The Cure: Classic or Dud?

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Omar raised this question in the "Why are you here?" thread. I put it forth to you all. Were Robert Smith and his ever-changing band musical giants or giant whiners?

― Dan Perry, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

both

― , Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

DUD

― Tom, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Dan, thanks for taking the load of my back. ;) So yeah Dud of course. Classic case of crap voice. The music is nothing special. Occasional decent single like 'A Forrest' but for the rest, it's Fat Bob innit? But I'm interested in how Ned is going to explain to us the appeal of The Cure (no, really!).

― Omar, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Sorry Tom? I didn't quite hear that. Classic, anyway. I don't claim to be their biggest fan, but listening to things like the Boys Don't Cry and Disintegration albums, the good stuff outweighs the duller moments quite comfortably.

― Ally C, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Absolutely classic in almost every conceivable way. The effortless switches from pop-punk squalling to moody atmospherics to venomous pathos to synth-pop typified by their output from '79 through '83 are impressive enough, but the fact that they went on to create pop masterpieces like _The Head On The Door_, _Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me_ and _Wish_ while retaining enough of their darkness to produce _Disintegration_ and _Bloodflowers_ makes them an essential band of the 80's and 90's. Even their lesser efforts have worthy moments (ie, "Want", "Treasure", "Jupiter Crash", "Trap", and "Gone!" from _Wild Mood Swings_, "Shake Dog Shake", "Piggy In The Mirror", "The Top" from _The Top_). And their remix album is pure money.

Anything to add, Ned?

― Dan Perry, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Classic, I 'spose. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but _Disintegration_ is very close indeed (overblown rock histrionics done flawlessly; luckily Smith doesn't whine on it much). Funny how so many of the criticisms of the band you hear refer to the concept of "Fat Bob"; in fact I'd say a lot of the attitudes towards British bands and artists on ILM seem to be heavily influenced by the media's portrayal of them.

― Tim, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

The Cure represented the finest of what the Euro art rock had to offer during the 80s. They were more majestic than Depeche Mode and less metallic than the cult. Classic in my book

― Luptune Pitman, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Forgive me...as I'm relatively new to this forum, I have a hard time with these polar extremes: ('classic'versus'dud'). In the case of the Cure, I couldn't say either term applies (although one could certainly tag them to individual Cure albums). Like many bands cited around here, the Cure have changed styles in as many albums, playing everything from funereal dirges through spritely, radio-friendly pop ditties and much inbetween. I'm not saying they're a "something for eveyone" band, but musically, they've been hard to pin-down. The one strike against them, however (beyond their tonsorial problems) would be Robert's inimitably distinctive (is that a repetitious statement? like "luminous glow" or "alien outworlder") voice, which is so firmly rooted in their 80's heyday. Even if the band were to put out a radically avant-garde album of the most cutting-edge styles and sounds conceivable, the second Robert opened his mouth and let out his signature wobbly warble, it'd be the old "oh, it's the Cure again." And if you can't get beyond his voice, then there's no point in ever purchasing a Cure album, regardless of era and/or particular incarnation. That said, I think they're a marvellously diverse singles band, but I could certainly see why some would avoid them like the plauge (ho ho, pardon the pun, Camus fans). Sorry, I'll shut up now. - Alex in NYC

― Alex in NYC, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

classic. 'charlotte sometimes' is one of my favourite songs ever. each record up to and including disintegration is worth owning and even the one after disintegration is not horrible. i have no interest in them now but robert smith's guitar sound is far more influential than he gets credit for. without robert smith there would likely not be a roy montgomery, at least not in his current guise and that would be a devastating tragedy at least for myself.

― keith, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

What seems to predomine here is "I'm not actively into them NOW, but I spent the first half of my teens with the Cure on my walkman". At least I did. I believe this means classic.

― Simon, Tuesday, 27 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Re: classic or dud polarisation.

The idea is to encourage people to be forthright in their opinion but it's not a vote or anything. It's a catchier way of saying "what do you think of this band?"

Cheers!

