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

from my ballot:

14. Three Imaginary Boys
20. Open
22. A Man Inside My Mouth

Three of mine have made it so far, "In Your House", "If Only Tonight" and "Three Imaginary Boys".

I didn't vote in this poll because I haven't really listened to the Cure past Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, but I'm happy to see the great "Grinding Halt" slip in here. "Why Can't I Be You" ridiculously too low of course.

I didn't vote in this poll because I haven't really listened to the Cure past Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me

You stopped one album too soon, imo.

(Although Wish has some delightful songs and b-sides)

My Top 5 Albums
1. Pornography
2. Faith
3. Seventeen Seconds
4. Wish
5. Disintegration

My Top 5 Videos
1. Close To Me
2. A Night Like This
3. The 13th
4. Hot Hot Hot
5. Friday I'm In Love

I didn't think to check dailymotion and vimeo for the Cure vids not on US youtube so it's possible something that ranked might have beat "Just Like Heaven" if I had. My #1-4 were safe, though.

would have beat "Friday I'm In Love" I mean. It's actually kind of hilarious the Cure's biggest '80s songs have the least dynamic videos.

though Robert gives an academy award performance in "Heaven" with all the coy eyework and flailing.

ok now i'm finally reading this thread:

my videos were:

Lullaby
Close To Me
Lovecats
Let's Go To Bed
The Caterpillar

and my albums are:

Disintegration
Pornography
The Head on the Door
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Wish

i love, love, love Wish, it's also contains my all time favorite song from the Cure, has not posted yet but don't think it will either.

so i following DJP lead and going to post it the same way:

15 A Man Inside My Mouth
12 Open
6 Three Imaginary Boys

haha, well DJP and i have pick the same exact songs...that is scary!

In case you were dying to know how I ranked mine:

6) If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
11) In Your House
14) Three Imaginary Boys

I love the live version of "Why Can't I Be You" that was posted at #42. Robert being over the top silly in a way that really works. His voice is/was really a special instrument.

5 of mine have gone up, including my #2 & #7, the former's low placement so surprising it took me a while to realize it happened. Appropriate for a cure thread to make me just a touch sad on the first day. :(

I think I can let this spoiler out now because I'm probably the only one that voted for it: 'Uyea Sound' was my #8 pick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anfVeYG60iA

(yes, it's basically the demo for 'Underneath the Stars', just fifteen years previous)

Jeez, it's good.

That live version of Why Can't I Be You is taken from the last ever episode of The Tube, they also did Catch. I watched it at the time. Not only did they sound amazing it was the best they ever looked as well, I think.

I for one really love the live versions of 'Why Can't I Be You?' where they stretched it out to an almost improvised jam and Bob added a bunch of verses.

I just wish the studio recording was that good.

It's interesting voting for 40 when there are only 50 places - more suspense. When the ratio's, say, 20:60 you get used to most of your ballot placing. Four of mine so far.

My list is simple so far:

34) In Your House

Although on a different day I easily could have voted for about half the songs so far.

Wow. seeing how good songs 41-50 are, makes the CURE not making the Hall Of Fame a complete joke.

My list so far:

25) A Man Inside My Mouth
19) Other Voices
16) In Your House
11) Grinding Halt
22) Six Different Ways
26) If Only Tonight We Could Sleep

i have 4 that placed so far, including the only song i voted for from KMKMKM.

i actually regret not voting for "grinding halt". can't quite remember what my reasoning was when i left it off.

I like "Grinding Halt" but ever since someone pointed out the similarity to "The Locomotion" I just can't get past that

haha thanks for ruining "Grinding Halt" for me

oh for fuck's sake -- how is "High" so LOW???

Can't speak for any of the other non-voters, but for me its tweeness is on just the other side of tolerable. Like when e.e. cummings got too cute.

So far, I voted for all these: Grinding Halt, Six Different Ways, If Only Tonight, Why Can't I Be You? None of them top 10, tho Six Different Ways was my #11.

