Over the past month, Charles Libin has been posting some fantastic videos of The Cure playing at Hurrah's in NYC from April 1980. The videos were shot by Charles Libin & Paul Cameron. Thank you so much for uploading them! And thanks to @guillaume_g_z for showing them to me.
Update (Feb. 26th, 2016): 'M' has been added.
Update (March 9th, 2016): 'In Your House' has been added.
Update (March 18th, 2016): 'Killing An Arab' has been added.
Update (April 2nd, 2016): 'Fire In Cairo' has been added.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Ranking: Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit
Consequence of Sound decided to do a ranking of every song to hit #1 on the Alternative Rock chart. Here's where The Cure placed:
263. The Cure – “Never Enough”
Date Reaching Number One: 9/29/90
The straightforward rock guitar strains of the one lackluster new track from The Cure’s 1990 remix collection, Mixed Up, sounded almost as out of place among the most popular alternative singles of the time as it did tacked on the end of a collection of extended mixes, and yet “Never Enough” spent three non-consecutive weeks on top of the modern rock chart in the fall of 1990. –Sarah Kurchak
108. The Cure – “High”
Date Reaching Number One: 4/11/92
At their best, The Cure were able to make you feel happy about being depressed, sweeping you up in their magical wisdom and punchy melancholy. “Wish”, the first single off their 1992 album, High, literally begins with a sparkly twinkle, as if Robert Smith has opened up the storm clouds and swept you off your feet in all his splendor and glory. From there, the song capitalizes on all the band’s accessible trademarks: the cozy bass lines, the earworm guitar hooks, and Smith’s teardrop poetry. For added measure, there’s even a feline overdub that would be way too obtrusive and atrociously precious if it were coming from any other band. Here? It’s David Copperfield-type shit. Now, that’s some power. –Michael Roffman
58. The Cure – “Fascination Street”
Date Reaching Number One: 5/6/89
Disintegration featured a few stellar singles, but the truly interesting comparison here, chart-wise, is the difference between “Fascination Street” and “Lovesong”. The former reached the top of the alt chart, but only hit number 42 overall; the latter never peaked the alt chart, but hit number two overall. So, what makes “Fascination Street” the more alt choice? Perhaps the extended, moody, bass-driven intro. Or the ominous, noisy squealing at the edges? The fact that it’s two minutes longer? Likely all of that at once. “Fascination Street”, though, burns the alt torch brightly, the kind of thing that’d be perfect for a late-night ride through the city. –Adam Kivel
16. The Cure – “Friday I’m in Love”
Date Reaching Number One: 6/13/92
Just how good is “Friday I’m in Love”? Robert Smith was so impressed by the melody he wrote that he could have sworn he stole it from somebody else (he didn’t). The recorded song that appears on The Cure’s 1992 album, Wish, is slightly faster and more upbeat than the version the band rolls out at shows, which is really just as well. It’s a deeply nostalgic love song, and don’t we always remember past romance in a slightly different key? –Collin Brennan
And one Cure cover made the list. This godawful thing:
281. 311 – “Love Song”
Date Reaching Number One: 5/1/04
311 offer up a perfectly serviceable, reggae-flavored tiki bar rendition of this Cure classic. And somewhere back in 1989, Robert Smith is still sitting alone in a cave among stalagmites wondering what he’s gotta do to feel his enduring love reciprocated by the charts. Hopefully, a new generation of spelunking Cure fans soon found him and explained that 311 had sent them. –Matt Melis
263. The Cure – “Never Enough”
Date Reaching Number One: 9/29/90
The straightforward rock guitar strains of the one lackluster new track from The Cure’s 1990 remix collection, Mixed Up, sounded almost as out of place among the most popular alternative singles of the time as it did tacked on the end of a collection of extended mixes, and yet “Never Enough” spent three non-consecutive weeks on top of the modern rock chart in the fall of 1990. –Sarah Kurchak
108. The Cure – “High”
Date Reaching Number One: 4/11/92
At their best, The Cure were able to make you feel happy about being depressed, sweeping you up in their magical wisdom and punchy melancholy. “Wish”, the first single off their 1992 album, High, literally begins with a sparkly twinkle, as if Robert Smith has opened up the storm clouds and swept you off your feet in all his splendor and glory. From there, the song capitalizes on all the band’s accessible trademarks: the cozy bass lines, the earworm guitar hooks, and Smith’s teardrop poetry. For added measure, there’s even a feline overdub that would be way too obtrusive and atrociously precious if it were coming from any other band. Here? It’s David Copperfield-type shit. Now, that’s some power. –Michael Roffman