(PS: Dud. A couple of the singles are nice musically, even very good, but they have Smith's horrible smeared moan over the top of them. He sounds like a fourteen-year-old with a splinter in his toe: there's something wheedling about his voice which makes me want to smack him and tell him to get a grip rather than empathise with him.)

― Tom, Tuesday, 27 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Classic. Part of my yoof, you see. I've whiled away many an unhappy evening in the company of 'Faith' and 'Seventeen Seconds'!

Seriously.. though it seems the norm to slag 'em off these days, it's amazing just how much good stuff they have done. 'Boy's Don't Cry'/'3 Imaginary Boys' is a great debut, whichever version you have. Scratchy wired glum-pop. In fact it's all classic up to 'The Top', their first major clunker.

'Head on the Door' is great pop. 'Kiss Me X3' is also great pop ('Just Like Heaven'), except where they try too hard to make great pop and fail ('Hot, Hot, Hot'). 'Disintegration' is their last great album. But not pop. No problem.

My last encounter with The Cure was 'Wild Mood Swings'. I swung my copy back from whence it came - Record and Tape Exchange. Still, 'Galore' sums up the later years nicely.

Anyway I like old Bob, a pop man at heart even in his gloomiest moments.

― Dr. C, Tuesday, 27 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

I think I've been asked for at least twice in this thread already. ;-)

Classic. And if you disagree with me I'll shove all twenty or so CDRs of rare and odd stuff I have of theirs down your throat and kill you. *proceeds to light candles to huge _Disintegration_ poster in room*

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Classique. They have enough great tunes and came up with some pretty original sounds. I like how they continually evolve, even if some of their evolution has produced some crap music. I could still listen to "Jumping Someone Else's Train" repeatedly after all these years. I heard some of their last record and it was really bad though. And kill that "Friday I'm in Love" dung, boys! But for the most part, great stuff.

― Tim Baier, Tuesday, 27 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Classic, though their most recent stuff sucks.

The Cure are a band who, like Depeche Mode and a number of others of that ilk, should have just hung it up on December 31, 1989. Their glory days were in the 1980s, Disintegration should have been their last album. It would have been a perfect ending. Instead, they chose to put out three subpar releases in the 1990s. While Bloodflowers was a definite improvement over Wild Mood Swings (did *anyone* like that album?) and Wish (which came out at the peak of my Cure fandom and still disappointed me), it still wasn't close to the material they released during the 1980s.

Yeah, some of their stuff is whiny and pretentious. But I think they manage to pull it off reasonably well, and I think the whininess and the pretentiousness will make them staples of every sad-sack high school kid for the next thirty years, whether they continue to release new albums or not. (And hopefully they won't, judging from the poor quality of their most recent albums--I think that the more bad stuff they release, the less "legendary" they'll become.)

By the way, I *was* a teenage goth girl. I was also an early-20s goth girl. I own a velvet and lace cape and little pointy boots and black lipstick. Heh.

― Nanette, Wednesday, 28 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Nanette, I'd argue that _Wish_ is a very underrated album. Its mood is radically different from _Disintegration_, which is one thing that I think threw people off when it came out. I, for one, really dig the snarlier tone of "Open", "Cut", "FTEOTDGS", and "End" and their juxtaposition with more contemplative "Apart", "Trust", and "To Wish Impossible Things". _Wish_ also has "High", which I consider to be the last truly great pop song that the Cure did.

_Wild Mood Swings_ is more problematic. It's a very erratic album and contains a couple of songs that never should have seen the light of day ("Mint Car", "Return"). However, it also contains the absolutely marvelous "The 13th", "Want", "Gone!" and "Jupiter Crash". Some judicious editing (and swapping some album tracks for b-sides) would make this a much better album.

For me, _Bloodflowers_ compares very well to their 80's output. It seems that the group got back into a good songwriting groove for this album, which is particularly evident on "Out Of This World", "The Loudest Sound", "The Last Day Of Summer", "Bloodflowers", and "Watching Me Fall" (Cure cliches and all). The album has a strong sense of flow and there are no embarrassing attempts to rewrite "Friday I'm In Love". It was a good ending for them, assuming that Robert's latest pronouncements about the band's demise are actually true this time.