Was "Wish" mentioned on the New Jersey thread? If not, then it should have been.

but for me its tweeness is on just the other side of tolerable

I used to feel this way about "Friday I'm In Love" (after really liking it initially), but eventually grew to like it even more. It wasn't until "The Only Time" that they managed to write another single that felt so breezy and effortless.

"The Only One", rather.

So far I voted

Grinding Halt
Six Different Ways
Three Imaginary Boys
Why Can't I Be You
and
High

whenever i think of "High" i think about the time i was at my grandmother's house when that song was a hit and there was a plotline on one of her favorite soap operas about the characters going to a Cure concert

^ countdown to wgw pvmic'ing that

I'm glad eight others also dig Man Inside My Mouth, that track is so squirrelly.

Although my life is (I hope) much less goth than it was when I was first into the Cure, I find it's the heavier stuff that's stuck with me. Instead of sounding too adolescent, records like Pornography and Faith engage me more than ever while the whimsical pop songs irritate me way more than they did. I have no interest in hearing Love Cats, Friday I'm In Love, Why Can't I Be You, etc ever again.

I just listened to High for the first time in ?? years and you summed up my feelings perfectly. Chirpy pop about "me and you" was NOT what I was not looking for in this band then or now. That said, I had my first public dancing experiences to some of those songs and all of my best friends have been the type to dance to "Just Like Heaven" at their wedding receptions, so they have a bit of sentimental value.

Never thought "High" was twee or cute when "Six Different Ways" and "Love Cats" exists.

It's got some of Smith's best love jive and maybe the quintessential Cure six-string bass sound.

I can't stand "Love Cats" these days. I don't understand how some people can go about how it's a classic but say that "Mint Car" is embarrassing. I think it's the sentimentality talking.

xpost

I just never liked it, I guess. I'm not saying it's not good, but it's not why I have turned to them then or now. I like gothy melodrama, I guess?

Can't imagine a CURE fan calling "Mint Car" embarrassing.

I love "Love Cats" and "Mint Car" and "Hanging Garden" and "One Hundred Years"

I was never a superfan, that's why I didn't vote! I respect everyone's right to like whatever they like. I just forgot how much I did not like that song. Carry on :)

I can't stand "Love Cats" these days. I don't understand how some people can go about how it's a classic but say that "Mint Car" is embarrassing. I think it's the sentimentality talking.

No, it's the rhythm section talking. You really can't fuck with the piano, bass and drums on that song, plus the arrangement is sublime.

"Mint Car", OTOH, is a big wet fart and one of the worst things they ever did.

Never thought "High" was twee or cute when "Six Different Ways" and "Love Cats" exists.

Huh, never thought of "Six Different Ways" as cute, tho I guess I can see lyrically. Musically it has one of my favorite grooves of theirs, that syncopated 6/8 is pretty killer.

Also DJP otm about the rhythm and arrangement on "Love Cats," that's exactly what I voted for in it.

"Mint Car" is stupid but harmless, I wouldn't change the station if it came on the radio. "Love Cats" is a stupid song with a boss arrangement, but once you move past the gimmick of the Cure doing jazz, there's nothing about it that is characteristic of their best work. Maybe that's an unfair criticism, since it was really just a one time only thing, but I'm sick of "Why Can't I Be You" for similar reasons.

The thing that got me hooked on all the 80's CURE was robert's voice. It was like another instrument. I mean the song writing was great, but then the delivery added so much more. Whether the song was morose or giddy, smith created so much with his inflections, etc...

And while I might prefer their Pornography/goth side, I definitely don't hate their poppy stuff (I voted for plenty of it).

xpost

TS: "We move like cagey tigers/Oh we couldn't get closer than this" vs "The sun is up/I'm so happy I could scream"
TS: Long patter-style phrases with few pauses for breath vs simple stop-start 2-bar phrases with gigantic 2-bar pauses for breath in between
TS: "Our infatuation as described by an extended Aristocats metaphor" vs "Hey, I'm awake and horny, isn't this boss?"
TS: Crisp-sounding engineering vs "you know what would make this song pop is if we put the 'ass-muffle' filter on it"