Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Kiss Me on the Chopping Block

I vehemently disagree with Chopping Block's choices, but this bit is funny: "All I Want fails because its lyrics beg uncomfortable questions: 'All I want/ Is to hold you like a dog.' Seriously, that’s all you want? Why not just get a dog, then?" : D
(Thanks Sean)

147 comments:

  1. Kiss Me is far from my favorite Cure album, but their comments pissed me off. So arrogantly dismissive. The Cure didn't repeat themselves, and, if any songs should be cut off, it's boring stuff like "The Perfect Girl"! I love "Fight"! I play it at the gym when I'm really exhausted and in the final stretch on the eliptical machine or when I'm really depressed. I do agree that "The Snakepit" is quite dull. Also, "All I Want" has a great guitar intro, but the I've always thought the lyrics sucked big time.

    BY THE WAY, MOGWAI IS ON TOUR!

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  2. coincidentally..
    (posted this already, hope im not spamming!)
    i havent lisnted to All I Want off of KMKMKM in a VERY long time. i just did a few minutes ago on youtube - when i heard it start, i was like - this cant be right.. THIS IS THE FORD COMMERCIAL MUSIC!! WTF??!! im serious, ive been hearing this on a car commericial the whole time and never realized it was the cure! this is worse than Pictures of You on HP's commericial, or Friday Im in Love on that diamond one. ive seen the ford commericial so many times, the music has been forever burned in my memory. i had no idea it was all i want!! all i could think of when i listen to that commericial - the music sounds so american!
    but yeah - i would NEVER EVER change anything on KMX3. its perfect as is.

    whoot, that makes mogwai AND sigur ros.. 2008 is a good year for concerts :D

    ps. SCREW SHIT COMMENTS FEOM ARTICLES LIKE THAT!

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  3. What a waste of space this was! More lazy journalism!Chop the Chopping block I say!NEXT!

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  4. I used to love KM, then I went through a period of hating it, then another of indifference toward it. Now I like it again - quite a bit. I don't like the production on it - too slick, not immediate enough - but most of the songs are brilliant, and I love that the album represents a tapestry of styles. Indeed, KM was the Cure album that inaugurated the idea of mixed styles, I do believe, and it seems The Cure are heading that way again with the upcoming album. And of course, WMS and TC were also mixed-style albums.

    Anyway, the review was kinda funny and annoying simultaneously. Some people really really don't "get" the Cure, so they? But that's okay; they're not meant for everyone, just cool peeps like us. (Okay, okay, like YOU - I won't arrogantly include myself)

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  5. cat - really? i felt that the production was just right for it - but the current production for SWID is too slick for a song from 1985. they should keep a more vintage direction for that one. its just so.. SLICK!!


    kiss me will always be one of my favorite albums ever, each song seems so perfect for it. and fuck chopping block with a very pointy screw driver in the ass, i hate that site with ardent passion. why try to cut stuff from an album that obviously consists of songs that fit that moment and era of the artists life? the album woudlnt be the same. i dont care if its for better or worse, just leave things alone if its not broken. people wouldnt discover those songs if they had been "chopped".

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  6. If i may say, i think The Head on the Door was the album that inaugurated the idea of mixed style...(Kyoto song/The Blood/6Different ways), but i wouldn'targue!! :)

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  7. dj, for me, the production is too slick on KM... too polished. I feel alienated from the urgency of the songs. Well, MOST of them... really, when I say that I am thinking mainly about The Kiss, though I have felt that way about a few other songs from the album too. I guess The Kiss has evolved into such a raw rocker live that now when I hear it one the album it feels so sterile and lifeless. I would have to listen to the album again to let you know the other songs or to see if my mind has changed.

    perfect murder: to me, hotd has more fluidity about it, and therefore seems less like a jolting mix of styles... but you could be right. for me, km is more radically mixed style-wise. but again, you could be right. i for sure don't have a monopoly on cure opinions. :-)

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  8. Me neither Cat,and it's always interesting to discuss opinions..i am trying to think of your point re the production on KM..I'll have to listen tonight. KM reminds me of a great period in my life so i always have had a soft spot for it.All i want is 10/10 for me..

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  10. I didn't like the tone of this article. Ill-informed, dismissive bollocks! All that nonsense about stereotypical Cure fans…… However (winces), I always thought that KMKMKM was a bit too eclectic and varied compared to albums previous and since. It fills a similar spot for me as WMS; I like it, it has undoubted high spots (more than WMS), but has a few "take it or leave it" songs like Catch or TPG (although I LOVE the demo version of that song on the reissue 2nd CD). I also think other songs are a little over produced and over embellished-Torture would be one of my fave Cure songs if it wasn't for those keyboards. There are other Cure albums that have a certain degree of variation without loosing intensity- THONTD, Wish or even TC.

