"Here is a review of the new Cure album from a dodgy magazine in Berlin by a dodgy reviewer who hasn't even heard the album. Where do these people get off writing a review when all they listened to were the singles. AaaaaaaHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Please direct complaints to editor@exberliner.com"
(Thanks Paul)
28 years of News, rumors, minutiae about The Cure
Good grief! You weren't kidding about the NME review. That's the nastiest bit of purple prose I've laid eyes on in a good long while. Someone pass the brain bleach, please!
ReplyDelete" 'Bloodflowers' may not convert any new fans, but it will certainly not disappoint the old ones. "
ReplyDeleteWow... Bloodflowers was practically the main reason I got into The Cure...
Even my brother who dosn't like the Cure admits Bloodflowers is amazing.
Bloodflowers is the second best Cure album, period. Faith being the first.
ReplyDeleteAnd that was the most suck-ass "review" ever.
What was the original review like then? Worse than that?
ReplyDelete1. Disintegration
ReplyDelete2. Bloodflowers
3. Wish
4. Faith
5. The Head on the Door
6. Seventeen Seconds
7. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
8. Pornography
9. The Top
10. Three Imaginary Boys
11. Wild Mood Swings
12. The Cure
/discussion
^_^
i think bloodflowers is still crap. but that it neither here nor there.
ReplyDeletegive a bad review if you must, but at least LISTEN to the album. barring that, name the handful of songs already named- or...something! pathetic.
Here you have the NME Bloodflowers Review:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nme.com/reviews/the-cure/1859
:/
Mad Bob: No, that's not the one I'm referring to. It was the one in the mag, a total personal attack against Robert.
ReplyDeleteUpss Craig, i thought it was the review you`re mention of, so, feel free to delete my comment.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a transcription of this review ?
Thanks again Craig.
Good to "talk" with you again.
:)
Well if it was *that* bad, then it must be all the more satisfying for Robert to see that he and the Cure are in the #1 slot on both current NME polls!
ReplyDeleteWoo!
Go CURE! Keep clicking, peeps!
hmmm... such a delightful thing “that old” men who mantain agressive adolescent romaticism...
ReplyDeleteAnd some can even turn it into music...
esque sa serais posible davoir l'article plus grand!!
ReplyDeleteWow, that review said nothing at all. Pointless. Lots of empty space, etc.
ReplyDeleteFunny in a pathetic way.
sorry, but bloodflowers is a lazy parody of the cure. cover band material at best. robert smith in his sleep. the cover art alone is an insult.
ReplyDeleteoh, and since i'm feeling ornery: eric, the joke has run its course. we all know you're not french and you're just translating your bullshit through babblefish or something similar. get a life.
ReplyDeleteI remember that the first and last songs on Bloodflowers were the first songs I ever downloaded from the internet. I was totally pysched for the rest of the album, but I was completely let down when I heard the rest.
ReplyDeleteUm, you do not bash Bloodflowers without massive backlash from MOI.
ReplyDeleteBF is NOT a lazy Cure parody album. It's a gorgeous fucking masterpiece that melds all the Cure's influences into one sublime package. It harkens back to Faith in many ways.
Read my review of it at my Cure blog: www.cerebralcure.blogspot.com
Quiet, the children are asleep.
ReplyDeleteThis reviewer sounds like one of those people who begrudge the fact that Robert (and co) have been able to do what they want, when they want and how they want, and still maintain their popularity.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like this guy is the epitome of "those that can't, become critics."
hynreckandjoe lol!!
ReplyDeleteCwc is correct. BF was an absolutely amazing album, gloriously melancholy and it definitely worked for me. Also WMS is extremely underrated. Don't ya'll agree?!
ReplyDelete"watching shadows melt the light" is better than anything on bloodflowers. i swear robert got most of the lyrics on BF from cereal boxes...
ReplyDeleteJust thought I'd stick my oar in on the Bloodflowers debate; it's gotta be my second favourite Cure album after Disintegration. Maybe Someday is one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard...
ReplyDeleteOh, and I love WMS too; you gotta admit, The 13th is a stroke of genius =D
swifty, you are not who i thought you were after all. i agree with you wholeheartedly about bf. why did you have to be so rude to me when you first came on here? you are not such a bad dude, and you're smart.
ReplyDeletemonkeybutt, you're a monkeybutt.
stigmurder: MS is indeed gorgeous. there is a fan made vid of it that is truly stunning. if i find it, i'll post it.
and yes, WMS is fanfreakintastic, period.
