno's "DI Go Pop" (the song) is tuneless, but it's actually quite hummable.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

i don't think we need another dissection of musical terminology though...

We don't need a dissection but simple basic knowledge would be nice.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

they passed friday i'm in love this morning on our local radio station. if that isn't a tune, i don't know what is. i never understood what the difference between tune and melody is btw. but i am a stranger...

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:40 (twenty years ago)

i have my own understanding of the term 'melody'. if you can't read my mind then i can't help you.

yep, that's your mom. sorry dude.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

There is no difference between a tune and a melody.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:44 (twenty years ago)

aaaaaaaaanyway, Seventeen Seconds. very very good.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:48 (twenty years ago)

My 3 cents:
1- "In your house" is one of my favorite Cure songs, really hypnotic and kind of like watching a movie in slow-motion. Plus that descending guitar line at the end is like sliding into deep dark waters...
2- I don't see where Disintegration is "patchy", every song on it is very strong and I love the long intros.
3- Faith = amazing: "All cats are grey", "The drowning man", "Faith".

― Seb (Seb), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:02 (twenty years ago)

We don't need a dissection but simple basic knowledge would be nice
heh, spoken like a frustrated school debating team-leader.

― paulhw (paulhw), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:07 (twenty years ago)

I haven't listened to the Cure at all since Disintegration and responding to some nostalgic call late last week I decided to download one of their albums. Although I love Pornography I quickly decided it was not really what I was looking for and was somewhat surprised to find myself debating between Seventeen Seconds and Faith. I will probably also buy Seventeen Seconds but that night I went for Faith mostly on the strength of nostalgia, mind you 'cause what I realized I really wanted to hear more than anything else was All Cats Are Grey. In another 5 or 10 years, maybe I'll get Disitegration out of nostalgia too.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:22 (twenty years ago)

Under normal circumstances the result of a serious match England-Germany in rock music is as predictable as in football. The outcomes of those two games are quite opposite though. 1980 wasn't an exception to the rule.

Care to elucidate.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:27 (twenty years ago)

when england wins against germany in football either there is something dubious going on (1966) or the game is irrelevant (european championship 2000).

"Football is a game played by 22 players. And then Germany win." (lineker)

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

Hmmmm.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:50 (twenty years ago)

i am both with and against Paul. Pornography is singularly without tune, but that's why it's so good and unique. just nasty, driving bile.

More than anybody else on ILM, I would immediately react in a very hostile way towards an album that appeared tuneless in my ears. And, no, "Pornography" is not tuneless. There are a lot of nice melodic tunes in there. Only the drumming is extremely annoying at times.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:53 (twenty years ago)

Seventeen Seconds is my personal favorite Cure album as well, largely because of those freshman HS year spins in my darkened bedroom late at night. Has anything ever been written about a loose conceptual plot running through the album? I saw it as a personalization of the ever-present early 80's fear of nuclear attack, the lingering dread that seemed to imbue every day with the disgruntled feeling that our fate was out of our control. Side one plays out those feelings pre-attack, while side two hypothesizes a post-attack realization and bewilderment. At least that the loose narrative my teenage mind fastened to the songs.

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:03 (twenty years ago)

I have the vinyl with 17 Sec and Faith and the cheerleaders on the cover!

― charleston charge (chaki), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:42 (twenty years ago)

I have ...Happily Ever After, too. I can never remember which songs are on which album because of that.

― Vic Funk, Friday, 18 March 2005 23:56 (twenty years ago)

I still haven't heard this one in full. I don't understand how "M" sounds sunny...it always depressed me. I always thought it referenced Camus' A Happy Death...having read it, it makes sense that way.

― Quit glaring at Ian Riese-Moraine! He's mentally fraught! (Eastern Mantra), Saturday, 19 March 2005 03:40 (twenty years ago)

You can level a lot of accusations at Faith, but I don't see how "turgid" can be one of them. It's actually pretty sparse. And it's my favourite Cure album. Seventeen Seconds is great though. And the most OTM thing alex said (amid quite a few OTM things in his very good writeup) was the bit about listening to it in the dark. Same can be said for Faith.

― David A. (Davant), Saturday, 19 March 2005 03:41 (twenty years ago)

the drums are what makes Pornography my favorite! well that's one of the reasons anyway.

― teeny (teeny), Saturday, 19 March 2005 03:59 (twenty years ago)

Play for Today has already all ingredients of a good upbeat Cure song

I'm not exactly sure I'd call this track upbeat. I mean, it's basically about deception and domination in a clearly mentally abusive relationship. When I think "upbeat Cure song," I'm more inclined to cite "Love Cats" or "Friday, I'm in Love" or something.