There are individual songs I don't like, and _Wild Mood Swings_ is easily my least- favorite of their albums, but I'd be hard-pressed to say that I actively dislike any of the Cure's albums.

― Dan Perry, Wednesday, 28 March 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

I'm in sympathy with the way that the 'classic' brigade have articulated that they love the band even though they can see their sillinesses, repetitions and limitations. Possibly a lot of pop love is of this kind.

― the pinefox, Saturday, 28 April 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

The Cure are damned by having so many annoying fans.

They have many good tunes. However, they have many bad ones, viz "Friday I'm In Love".

Still, at their best they show an impressive ability to make both poppy goth jumpathons and total doomfests.

― DV, Friday, 26 July 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Dud. Possibly something worthwhile beyond Smith's vocals, but I can't get past them.

― DeRayMi, Friday, 26 July 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

I've had a love/hate relationship with The Cure that had long since given way to indifference. but recently I've listened again to Robert Smith's 1983 collaboration album with Steve Severin - The Glove is great! (probably like how I'd rather listen to the Andy Partridge solo album Take Away/Lure Of Salvage than most XTC.)

as with many Cure detractors, Bob's voice and self-pity usually get to me. still have fond memories of Seventeen Seconds and Faith but I also enjoy some later stuff where twisted humour, all of Pornography, or tenderness, "The Upstairs Room" and "Birdmadgirl", balance out the self-loathing and sappiness.

the Laurence Tolhurst abuse didn't help Robert Smith's case (and John McGeoch was a better Banshee).
― Paul, Friday, 26 July 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

stop

― Paul, Friday, 26 July 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

The Cure are fucking appalling. As someone else already keenly observed - a classic case of having a fucking awful voice. I mean I don't mind some of the musicianship but fatboy Smith is such a twat. Really.

I had a girlfriend once who was into these boys hard and she used to play is it 'Pictures of You' (?) over and over and over (a sort of pining for a lost love I think; not me, incidentally). Anyway, it used to bore the hell out of me, not to mention what felt like a large hole in my brain.

The thing is, with the Cure, it's like the Manic Street FUCKING Preachers syndrome - people who like 'em don't just like 'em, they fucking LOVE 'em, and think they're prophets or something. No, they are miserable, half-goths with absolutely nothing to say and even less charisma.

That said, I am admit that I am hardly familiar know their canon, since I can't bear exposure to it for protracated periods.

Still; DUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUD

― Roger Fascist, Monday, 29 July 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Actually, I think it's that the boring protestations of those who don't 'get' the music always have to be matched by those who emphatically do. One defines the other ..

― Dare, Monday, 29 July 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Not at all, Paul. There's something about The Cure and The Preachers that triggers fervour of a disturbing religiosity in people's heads, well, in my experience anyway. And if you wanna put that to the test, gently question a more avid fan and watch them twist like they was shackled to the cross.

Hmm, having said that, I do get riled when someone fails to 'get' my favourite bands and indulges in the kind of mindless attack I have already posted against The Cure. Yet, I feel that certain bands are wont to attract a more dependent following, who hang the band's music like metaphorical rosaries. And I'm not sure that even among my most beloved artists, there are those which I could hold in such equally mindless esteem.

What say you?

― Roger fascist, Tuesday, 30 July 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

If i brooded around and had a aweful voice, would i be as good as the cure, which coincidently, isnt even good to begin with

DUD

― Hayward, Thursday, 3 October 2002 02:11 (10 years ago) Permalink

Oddly enough, I've never really sought out their albums; I'm sure I'll get around to it, but I'm pretty sure they'll always be available... Pretty much all of their singles, though, are flat-out amazing - how could they not be classic?

― Clarke B., Thursday, 3 October 2002 04:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

The albums are SO WORTH IT, Clarke.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 3 October 2002 11:13 (10 years ago) Permalink

Quite.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 3 October 2002 23:38 (10 years ago) Permalink

hmmmmmmm .............
dud

― donna (donna), Friday, 4 October 2002 01:02 (10 years ago) Permalink

I'm exactly like Clarke. Always loved what I heard, but only own 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me'... Last year I told a friend of mine that the reason for this is because I pretty much know that I'll like them and am just 'saving it'. Is this like some weird Cure phenomena?