ReplyDeleteThis... piece of writing (for lack of a better descriptor) does not really seem to say anything about the new album. It is all focused on the writer's opinion of Robert. It is all very vague.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the writer has not listened to the album, much less the singles.
Is this the same person that reviewed the Black Crows album and trashed it without listening to it? I think that was a Maxim writer but the point is the same. The media has gotton so lazy they just throw stuff out there and for the most part they get away with it!
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that anyone would have something bad to say about Bloodflowers, easily in my top 5 of Cure albums. I have a hard time saying which is my favorite, depending on my mood Faith, Disentigration, Bloodflowers, Kiss Me, or Wish could be my favorite. And I cannot forget Head on the door and WMS, I love This is a lie and Jupiter Crash!
I have been crazy busy with work, glad to see everyone is doing well! Since it looks like no '09 tour, are we having New Orleans Cure gathering? I vote for sometime in the Spring!
Stigmurder, I'm glad I'm not the only one liking The 13th!!
ReplyDeleteI think this song got much undeserved heat.
I'm going out on a limb, here, maybe, but since we are among Cure experts, I'm wondering, isn't The 13th supposed to be about some kind of transvestite serial killer, the 13th being the last victim or something?
Something much darker than the sound of the song itself?
It's been so long since I've watch that video...
Opinions? Comments?
Hey all!
ReplyDeleteCan someone point me in the direction of a reputable online shop to preorder the new album on vinyl? Any/All help is appreciated!
Mike - Amazon.com has the vinyl pressing available for pre-order... Plus, Craig has a listing of websites on the main COF news page.
ReplyDeleteMike - I've pre-ordered from CD Universe. They seem to be about the cheapest. Got my singles through them as well.
ReplyDeleteMarc
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Thanks! I preordered from them.
Haha that's the first I've heard of The 13th being interpreted that way; the last I heard, Robert said it was about "a sensational dancer in a club in Columbia"!
ReplyDeleteI do like the idea of a transvestite serial killer though...
Hynreck - I haven't heard anything about the story behind the 13th - but the film clip would definitely go to support the transvestite serial killer theory.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I got some fuzzy memories of the clip. lol
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm just weird!
oh well, maybe it's just goes to show you can interpret however you want songs... art in general.
I think that is the beauty of ALL music - it can mean different things to different people.
ReplyDeleteAnd not surprisingly, The Cure's music is a prime example of this.
Yea, I'm just scared of what it means for me.
ReplyDeleteOk, well since everybody is in discussion mode and I feel like putting together a list of my favorite band, here's MY order...
ReplyDelete1 Disintegration
2 Faith
3 Pornography
4 Bloodflowers
5 Seventeen Seconds
6 Wish
6a Disc 3 of Join the Dots :P
7 The Head on the Door
8 Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
9 Three Imaginary Boys
10 The Top
11 Wild Mood Swings
12 The Cure
Todd - I'll play this game too. Here is my list (for today at least):
ReplyDelete1 Bloodflowers
2 Wish
3 Disintegration
4 Wild Mood Swings
5 Faith
6 The Head on the Door
7 Seventeen Seconds
8 Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
9 Three Imaginary Boys
10 Pornography
11 The Top
12 The Cure
1. Faith
ReplyDelete2. Bloodflowers
3. Head on the Door
4. Pornography
5. 17 Seconds/WMS/The Top
Everything else is equal to me.
And yes, I cheated. Fuck off if you don't like it. :-)
Here's mine in case anyone's interested!
ReplyDeleteDisintegration
Faith
Kiss Me
Pornography
The Head On The Door
The Top
Wish
Seventeen Seconds
Bloodflowers
Wild Mood Swings
Three Imaginary Boys
The Cure
I *LOVE* that we all have different favourites.
ReplyDeleteIt is what I love most about my Cure peeps - we are share a common love and yet we are all individuals!
Well, since I don't wanna feel left out, here's my list:
ReplyDelete1. Disintegration
2. Bloodflowers
3. Pornography
4. Wild Mood Swings
5. Three Imaginary Boys
6. Wish
7. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
8. Faith
9. Seventeen Seconds
10. Head on the Door
11. The Top
12. The Cure
I must say, I'm surprised at how low down TIB is on people's lists. But as elise says, that's the joy of it I suppose =)
1. disintegration
ReplyDelete2. kiss me kiss me kiss me
3. the head on the door
4. faith
5. seventeen seconds
6. faith
7. three imaginary boys
8. wish
9. bloodflowers
10. the top
11. wild mood swings
12. the cure
mine:
ReplyDelete1. Bloodflowers
2. Disintegration
3. Wish
4. Wild Mood Swings
5. Faith
6. Pornography
7. Seventeen Seconds
8. Kiss me Kiss me Kiss me
9. The Head On The Door
10. The Cure
11. The Top
12. Three Imaginary Boys
Cat - Sorry for calling you names and being rude the other day. I don't know why I was a prick but I regret my idiocy and would really like to apologise and be friends.