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  11. I have always liked KMKMKM, especially when played, in order, as an album. Sure, the styles are all jumbled, but I like it that way.

    I also love hearing KM tracks live, as they take on new life. Either way, I am happy.

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  12. KMKMKM greatest Cure album ever! hell, best ALBUM ever period!

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  13. Kiss Me has always been a favorite of mine. I don't think I'd change a thing on it, though of course I have my favs. All I Want and Like Cockatoos are 2 of them! For a long time I would always skip The Snakepit. Now I really love it, and I tend to skip some of the hits (WCIBY, Hot) - still like them, but just sick of them. Torture is probably my least fav on the album, but I still like it.

    Cat - it's interesting what you say about the production. I have to listen to it again with an ear for that. I'd agree that The Kiss live is just a different beast completely, but I never had an issue with the studio version. It seems like an appropriate way to open the album - just aggressive and chaotic enough to leave you wanting more. It's a bit jolting to then move into Catch, but that's part of the charm of KM for me.

    DAMN I love that album!

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  14. haha! i thought it was pretty funny, that article. and kmx3 is my favorite cure album (and my first cure album. ah, nostalgia). i mean, like every double album, it is flawed. certainly. and although it's my most favorite i'm not above listening to it critically or making fun. especially of those lyrics because wtf seriously. you can't get too angry, really. it's just one dude's opinion. save your hate for korn, people.

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  15. I went through a period where I refused to listen to KM because of it's commercial success.

    When listening to it again after a few years, I loved it. It has such a good representation of The Cure's different sides: some dark, some very lovely, and some psychedelic.

    And I love All I Want. It's very longing and desperate...

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  16. the album is much enhanced by keeping the original running order but removing a few of the funk-pop songs that don't fit the rest of the album's vibe, and replacing them with a few b-sides that do, to smooth out the once-awkward transitions.

    the PROPER enhanced version of KMKMKM is as follows:

    the kiss, catch, torture, if only tonight, how beautiful, the snakepit, just like heaven, snow in summer, a chain of flowers, all i want, one more time, breathe, like cockatoos, icing sugar, a japanese dream, a thousand hours, shiver and shake, fight

    trust me. load that up on the itunes or what-have-you and you have a classic Cure album that never was. plus, it still fits on a single cdr for listening pleasure.

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  17. this is a lame article, but whatever.

    i'm also glad there are others around here that like 'snakepit' but am i the only one who digs 'fight'? man i love that song.

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  18. I like Fight too Monkey: :P

    Now I'm in the mood to listen to KM...

    And His Holiness: I've never even thought to mix around track listings myself, being that I feel Robert releases them as he wants them intended. But I think I might try your idea and see... it sounds interesting.

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  19. i just figure Robert's not infallible, especially since he's partially working from commercial concerns to put some sellable pop singles on the albums (some of which work better than others). the tracklisting for each album is rarely done from a purely "artistic" standpoint, despite what robert says. surely anyone who has listened to one of the mixed-vibe albums like Wish knows that certain songs would have worked better included or excluded to create a more cohesive mood. i've always found the band's best albums to be the ones with the most consistency in terms of tone, especially because they feel like more of a coherent artistic statement. i figure there's nothing wrong with making a few small alterations to an album's existing running order if it means dropping a few tracks that could've worked better as non-album singles or b-sides, and then replacing them with a few choice b-sides.

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  20. LMAO MORRIS!

    do people who write for blogs like chopping block, seriously get paid? cause ANYONE couldve written something like that.

    cat - i see/hear what you mean by overproduced in KM. i mean KMKMKM (so as not to invoke morris' wrath.
    what you said about being over polished - i feel that way about their self titled album - and a couple of the new singles. they kinda overwork their songs a little bit in the studio... i miss a deceptively simple song

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  21. The 2 Dave Allen produced records are far and away the best production the band have ever used. The band needs space sonically to be able to incorporate all the elements that they use. Dave Allen got that and gave those records this huge area to breathe. If you have any doubt about this just cue up Homesick at about 11 on the old volume button. It is like being in a museum...here is this bit, here is that bob (!) everything is beautiful and has it's own little space.

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  22. 2? i thought dave allen produced 4?

    head on the door
    kmkmkm
    disintegration
    wish

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  23. but yes, i agree with you. dave allen + robert smith = gold.

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  24. DJ Scribbles, I watch a lot of TV -- an unhealthy amount -- and I don't recall seeing it on any Ford commercial. What could have happened is the Ford advertizers liked it, but copied it just enough without seeming to violate copyright infringement. Are you sure you heard that? Last I heard, they were more into Americana like John Cougar.