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 4 October 2002 01:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

I LOVE THE CURE. They fill a niche that no other band does. From the acutely depresso Pornography stuff to the silly dance stuff to the haunting gothy Faith stuff to the blatant sunshine pop... they've done all this convincingly and well. Did they invent the drugged up goofy romantic miserable goth ecstatic giddy thing?

Yet I do wonder how much my own nosatlgia plays a role. I still think Wish is great, despite every. review. ever. written. Maybe if I hadn't listened to it for the 1st time as a teenager travelling thru Europe with schoomates I'd think differently.

― Aaron A., Friday, 4 October 2002 03:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

Where to start, Ned and Dan? I'm thinking _Pornography_, but some of their _Disintegration_-era stuff kills me (esp. "Lovesong").

Also, I really really like the Wolfgang Press song on _Lonely is an Eyesore_, but I've heard their recordings are pretty patchy. Any recommendations there?

― Clarke B., Friday, 4 October 2002 05:30 (10 years ago) Permalink

In your place I'd start with 17 Seconds, Clarke. It has their greatest song on it, "A Forest" and I find it the darkest and most powerful of their records. A lot of their stuff didn't age too well (even Disintegration), but this record definitely stood the test of time.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 4 October 2002 07:03 (10 years ago) Permalink

I wouldn't go for _Pornography_ first; I think I'd get _Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me_ and the cassette version of _Standing On A Beach_ in order to get the b-sides.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 4 October 2002 11:04 (10 years ago) Permalink

Classic until "Stranding on a Beach" came out, after which they descended into the depths of self-parody.

― TMFTML (TMFTML), Friday, 4 October 2002 17:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

I kinda saved them also, Kim - owned the two singles compilations for years before actually buying my first proper album (Disintegration) just this year. Though I do like it, it hasn't swayed me into snatching up the others yet. Maybe in another four years I'll get another one.

― Vinnie (vprabhu), Friday, 4 October 2002 17:51 (10 years ago) Permalink

They fill(ed?) a niche no one else did (which I usually characterize as "Harlequin romance rock") and they did a perfectly accomplished and unique job of it most of the time but it's not one I care to listen to much at all. I can play Pornography maybe a couple times per year and it's sometimes nice to hear the singles on the radio but overall there's not a big connection. And I couldn't imagine sitting through a whole album of stuff like "In Between Days" or "Let's Go to Bed". The singles comp (Staring At the Sea?) is probably as much as I'd need of that. I'd buy Disintegration if I thought I'd ever listen to it. Wish and Wild Mood Swings were awful.

― sundar subramanian, Friday, 4 October 2002 18:32 (10 years ago) Permalink

I honestly cannot comprehend how _Wish_ is AWFUL.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 4 October 2002 18:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

the cure were/are one of the best bands for dancing to whilst only wearing underwear...hopefully not by yourself...

― g (graysonlane), Friday, 4 October 2002 18:47 (10 years ago) Permalink

Ok, I'm a liar. I totally forgot that I also had 'Standing on a Beach' on cassette - played it to death. I don't have it anymore though. I think my brother "borrowed" it and never gave it back! Ooooh...that little...

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 4 October 2002 20:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

I like just like heaven, I'm going to get Kiss me times 3.

― jel -- (jel), Friday, 4 October 2002 20:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

classic classic classic and why should you not dance to the cure in underwear by yourself! unless you are wearing the underwear out to the goth dance club, of course.

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 4 October 2002 20:44 (10 years ago) Permalink

Have you ever been to a goth dance club? Underwear as outerwear is pretty much de rigeur.

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 4 October 2002 20:48 (10 years ago) Permalink

Clarke, start with Disintegration first, and then try Seventeen Seconds and then Pornography. I've argued elsethread about this already so I won't go into the details here...just click the link, cause there's a lot of other good talk there anyhow.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Friday, 4 October 2002 20:55 (10 years ago) Permalink

Pretend that there's a smiley at the end of my last post. I sound like a meanie otherwise.