ReplyDeleteSincerely Swifty
MB - Some of Roberts lyrics have come from the back of a packet of icing sugar.
But So What?
"The 13th" - Brilliant song, but not a personal favourite. (????}
Sounds to me like Robert having a one night stand with an exotic dancer in a bar. The single had amazing B-sides. Get it from me.
It Used To Be Me, Ocean and A Pink Dream should have been on Wild Mood Swings.
ReplyDeleteDrop some of the snoozers from the album and it would have been really really solid.
Wow I'm surprised that everyone has "The Cure" at the very bottom of their list. I thought it was a pretty good album. Lost, Labyrinth, Anniversary, Truth Goodness and Beauty, Going Nowhere, Before Three. These were all excellent songs.
ReplyDeleteSo this would be my list:
1. Disintegration
2. Wish
3. Bloodflowers
4. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
5. Head on the Door
6. The Top
7. The Cure
8. Faith
9. Pornography
10. Wild Mood Swings
11. Seventeen Seconds
12. Three Imaginary Boys
my faves
ReplyDelete1. Head on The Door
2. kmkmkm
3. Disintegration
4. Seventeen Seconds
5. Faith
6. Pornography
7. The Top
8. Three imaginary Boys
9. Wish
8. Bloodflowers
9. The Cure
10. Wild Mood Swings
It's really tough to rank them since I REALLY love them all with the exception of Wild Mood Swings.
I like about half of The Cure. Seeing Bloodflowers way down there makes me sad, but I just like the others a bit more.
Maybe a grading scale would be better! :)
swifty, hard to discern whether you are being sarcastic or sincere... but you didn't sign it sarcastically swifty, so that's maybe an indication that you are being sincere? i sure hope so. anyway, i confused you for someone else given the phrasing you used. i'll forgive you this one time, but that's it. please don't be rude to me again. i do appreciate your insightful comments regarding the cure.
ReplyDeleteHi- Thsi is Honey1974, now back to TXLola. I have to say that WMS is now in my top 5 fave CURE records because of BARE. That song is the most touchingly real and honest song I feel that RS has ever written. The older I get, the more relevant it gets. I blew it off when I was 21 but as I got into my 30's and saw a lot of relationships fall apart, I started to really understand what it means. That song is now my number #1 favorite CURE song and it never stops touching me.
ReplyDeleteCAT I'm being completely sincere. Again, very sorry for before. You are a great girl. Some days my brain fades. Thanks for a second chance. I shall make ammends.
ReplyDelete*******************
OK my turn but very difficult indeed. Here goes:
1. DISINTEGRATION
2. FAITH
3. PORNOGRAPHY
4. BLOODFLOWERS
5. KISS ME
6. WILD MOOD SWINGS
7. SEVENTEEN SECONDS
8. THE CURE
9. WISH
10. HEAD ON THE DOOR
11. THREE IMAGINARY BOYS
12. THE TOP
nb - I'm only certain about the top 4 and last 2. 5-10 were harder to pick than a broken nose!
i just realized i put faith twice. # 6 on my list should be pornography.
ReplyDeleteswifty, it seems we share some common movie tastes (mullholland drive kicks ass - have you seen inland empire?), AND BF is in your top 5, so.....................
ReplyDeletei'll let you off the hook, k?
love, babbling tw... never mind :-)
1. Seventeen Seconds
ReplyDelete2. Disintegration
3. Wish
4. Wild Mood Swings
5. Head on the Door
6. Bloodflowers
7. Faith
8. The Top
9. Three Imaginary Boys
10. Boys Don't Cry
11. Pornography
12. The Cure
This was hard. I kept moving them around. And BTW...if JTD was rated it would be up there under as #2.
and let's sound the rallying cry: 4:13 DREAM is soon going to be everyone's number 1! right? right?
ReplyDelete...
RIGHT?
MonkeyButt, your profile photo is going to give me nightmares! :o
ReplyDeleteCPG - Where's Kiss Me? JTD definitely at the top. No better song than This Twilight Garden.