    I hope you get to go to those concerts!

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  25. Yeah, KMX3 is one of my favorite Cure albums. It's so varied. I love all of the vitriol in songs like The Kiss and Shiver & Shake - it's pure bile and anger and it's ugly and hurtful, but somehow it reveals a certain vulnerableness too. Also it's got some of the most playful and fun songs too, which makes for a nice balance.

    But really, this was the first "new" Cure album I owned. Before this came out I had Staring At the Sea, Boys Don't Cry, Head On The Door and Japanese Whispers, but this was the first album I got when it was brand new.. I got it within a month of it coming out and I ended up getting all of the 12" singles for it too. I've gotten every release since then on the day it's come out, so this was a turning point for me.. I went from liking the Cure to them being my favorite band on KMx3 :)

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  26. Dave Allen? I thought Robert said he produced every album since 1980 except the 2004 album. I assumed Allen did next to nothing because of that.

    Personally, I've always thought the synths on "Kiss Me" dated the song a lot; maybe it was because I first heard/bought the album in May 1995, but I never liked that intro; the guitar helps things. I'm so glad the new line-up got rid of the keyboard on that song.

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  27. thanks muldfeld!

    yes, i am very sure!! ive watched it so many times, i could never mistake it for anything else. down to the keyboard parts, and the guitar, everything! its been burned in my memory forever. I will watch lots of tv this week to catch that commericial.
    you gonna see mogwai?

    like i said before - im not liking the "spacing" of the instruments on some of the new songs. keith uddin is very talented and im a big fan of his, but i dont think he fits the cure . not because hes pretty young, but just cause... anyways, his style just isnt that cure-ish. i think the cure chose ross robinson last time, and keith this time - because of sound revamping of course. that doesnt mean keith hasnt done a good job on the production, he has =)

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  28. You know, I really can't argue technicalities very well at all, being rather technophobic. All I know is what sounds good to my ears. I suppose I really need to give KM another listen (which I will when I get back Stateside), but I just recall that a few songs are too slick for my tastes and alienate me from engaging in them too heavily. I did not feel this way when the album came out, mind you - I loved the album back then. And I do like it, though it's not my fave Cure album by far.

    I agree, DJ, that some of the songs on self-titled lack good production/mix. Great songs like Labyrinth, Anniversary and Promise are nearly ruined by the muddy mix.

    And the mix on BF blows as well.

    More later.

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  29. I can't get into the notion of "Chopping Block." Meh. I like KMKMKM as it is. I tend to listen to live versions over studio stuff these days, but that's just where I'm at.

    Yes! Mogwai, Sigur Rós and Laurie Anderson this fall! :^D

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  30. dj--Are you referring to the Ford Commercial that was done by the American Idol Idiots? If so, that song they are singing is All I Want by Toad The Wet Sprockets. I used to work for Ford many years ago & I highly doubt Ford would ever use that particular Cure Song for their commercials. They are a very conservative All American No Sex in their Ads Company. But hey if they did use it, that's quite surprising of them to do so.

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  31. actually, toad only has one sprocket.

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  32. Monkey: But boy, is it ever wet!

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  34. V! Long time, no see!

    How are ya?

    I sit in the meebo room all day while at work. hahahah!

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  35. I was not aware of any other Cure song being used in a commercial besides POY. When did they allow FIIL to be used? And I highly doubt All I Want being used.. but I could be wrong.

    Back to the mix thing: it's interesting to me to read varying opinions about it, because I have read some people say that they though the mix on Disint was really bad. I disagree, but whatever. Also, I have read people say that Faith and 17 sound badly mixed/produced, while to my ears they are perfect, if a bit "low." But that was kind of the point, right?

    I guess even technical things can come down to subjective viewpoints, eh? Also, I suppose the mored "learned" you are of such things, the more critical you are of them. I am blissfully oblivious, then. :-)

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  36. Chopping Block Idiots! How can anyone say its bad album with one of the best Cure Songs ever on it….. Just Like Heaven. It’s a crappy article but hey everyone has an opinion, I’ll just choose to ignore this review.

    Well I have a love/hate relationship with KMKMKM! I loved it when it came out but then when Disintegration & Wish came along, I stopped listening to it since I liked those albums so much better at the time. But I love it now once again! KMKMKM can is a bit a messy/out of sorts …..The songs don’t seem go together too well but if you play them individually or out of the original sequence they are some of The Cure’s Best. I love the B sides from this album too! It's really the only Cure Album I never listen to in the exact order the songs were placed in.

    I love How Beautiful You Are, All I Want---such a lusty song, Fight, Catch, I only really dislike Hey You! I find it quite annoying to listen to anymore but I still do. Cure junkie for sure!