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 4 October 2002 20:57 (10 years ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

"And yet Robert Smith - the Chatterton of Crawley - had created if not a wall of sound then a very high hedge of sound, over which he seemed to peer at the world like a boy who couldn't be bothered to ask for his ball back."

the "cure=suburbia" part of Michael Bracewell's England Is Mine is one of the best things ever!

― etc, Wednesday, 20 August 2003 08:54 (9 years ago) Permalink

"Join the Dots" (B Sides and rarities) is out on October 21st. I presume it'll have the much talked about Cassette b sides from Standing on a Beach on it, but does anyone know that actual tracklisting is?

― flowersdie (flowersdie), Wednesday, 20 August 2003 09:05 (9 years ago) Permalink

Hopefully it'll have the stuff off "curiosity", too. And that soundtrack they did.

Classic, BTW. Again, my mid-teens coincided with Disintegration and I was full-on obsessed for a couple of years. I bought a shedload of albums at Oxfam last year, and a friend and I drove our GF/wives insane by listening, back to back, to 17 Seconds, Faith, Pornography and the Top. Divorce was on the horizon by the end of that evening.

― Jim Eaton-Terry (Jim E-T), Wednesday, 20 August 2003 13:04 (9 years ago) Permalink

Hopefully it'll have the stuff off "curiosity", too. And that soundtrack they did.

Thing is, there are SO many B-sides and rarities which have officially surfaced that they'd have to put out a box set. As it is, if the remasters that are surfacing next year are going to include bonus discs for each with room for other oddities, then that will partially settle the problem.

― Thy Lethal Zen Ned (Ned), Wednesday, 20 August 2003 13:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 107 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

While I know Smith has always downplayed the role punk, er, played, the band (at least in its formative years) always sounded to me like they'd been listening to a lot of, yes, Wire and the Buzzcocks, but arranged their songs in some sort of hushed environs, like a crowded flat with people sleeping or a place with grouchy neighbors, so that everything was sort of muted.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 12:49 (2 years ago) Permalink

I'll add also the Only Ones to the Buzzcocks and Wire.
Another Girl Another Planet is like the blueprint for many Cure songs.

― Marco Damiani, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 13:06 (2 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

i just started w/ Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and wau. where do I go next from here? Cure virgin.

― aero w. smith (Neanderthal), Sunday, 19 June 2011 18:53 (1 year ago) Permalink

Go to one of the singles comps (Standing On A Beach/Staring At The Sea, Galore or Greatest Hits) and investigate albums in order of how appealing you find the singles.

― chupacabra - a delicious burrito (DJP), Sunday, 19 June 2011 19:27 (1 year ago) Permalink

Which Kiss Me songs did you like best? It's a scattershot album.

xpost

― Also unknown as Zora (Surfing At Work), Sunday, 19 June 2011 19:29 (1 year ago) Permalink

I like "How Beautiful You Are" a lot

― aero w. smith (Neanderthal), Monday, 20 June 2011 03:43 (1 year ago) Permalink

That's kind of anomalousish. But Wish (two albums later) or Head On The Door (one album before) might be fruitful directions to go. Especially Wish.

― underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have pwned (sic), Monday, 20 June 2011 03:55 (1 year ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

Such a gorgeous sight!

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 22 April 2012 00:00 (1 year ago) Permalink

supoib

― Roberto Spiralli, Sunday, 22 April 2012 00:06 (1 year ago) Permalink

― Dale, dale, dale (Abbbottt), Wednesday, 2 May 2012 20:29 (1 year ago) Permalink

Hahahaha

― I'M THAT POSTA, AAAAAAAAAH (DJP), Wednesday, 2 May 2012 20:31 (1 year ago) Permalink

A+

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 2 May 2012 20:34 (1 year ago) Permalink

Would read again.

