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

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (160 of them)

The title track is okay. Apart from "Sanctuary", I think my favorite tracks on that record are "Nirvana", "Phoenix" and "Hollow Man". I always thought the intro riff to "Big Neon Glitter" was a bit of a "Pretty Vacant' swipe.

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

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 10 September 2004 04:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't heard the 21st Century Doors yet! I'm a big fan of the original but is the Astbury group EVEN BETTER?

― dave q, Friday, 10 September 2004 05:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha ha ha that's pretty funny.

― Bimble (bimble), Friday, 10 September 2004 05:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Incidentally, the long version of "She Sells Sanctuary" is the preferred rendition.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 10 September 2004 05:12 (twenty-one years ago)

"The Wolfchild had a bathroom problem...he couldn't make it in time!" - Ian Astbury

― mute nostril agony, Friday, 10 September 2004 05:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I would've nominated "Love Removal Machine' as the best song ever written.
-- the music mole

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

― wetmink (wetmink), Friday, 10 September 2004 05:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I love "Love Removal Machine," but c'mon....it's simply a Stones/Zep pastiche, whereas "She Sells Sanctuary" is a much more graceful beast entirely.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 10 September 2004 06:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe it's a weird opinion to hold, but I like just about every song on the first side of Electric more than "LRM."

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Friday, 10 September 2004 06:39 (twenty-one years ago)

http://img.muzikus.cz/clanky/002453_02.jpg

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 10 September 2004 06:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, certainly the best CULT song ever, anyways. Shimmering flanged guitars as distinctive as any jangles that the Byrds or Television or Fleetwood Mac ever cooked up. Yeah, it's fucking great, down to the title, even: A true classic and one of the best remembered (and 'best') songs from that particular time/place.

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.)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 10 September 2004 09:28 (twenty-one years ago)

SSS is great, but I have to side with "Rain" on this one.

(I am so ashamed, but that whole album is just such a time such a time and a place and a person (a trailer in upstate NY, loads of drugs and my "sister") that it's just enshrined in greatness for me.)

― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Friday, 10 September 2004 09:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I think Dan's lengthy list is scuppered by the pole position he gives to "Tower Of Strength."

Unless of course he means the Bacharach and David classic as interpreted variously by Gene McDaniels and Frankie Vaughan, as opposed to that terrible "Kashmir" rip-off perpetrated by the Mission.

― Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid, Friday, 10 September 2004 09:37 (twenty-one years ago)

It might be the best Cult song (although I'd say no, there are more than a handful of others on Dreamtime, Electric and even Sonic Temple that I prefer), but every single song on the Death Cult ep pounds it into the ground.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 September 2004 09:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Which in itself is pounded into the ground by "Fatman" by the Southern Death Cult.

― Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid, Friday, 10 September 2004 09:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes.

In fact, the Cult are a great example of a band that got progressively worse with every record, from Day One.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 September 2004 09:52 (twenty-one years ago)

and that's saying something because they were fucking rubbish to begin with

― stelfox, Friday, 10 September 2004 09:55 (twenty-one years ago)

IIRC "She Sells Sanctuary" actually represents the precise moment after which everything The Cult released suddenly stopped being fantastic and became shit (my memory's telling me that it came out after "Go West", "Spiritwalker", The Dreamtime and Dreamtime Live At The Lyceum albums (I was at the gig when they recorded that!) and "Resurrection Joe" but before "Rain").

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 10 September 2004 10:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Stuart, your timeline is correct.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 September 2004 10:22 (twenty-one years ago)

"She Sells Sanctuary" was Peter Powell's Record Of The Week on Radio 1!

― Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid, Friday, 10 September 2004 10:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Ooops, Stewart, obv.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 September 2004 10:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Dan are there any foxy-attempting long-hairs from the '80s you DO like? Anthrax so don't count.

1. I don't have to like anything, you know.
2. I've explained why I am predisposed against hair metal before.
3. I actually DO like The Cult, I just don't think they're OH MY GOD amazing.
4. I do like Extreme, Cinderella, Scorpions, Motley Crue, selected songs by Skid Row and Bon Jovi. I also like Rush, Pink Floyd, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, early Metallica, Megadeth, Aerosmith, Led Zepplin and The Doors.
5. OFF OF MY DICK, SON.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Friday, 10 September 2004 11:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I remember being mesmerized by this song and the video in a Georgetown D.C. gothic club - oh, some time in the 80's (pretty much for the same reasons Alex in NYC states)

I downloaded the song a few months back hoping to tingle that ol' familiar feeling.

No such luck.

I dunno, the tempo didn't seem to be as brisk. The song just seemed to lumber along, which actually made the "great soaring vocals" sound like stupid 80's metal histrionics to me.

though hopefully, this thread will provide the proper attitude adjustment for my next listen.

― pheNAM (pheNAM), Friday, 10 September 2004 13:46 (twenty-one years ago)

pheNAM, your lack of enthusiasm makes my back, makes my back bu-hurn.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 10 September 2004 14:04 (twenty-one years ago)

YEAH-HEAHHHHH

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 10 September 2004 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I do like Extreme

ok, I'll get off your dick now. I'll point and laugh from a distance.

(total disclosure: did like both their acoustic hits in elementary school and was shocked to discover that they were a hated metal band back in my psycho-REM-fan youth when somebody bought me Pornograffiti).

Get the funk out!