58. The Cure – “Fascination Street”
Date Reaching Number One: 5/6/89
Disintegration featured a few stellar singles, but the truly interesting comparison here, chart-wise, is the difference between “Fascination Street” and “Lovesong”. The former reached the top of the alt chart, but only hit number 42 overall; the latter never peaked the alt chart, but hit number two overall. So, what makes “Fascination Street” the more alt choice? Perhaps the extended, moody, bass-driven intro. Or the ominous, noisy squealing at the edges? The fact that it’s two minutes longer? Likely all of that at once. “Fascination Street”, though, burns the alt torch brightly, the kind of thing that’d be perfect for a late-night ride through the city. –Adam Kivel
16. The Cure – “Friday I’m in Love”
Date Reaching Number One: 6/13/92
Just how good is “Friday I’m in Love”? Robert Smith was so impressed by the melody he wrote that he could have sworn he stole it from somebody else (he didn’t). The recorded song that appears on The Cure’s 1992 album, Wish, is slightly faster and more upbeat than the version the band rolls out at shows, which is really just as well. It’s a deeply nostalgic love song, and don’t we always remember past romance in a slightly different key? –Collin Brennan
And one Cure cover made the list. This godawful thing:
281. 311 – “Love Song”
Date Reaching Number One: 5/1/04
311 offer up a perfectly serviceable, reggae-flavored tiki bar rendition of this Cure classic. And somewhere back in 1989, Robert Smith is still sitting alone in a cave among stalagmites wondering what he’s gotta do to feel his enduring love reciprocated by the charts. Hopefully, a new generation of spelunking Cure fans soon found him and explained that 311 had sent them. –Matt Melis
Ranking the Albums from 13 to 1
What is it, ranking season or something? Chris at PopMatters ranks The Cure's albums. Won't list it all here, go read his article on the whys for each one, but here's his ranking:
13. The Cure
12. 4:13 Dream
11. Bloodflowers
10. Wild Mood Swings
9. Three Imaginary Boys
8. The Top
7. Faith
6. Wish
5. Seventeen Seconds
4. Pornography
3. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
2. The Head on the Door
1. Disintegration
13. The Cure
12. 4:13 Dream
11. Bloodflowers
10. Wild Mood Swings
9. Three Imaginary Boys
8. The Top
7. Faith
6. Wish
5. Seventeen Seconds
4. Pornography
3. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
2. The Head on the Door
1. Disintegration
Cure play Bestival Toronto on June 12th
From the official site:
"The Cure will be headlining at Bestival, Woodbine Park, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada - June 11th / 12th 2016 (Can you guess which night?!!)
Ticket pre-sale starts Friday 10am EST / 3pm GMT via www.bestival.ca
Pre-sale access code is:increasethepeacein2016
(No, code is increasethepeace)
Tickets on general sale 10am EST, Monday March 14th
Direct ticket link: https://bestival.frontgatetickets.com/"
Note from Bestival about ticket prices - "Tickets will be tiered in price, so the quicker you buy the better price you get".
The access code Bestival emailed this morning is increasethepeace.
Also, there will probably be a limit on the # of tickets they sell in each tier, so if they sell out today or this weekend, don't worry. General on sale starts Monday March 14th at 10 am, when more acts will be announced.
Update (March 31st, 2016): Presale for single day tickets today. Code is Sundaybest. Public on sale April 1st at 10 am eastern. Also, the daily lineups have been announced.
And as Paul points out, Robert has also added this to the original announcement:
"WE HAVE 150 MINUTES ONSTAGE TIME IF WE WANT IT..."
IF?!?! Seriously? Now that you've posted that, if the band plays even a 149 minute set, some will be chasing you out of Toronto with pitchforks and torches! :)
Ticket pre-sale starts Friday 10am EST / 3pm GMT via www.bestival.ca
Pre-sale access code is:
(No, code is increasethepeace)
Tickets on general sale 10am EST, Monday March 14th
Direct ticket link: https://bestival.frontgatetickets.com/"
Note from Bestival about ticket prices - "Tickets will be tiered in price, so the quicker you buy the better price you get".
The access code Bestival emailed this morning is increasethepeace.
Also, there will probably be a limit on the # of tickets they sell in each tier, so if they sell out today or this weekend, don't worry. General on sale starts Monday March 14th at 10 am, when more acts will be announced.
Update (March 31st, 2016): Presale for single day tickets today. Code is Sundaybest. Public on sale April 1st at 10 am eastern. Also, the daily lineups have been announced.
And as Paul points out, Robert has also added this to the original announcement:
"WE HAVE 150 MINUTES ONSTAGE TIME IF WE WANT IT..."
IF?!?! Seriously? Now that you've posted that, if the band plays even a 149 minute set, some will be chasing you out of Toronto with pitchforks and torches! :)
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