In terms of the rest of Seventeen Seconds, while it's not my favorite album of theirs, "M" and "At Night" have always been dear to me.

My fave Cure album would probably be the Head on the Door. I adore Disintegration, but it can be overwhelming in certain spots.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 19 March 2005 04:07 (twenty years ago)

Seventeen Seconds: I saw someone run over my kitten the other day.
Faith: I wish I could get run over now, too, because life is pointless.
Pornography: WAIT, FUCK THAT. YOU KILLED MY KITTEN, AND NOW I WILL KILLLL YOUUUUU!!!

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 19 March 2005 04:38 (twenty years ago)

The Top: I had a kitten once, but now I have these groovy drugs. Ooooooo, look...now I have a caterpillar!

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 19 March 2005 04:39 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 119 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Interesting -- meaning the way the horn sections work on the Teardrop singles or just the general 'intermesh' as you describe above? (That remix of "A Forest" is absolutely wonderful, and I really like the one at the end of Join the Dots as well -- it's a remarkably protean song, as the various live versions confirm.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 21 March 2005 13:34 (twenty years ago)

Actually I should note I mean more Everybody Wants To Shag... (which is my favourite Teardrop Explodes album) which kinda predicts the sound of the remix of "A Forest" (and a lot of other stuff to boot) well in advance.

Actually what I would love from The Cure would be a whole album of stuff like the Disintegration extended mixes on Mixed Up.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 21 March 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

Sort of like The Cure meets Underworld's "Dirty Epic".

Sadly I suspect parts of Bloodflowers were an attempt to do exactly that and the album never grabbed me.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 21 March 2005 13:41 (twenty years ago)

Did you ever hear the Massive Attack remix of "Watching Me Fall"? It's a little on the turgid side but still fantastic (and very "Dirty Epic"-esque).

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

"As a result I don't think I've ever gotten used to how spare Faith is, or how muddy Pornography is (Disintegration makes up for this in some ways, but it's mostly more grandiose and less taut). And while Seventeen Seconds is maybe weaker than Faith, I sympathise with it because it comes the closest of the three to what I imagined."

OTM Alex. And OTM re hearing the dance remix of "A Forest" first and the initial disappointment upon hearing the original.

I have the same issue with the Cure as I do with New Order: I prefer their happy stuff with big strummed basslines and goopy keyboards to the minor-key miserabilism. I'll take "The Head on the Door" over "Faith," not to mention "Seventeen Seconds."

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

Really, I love all of it but I really love the dismal stuff.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:12 (twenty years ago)

Seventeen Seconds is good, but not as good as The Top (both the album and the song)

The Top's wound up being just about the only Cure album I enjoy any more. Just a perfect album that displays nearly every side of Robert Smith's songwriting/moods and has some terrific music and lyrics too. I'd argue there's not a bum song on the record, but you guys might laugh me out of the thread... In my mind, there's too much filler on both 17 Secs and Faith, where they didn't really have enough songs to fill up the record, so they went "yeah let's just do that downtrodden, mopey one again, with different chords + lyrics"

not meant as a diss, as I'm a cure fan from way back, just sorta my grown up self looking back and re-evaluating my Cure back catalog

Ah well, I love Japanese Whispers a helluva lot too, so most of you won't even listen to me :)

― rentboy (rentboy), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:25 (twenty years ago)

I'd argue there's not a bum song on the record, but you guys might laugh me out of the thread...

The Top is a fucking outstanding album! "Shake Dog Shake", "Give Me It", "Bananafishbones", "Wailing Wall", "Piggy In The Mirror", etc etc etc WOW.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:26 (twenty years ago)

Dan knows where it's at...!

― rentboy (rentboy), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

(Also, Japanes Whispers has "Lament" and "The Dream" = Japanese Whispers" is fucking awesome and way too short to be as fantastic as it is)

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

The ONLY Cure album that isn't fucking fantastic is Wild Mood Swings and even that one registers as "very good" on the strength of "Want", "Treasure", "Trap", "Jupiter Crash" and "The 13th".

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

"The Upstairs Room" often finds its way inside my head while I'm doing other things.... when I used to mow the lawn I'd do the little rows back and forth singing "your sister started talking at a minute after ten So everyone jumped up and then fell over again in April you can join them and stare at me at the ghost from your past"

― rentboy (rentboy), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:40 (twenty years ago)

(I hope y'all know that despite my kitten japery upthread that I dearly love the Cure and am mostly in agreement with Dan...Wild Moods Swings is the weakest by far, but I have to admit that I still find Bloodflowers and The Cure less engaging than I'd hoped.)