― Matt M., Wednesday, 2 May 2012 20:35 (1 year ago) Permalink

loooooool

― ilxor, Saturday, 5 May 2012 00:57 (1 year ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

So Reeves Gabrels is the newest member of The Cure? YUCK YUCK YUCK.

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2012/05/26/cure-pinkpop-video-setlist-reeves-gabrels/

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 27 May 2012 16:18 (11 months ago) Permalink

Not the first time he's collaborated with Smith, though: he cowrote "Wrong Number," got Smith in on his solo song "Yesterday's Gone" and they collaborated on the Cogasm song for the Orgazmo soundtrack with Jason Cooper. Weird to think of him as a full Cure member but I don't think we're getting Tin Machine redux here.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 27 May 2012 17:26 (11 months ago) Permalink

Although now I see the link says all that. Anyway! Let's just say I find it hard to think he'll be allowed to dominate in studio.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 27 May 2012 17:28 (11 months ago) Permalink

The question is whether they can keep an avant-art guitarist from screwing up the Cure. Reeves seems a real loose rein sort of player, which perhaps explains why no one works with him.

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 27 May 2012 20:45 (11 months ago) Permalink

how come Porl has given them up? i know he flogged off all his gear etc but not why.

― piscesx, Sunday, 27 May 2012 21:10 (11 months ago) Permalink

Painting is his true passion or somesuch.

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 27 May 2012 21:14 (11 months ago) Permalink

one imagines that the molasses-like pace of activity, and restricted creativity, may have worn on Porl/Pearl. also if he's transitioning, as the name change suggests, that would certainly have played into it, if not been the main factor. (or it's equally likely that Robert simply didn't call him before the Vivid shows, as extra guitar would have been surplus, and hasn't since.)

― ┗|∵|┓ (sic), Monday, 28 May 2012 01:38 (11 months ago) Permalink

Isn't Porl married to Robert's sister?

But yeah, Reeves Gabrels. Past collaborations or not, I truly didn't see that one coming. The Cure has always operated in a bizarre way, with the band often having periods where the line-up fluctuates dramatically in between slightly more stable configurations. Since they worked with Ross Robinson on the self-titled album, though, the line-up has fluctuated wildly... and they've only put out one studio album since then! The self-titled album will be EIGHT YEARS OLD next month, and there's been about 4 or 5 line-up changes since!

― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Monday, 28 May 2012 22:55 (11 months ago) Permalink

Not much, but a little extra background:

http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashvillecream/archives/2012/05/30/reeves-gabrels-joins-the-cure

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 30 May 2012 21:46 (11 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

First Kevin Shields and I look strangely alike, now Robert's gone for the shorts:

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 13 July 2012 19:08 (10 months ago) Permalink

Is he wearing ski boots?

― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 14 July 2012 13:02 (10 months ago) Permalink

New Rocks

― ¥╡*ٍ*╞¥ (sic), Saturday, 14 July 2012 19:56 (10 months ago) Permalink

About the above question about influences from years ago, if anyone is still interested in discussing this after probably reading enough interviews to find out...

I've heard him say his biggest influence was Jimi Hendrix, Bowie is a major hero, he said Siouxsie And The Banshees were a major influence that gave him direction, Nick Drake, Captain Beefheart, Slade, Status Quo. He seemed to be even influenced by the dreampop bands that were influenced by The Cure.

Although they covered The Doors, he said he wasnt fond of them.

― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 14 July 2012 23:42 (10 months ago) Permalink

new interview with RS in WORD mag is brilliant.

― piscesx, Sunday, 15 July 2012 02:57 (10 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Clean radio recording of last night's Reading set available for download:

http://summercure2012.blogspot.fr/2012/08/reading-festival-24082012.html

Gabrels actually sounds pretty tame! Or rather, he's playing within the scope of the songs rather than going all 'whee a vibrator!' over them.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 25 August 2012 17:57 (8 months ago) Permalink

The opening hour of that set was live on BBC3 last night (available on iplayer), I turned over to it by accident and was whisked back to my teens (huge, huge fan from about 15 to 18 years old), they sounded *great*. Like you say Ned, no real madness from Reeves but he was pretty sweet, got a lovely tone on Just Like Heaven etc. The live footage also showed what looked like a crib sheet for keys/chords for different songs etc next to his fx board :)

― that mustardless plate (Bill A), Saturday, 25 August 2012 19:13 (8 months ago) Permalink

Excellent set, way better than the "Bestival 2011" live album, FWIW.

