POLLography: The Cure poll results, ILM artist poll #23

Getting my list up to date:
3) Faith
14) Fire In Cairo
8) The Funeral Party
39) Let’s Go To Bed
7) Pictures Of You
5) Play For Today
23)One Hundred Years
34) A Night Like This, 564 points
35) Jumping Someone Else's Train

That's my top 8 all placed now, and I can't see my #9 making it.

Wow, the 20-11 run (apart from 'Let's Go to Bed' which I've never loved) is excellent. 'Jumping...' was my #2 but it was close - doubt my #1 is going to place.

Also I'd never heard Wish in full before polling started - a lot of it sounded kind of Cure-by-numbers on first listen but I really do need to buy 'Open' and 'High' from iTunes, those are such great songs.

"(I Don't Know What's Going) On" was my #19 or #20. I knew it had no chance of making the top 50, but thought that "End of the World" or "Lost" had an outside shot.

― NoTimeBeforeTime

Love End of the World, had it in my top twenty. Also voted for The Last Day of Summer and Before 3. The Only One and Out of This World were two of the last songs I cut from my ballot.

Wish has become one of my favourite Cure albums. Wendy Time is the only song I skip these days, replace that with This Twilight Garden and it would be even better.

I'm going to start the top 10 in about 15 minutes and roll it out slowly throughout the day. I get the feeling that doing it in the evenings doesn't get the best audience.

#10 - Charlotte Sometimes, 591 points, 23 votes

Charlotte Sometimes (single), 1981

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUGw76jByQI

Good start. It looks like every song from Standing On a Beach will place.

My favorite when I was a teen. It was my #4 now.

Is anyone else a bit surprised that nothing post-1992 will make the poll?

I'm not really, when I see all the great pre-WMS songs that aren't gonna make it like, "Just One Kiss", "How Beautiful You Are", "2 Late", "Sinking", "A Few Hours After This", etc...

There's just so many brilliant songs. If I did a top 150 people would still talk about what fantastic songs didn't make it.

xpost I was hoping How Beautiful You Are might still make it.

The only post-Wish song that almost made my ballot was "The Last Day Of Summer".

xpost I can't really disagree ... if we had 80-song ballots and a top 100 then it's more likely someone would throw a bone at something from WMS, but not with only 40 picks and too many good 80's songs to choose from.

I picked a few post-"Wish" songs, partly out of a notion that I wanted to be "fair" toward their later career (whatever that means exactly) because I do think they've done some excellent stuff in the past fifteen or so years. But I'm far from certain that those songs are really better than the more than half the songs on the poll that I love and didn't vote for.

#9 - Boys Don't Cry, 593 points, 24 votes

Boys Don't Cry (single), 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a90_d_tPhBs

I absolutely believe in everything on my ballot but, aside from the top 5, I could do it over and pick completely different songs.

I'm sad at the blanking of b-sides and The Glove

Although it was strangely never a hit, it doesn't get more classic than "Boys Don't Cry".

Cool, Charlotte Sometimes made top ten! It earned my strongest reappraisal, as it was my least favorite on Standing when I was a teen. I used to find it so lethargic sounding but now I adore its smeared gothic texture.

#8 - Primary, 600 points, 24 votes, 1 #1 vote

Faith (& single), 1981

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmWVzhOey6k

Nooooooooooo!!!! This means my #1 really has no shot of showing up on the poll.

Charlotte Sometimes so strongly evokes being 15, gazing out of the living room window, dreaming. Such a beautiful song

Love Charlotte, never cared much for Primary.

I'd honestly forgotten there was a time when Robert Smith would wear suits onstage. Him in that Primary clip is agl. (Him now looks like the smelly guy who used to bum cigarettes from me downtown.)

Both of these songs are totally badass, I believe both were on my ballot

Never knew people loved "Primary" so much. It's pretty bad ass, but didn't make my ballot. (lol x-post)

#7 - Inbetween Days, 616 points, 24 votes

The Head on the Door (& single), 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuSnLfr24pM

Primary is prob my favorite track off Faith. even more than the great big mopey one. you know the one I'm talking about.

At the time, "In Between Days" was one that I liked less on Standing On A Beach. Can't figure out why now. It's their pop song I go back to the most.

I hope you're talking about the one I thought wasn't gonna make it anymore. It's giving me some hope.
Maybe "Friday I'm In Love" won't place after all... (x-post)

What's wrong with Friday? It's a great pop song, and it wouldn't surprise me if its top 5

I like Friday I'm In Love but at the same time it makes me cringe. didn't make my top 40.

It's a great pop song

If I had to guess 2 weeks ago what would be #1, I would've said the song that's at #5.

Sorry, I meant the song at #6. This one:

#6 - Plainsong, 619 points, 19 votes, 4 #1 votes

Disintegration, 1989

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

Nothing's wrong with "Friday" except that it's competing with my #1 for a spot on this list.

We're not getting Friday. I came to the list fresh, with no biases, and am always open to a huge pop hook, and even I found twenty-odd tracks that do it for me more.

#5 - 10:15 Saturday Night, 628 points, 24 votes, 1 #1 vote

Three Imaginary Boys (& Killing An Arab b-side), 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF-m7Qet6xo

drip drip drip

There's a wonderful gawkiness in their stab at teenage ennui.

I thought it'd be my no.1 when I first heard it, but when I realised it's the source for The Libertines it started dropping down the list. Not very far in fairness, I do love it.

#4 - All Cats Are Grey, 663 points, 22 votes, 3 #1 votes

Faith, 1981

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFKnu49wmms

dan is euphoric

Smith plays the keyboards on the original recording, no?

So nice to see this place in the top 5. Apparently it was written by Lol!

#3 - Close To Me, 692 points, 23 votes, 3 #1 votes

The Head on the Door (& single), 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pzcyGKu11M

luv the breathing sounds in this one

I knew Just Like Heaven and A Forest would battle for #1, but I honestly have no idea which will take it.

It's quite amazing that those two only actually had a total of one #1 vote between them.

"Punish Me With Kisses" #1 upset shocka?

#2 - Just Like Heaven, 845 points, 26 votes

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (& single), 1987

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBXwo6wGLkc

I was hoping it was the other way around, but I'm not gonna moan about it at #2. :D