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

the top -vs- hyaena? 1984 rokked.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

My love affair with the cure pretty much ended with Wish. There are too many factors involved to say exactly why, but the "direction" they were headed with things like "Friday I'm in Love" and "High" certainly didn't help matters any... and before you guys get defensive, I can honestly say they're both GREAT songs, they're just not GREAT Cure songs, to my mind and ears.

Parts of Wish are really terrific, but parts of it felt like they were really coasting, and after that it was all on cruise control... Just simply not interested at all. It felt gimmicky and overwrought, not in the ways I'd grown to love, but in a "oh my god I'm getting old and pigeonhoed into being a caricature of myself" kinda way. And these days it's just sad to watch.

But that doesn't take away the greatness of their earlier days. In any way.

― rentboy (rentboy), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:48 (twenty years ago)

Have former Curefans who aren't into The Cure heard the Japanese version with "Truth, Goodness and Beauty", "Never" and "Going Nowhere" on it? Also, have you heard "This Morning"? Those songs are seriously outstanding.

Also I'm still completely obsessed with "Lost".

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 15:07 (twenty years ago)

Still a month to go for those reissues, y'know. TIME SPEED UP PLZ.

And wot Dan said re: The Cure. It's a great album!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 21 March 2005 15:09 (twenty years ago)

For me, I think part of not getting into the new one is just that I wasn't able to really spend time on it. I have the vinyl copy of it with those tracks but I haven't been able to put the time into it yet. Which is odd to say, because if I'm gonna love them, Cure albums have almost always grabbed me right upfront and said YOWZA YOU LOVE ME, to which I reply YES YES.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 21 March 2005 15:45 (twenty years ago)

Oh, that's completely fair; I mean, that's exactly what The Cure did to me. Then again, that's what every Cure album has done to me; it's actually kind of funny that my favorite Cure album has what I would consider to be the weakest opening song on it.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

I like the Top 'cause in the evolution of the Cure's sound, it feels sui generis to me. Unlike Alfed Soto, I usually prefer the sparse miserablism to the manic supbeat Cure, but the Top has a wild, raucous sound unlike any of their other albums. BTW, I saw the video for The Hanging Gardens last night on VH1's the Alternative - I feel ancient.

Re: Thelonious Monk vs. The Cure. Anybody who wants to get between me and my Monk albums, or me and my Cure albums will not receive teh violent outburst that Alex in NYC might deliver but a cool, humane silencer-muffled kill-shot to the head 'cause nobody is going to make me choose between my pleasures.

― M. White (Miguelito), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

"the Top has a wild, raucous sound unlike any of their other albums" = acid.

that whole cure/siouxie era is psych-city. (not to mention the glove. i probably listen to that glove album more than monk. but not eric dolphy.)

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

that glove album is wonderful and crazy and fun and i listen to it probably more than most cure albums

i made a couple of mix cds of stuff from various Creatures singles, the Boomerang album, The Glove's Blue Sunshine album, The Top, Japanese Whispers, Hyaena, The Cult Heroes single + "The Hanging Garden" and a few other things (like "Carousel" from Peepshow) and it's one of the best discs ever.

― rentboy (rentboy), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

Would you think I was a troll if I came here and typed
BRING ME THE BACKFAT OF LOL TOLHURST!

― Ken L (Ken L), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:16 (twenty years ago)

How would you like it prepared?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

i still listen to that baroque bordello single that lol produced. the one i bought for a dollar that has "sounds like the cure with a girl singer" written on the front in magic marker.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:20 (twenty years ago)

BACKFAT FRAPPE

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:21 (twenty years ago)

Love for 'The Top' upthread = OTM (+ special shout out to the gorgeous Happy the Man)
I've got mixed feelings about 'The Cure'. OTOH it's got some of their best songs since 'Disintegration' (eg. Before Three, This Morning, Anniversary, Why Can't I be me, etc), but it has never really grabbed me as a whole. I perceive it more as a good collection of individual songs, but maybe that's due to me listening to it in a kind of piece-meal way.

― Baaderonixxx le Jeune (Fabfunk), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:23 (twenty years ago)

Backfat Soufflé!

― M. White (Miguelito), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:25 (twenty years ago)

w/ strawberries and cream, please.

