Altnet has posted 30 second clips of SWID and Down Under. Click on Preview All Songs. For those outside of the US, just click the little speaker icon next to the song titles. (Thanks Mark)
Update: If you're having problems hearing the samples, download them here. Password is madbobrjs. (Thanks Mad Bob)
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I think I'll prefer the live version of Sleep, but Down Under sounds beautiful. I already love it. : )
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIf you live in the UK and are struggling to listen to the previews, just click the little speaker icons on the left hand side and they'll play no problem...
ReplyDelete"Trust me we're here, she slides up slow, to fallllllll down under"
ReplyDeleteSo, now I have to express my sheer disappointment that the studio version Sleep When I'm Dead is more like Let's Go To Bed than Shiver and Shake. The edge and pace of the Boston version was so amazing, and I remember commenting that a later slower live rendition has cast some doubts in my mind, and now those doubts are realised. It sounds like one of Robert's home demo's off of the Deluxe Edition second discs.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel it would be fair to comment on Down Under yet, but whereas Sleep When I'm Dead was my shining light for this album, I have to say Freakshow is currently the best track released so far.
If the studio version of Underneath The Stars is as far removed from the live version as Sleep When I'm Dead, I'd imagine Craig and many others here will go on the rampage!
I think it's the tempo, ther's no life in it! Stop playing to clicks all the time and do it live!
ReplyDeleteNot quite what I was expecting... Doesn't have that sound the Live version had. There is no real pressure behind it... hmm... maybe the Mix 13 is a bit different than the album version and that one is more like the Live shows. When Freakshow was said to sound like A man inside my mouth already, this one is even more. No real disappointment here, but not as good as I thought it would be...
ReplyDeleteWow I LOVE the sound of Sleep When I'm Dead. It's not as rocking as the live version, which I like. It's not just a wall of wah. It's more textured. I'll take textured over rocking any day, at least with recordings. Down Under sounds freaking fantastic as well. Nice & poppy, but not mindlessly so (ahem The Only One cough). This single is going to blow away the other two! Hot damn!
ReplyDeleteWhen will people realize that there is another platform aside from WINDOWS! ARRRGGHHHH!!!!
ReplyDeleteApparently, people with Windows ME and Media Player 9x can't listen on that site. :(
ReplyDeletewell damn, it doesnt work with macs!!! ill have to check it out on my PC when I get off of work!
ReplyDeleteshawn- you should get linux...its free and you can get a newer version than the one from 2000 lol and DL windows media player (the newest version) for free
ReplyDeletenot at all into the SWID version (have to agree with sunflies, it doesn't rock, it sounds like LGTB) but based on the sample, i think 'down under' is going to be my favorite of ALL the released songs so far, A&B sides.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to have a word with the folks who designed that site and apparently think that only Windows matters.
ReplyDeleteCan someone record the samples and upload them elsewhere?
I see what others are saying about it sounding less hard rocking, but I still like it. I was initially disappointed by the Freakshow sample, but ended up loving the song once I got the single and could hear the whole thing. Perhaps it will be the same with SWID?
ReplyDeleteDown Under sounds awesome. Reminds me of some of the WMS b-sides.
I'm thrilled for this new album. Really not a bad song yet in my opinion. The b-sides (as usual) are all very solid, some even rivaling the a-sides.
i think i'll probably come around to the studio sound of SWID, since i love the other two singles. that said, this is shaping up to be the most interesting cure album in a loooooong time.
ReplyDeleteA croissant? Why not a bottle of Absinthe?!
ReplyDelete-----
And Jerry: Never! They are just starting to learn about Apple because of iTunes... :P
The more I think about it the more I have to say that it's quite okay. If you take the Disintegration Studio Version for example, that doesn't sound at all so powerful like the Live Versions always did...
ReplyDeleteI'm with the Monkey. I'm sure I'll come around to liking the studio version of Sleep, but Down Under will be one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if it can beat NY Trip and AKOS, but I hope it does.
Hmmm... I am on a Mac in the US, and it works just fine for me?
ReplyDeleteI like Down Under so far... i will wait on SWID, since I am so used to the live version. :)
But Robert said the live version was just like the album version... ;^D
ReplyDeleteI love Down Under and I love this version of Sleep When I'm Dead! YAY! I am so excited about the new album! :^D
Shawn... Windows ME? Eek... that's probably the worst OS in the history of OSes... heh.
Those of you who are disappointed, consider this: now you will have the live version *and* this one... it's like having two songs in one! Heh.
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ReplyDeleteSterile and inert, no ideas, little rhythm, no melody, tinny cupboard eq, vocal tics. No range, no driving overall idea. No nothing. Where's the song\s?
ReplyDelete(and I was a huge former fan from the late 70s).