ReplyDeleteCAT - Thanks for letting me off your MeatHook. One last time "very sorry". ONWARDS...
Haven't seen Inland Empire yet, but certainly would like to. Pretty sure it's the only Lynch film I haven't seen. MULLHOLLAND DRIVE is a masterpiece. Spun my head the first time I watched it.
Anyhow, gotta run. Nice chatting and clearing things up. Seeya 8^)
I just listened to WMS for the first time in ages - maybe years. I see it differently now. There are some really good tracks on there. It would be amongst their best had the track listing included the songs it should have.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Bare is a masterpiece. It is painful for me to listen to (memories) which is probably why I don't. Most of Wish is a write off to me for the same reasons :)
4:13 Dream #1!
ReplyDeletev: mission accomplished. ;)
ReplyDeleteLet me get in on this:
ReplyDeleteDisintegration
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Pornography
Faith
Bloodflowers
Head on the Door
Seventeen Seconds
Wish
Three Imaginary Boys
The Top
Wild Mood Swings
The Cure (US version)
Very difficult for the bottom three. Each has songs that I absolutely love, but as a whole, the albums don't hold up. The Cure takes last because WMS has Want, Jupiter Crash, Bare, Strange Attraction and This Is A Lie. : )
Ask me next month, and the bottom half would probably be different. The top half is pretty solid.
seriously i am shocked at how many times on your lists "the top" ends up towards the bottom...that album has it all and is definitely in my top 3
ReplyDelete1. pornography
2. wish
3. the top
4. seventeen seconds
5. either disintegration or kiss me(they're on equal playing fields)
New news please.
ReplyDeleteThat joke isn't funny anymore.
ReplyDeleteswifty, Inland Empire is the craziest mindfuck you'll ever watch. i highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteinland empire is artistic masturbatorial twaddle.
ReplyDeleteI am so bored of reading these boring and cliched reviews of anything The Cure has done recently. The fact is they continue to make music that inspires people of all ages and they are still one of the most exciting and energetic bands to see live today. I am sure that from what I have heard live of the album so far it will another brilliant album. The person that wrote this reveiew is clearly a clueless lazt twat that knows nothing of The Cure.
ReplyDeleteDangit, Swifty...I knew I'd miss one. I did it quickly from a very reduced sized window at work....I only had a second to peek on here. Okay, KMKMKM become's #9 for me. Here's the updated list:
ReplyDelete1. Seventeen Seconds
2. Disintegration
3. Wish
4. Wild Mood Swings
5. Head on the Door
6. Bloodflowers
7. Faith
8. The Top
9. KMKMKM
10 Three Imaginary Boys
11. Boys Don't Cry
12. Pornography
13. The Cure
This was hard. I kept moving them around. And BTW...if JTD was rated it would be up there under as #2.
There is something insanely comforting about the fact that everyone faves are so different!
ReplyDeleteMost bands have a seminal work that is always number one or something like that...
The new album gives me hope that the guys still have some great stuff in them. Underneath the Sky is such a great opener!
Underneath The Stars :p
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't usually correct people's errors but that one kept bugging me, robert :)
Hmm... I know better too! my fingers were not cooperating with my brains!
ReplyDeleteI am very excited by the new album, hopefully it exceeds everyone expectations.
What's the general feeling towards it? The new singles excite or bore? I loved em, but my tastes are weird! heheh!
I've not posted in a while but I have to add my two pence.
ReplyDeleteDisintegration
Kiss Me
Faith
Pornography
Head on the Door
Wish
Seventeen Seconds
TIB
Bloodflowers
The Top
The Cure
Wild Mood Swings
Hi, this is my first time posting here though I've been reading through out the summer. I love coming here, and this chain of comments made me say hello and ponder my faves too.
ReplyDelete1. Faith
2. Pornography
3. The Top
4. Disintegration
5. Kiss
6. Three Imaginary Boys
7. Seventeen Seconds
8. Wish
9. Bloodflowers
10. The Cure
11. Head on the Door
12. Wild Mood Swings
And looking at this list, I like 10, 11, and 12 a lot too. I just kind of lined them up by how often I have listened, really.
I have to admit that, at first, Bloodflowers did not grab me. I tried and I tried. Then I heard the Trilogy version and wow. That blew me away. If the album sounded like that live document it would be way higher on my list, but that's why I love seeing this band live. They are great live, and sometimes I think that gets lost a little in the studio.
Anyway, I love this site, and thank you Craig for all your obvious hard work and commitment. Amazing.