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  37. Kate: Hi!!! I'm okay, thanks. I've been here, I just have been busy and have stayed in lurk mode lately. :)

    How are you??

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  38. the cure never fares well on smartass music blogs like this (think pitchfork, etc). it's like they're all just snickering.

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  39. exactly, alex, but what the blogs never seem to realize (or admit) is that they're just writing about it, while the cure's actually been doing it, being arguably the most influential band of the last 30 years.

    go cure!

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  40. I'm on the chopping block
    Chopping off my stopping thought
    Self doubt and selfism
    Were the cheapest things I ever bought.

    "Kiss Me" was an amazing album = Perfect all the way through.
    "snakepit" sounding like "Joy Division" = wtf
    I like "Joy Divison and all but if "Robert Smith" died after making "FAITH" or "PORNOGRAPHY"
    he would get the credit as well for everything. As for "The Cure" ripping off "Joy Division" or "New Order" those words come from
    Peter Hook which has become an asshole over the years. "Kiss Me" was a great album, Next on the chopping block might be
    "Disintegration" or "Wish" by these fools.

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  41. Cat, it's strange... I don't know of any song being used other than Pictures... in the other thread, I mentioned that I would believe The Cure had begun to sell out if I see Friday being used to sell diamonds - something I thought unlikely. Everyone's behaving as if it has happened and I am wondering WTF? If it was used for that, then that is exceedingly bizarre and an... erm... bad example for me to have chosen, lol. I'd like to see the evidence, counsel. :^P

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  42. if you're getting bent out of shape about a blogger's fairly humorous and tongue-in-cheek "critique" of a cure album, it's definitely time to get a life (and a sense of fucking humor). it's poking fun at a record, not poking naughty bits in your grandmother's corpse.

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  43. sigh. on another, unrelated note, somebody is selling the 7" of 'i'm a cult hero/i dig you' on ebay. wish i had the $65 (!) they're asking for.

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  44. and if *you're* getting bent out of shape over people getting bent out of shape over some blogger's comments, then time to re-shape thyself! OH SNAP!

    maree, i saw that, and am a bit dumbfounded as well. was FIIL really used in a diamonds commercial? WFT?

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  45. BTW; inbetween days was definately used also for an advert(commercial to you USAers) for FIAT cars .

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  46. That may be so... but Friday for diamonds? Meh... if anyone took my comment and ran with it, all I can say is that reading comprehension is your friend. :^P

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  47. the internet. where reading words takes on a whole new meaning!

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  48. Yet another stupid "review" full of clichés.
    KMKMKM has great moments (pop or not), but it has some boring ones as well (Fight, Hey You). Cure isn't a perfect band, but some of their songs are perfect enough to not be "chopped", like Perfect Girl.

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  49. Ha. Craig, I forwarded the link to you. (Sean) Thought you'd get a chuckle out of it.

    Can't imagine loving Kiss Me3 as much as I do without A Thousand Hours or Like Cockatoos. And I just remember the girl who literally rolled down the stairs for effect in my section when they played The Snakepit at Nassau Coliseum on the Kiss Me tour and it still makes me laugh. The album without The Snakepit would be far less of an album.

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  50. plus, don't overlook the fact that this website LOVES the raconteurs and vampire weekend. that should be a clue right there as to their intelligence levels.

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  51. i'm-a goan staat talkin to mysef.

    what's everyone's favorite 'lost wish'? i used to think mine was uyea sound, but it's probably now cloudberry. cloudberry is amazing.

    are there more than just the four? anybody know?

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  52. uyea sound. my boyfriend used that name when i met him on SATATAM. so you know...
    i like off to sleep, too. cloudberry is good. so is the three sisters.

    :|

    i guess that answers nothing.

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  53. I wouldn't chop a second off of that album. I listen to it the whole way through and say 'damn that's the best album ever made'. But this guy has a right to disagree. Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one, this guy's just stinks more than most.

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  54. Hey, DJ Scribbles,

    I actually saw them already. I did a review; I also wrote most of one for Chain of Flowers, but never got around to finishing it because I had a ton of work.

    http://brightlight.youngteam.co.uk/eng/gig300608.php

    I hope I have time for when the band returns to Toronto. By the way, I was the straw that broke the camel's back and got Stuart Braithwaite to buy the DVDs for Battlestar Galactica, after he'd heard such good word of mouth about it.

    I had a fairly good time, as I did in 2006, but I'd have picked more melodic pieces. I gotta say, though, they charge less than Interpol and play longer, which is quite a thing, considering they've been around longer.

    Hope you have a nice time, though. Bring ear plugs if you are going to be close. I'm gonna get close next time myself. I hope my poor feet can handle standing around that long, though.