This is desperate stuff, really.
comment enregistree sleep when &down s.v.p. sur mon iPod sen ce servir de Itune
ReplyDeleteHi everyone:
ReplyDeleteI´m trying to keep myself optimistic about SWID studio.
The sample, as we all already heard, not sound as much rocker as the live versions, and maybe this definite version would dissapoint some fans.
I do like the live rocker version.
Smith said this is just like the f***ing record, so ?
Nothing left but wait for listen the full track.
A terrible thought crossed my mind:
What if the album because all the delays and everything is over-produced and the most of the song losses their power & beauty ?
I really hope not.
This would be like dead to me if something like that happens for the "best Cure album in a long time" expected this way for the jewels we heard recently.
This album doesn´t deserver this.
Down Under sound cherishly smooth, I think it´s right for a b-side.
Maybe we´ll have a beautiful lyrics as well.
Eric, quelques personnes COF parlent le francais... Je ne peux pas bien! (Je comprends, pas parle, heh) Salut!
ReplyDeleteJe ne comprends pas l'Ipod. %^#
Okay, this is truly messed up. I can see the page on my computer, but can't hear the samples because of my OS and WMP versions, but my mother's computer has XP and a recent WMP version, yet I kept getting an error message when I tried to go to the page! What gives?
ReplyDeletemad bob, i'm pretty sure i agree with everything you're saying. it would be a shame. i really, really hope the album isn't mastered sky high so it actually distorts when turned up. remember the liner note inside disintegration? 'this music has been mixed to be played loud, so turn it up.' i hope they remember that's what works...
ReplyDeleteIpod est un lecteur mp3
ReplyDeleteAre these downloadable?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone tried to purchase them yet?
je remerci tout le monde de m avoir repondu!!!
ReplyDeleteEric... LOL... Je sais quel un Ipod est! Je ne comprends pas la question Ipod. :^P
ReplyDeleteOu je ne comprends pas que vous avez dit de l'Ipod. %^/
ReplyDeleteparceque j ai un I pod touch je peux aller sur Internet avec et j arogistre toute ma music avec
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVotre ipod semble bon. Je suis tres mauvais au francais! L'education francaise Canadienne est merde. x^D
ReplyDeletei'm on a mac as well and the samples worked fine for me!
ReplyDeleteand i'm glad, too because i think down under sounds gorgeous and like a wish b-side, which is the ultimate compliment :D
xoxo
Yea, it looks like you can download them (it says the album was released on Jun 27)...has anyone tried yet?
ReplyDeletej aimerais savoir de ou ceque tu vien ,moi je vien de Montreal et j ai vue the cure en concert le mois paser
ReplyDelete?? Wow, you're right, Austin... I didn't even notice that. Odd... certainly it would be in error. :^.
ReplyDeleteJust tried to buy it.
ReplyDeleteGetting a "Invalid Landing page payment setup" message.
Not sure what that means...
j ai touver dommage que quelque chancons n a pas chanter ici comme underneath the star et plusieur autre !!!
ReplyDeleteJe suis dans Vancouver. J'ai vu The Cure au mai. :^D OMG Si je vous comprends? Heh.
ReplyDeletedbc, come on, man. i don't agree with falstaff either, but let's keep this forum as far from the vibe of the 'official site' as possible.
ReplyDeleteJ'ai voulu Plainsong! T_T
ReplyDeleteIls ont fait Sleep When I'm Dead, The Only One, The Perfect Boy et Freakshow.
meh. there's always going to be somebody who hates everything (sometimes it's even me). but let them have their opinions so we can laugh at them, okay?
ReplyDeleteI am with you on that, Monkey... every time I go to the official site I get so mad I could spit bees. Such fiercely craptastic chatter on there. 8^o
ReplyDeleteMmmm.... SWID is definitely not as rocking as I had imagined it would be, but I think DOwn Under sounds nice. With the mention of a mermaid and slipping down under, I suspect it isn't about Australia at all :(
ReplyDeleteje sais que le mois prochais the perfect boy va sortir et je me demande quelle autre chancons va etre autre cote
ReplyDeletenous ILS ont commencer avec plaisong
ReplyDeleteLe mystere de cet album est amusant. :^D
ReplyDeleteMon francais est merde. x^P
ReplyDeleteMais c'est la bonne pratique, heh.
ReplyDeleteje trouve que tu parle tres bien francais
ReplyDeleteSeulement ecrite un peu, je ne pas parler. Je semblerait horrible et stupide. LOL.
ReplyDeleteEt seulement avec l'aide d'un dictionnaire. ;^P
ReplyDeleteBonne nuit, good night everyone. :^D
ReplyDeleteI think Down Under is going to be the best B Side yet!!
ReplyDeleteCan't really comment on SWID apart from the fact that, yes it does sound very 80's.
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ReplyDeleteelise, but you have a song already about a land down under! cant we have this one be about underwater sex? for once...