― Ken L (Ken L), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

Whoever said "Japanese Whispers" has great songs is fuckin' right. I think they were written when Smith was experiencing some sort of breakdown due to drugs, exhaustion, etc. Regardless, "Lament," "The Dream," and "Speak My Language" are some of my favorite Cure songs; so is "Happy The Man."

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 21 March 2005 17:16 (twenty years ago)

Japanese Whispers was as close to Solo Smith as it will ever be. it was just him and one other guy eating loads of acid in a studio. this is the story with how the story behynd 'lament' was written. its in the connect the dots booklet maybe. no simon g. basslines and whoever produced made for some great songs indeed.

― kephm, Monday, 21 March 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

"Wild Mood Swings" is fantastic, as is "Japanese Whispers". Both are kind of underrated because they may be too "happy" for hardcore Cure fans, but I just love the way that, whenever Robert Smith sounds happy, he always does so with a twist. Even in spite of lyrics such as "The sun is up, I'm so happy I could scream".

"Mint Car" is one of my all-time favourite Cure singles, along with other pop moments such as "Let's Go To Bed", "Friday I'm In Love", "Just Like Heaven" and "A Night Like This".

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 21 March 2005 20:22 (twenty years ago)

Mentioning "Mint Car" in the same breath along with those other songs is akin to taking the Baby Jesus from a Nativity scene and shoving it up the ass of an incontinent cow.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

The extent of Lol Tolhurst's "contributions" became apparent on "The Top" and "Japanese Whispers," when a quick scan of the credits confirmed that Robert was doing everything (including taking all the acid).

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 21 March 2005 20:26 (twenty years ago)

Actually I should note I mean more Everybody Wants To Shag... (which is my favourite Teardrop Explodes album) which kinda predicts the sound of the remix of "A Forest" (and a lot of other stuff to boot) well in advance.

You want David Balfe to produce a Cure record then. Maybe that's what Blur is!

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Monday, 21 March 2005 20:32 (twenty years ago)

You know, I've been listening to a whole bunch of live versions of "A Strange Day" in a row and this song is mind-meltingly gorgeous and wonderful. SEARCH: Atlanta 2-23-00, Live in Manchester '92.

The bridge to this song with the ascending guitar line is simplicity at its finest (outside of "Siamese Twins" and "All Cats Are Grey" and "Another Day", of course).

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 21 March 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

Mentioning "Mint Car" in the same breath along with those other songs is akin to taking the Baby Jesus from a Nativity scene and shoving it up the ass of an incontinent cow.

that has the honour of being the most OTM statement i have ever read on ILM.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Monday, 21 March 2005 23:09 (twenty years ago)

Dan, I think I love you.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 21 March 2005 23:42 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

wow how come nobody told me how great this thread was!

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 12 May 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

At the time I don't think we knew.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 12 May 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

And now it is love.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 12 May 2005 20:28 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

Wow I was kind of angry on this thread.

― HI DERE, Saturday, 16 June 2007 12:09 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

keep forgetting how beautifully evocative this album, and more specifically In Your House, truly is (A Forest/M also pretty much perfection)

― Shtick Monthly (country matters), Saturday, 30 May 2009 00:33 (sixteen years ago)

it truly is amazing how special this band is.

― Bee OK, Saturday, 30 May 2009 04:33 (sixteen years ago)

seven years pass...

This really is a perfect album but the inclusion of "I'm a Cult Hero" and "I Dig You" on my copy is infuriating. Completely ruins the mood. Fucking hell... the live disc is great but fuck putting those songs on the main album.

― flappy bird, Tuesday, 21 June 2016 04:08 (nine years ago)

Oh that would bug me too. Such a perfect album as it is. Even my favorite cure song, Charlotte Sometimes, wouldn't make the album better if it had been included.

― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, 21 June 2016 04:39 (nine years ago)

But do you like the video for that one, brotherlovesdub?

― Poe, I know all about Ulalume (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 21 June 2016 04:52 (nine years ago)

I havent' seen the video for Charlotte Sometimes since I had a VHS player, but I remember liking it. Black and white, there's a girl and some type of stately manor w/ manicured gardens maybe? It wasn't one of my fav. cure vids, but I liked it I guess. I'll go to YouTube and revisit.

― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, 21 June 2016 05:10 (nine years ago)

Just watched it again. I recalled the older woman's white dress, the ballerina music box and the scene in black and white with the unicorn head. It's an ok video but not great. Gonna go watch live recordings now.

― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, 21 June 2016 05:20 (nine years ago)

Such a drag that they're at the end of the first side and not the second. Really destroys the momentum.

― flappy bird, Tuesday, 21 June 2016 05:48 (nine years ago)

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