    I also saw TV on the Radio 2 days later, and the frontman makes sure no one suffers from "tall person in front of you, so you can't see" syndrome by moving around the stage a lot.

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  55. Muld: Did you see the final episode of BSG yet?

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  56. Not yet, Craigers. I'm going to rewatch the whole half season in a week or so with my mother when she comes to visit, and it'll be a nice surprise at the end. Did you like it?

    Already they're planning on shooting a TV movie set in Season 1. It's directed by Edward James Olmos. Yes, I love the episodes he's done!

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  57. rev - HEELLLL NOOO. i could never mistake all i want for that SHIT. never seen that before, and i was happier when i didnt. my ears BLEEEED. no - i recognize the cure song note for note, each guitar strum, the rhythm, keyboard parts, EVERYTHING. ive seen that commericial like four million times!! i will keep an eye out for it

    muld - very jealous!! you got the setlist for mogwai,AAHH!! you mustve been really close to the stage then! and *gasp* you convinced stuart to get the BG dvds, waay cool. how?
    im sorry the crowd sucked =(
    p.s. - i find it hard to recognize
    tv on the radio kicks ass on stage =)

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  59. KMKMKM is one of those cure albums that I have a love-hate relationship with, and unfortunately, I do agree that a lot of it could have gone on the chopping block.

    To me this album is a little like (my opinion of) the Pumpkin's Mellon Collie: A mix of gems and noisy fillers that would have made more sense as too a separate album that might have its own charm.

    KMKMKM contains some of my favourite songs: JLH, How Beautiful you are, Thousand Hours, and my ever favourite "One More Time" which just makes me cry and might be the most beautiful song I know.

    On the other hand, The Kiss, Snakepit, Torture, etc. are to me just noise that breaks the flow of the record. Thank god for song disabling in iTunes.

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  60. I wonder if the Chopping Block ever considered the sexual innuendos of "All I Want?" I personally love that song for celebrating the best sexual position known to man . . ."All I want is to hold you like a dog.........."

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  61. all i can think of when i hear "hold you like a dog" is a snooty lady with her stupid poodle in a louis vuitton carrier.

    yeah. i live in nyc...

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  62. I never thought of "hold you like a dog" as being implicitly/explicitly sexual...hmmm, guess my mind is more distant from the gutter than I thought. :-/

    I always just thought of it as a bizarro fascinating piece of Cure-lyric...

    But doggie style rulz, agree. :-D

    Sofia - LOL. You are such the jaded NYer. :-)

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  63. I'm tired of this post, give us some new news, Craig! =)

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  64. 'all i want' is one of my favourite songs of kmkmkm and should be back on the live set list as well as 'fight'

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  65. i don't understand how anybody can listen to kiss me3 and skip 'snakepit.' that song's fucking great.

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  66. The ambiguity is what's always frustrated me about the "hold you like a dog" lyric, clockwise cat. First, he repeats it way too often. Second, I'm not sure if he wants to hold the woman affectionately (non-sexually, though not completely platonically because he wouldn't sing this to a man) or he wants to hold her affectionately as though he were a dog.

    It's just clumsy-sounding.

    Also, for "Shiver and Shake", by far the most hateful lyrics are "You're just 3 sick holes that run like sores; you're a fucking waste." Very gutsy, considering Robert runs the risk of being called sexist or something, though he just means to convey the mindset of hating a woman -- not all women or anything.

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  67. especially when that "woman" is Lol.

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  68. mudfeld- so you reckon mr smith might've wrote that song from the perspective of a dog?
    LOL .. interesting theory...

    also shiver annd shake .. whers it mention its about women .. i seem to remember an interview way back when where rbert was saying that he made lol stand in front of him when he sang it so itd give him more conviction in his voice .. so think yer wrong there fella

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  69. it's so interesting to hear everyones perspective on these particular lyrics! :D you're all a bunch of sickos!

    do you hold a dog the same way you hold a baby?

    dog's can't really "hold" anything. no thumbs, you see. so if he is the dog holding something i suppose it would have to be sexual? or in his mouth?

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  70. g sez: "that song was around the time smith and mary got married. i think he wrote it while he and mary were apart, maybe while he was off on a tour, he was longing to be with her in the worst way... while he was all alone he just needed a carnal urge inside him to be satisfied.

    he felt like a dog, lacking any spiritual or intellectual reason for his cravings..."

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  71. It's very interesting to read what you all think the song is about. For years I always thought he was singing "I want to hold you like a Doll".

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  72. Sorry DJ, if I offended you with that video! :D All I did was google Ford along with "All I Want" and that's what I found.

    Anyone else seen that commercial?

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  73. Craig's having a day off - the outrage

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  74. Monkey: I have a copy of that, it's not perfect and I want another, more pristine copy.