ReplyDeleteSofia!!! True - and Like Cockatoos was for us aussies as well.
ReplyDeleteI shouldn't be greedy..... besides underwater sex is for everyone!
elise, ;) it certainly is! goodness gracious.
ReplyDeletewhere you been?
the more i think about it the angrier i am that there was no join the dots tour.
ReplyDelete:|
Hard to actually judge just a few seconds of "Sleep When I'm dead", I'm sure everyone will change there mind when the new album finally gets out.
ReplyDeleteSofia - been super busy!
ReplyDeleteHow's life?
I've missed you guys
bon nuit a la prochaine
ReplyDeleteelise, i missed you too. i've been kinda m.i.a. myself.
ReplyDeletelife is pretty good :)
just biding my time until the good stuff comes around again.
only 7 more sleeps to the single.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't returned back to real life completely.
Work was crazy - but I have lost the entire weekend chatting to COF buddies :-)
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ReplyDeletei love what ive heard of down under, the cure have yet to dissapoint me with their bsides - which i often love more than the singles.
ReplyDeleteam i the only one who doesnt think SWID sounds 80s? the production is good, keith uddin is very talented. but it sounds so 2007-2008 to me! i dont like the "spacing" of the instruments >:/ maybe if dave allen had produced it.. *shrugs*. its lacking edge, but its still solid
when's a good time to get in on the chatroom? no one is ever in there when i log in :c
ReplyDeleteSofia to you spyk French
ReplyDeleteThere are people in there now
ReplyDeletescribbles, i do think swid does sound very head on the door. it smacks of that era for certain. but, you know, updated. which i dont think is entirely successful. i sort of long for it to be truly of 1985. but whatever. i could complain about anything given half a chance.
ReplyDeleteeric, solamente hablo espanol. :/
ReplyDeleteno parla espagna signorita
ReplyDeleteJe pensais qui avais que le respect d autre personne etais aceptable?
ReplyDeletela petite grenouille dit au craupeau Donne moi trente sous t aura de la peau ma criste de chienne !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteil était une fois j'ai eu une grenouille d'animal familier que j'ai appelé Cornelius. il avait l'habitude de manger mes ennemis et alors j'ai pris des pommes de terre dans ma chambre à coucher qui m'a parlés et elles étaient toutes drôles. i' ; m drôle comme un bon bifteck au noontime quand le billy chante. oh, La de La de La, j'aime des bifteks.
ReplyDeleteI don't like SWID very much - live or the studio samples. It sounds like Baby Screams to my ears.
ReplyDeleteI am loving Down Under. It is delicious!
DJ mentioned Dave Allen. Does anyone know what happened to him? IMO He was the best producer The Cure has ever had.
ReplyDeletequ en j etais petit je me lavais le penis avec du ivory et maitenant que je suis grand je lave la poche avec du olduch
ReplyDeletevous me faites vraiment rire les gars et les filles mais en plus je rie surtout DES grosse torches qui doit avoir ici
ReplyDeletela meilleure c est bien maree ici
ReplyDeleteWow, the talk got a little... erm... heh when I left. 8^.
ReplyDeleteEric, tu commences à devenir vraiment grossier, fais attention... Surtout à ton français!! Sérieusement, je sais pas si c'est ce que tu utilises pour écrire des textes qui te cause des problèmes, mais pour les fautes!! Wow!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWOW ~ I'm loving the 30-seconds of Down Under!!! Can't WAIT to hear the entire song!!!
ReplyDeleteIs it July 13th yet?
when the hell did this turn into frenchy town?
ReplyDelete<_< I don't know. >_>
ReplyDeleteI'll wait a bit for SWID. I don't think it's going to be a disaster at all. I think it's... interesting. I bet it will grow on all of us.
Eek! Est cela comme en version francaise du site officiel? Nonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!! 8^o
ReplyDeleteHow do you say "spit bees" in french? :^P
SWID is certainly different from the live version, but maybe that's good ... I agree with alex arrowsmith saying it's good that it's not just a wall of wah wah guitar. It sounds pretty good to me ... I am just waiting to hear the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteDown Under sounds really pretty.
These tracks continue to solidify my expectation that this is going to be a real, good, new cure album.
- Interesting sounds
- Songs with distinctive moods and textures
- Weirdness
- Irregularity
- Good lyrics for the first time in forever
I'm on board.
Can't wait for The Perfect Boy! That is going to be the best one. Everyone is going to love it.
tracebrazenshade ~ I already do love The Perfect Boy!!! I just know it will be an amazing album. But I hate all the waiting and waiting and waiting. It's driving me insane ~ hurry-up September 13th!!!