Hmm. Sigh... okay.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, my list is not an absolute, I find it hard to do those.
An album at the bottom of MY list wouldn't be necessary bad, I love all my Cure album... but you know, I guess I go with which album I would lean toward listening the most... so there.
Disintegration
Faith
Seventeen Seconds
The Top
Pornography
Wish
Kiss Me X3
The Head on the Door
Wild Mood Swings
BloodFlowers
The Cure
Three Imaginary Boys
I am late to the game, but this is my list. With exception of the top five, the bottom will probably be different by the end of the day:)
ReplyDelete1. Pornography
2. Seventeen Seconds
3. The Top
4. Bloodflowers
5. Disintegration
6. The Head on the Door
7. Blue Sunshine (Can I cheat?)
8. Faith
9. Wish
10.The Cure
11.Wild Mood Swings
12.Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
13.Three Imaginary Boys
14."A Few Hours After This" :) - I am crazy about this song!
15.Join The Dots - Disc 1
hrm, this one's tough, and it can fluctuate depending on my mood....
ReplyDeleteDisintegration/KMKMKM
Faith
Wild Mood Swings- it IS idiosyncratic- but SOOOO many brilliant songs, I don't know why it gets panned...
Wish
The Top
Pornography/Bloodflowers
Seventeen Seconds
Three Imaginary Boys
Head on the Door
The Cure- too many awesome b-sides! >_<
That's usually the order in which my Cure CDs rotate anyway....
That little NME "review" was one of the most ridiculously douche-iest things I've ever read... not to mention myopic and patently erroneous! What a grade A douche...
Robert said...
"What's the general feeling towards it? The new singles excite or bore?"
I like them all (with the exception of SWID) but I'm loving The Only One more and more, especially the live versions! *RCMH!*
I am very curious about songs like "The Hungry Ghost", "The Real Snow White", and the "The Scream". It's supposed to be a primarily "happy" album, yet some of the titles do not sound particularly joyful... It'll be interesting to see what the overall theme of the album is.
Blogger JPX said...
New news please.
October 3, 2008 4:29 PM
Blogger Craig said...
That joke isn't funny anymore.
October 3, 2008 4:34 PM
HAHA!
It's mercury retrograde by the way, enjoy the miscommunication! and the re-establishing of old connections! X)
Disintegration
ReplyDelete17 Seconds
Pornography
Faith
Wish
The Top
Kiss Me X 3
Head On The Door
The Cure
Bloodflowers
Wild Mood Swings
Three Imaginary Boys
Does anybody have any fears with the notion of a completely upbeat album. I know the NME article quotes Bob as saying "Mostly Upbeat". The bit that confuses me most is the notion that if there is to be a dark album then W.T.F. is Underneath the stars doing on the upbeat. Surely it would be better suited to the dark.
I fear that song selection is going to be fucked up again as it was on "The Cure" I.M.H.O.
"The Cure" appears at 8 on my order list but definitely would have been way higher if the song selection had provided us with the masterpiece that was possible from those sessions. Feel free to shoot me down but I am not looking as forward to a mostly upbeat release. I would prefer a relatively even mix in which case "u t s" would fit better.
Apologies for being off topic, but I've just found a story on the BBC website which seems fairly appropriate given Robert's recent dealings with TMU:
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7652053.stm
And as a desperate attempt to be evenly vaguely on topic; the thought of a "mostly upbeat" album does bother me slightly; mainly because I was hoping for an entirely upbeat album this year, followed by a dark album next year. The fact that Robert has chosen to place UTS and TOO right next to each other on the album suggests (to me at least) that there won't be a dark album, but that they've just picked the very best of the sessions and melded everything into one album. Right now I'm thinking 4:13 Dream is going to be mostly upbeat, with the odd dark wild card thrown in.
My thoughts exactly stig. Surely if there were to be an upbeat followed by a dark then UTS would have be reserved for the dark. So no dark release??????? HOPE TO F**K IM WRONG.
ReplyDeletesam- Based on some of the titles, I honestly don't believe that the entire album is going to sound like Freakshow or anything. I agree with you about the track selection for The Cure LP, but I don't think UTS would need to be on a "dark" album necessarily; it's not despondent or angry. UTS is very lush and atmospheric, dreamy, ethereal, buoyantly romantic? BRDB could be put on a dark album though.