    There are some Cure records on eBay that I really want right now, including a Yellow copy of 3IB.

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  75. anah, i just went to amoeba. they have, all vinyl: grey faith, red pornography, white 3IB, yellow 3IB, and pink 17 seconds...for $40 each.

    i want all of them, right NOW! i want to hold them all like dogs!

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  76. Does nobody love "The Perfect Girl"? That is one of my favorites off the album. I've looked forever to find a live version. I was so disappointed by the KMKMKM reissue having a demo but not a live version. As for the Chopping Block. I never listen to Hey You or Icing Sugar. Those two songs are a waste of space. Other than those two songs I love the album. Hey You still sounds like the theme from UNCLE. Add a couple of the better b-sides and it would be a classic with Faith and Disintegration. My two cents.

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  77. anah ... the yellow 3ib is the '07'russian release on lilith records. its easy to get on amazon , fr probably much cheaper

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  78. oh ,, and theres also very nice double vinyl editions of 17 seconds , faith and pornography also

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  79. :@ ICING SUGAR IS NOT A WASTE OF SPACE!!!

    c'mon, buddy! lets box! ill fight you with one hand clutching my groovy psychedelic sax!

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  80. and icing sugar is fucking ace too ;)

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  81. I'm sorry Sophia, I should have said Icing Sugar is not a particular favorite of mine. Never could get the lyric really.

    I've always wondered since this was the first "democratic" album, who brough which tracks to the table.

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  82. Sofia, not Sophia.

    Double apologies.

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  83. The only choice that I really disagree with is Like Cockatoos, because I consider that a stand-out. But I mean... Torture, Fight, and probably One More Time ... these do not necessarily make the album stronger. They are good songs and I enjoy them, but if you have that many songs, why not trim it down to an album where every track is awesome?

    The article was meant to be snide and dismissive, and all in good fun. Obviously it judged the album worthy of attention, so don't get so huffy, people.

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  84. i took a drive to malibu, and in the spirit of this fabulous thread, i listened to an album called 'kiss me kiss me kiss me.' you all may have heard of it.

    i would post my track by track analysis, not short on words or, best of all, my opinions, but that's tired. lemme just say, the album flows from beginning to end perfectly. the keyboards DO NOT DATE the fucker.

    it sounds perfect. there isn't a song i'd take out. anybody that says 'icing sugar' is a waste of space needs to be kicked in the shin. ;) and 'hey you' is such a great, fun little song, leading right into 'just like heaven.'

    my girlfriend in high school would've been very sad if 'one more time' had been left off. hell, my wife today would be.

    'how beautiful you are' is stunning. 'like cockatoos' is pure poetry. and i love 'fight.' the keyboards sound egyptian to me.

    great fucking album. wouldn't change a thing. run to the hills. tell your friends.

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  85. christopher, no worries.
    ps: the lyrics are about cocaine (!)

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  86. and butterflies

    and small children

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  87. ps: the lyrics are about cocaine (!)

    Aha! I never thought of that song being about that before. :) Interesting...

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  88. "a butterfly feeds on a dead monkey's hand"

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  89. BTW, that lyric has nothing to do with cocaine...or this album. Talk of butterflies and monkeys always make me think of that song. Sorry.

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  90. I really don't like The Snakepit. But I love Torture. Go figure.

    Unfortunately, I have a difficult time really loving the second side. From "One More Time" on it doesn't do a whole lot for me. And I agree with cat, the production isn't that great. "The Kiss" sounds so very very flat to me.

    It's the one Cure album that I probably like the least relative to the praise it gets.

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  91. i wish i still had this article from some goofy teen mag i had in high school. it was robert's track by track analysis about kmkmkm. i know most of the stuff he tells journalists is bullshit, but there was some cool stuff.

    as i remember, 'icing sugar' is definitely about drugs. he didn't specify cocaine, he just said 'it's about drugs.' i wish i could remember his comment about 'all i want.' i think he said something like it was originally supposed to be 'like a doll' but he changed it to 'dog' for some reason.

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  92. are you a big elvis costello fan too then?

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  93. Deadboy: Absolutely love Elvis Costello! Been an Elvis fan much longer than I've been a Cure fan.

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  94. me is my mate melissa's god father

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  95. Deadboy: Seriously? How did that happen? : )

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  96. i guess he must be friends with her parents? ive no idea why lol .. her uncle is none other than simon gallup too(so she said, but foolishly possibly i believe every word, she has the family pics ) .. bitch lol

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  97. Craig: I like your new pic. ;)

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  98. MonkeyButt! I'm doing quite well, thanks. :)

    And how are things in your world? I trust you're staying well away from the Anti-MonkeyButt powder, and its evil sect of would-be MB destroyers? :)

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  99. Monkey: WTF: I want them all. Nao. Then we can cuddle them like puppies. Hard, plastic, round puppies.