ReplyDeleteThe little speaker icon worked! And I love both songs so far! SWID is different from the live version, and yet still really good, I think - more layered, etc. It does sound rather Baby Screams, and I do love HOTD, although I am not one to be mired in Cure nostalgia. I like the Cure NOW as well as then and do not wish for mere retreads of sound. But this sounds modernized enough for my tastes.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, both songs sound great to me and I cannot wait for the new album. September is way too fucking far away!
YAY! I love The Cure! :-D
T.T Down Under sounds so beautiful!!! Is this another "B-side better than A-side" thing?
ReplyDeletedeadboycraved...most people get older. It can be a good thing. You can't do much about it anyway. Even you.
ReplyDeleteBut it's not about that, it's about the songs. They dont seem to be there...lots of reasons why but no point going into that.
If you like them, great. I'm sure I'm not the only disappointed one. No offence but the kooky, quirky hormonal level on boards like these seems quite high. Sadly, I think a younger more decisive Robert wouldn't have given these songs demo space. Bye.
dear monkeybutt .. just pointing out the terrible english of dear old falstaff, "chill out dude" as they say in the states i believe
ReplyDelete( you lot on here only got happy recently if i remeber correctly anyway , this was THE moaniest site fr ages -until i sprinkled my fairy :P )
falstaff.... old can be good i agree. being very very very old myself i can appriciate the finer points of it easily.
ReplyDeletei just dont like your double negatives , it completely destroys your arguement (well statements i should say)
monkeybutt- DUST
ReplyDeleteLOL :)
Holy 'Let's Go To Bed' Batman! This could be my favorite single yet! Thanks to Craig for making them available to download.
ReplyDeletedeadboy...you are trying to be aclever clogs. Why I have no idea. There are worse things in life than double negatives, so the chill-pill, as you put it, is all yours (I write for a living as it happens, amongst other things...poetry, editing etc. Adult stuff, not Gormenghast-derived teenage stuff, in case you were wondering).
ReplyDeleteThere are no arguments as such. No need for cogent lit-crit here, or semantic clap-trap or fun and games.
I just dont think the new songs (I've heard) are any good, and wish it were otherwise. That may be nostalgia. Slightly surprised others dont think the same - then again this board may not be the place for them (or me).
What's with the 'dear'? What next? 'Ducky?'. God help us.
And truly this time - bye.
I'm disappointed at the sample of SWID...like someone said, it almost sounds like a demo. It is too slow and not as powerful as I imagined it would be. So far I prefer the live version...but hope I'll change my mind when we get to hear the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteDown Under is a completely different matter. After first playing the sample, I had a smile on my face. Yes, I do believe it'll be the best song released from this album so far :)
I forgot to say this - thank you so much, Mad Bob! There's no way I can hear the samples without your link. :)
ReplyDeletesalut tout le monde je m escuse d avoir dit DES stupiditee ,mais ILS avais du monde qui me fesais tres chier hiere
ReplyDelete!!!!!!!
Robert said SWID was something from the HOTD sessions that wasn't put aside for aesthetic reasons but rather because it didn't quite "fit" with what they were doing. So, yes, he did give the song "demo space," as it were, back then. I don't think we can truly properly judge the song anyway until we hear the whole thing. Hell, I might learn to hate it.
ReplyDeleteThe peril in hearing things live first is that sometimes the live versions trump the originals - at least until you get used to the original, and even then sometimes live the song just works better. I remember when I heard B43 at Coachella and then later on the disc I was very disappointed. I preferred B43 live. Now I love the studio version. With THe Promise it's a whole different ball of wax, as I think live is where that song lives.
Anyway.
hier il y a une fille qui m a dit DES stupiditee j ai capoter un peux
ReplyDeleteThere's also something else that NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON HERE has taken into account. The versions on the singles are REMIXES, folks. Perhaps the album versions will be better, though I did quite like "Mix 13" of Freakshow.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I'm very underwhelmed by the sample of SWID's "Mix 13". I truly hope that the album version is better. I don't expect live and studio versions to sound exactly the same, but this is VERY different from what I heard in Toronto and Cleveland. I'm going to go watch my video from the Toronto show now to relive the memory...
Eric, c'est correct, je suppose, let's not dwell on this any longer...
ReplyDeleteFalstaff, I don't really mind your double-negative, but I find it sad that you can't find any good in the new songs, too bad but life goes on I suppose... Can I suggest you DO find a new group that you enjoy? (as I'm sure you got a few already...)
And no, before you are tempted to insult me in a very polite and slight way, I'm not just a mindless Cure drone enjoying any crapfood the group has to serve me. I do have a very solid mind of my own.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I first started going to Cure gigs in 1996, the versions they played on stage were pretty much identical to the studio recordings except for the vocal enhancements, alterations to lyrics and of course extended structures (A Forest, Faith etc.).