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 10 September 2004 14:53 (twenty-one years ago)

and in a non-point'n'laugh context, I'm glad you like Cinderella. Tom Kiefer's voice is a marvel.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 10 September 2004 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Please don't sully this thread with discussions about Extreme and Cinderella.

Thanks very much.

― The Management (vassifer), Friday, 10 September 2004 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I would just like to add how utterly surreal it is to hear "Nirvana" knowing that the last time I remember hearing this song was before Nirvana the band even existed. A whole world without Nirvana existing! Those were great days...

― Bimble (bimble), Saturday, 11 September 2004 06:17 (twenty-one years ago)

A whole world without Nirvana existing! Those were great days...

YAY!!!!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 11 September 2004 06:18 (twenty-one years ago)

5 songs better than SHE SELLS SANCTUARY:

Psycho Chicken
Eat It
Dust in the WInd
99 Luft Balloons
Lucky Number

― alice donut, Saturday, 11 September 2004 06:30 (twenty-one years ago)

As great as "Lucky Number" is (if you mean the Lene Lovich track), it's still not as great as "She Sells Sanctuary". And the rest of those songs lick big, huge, vast mountains of ass, so you're obviously not in full command of your senses.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 11 September 2004 06:52 (twenty-one years ago)

apparently billy duffy is my gf's fashion hero

― big chaki (chaki), Saturday, 11 September 2004 08:27 (twenty-one years ago)

And the rest of those songs lick big, huge, vast mountains of ass, so you're obviously not in full command of your senses.

I will totally defend "99 Luft Balloons" as a premiere piece of early 80s euro-new wave - it's up there with "Kids Of America".

SSS is a great great song

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 11 September 2004 08:45 (twenty-one years ago)

it's up there with "Kids Of America".

"Kids IN America".

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 11 September 2004 09:28 (twenty-one years ago)

(sorry, there should be a :) there )

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 11 September 2004 09:29 (twenty-one years ago)

"Nirvana" vs "Soul Asylum"

― dave q, Saturday, 11 September 2004 13:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Dave, you are my HERO.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Saturday, 11 September 2004 13:18 (twenty-one years ago)

My god, why didn't I think of that earlier. *bows*

"WHO...
WOULD BREAK...
A BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL..."

*Kashmir riff continues building*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 11 September 2004 14:12 (twenty-one years ago)

NO NO NO...

The greatest song ever as officially quoted in the Guiness book of records is Teenage Kicks by The Undertones.

No debate.. Only flat earth'ist may be fool enough to disagree

― Steve Wilson-Copp, Saturday, 11 September 2004 16:35 (twenty-one years ago)

How ya doin', Mr Peel.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 11 September 2004 16:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Am I that transparent?

Its just that luckily despite championing Can and other prog rock groups in the mid seventie's Mr Peel saved his reputation forever, by embracing Punk, new wave ETC.

― Steve WC, Saturday, 11 September 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

"Teenage Kicks" just ummmm....well, I don't know. It's a good song, but it just doesn't go anywhere.

My fave Undertones track, now and forever = "Mars Bar".

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 11 September 2004 18:08 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the "CA-CHING CHING" part is too loud in the mix. I don't mind it being in the arrangement, but as a rhythmic accent, especially given the obviousness of the resolution, it sounds pretty lame being that prominent - a spindly mouse climbing out to the shoulder of a giant house-stomping robot to shake its fist at rubble. I'm with Alex in NYC in preferring the long version. I think the "regular" version sounds like an edit (for example, the "aaaaahh" vocal part at the end of the middle section sounds as if a singer wouldn't have had time to work up to doing something like that. It sounds stuck over top, whereas in the long version, the "aaaaahh" is the end of a longer phrase). I think "Rain", while being pretty much the same idea (different key, I guess), is a more interesting song (it's got a decent bridge and and a better guitar line). Unfortunately, I think "Rain" plods a bit rhythmically and the vocal lines don't work as well. I think the best part of "She Sells Sanctuary" is the vocals. I think the weakes part is the lack of any interesting instrumental harmony - that flanged (phased? can't remember) guitar line (beginning, mid-section, end) sounds to me like someone simply running through how the chord progression works, without even alluding to any possible tensions. The later Butch Vig remix with the redone middle section and solo is much more satisfying to me, because that original guitar part got old fast. I used to feel that they should have combined the guitar lines of "She Sells Sanctuary" with those from "Rain" and just made one song out of both.

― Trouble Hand, Saturday, 11 September 2004 18:49 (twenty-one years ago)

a spindly mouse climbing out to the shoulder of a giant house-stomping robot to shake its fist at rubble

I sorta see it as the Cult aiming for something they never really could do -- subtlety -- and actually making it work as such.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 11 September 2004 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I think it would be a reasonable sutble touch if it weren't put so up-front.

― Trouble Hand, Saturday, 11 September 2004 19:02 (twenty-one years ago)

*bows* Subtle for them.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 11 September 2004 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

note to djs: segue from "she sells sanctuary" into harry nilsson's "jump into the fire." you can thank me later.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Saturday, 11 September 2004 21:56 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

(I think this thread contains the most frightening posts I've made to this board.)

― Dan (Holy List Obsession) Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 6 April 2006 04:07 (twenty years ago)

The tap dancing line redeems it all.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 6 April 2006 04:13 (twenty years ago)

Dan Perry, you are mad as a bike.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Thursday, 6 April 2006 04:24 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 60 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.