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  100. Yay! Craig updated his profile. I love learning about people and their interests. Some good movies and bands there, Craig. :-)

    As for KM...I love Torture but could really do without One More Time. Let Journey do Journey songs. ;-)

    PS *hugs* Anah and V!

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  101. Hugs to Clockwise!! :) Are you still in France? I watched a bit of the Tour de France the other day and thought of you... :)

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  102. cat, how long you still in france for? have a baguette with brie for me! xo

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  103. Wow Craig! 12 shows on the Dream tour? Did you just take a month off from life?? Awesome!

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  104. Hey V and Sofia! :-D

    I am in France until Monday...

    Seems like I have been here forever!

    Have had many a baguette but no brie.. I prefer goat cheese (chevre)... LOL

    Lots of wine and good food too... his mom cooks like an angel!

    I'm gettin' fatter by the second...

    Say, changing the topic a bit - do you all, or anyone, happen to have a link to the Cure doing Jay Leno in 04? When they did EOTW? I am dying to see that again and my tape of it is at home, of course...

    Tx in advance...(checked on YT and nada)

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  105. his holiness and deadboycraved, I'm serious about Robert wanting to hold a woman like HE's the dog; makes as much sense as holding a woman like she's a dog.

    Also, Shiver and Shake is definitely referring to a woman: vagina + mouth + anus = 3 sick holes, right? Men only have 2. I can't believe I typed that out.

    Anyway, it sounds like they treated Lol terribly. Have you folks seen this at around 1:15
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUrJbqNnUog

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  106. PPS heh so let's start a list... who all has written / recorded a song called "All I Want?"

    The Cure
    U2
    ...?

    and then let's make an iTunes playlist.

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  107. Toad and his Wet Sprockets. : )

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  108. muldfeld.. how very literal! .. who says roberts talking about those particular orifices.. or ANY bodily ones for that matter .its a simile -they could be any old holes


    Is your robertdog a literal one too? .. or do you mean in some sort of metaphorical sense lol... ?

    i cant believe im typing this .. oh how its cheered me up

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  109. The Offspring
    Rufus Wainwright

    there's quite a few, actually...

    ...including a Tim McGraw album...
    ...and let's not forget Sheryl Crow's anthem for a generation...

    cough cough wipe cough

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  110. oh shit hello!

    Joni Mitchell...

    "I wanna shampoo you..."

    sorry if this is totally off topic by the way.

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  111. listen pal, everybody's got a urethra!

    and eye sockets.
    tear ducts.
    ear holes!

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  112. monkeybutt- i wholeheartedly agree!!
    mogwai is goig to LA.. i cant drive 6 hours.. nor can i drive to begin with. DAAMN!!
    oh well.. at least i still got sigur ros.

    reading into the lyrics too much, pervs! the song is about Lol's problems at the time. three holes - running like sores? drugs and alchohol. i think it might have to do with throwing up.. etc. etc.

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  113. I'm glad you folks found that funny, david and deadboycraved. Maybe it's all the porn sites I visit, but I'm pretty sure that's what he meant when referring to 3 sick holes. Come on! He's not gonna say that to a guy. The way I see it, "The Kiss" is about rape and probably from the woman's perspective and "Shiver and Shake" is hate from the male perspective, though he's not been attacked or anything.

    And, yes, I do mean Robert acting like a dog and snuggling up to his woman.

    Oh, and U2's song was "All I Want Is You", not "All I Want".

    I liked some of the new Mogwai stuff, but I can't say I like the mp3 download, as much as I try. The electronic section seems too light and dancey and the guitar riff is way too repetitive; also, I just don't like the basic melody. It's a shame because I really like the title:
    http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/?p=1847

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  114. Mudfield, I doubt very much that your interpretations of RS's lyrics could possibly be more divergent from mine. 8^.

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  115. muldfeld, are you talking about 'the sun smells too loud' ? i like it, but it's taking me a while to love it. 'dracula family' on the other hand is pure genius. can't wait til september!

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  116. muldfeld- i always took the kiss lyrics just as an expression of a claustrophobic relationship ..

    but .. whatever ticks your tock

    as for the video with Lol being pissed up .. theyre not really
    nasty .. its hilarious

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  117. I stand corrected. I also believe "All I Want" is a Rufus Wainwright album, not a song.

    Probably a gay album, too. ;)

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  118. oh wait that was the other thread.

    don't you hate it when peope do that?

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  119. Mudfield, I don't think 'The Kiss' is about rape...