ReplyDeleteUp until just after the rekease of The Cure, the only real SONIC differences between live and studio versions were the bass sounds on Fascination Street and The Kiss on the Trilogy DVD.
With the reduced line-up we've seen and heard some great re-workings of older songs to replace the keyboards, but I am still realy frustrated that the Mix 13 version of SWID is of such a different vibe to the live versions we've heard, especially Boston. I REALLY hope the album version is different.
hey, another song with a wah-wah-effect. *yawn* if you have no ideas just use the wah-wah-pedal.
ReplyDeleteall the new singles are complete rubbish for me...
Yeah the wah-wah is getting out of hand.
ReplyDeleteThanks, madbobrjs!
ReplyDelete@Cult_Hero: Ist The Cure für dich nicht seit 2004 tot? Also was interessiert es dich dann noch? Hör dir Roger O'Donnells The Truth in me quark an und lass gut sein! ;)
ReplyDeletePorl is very fond of the wah-wah, but hey, there are worse things.
ReplyDeletei think the whole 'mix 13' nonsense is fabricated by robert to fit into his '13' mythology for this album. when have the band ever released a single in a remixed form that was so drastically different from the album version that we all said 'wow, that single version could be a completely different song compared to the album version' ?
ReplyDeletei'm guessing that in september when i play my real, honest to goodness copy of 'dream 13' or '13 monkeys belonging to robert smith' or whatever the hell it's going to be called, all 4 singles are going to sound exactly the same on the album as they have in these single versions.
In fact Pictures of you sounded very different in it's single version. Lullaby had more details in the single version, that album version was more stripped down.
ReplyDeleteDown under sounds pretty cool... that makes me hope that Underneath the stars is great in it's studio version as well... and nothing else matters!!! ;)
These "Mix 13" singles are just single edits, not full remixes. Same principle as Pictures of You or Just Like Heaven having single mixes that are basically the very same song, but simply trimmed down a bit for promotional use. The singles will sound virtually the same as the album versions, with just different running times.
ReplyDeletemonkey, I was trying to be optimistic! Don't take my hope away from me! :P
ReplyDeletesorry, shawn, i'm feeling pretty pragmatic today! ;)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have decided that the Cure has the most moany fanbase alive. :-P
ReplyDeleteThere are TWO singles with wah so far... FS and SWID. The rest of the album songs we have heard - UTS, BRDB, TOO, ABINK, APB (and what is the other one??) - do not have it.
People so impetuously jump to conclusions and are so quick to denounce the album before it even comes out. I mean, I don't care for The Only One very much, but I would never dis the album based on that song alone!
Take heart, peeps - I think the album will be great. Or, I think and hope so. :-)
(Now I will get flamed as an unimaginative Cure lick-ass sychophant. BOOOOOOORING)
ReplyDeleteI am with you on "the most moany fanbase alive," Cat.
ReplyDeleteI think the internet has a lot to do with it. I mean, it used to be you went to shows, heard the music there and waited for vinyl and when we got it we took it for what it was. Now nearly every song from every show in the bloody tour is available to be watched or listened to, scrutinized, picked apart, compared to the studio stuff, etc. Of course it has many benefits, but also many very crappy downsides. I think people are getting to be so much more demanding and finding many more ways to spam their demands, with nearly no inconvenience to themselves whatsoever. I think it's a lot to live up to.
I LOVE the new stuff, but if I didn't, I really don't see what reason I would have to complain. The Cure have given me a sizable portion of my favourite music of all time.
:^P
Maree, I think I might love you. Very well said.
ReplyDeleteThe Cure are overly scrutinized - perhaps the most overly scrutinized band out there. I myself have indulged in the meticulous scrutiny, and have even said some terrible things about them that I now regret. And certainly I would never believe that The Cure are above thoughtful critique. I don't like everything The Cure have ever done, and it's doubtful I will find the new album without flaw. But I certainly won't be hostile toward The Cure if I don't like the album or some songs on it, and that is what baffles me - the palpable hostility that some fans have when things don't go right in their Cure world. I just think some people are unhappy in general - otherwise, why would they spew such bile toward the band?
That said, I too am a tad disappointed to hear that SWID is not as "rockin" as it sounded live. However, until I hear the full clip, I can't make a fair judgement. Perhaps I will love it, or perhaps I will hate it. For now, it sounds good.
je veux juste dire que j ecrit peux etre pas en anglais mes je comprent parfaitement ,ps,j ai tres hate a la sortie du prochain album de the cure (15/07/2008)
ReplyDeleteI like this version of SWID more than the live ones and Down Under reminds me ALOT of NY Trip, which is good.. i guess i like NY Trip a lot and Down Under sounds good also but i think it has an amazing resemblance with NYT
ReplyDeletethanks madbob !!