― NoTimeBeforeTime, Saturday, 25 August 2012 22:17 (8 months ago) Permalink

Yeah, definitely agree there.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 25 August 2012 23:14 (8 months ago) Permalink

Oh man that Bestival album sounds like a nutsack

― Lil Swayne of Pie (DJP), Sunday, 26 August 2012 01:16 (8 months ago) Permalink

It's a competent souvenir of a particular lineup, but that's about it.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 26 August 2012 02:54 (8 months ago) Permalink

Great Reading set. Sounding streamlined in a way and they seem to be having fun again. Thanks, Ned!

― Loo Reading (Capitaine Jay Vee), Sunday, 26 August 2012 07:21 (8 months ago) Permalink

The Bestival set was *too* streamlined, it was like half the music went missing, couldn't hear the keyboards at all, etc. They sound more complete here. Point being if they wanted to release a live album from a festival show, the Reading set would have been so much better.

― NoTimeBeforeTime, Sunday, 26 August 2012 20:22 (8 months ago) Permalink

Point being, if they wanted to be invited to release a live album for charity, they should have not played at a festival with an associated charity until ten months later because they would have known in advance how both the performance and recording would have turned out, and also would have arranged all by themselves in the 70s that the second festival would have always been involved in charity fundraising just so that it could have invited them to release the recording to that end.

― itt: i forgot that he yells at a butt (sic), Sunday, 26 August 2012 22:04 (8 months ago) Permalink

Point being it's too bad that they released something that sounds kind of crap, instead of something that sounds great, choice of locations and charities aside.

― NoTimeBeforeTime, Monday, 27 August 2012 16:33 (8 months ago) Permalink

Entreat Plus

― itt: i forgot that he yells at a butt (sic), Monday, 27 August 2012 23:57 (8 months ago) Permalink

all of the set is now on bbc iplayer iirc
amazing how much The Kids love them so much these days.

― piscesx, Tuesday, 28 August 2012 01:38 (8 months ago) Permalink

if you're not from the UK, the BBC uploaded "Friday I'm In Love" (Reading) to Youtube...

― UnderControl, Tuesday, 28 August 2012 01:45 (8 months ago) Permalink

4 weeks pass...

Robert Smith's version of "Witchcraft" from the new 'Frankenweenie' sdtrk

http://museeffect.tumblr.com/post/32267129654/witchcraft-robert-smith

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 27 September 2012 20:36 (7 months ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

Seems that Chris Parry is selling of his Cure collection via a Record Store in Portsmouth.

http://www.musicstack.com/my/index.cgi?seller=5799&search_type=artist&find=cure

― MaresNest, Thursday, 31 January 2013 23:46 (3 months ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

Incredible set list for Mexico City performance (over four hours!): http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/04/22/cure-mexico-city-50-song-setlist/

Lookit all the Wish numbers!

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 April 2013 13:30 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

They may never release anything again but if they keep up this kind of activity I will not complain!

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 April 2013 13:37 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

"Mint Car"!

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 April 2013 13:42 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

I wonder if all the "Wish" stuff is because it's next on the reissue agenda and is therefore fresh in mind? Also, those songs are awesome live.

When did they make the drummer dye his hair? Also, LOL, Reeves is wearing eyeliner.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 22 April 2013 14:07 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

and they, er, opened with its first two numbers.

Wish remains my favorite. Looking forward to the reissue and its B-sides.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 April 2013 14:11 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

"This Twilight Garden" and "Play" and "The Big Hand" and "Halo" are so so so good

(you can totally see the massive cliff that is WMS coming in "A Foolish Arrangement" though)

― Call me at **BITCOIN (DJP), Monday, 22 April 2013 14:17 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

Dad joke of the gods:

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 15 May 2013 14:57 (5 days ago) Permalink

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