    I think it's more about a person in a relationship who simply can't stand the person they are with, but for whatever reason are kissing them, lol.

    Hell I've been there! It's a song about the guilt as well 'I never wanted any of this'....

    Lay off the porn sites dude, next thing you know you'll be saying 'Bananfishbones' is about raping fish with bananas...

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  120. I remember when Kiss me came out Robert was saying that the record company wanted to put out two albums one in 1987, and one in 1988 to make more money but he disagreed...

    Interesting.

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  121. Where was the review of fight fight fight???

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  122. i've got i dig you/ cult hero on a 3" cd that came with an italian bio/lyric book. i doubt it's very rare, but it's unusual.

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  123. I think people are being too harsh on what's obviously meant as a satirical piece. It's really not anything to do with The Cure: the joke lies in the fact that the passage of time isn't kind to most pop / rock music.

    If you think about how few Cure albums would actually benefit from "chopping" you'll feel proud to love this band.

    I play the chopping board game all the time, except for the fact that I also rearrange tracklistings. It's great fun to "improve", say, WMS by making a new playlist out of the existing songs.

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  124. What none of the 144 previous comments seem to mention is the ridiculousness of trying to analyze an album 29 years after its debut to remark upon which songs do not belong. As with any art, it should be evaluated as a reflection of the time in which it was created and the social, political, and artistic mileu which inspired it.

    Was the critic waiting in line at Sound Warehouse dressed in black with his hair saturated in Aqua Net Extra Super to defy gravity to buy it when it came out like I was? Did he listend to the band or go to any of the concerts during the KMKMKM tour? DId he know what people were thinking and feeling in 1987? Does he know what was considered state of the art, cutting edge, or even derivative in 1987? Hell, was he even alive in 1987?

    It makes as much sense to "chop" this album as it does to cut characters from Hamlet!

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  125. I just read the other thread about PB as the next single. I laughed when I saw the post from MonkeyButt reminiscing about Wherehouse Music. We had SoundWherehouse in Dallas/Fort Worth. Old minds think alike!

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  126. Christopher: Shoot me an email (msp000athotmaildotcom) and I will send you "The Perfect Girl" live.

    As for the contributions to the album, I seem to remember that "The Perfect Girl" is a Simon song, "The Kiss" is Robert's and "Fight" is Porl's. Robert said that "Fight" was great and in a million years he would not be able to write a song like that.

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  127. msp000,
    My email is topher39atgmaildotcom. Thanks for the other info.

    I've always wondered if The Snakepit was Boris' song.

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  128. KJ:
    "What none of the 144 previous comments seem to mention is the ridiculousness of trying to analyze an album 29 years after its debut to remark upon which songs do not belong."

    Um... that's the joke. This isn't a review of KMKMKM, it's not an analysis, it's not a critique. It's just a light hearted "fantasy producer" piece that spells out what the writer feels about the album. It's not "ridiculous", it's just a bit of fun.

    Jesus, if you want to disagree with the author of the piece, disagree (removing 'Like Cockatoos' is a crime). But trying to exact serious points on a web page that is obviously nothing but serious is pointless.

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  129. After reading that criticism by nihilismisfree of my comment, I read some of the other postings again, and came across this by dj scribbles.I missed this the first time around. DJ is saying the same thing I am, in a voice 30 years younger:

    "kiss me will always be one of my favorite albums ever, each song seems so perfect for it. and fuck chopping block with a very pointy screw driver in the ass, i hate that site with ardent passion. why try to cut stuff from an album that obviously consists of songs that fit that moment and era of the artists life? the album woudlnt be the same. i dont care if its for better or worse, just leave things alone if its not broken. people wouldnt discover those songs if they had been "chopped"."

    Thanks DJ for being of the same mindset as I.

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  130. I'm not criticising your love of KMKMKM (an album I love just as much as you), just your inability to laugh at someone else's opinion and, ultimately, yourself.

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  131. I like the idea of an enhanced version a lot! Tried it with WMS, but I had to kick almost all the regular songs out ... It's still quite mixed in moods though, but I guess that's what it's all about anyway. Here's my enhanced version:

    Want
    The 13th
    It used to be me
    Jupiter Crash
    Home
    Waiting
    Gone! (?)
    Trap
    Ocean
    Adonais
    A Pink dream
    Bare

    Anybody?

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  132. I like the idea of an enhanced version a lot! Tried it with WMS, but I had to kick almost all the regular songs out ... It's still quite mixed in moods though, but I guess that's what it's all about anyway. Here's my enhanced version:

    Want
    The 13th
    It used to be me
    Jupiter Crash
    Home
    Waiting
    Gone! (?)
    Trap
    Ocean
    Adonais
    A Pink dream
    Bare

    Anybody?

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