ReplyDeletethe vocals on SWID are great and Down Under is really promising. This will be the best single of the 4 (best A-side + best B-side)
ReplyDeleteCat and Maree speak the truth.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Maree about the pluses and negatives of the net, youtube, blogs etc. If I was in a band I would really struggle not to look at what people were saying, but I feel I would end up in a rage/straitjacket and weeping into my coffee if I did bother to see what people were saying.
ReplyDeleteI do miss the days of not knowing of anything new coming out for the Cure, only to be shocked by an advert for a new album 'coming soon' and then ringing the record store every day to see if it had come in. When I first heard 'Lullaby' I had such shivers, I taped it off the radio and sat rapt for hours, listening and relistening. Oh!
The day "Disintegration" came out I begged my mother to get it for me, I was too broke and then sat with headphones on listening to it over and over all morning. Wow.
That magical feeling can get a little spoiled now with all the dissection and fan's saying how things should be mixed and recorded. The only upside to not seeing the new songs on this tour is that I have no preconceptions of what they should or could sound like. I havent even listened to 'The Perfect Boy' yet as I want to be surprised when I hear it the first time, I've only listened to 'UTS' twice and was so spaced out with excitement I vowed to not hear it again till the album is out.
The plus side of all this discussion of course is hearing new viewpoints, meeting new fans, making friends (hopefully) the obvious benefits it leant to my cause and finding out all the new news thanks to Craig.
As for the 'official' site, yes there can be some super gushing, but really whats wrong with that, music inspires great surges of joy and if thats the case, then I am all for it! There are plenty of less pleasant posters on that site.....beware the OB etc!
Wah Wah...rant rant! peace and love to you all.
Maree and Cat have mostly said it all, and I agree. I don't think there's anything more I can add!! (yet)
ReplyDeleteI agree, Alastair... fame in "today's world" would seriously send me over the edge, heh. To be continually subject to the smallest opinions of the smallest minds - when I just want to put my creative work out there to share with my kind - would heighten the existential dread, I think. I suppose the considerable redeeming value would offset a lot of it, but gah!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about the nostalgia for the magic of new albums back in the day. Still, it was great being able to essentially vicariously follow the entire tour online this year - different, not better. As RS would say, "onwards," heh.
Agree with you Maree about the following the tour, one of the major pluses of the net, it has been tremendously exciting to log on each day and see what they have been playing!
ReplyDeleteYup Fame these days is a double edged razor blade you get slammed every which way no matter what you do, or get stalked mercilessly by paparazzi, or have your life dissected in minute detail...yuck!
Alastair and Maree, I love you both dearly. Both so eloquent and thoughtful. :-)
ReplyDeleteI also think people unfairly deconstruct Robert's every minute move. I have done it myself at times, more out of frustration than anything. At one point when he cancelled the tour I even called Robert (at the official site, no less) a corporate whore. I feel really badly about that, actually, because clearly he was not canceling the tour for those reasons. I still think the tour cancellation was a bit insane, but I understand his reasoning more and more. Anyway, point being - I am guilty of mercilessly dissecting everything Robert does as well. I may not like artistic or business decisions that the band makes, and I am free to judge those decisions, but any hostility I pour forth about it is MY problem, no one else's.
I do think any band who has been around as long as the Cure have will inevitably be subject to some pretty ruthless scrutiny. And while as Maree and Alastair said, the internet offers some palpable benefits, it also has some shitty side effects, and the ability for people to relentlessly pick apart a band's every gesture is one of them.
Alastair, I just re-read your post because I love it so much. The long one. You seem like such a great guy. Just gushing exuberantly, don't mind me. :-)
ReplyDeletecan anyone confirm or deny the rumor that robert has fired jason and hired a superintelligent ape named karnak to play drums? i read a report in some french mag that said "karnak hates toms as much as i do; plus, he's quite easy to order around backstage."
ReplyDeletedoesn't sound real to me, but who knows these days?
That would explain the monkey design for the new album, shape like a monkey's head. It's an hommage to the new band member!
ReplyDeleteWe got it all wrong; the album's title is in fact Drumming Monkey!
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ReplyDeleteCat, yeah, I have always assumed that The Cure is RS's creative project, that how he manages it is entirely his call and I've left it at that. I would definitely be disappointed if I thought he was selling out but even that would be his choice to make. Mercifully, that seems wildly unlikely. I was glad the tour was postponed... I would not have been able to see them here if it had not been. It was all for me. ;^P
ReplyDeleteI really don't know what to think about this future album anymore. SWID seems to be really boring, as was The Only One. So far, from the available singles, I only really like Freakshow.
ReplyDeleteBut where are the genius expressionist touches of Labyrinth, Lost and The Promise? I really wish the new songs were as powerful as the one on the ST... (yeah, I know, I'm the only one...)
