"She Sells Sanctuary" by the Cult....in actuality the BEST SONG EVER.

CA-CHING-CHING!

*runs away*

The following U2 songs are better: "Pride", "Gloria", "I Will Follow", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Seconds", "Bullet THe Blue Sky", "With Or Without You", "Trip Through Your Wires", "Desire", "The Fly", "Even Better Than The Real Thing", "I Threw A Brick Through A Window", "Until The End Of The World", "Ultraviolet", "Numb", "Zoo Station", "Elevation", "Beautiful Day" and the second track on Boy.

Eighties, Requiem, Unspeakable, Love Like Blood, You'll Never Get To Me

I don't understand why, though, out of all the songs on "Love", the one that still returns to my head sometimes is "Brother Wolf, Sister Moon". It's not like it was ever my favourite or anything. Music is weird in retrospect that way.

See now I'm going to have to pull that album out, and it's all your fault, Alex. It seems to me I did eventually get the b-sides to the Revolution 12", too...argh. Don't send me down this road! I've got plenty of other things to listen to I assure you!

Also I hate to say it but I agree with Barry...some of those KJ songs are better than She Sells Sanctuary.

Eighties, Requiem, Unspeakable, Love Like Blood, You'll Never Get To Me

You had me waivering until you cited "You'll Never Get to Me," which clearly indicates that you don't have the foggiest idea of what you're talking about. As far as I'm concerned, "She Sells Sanctuary"'s only real rival is "Eighties". "Requiem" and "Unspeakable" are both uniquely sublim, but "Sanctuary" still trumps them. "Love Like Blood" is great, but it's become Killing Joke's "Whip It". It's the song that, basically, steered them down some rum roads. For that, it is disqualified from the running.

This is a great, great line.

Pardon me for daring to suggest that KJ have done something in the Upper Pantheon of Classic during the last 20 years.

What? "Blood On Your Hands" didn't do it for you? What about "Seeing Red" or "Implant"? What about "The Death a& Resurrection Show"? All those tracks take giant dumps on "You'll Never Get To Me," which -- though still better than "Loose Cannon" -- is far from the best part of that album.

You're fired.

"She Sells Sanctuary" is so utterly ridiculously good that it defies description, and so I shall not describe it.

*checks*

Oh wait, I did.

If the Cult has to be remembered for one song and one song only, then there's no question which it is — if Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy whipped up more powerful and explosive numbers later thanks to judicious selection of producers, the sheer energy, drive, and liveliness of "She Sells Sanctuary" remains untouchable. Duffy's liquid, quasi- psychedelic guitar intro over a buzz of flanged feedback suddenly rips into a triumphant, driving lead melody that's jaw-dropping, finding a synthesis between U2, Big Country, and Simple Minds that arguably trumps them all hands down. The addition of a quick acoustic strum as a counterpart doesn't hurt either, while the rhythm section keeps up a relentless drive that's at once solid and notably danceable, something most loud rock acts couldn't manage without remix therapy. All that's needed is for Astbury to top it off with a hell of a performance, and he delivers in spades, his voice strong and commanding, his just-evocative enough imagery of an overwhelming, passionate attraction coming across as celebratory invocation. Right down to his last call of "Sanctuary!" and a slow fadeout on Duffy's original guitar line, it's an early-'80s rock monster that stands the test of time.

DAMN well said, man.

(Great song!)

Embrace the wind with both arms
stop clouds dead in the sky
hang your head no more
and beg no more

Brother Wolf, AAAAAAAAAAAND Sister Moon.....
your time has come.....

And the wind/will blow my fears away/will dry my tears away/and
blow my fears away/and dry my tears away

{killer guitar solo}

HOW WOUJOU LIKE SOME ANDROO DOUBLE JOO KAY IN JO HEEEEAAAAD!!!

Least favorite was "Revolution," which is just too hippy dippy silly shitty for my taste.

OTM, it's all about "LRM". Listen to them back to back.

But I gotta say that generally, I was mostly unmoved by most of the music made by most of the English bands of that era. (That era being roughly '84-present, and presumably to infinity.)

This is what I need, bitch. This is what I need.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn9hNQu5SoU

jesus christ @ me in this thread

Do not dance with the king unless you brought your best tap shoes.

Put this on a t-shirt and make a mint.

I'm tempted to go back and list bands for each of those songs but I can't remember if I meant that to be "Dead" by The Pixies or something else

YEAH-HEAHHHHH

Dan's list would make an amazing Spotify playlist imo

Everytime I hear She Sells Sanctuary I keep waiting for the "Love Removal Machine" chorus, and then am mildly disappointed.

YEAH-HEAHHHHH

― Ned Raggett

agree

I remember when this was the very essence of indie-gone-wrong. I think purely because Ian Astbury once turned up at a Stone Roses gig in a leather coat.

I've seen him fronting The Doors, as it happens. It's one strange existence - he actually does inspire a degree of fervour, only it's from middle-aged men holding cameraphones, in comfortable auditoriums.

I started one but gave up half way through, if anyone wants to finish it off.... It is amazing fwiw.

http://open.spotify.com/user/unterwasser/playlist/3Hkocs6acSuTDAoMiFB69V

Per the excellent WAFR (aka What a Fucking Record) account run by UK writer Ian Wade: happy fortieth anniversary to this all time banger.

Even by the standards of that album, a longtime fave of mine, that song jumps out.

Funny, pure coincidence, but I almost bought a Cult "Love" t-shirt just this morning! Of course I'd prefer to buy an official shirt, but it was $35, and around $50 with tax and shipping, so no thanks, Cult. It's not like they are being made in-house by some bespoke team, so I don't know how bad I would feel spending a fraction of that on a knockoff.

She Sells Sanctuary was my mum's getting ready to go out on a Saturday night music in the 80s

(It seems her 80s musical life keeps coming to mind with every thread I pop in today)

Your mum had the right idea.

a highlight of the 'electronic music djs are playing rock music' period of the early 00s for me was prob wandering through the dance tent at glastonbury on a very warm day, in a bit of a state, trying to find my friends, and hearing 2manydjs play la rock by vitalic, then just as that wore off, they played this. i know people love live music but for me it is a little better to have a huge soundsystem and the original record playing to a few thousand people, in the right context anyway. absolutely huge liftoff for the... i shouldn't call it a 'breakdown' or a 'drop' but you know the bit i mean, lol.

I go back and forth between this and "How Soon Is Now?" as the defining indie-riff of the 80's.

manics did a kick ass cover of this when I saw them a few years ago

Yeah they've been doing that for a bit, saw them in 2022 and they busted it out.

I go back and forth between this and "How Soon Is Now?" as the defining indie-riff of the 80's.

Billy and Johnny were at school together, iirc; friends since their early teens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgUCIotNJF0

Shades of Axl's "gimme some reggae!!"

There was an interview with Astbury in I want to say the Quietus where he came off simultaneously smart and perceptive and self-aware and utterly daft and ridiculous at the same time. I love "Love," "Electric" and "Sonic Temple," but as for the rest I've never been able to figure this band out.

Last night here in Los Angeles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rzc54pV918

Thanks for sharing!

Love was one of my first loves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soZ-dd84N2Q

aw that is rather nice i did not expect to enjoy it so much

Re the et’s cut— will check jic’s