Don't care much for The Promise myself. If there ever was a overblown piece of self-reference, that's the one. (I've got other words in mind, but can't quite get them out)
ReplyDeleteIt's a long, dragging forever, boring song...
Maree, of course, in a way, IMO, the Cure sold out years ago, but your perspective on that depends on your definition of "selling out." In any event, I don't think the Cure have compromised their artistic integrity like, say, someone like Phil Collins. I think their creative dignity has mostly stayed intact.
ReplyDeletePierre, now you KNOW at least *I* agree with you regarding Lost, Labyrinth, and the Promise! Hopefully we will have such genius on the upcoming disc... and I have a feeling we are in a for a treat, although I could be wrong.
Well, my definition of selling out probably differs from yours then, heh. When I see "Friday I'm In Love" used in an advertisement for a diamond commercial, I will consider the selling out as having commenced. :^P
ReplyDeleteEr... I mean, an advertisement for diamonds, naturally. :^P
ReplyDeleteIn what way do you perceive The Cure as having sold out, Cat? :^.
ReplyDeleteThe diamonds commercial is a fan of course of "The Cure" that thought "Friday I'm In love" would make a great song for there advertisement, just like "Hp" doing the "Pictures of you" ad. I Don't see anything wrong with that. MTV has sold everyone out.
ReplyDeleteI think we are all sell outs but that beats being broke and having a zero fan base. Long live "The Cure".
Maree, I'm not sure what I mean, exactly, except to say that back in the beginning, The Cure consciously began to make more commercialized records, and they also signed to a corporate label. NTL, I can appreciate that they still have made the music they wanted to make as opposed to devolving into some parody like Phil Collins. And I agree with Disintegration89 that we all sell out to a certain degree.
ReplyDeleteViva La Cure indeed! :-D
Interesting discussion, I have been a Cure fan since 1982. (Yeah I'm old). I first got into them from a friend who listened to Siouxsie alot, she told me Robert was the male verson, lol. I was 15 at the time.
ReplyDeleteI was an 'OG' goth, lol. I bought Pornography, Faith and 17 seconds on vinyl. For the first few months of my tenure as a fan I never even knew that '3IM' or the 1979 singles existed.
I did not see the Porn tour because I was not allowed to go to concerts back then at age 15, lol. In fact - I never even knew they were playing 30 mins from where I lived because there was no Internet, etc.
I remember thinking these guys are the most hardcore dark band out there, I can't wait for the next album!
Imagine - just imagine, my friend and my SHOCK when we got "Let's Go to Bed". We bought the 12" single, had not heard it - again back then there was no way until you bought it.
The cover was very cool, kind of dark, so we thought the title was a joke or something.
We were totally dumbfounded when we played it on the table. Man that was almost 26 years ago now and I still remember the shock - and MASSIVE disappointment. I mean what the hell happened to the band that put out 'Siamese Twins', 'Holy Hour'... I wanted to break the record in half, lol.
Then came 'The Walk', then 'Lovecats' it kept getting worse in our opinion - but where was the album to support these singles? Now remember - there was no way for us to know that an album wasn't coming. Then I discovered the 'Boys Don't Cry' album.
Now things were making sense. The Cure actually started out as pop/punk; not the goth band I first got into. But I still couldn't believe the radical departure from Porno!!!
So 1983 came and left with no album. But we had 8 or so new songs with all the b-sides and we HATED everyone one of them, lol!
1984, another single, 'Caterpillar' again another gay poppy tune. I was ready to give up the band. Senior year in High School, lol. FINALLY 'The Top' came out.
I was shocked again at the cover, looked like some freaking Grateful Dead rip-off. I thought it was going to be an album of 'Lovecats' and my friend and I were really scared to play it, lol.
Once again I was shocked, songs like 'Shake Dog Shake', 'Give Me It', 'The Top', 'Wailing Wall' were dark and hard; YES! But there was alot of crap on that one like 'Dressing Up', lol.
We went to see the show at the Beacon in 1984. That is when I realized that The Cure are not sell outs because they played the dark stuff, the hard stuff, and the pop stuff.
I realized then that they have 3 sides: Dark, Hard, and Pop - and sometimes they mix all 3 styles into one song.
From there I bought every new album and have seen every tour. I won't go through my memories of each era, but there were disappointments like when in 1987 the title of the new Cure album was called "Kiss Me Kiss me Kiss Me" !!!!
Once again I was furious at such a gay cheesy title. Then in 1989 'Disintegration' was an amazing title and album, lol. Ups and Downs.
Nowadays, we know most of the songs before they are ever released, lol.
But still, not much has changed, in 1982 I went and bought a vinyl copy of the 'new' Cure single 'Lets Go to Bed'...
...in 2008, I went out and bought a vinyl copy of the 'new' Cure single 'Freakshow'...
They are still playing alot of the same songs I saw in 1984; Hanging Garden, M, Forest, Primary, Charlotte, 100 years, SDS, etc etc etc
Everything and nothing changes I guess!
very funny story, MT. i always wished i could have seen the looks on people's faces when they first heard the new cure pop singles in 83 after running around in trenchcoats for the previous 3 years!
ReplyDeleteWell said, MT. :^D
ReplyDeleteverrrrry interesting story, MT. i am tres jealous that you were a fan during the murky dark period... i was busy listening to "don't stop believin'" around that time i think... (became a cure fan in 1985 after the disturbing dark period... damn!)
ReplyDeleteso yeah, The Cure started out poppy, then went deep and dark, then came up sparkly again...now they just mix it all together into one big cures-stew!
the countdown begins til cat comes back on and says "i meant CURE-stew"...
ReplyDelete5-4-3-...
:D
yeah millertime.. nice speech ,, shame youve got to ruin it with homophobioc crap tho eh? and no-ones picks up on that here i see.
ReplyDeleteand btw.. the promise is fucking excellent
Monkeybutt, like I said we were very shocked...I imagine my face was one of disgust.
ReplyDeleteThe b-side to "Let's Go to Bed", "Just One Kiss" was actually pretty good though and I think we were pleased with that song. But everything else was terrible that year.
Now of course I am a fan of the now called "Japanese Whispers" compilation from that time period.
And for the record - I don't remember "Japanese Whispers" coming out in the record store until around 1985, it definitely was not there before "The Top". Not sure if the record store just didn't order it or if it was UK only back then.
Clockwise, I listened to Journey in 1981, lol. And I still listen to them. What got me into The Cure was my friends older sister who was into Bauhaus, Siouxsie, etc... Back in '82 The Cure were an underground 'Goth' band. Siouxsie, Bauhaus, etc were bigger then they were. She was 17 and we were both 15...
She also listened to Depeche Mode, but I thought they sucked. Of course she only had 'Broken Frame' and 'Speak and Spell'... it wasn't until 'People are People' came out that I got into DM.
One more memory...'The Head on the Door'. My freshman year at college, 1985: I didn't even know it had come out until I saw the video for 'Close to Me'. I was horrified, what a terrible pop song, I thought the album must suck!!!
Then I bought it and was ecstatic over songs like 'Kyoto', 'Push', 'Baby Sceams', 'Blood', 'Night Like This' 'Sinking'.
Always been my history I guess, I hear the single and freak out, and then the album is usually great!
Except for Wild Mood Swings, I heard the 13th and thought it was terrible, and the album sucked as well lol....
Using "gay" in a derogatory way?
ReplyDeleteSo not OK.
s est pous être toi la grosse tapet ici
ReplyDeletesa doit être un autre raper Niger de merde qui dit DES stupiditee comme ca!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell I've listened to both songs a few times & I really do like Down Under. SWID doesn't sound too bad but I love the live version a bit better.
ReplyDeleteWith that, how can I really judge whether the songs are good or not with a 30 clip? That's not enough time! I'll wait till I hear the full versions before I pass my judgment on either song!
Too little to comment on the music, though perhaps the sitar-like synth is a bit over-used. HOWEVER, the vocals are great! It's so nice to hear him sound as young as he did in the '80s and without the experimentations gone wrong (in some cases) of the mid-'90s which are audible in the reissue of The Glove. Well done on the vocals, Robert!
ReplyDeleteClockwise, you are tooo kind, I appreciate your generous comments. I love the way you let loose with your rants on the official site, there is nothing like some cutting honesty. I have been reading some of the posts on here and feeling so excited to see what an amazing connection we all have to the Cure's music. When my friend Gordon and I were in high school we started this trend that ran for four years called the Black Xmas, it was a party we had on Xmas eve, and each yr it had a slightly different theme, the first yr it was a dead forest inspired by guess what? lol and we dragged all these dead trees into my bedroom which was a converted artists studio...it was brilliant, wall to wall goth music, my walls and ceilings were caked with Cure posters....such a fun night. The second yr we had a Close to Me theme, which had an octopus, fish netting in the rafters, we made loads of fish which we hung everywhere and a closet with sea life in it (not real of course) the third yr it was a forest in winter with white snow which we made with shredded paper and the last yr we created a treasure hunt thru the local papers classified section that only people in the know would work out....that ended funnily, it was in an abandoned building site and we had a big fire burning and it got busted by police and the fire dpt and we were all scattered into the night, I remember running across a field and almost falling into a well....
ReplyDeleteGod so many great times inspired by such a wonderful band, and now I am itching to get my mits on the new album....hurry up Sept 13th!
Now I make a Black Xmas cd for my friends...this yr I am planning on a reunion party....perhaps with an Xmas album...ha ha...we can dream
when are people suppose to be getting the SWID single at home?
ReplyDelete