ReplyDeleteI know UTS seems out of place at first glance, that's why I'm wondering how the rest of this album's been fleshed out. I'm assuming that Robert finally got his confidence back and that he's listened to the rest of the band, as far as picking the right songs for the new album goes. I will say that I'm a bit disappointed that none of the b-sides from the singles made it onto the album... I mean, I know they were B-SIDES, but two of the a-sides could have easily been replaced with their b-sides. At this point, I still think The Perfect Boy and Without You are the best and most musically/lyrically coherent out of the four singles. Either way, I'm hoping that the songs on the new album will sound better, technically speaking, than their Mix 13 counterparts.
Grrrrrrr, I have always a matter of delay, it bothers me ....
ReplyDeleteI give you my list:
Desintegration
Seventeen Seconds
Faith
KMKMKM
The Head On the Door
Pornography
Wish
BF
The Cure
The Top
TIB
WMS
I am sorry for the album "the cure" to place so low because there are very good songs on this album. I like to listen
WMS last place is good ....... For me
4:13 Dream what a place ????????? Surprise
Yeah, even though I agree with Helsa that UTS is not necessarily "dark," it certainly does seem a bit misplaced on an album with Freakshow. But then, KM has lush atmospheric songs like IOTWCS rubbing up against goofy pop like WCIBY, so anything is possible. Clearly this album will be more along the lines of KM/WMS/TC - an eclectic blend of multiple styles. Frankly, I am more in the mood for a relentlessly sumptuously dark dirge-filled feast, but whatever. I loves me some Cure regardless. And I think BRDB is on the album, retitled It's Over, which sucks huge donkey balls.
ReplyDeletePS The TITLE sucks donkey balls, not the song. The song kicks ass and merits a more evocative title like BRDB.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree with the poster who said that Trilogy BF is way better. BF is gorgeous, but production-wise is kinda lackluster, and Trilogy really brought out the dynamics of the songs.
Just a reminder:
ReplyDeleteGet clicking!
http://ema.mtv.co.uk/vote/#_
BRDB is a DUMB title, dumb I tells you! :p
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but, I've never liked the title, it always sounded very clumsy and awkward. For me, it doesn't fit with the mood of the song at all. I think it was only a "working" title, I'm sure they could come up with a much better one than that!
I mean, "Prayers for Rain" is evocative, "Fascination Street", "The Hanging Garden", "Bloodflowers", "Jupiter Crash"(!) even "Underneath The Stars"... I just can't compare BRDB to any of those titles... mmm, having said all that, Robert is a such magnificent lyricist/poet!
I'm sorry Cat, I'm not trying to be mean to you. I loves uuuuu.... :'(
CG- Thanks for the reminder!!
Votes have now been calculated.
ReplyDeleteWith around 20 people having provided their Top12 list for fave Cure albums, here is the definitive result...based on my amateur statistical analysis.
1 DISINTEGRATION
2 FAITH
3 PORNOGRAPHY
4 SEVENTEEN SECONDS
5 KISS ME X3
6 BLOODFLOWERS
7 WISH
8 HEAD ON THE DOOR
9 THE TOP
10 WILD MOOD SWINGS
11 3 IMAGINARY BOYS
12 THE CURE
Disintegration was a clear winner by a mile and most other final spots were clear cut except for positions 4-7 with only a hairs breadth between 17Sex, Kiss Me, Bloodflowers and Wish.
*If anybody got everything correct please give yoursely a big tick.
**If you believe your own list is the correct one please give yourself an even bigger tick.
***Other people, have a nice day!
Helsa, I loves you too, but precisely the reason I LIKED the title was its clumsy non-poetic nature. It's paradoxically very Curey/non-Curey, which makes it all the more Curey. Such paradoxes reinforce the Cureyness. I liked that it evoked motorcycles, and rockabilly, and Johnny Cash, and leather jackets, and grungy dogs sitting outside trailer park homes, and tatty jeans...
ReplyDeleteIn fact, it's one of my favorite Cure titles/non-titles (there's that pesky paradox again!). It fit the song PERFECTLY, in my estimation.
Titles like UTS and BF and so on... yes, they are evocative, but in a poetic way and even cliched way. I like how The Cure takes cliches and gives them fresh dimensions, even poetic ones... but I have to say that I really like the quirky titles the best.
1. DISINTEGRATION
ReplyDelete2. PORNOGRAPHY
3. KISS ME
4. FAITH
5. THE TOP
6. HEAD ON THE DOOR
7. BLOODFLOWERS
8. SEVENTEEN SECONDS
9. THREE IMAGINARY BOYS
10. WISH
11. THE CURE
12. WMS
Any of you interested in numbers? Nope? Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway...
ReplyDeleteI've just assigned each position from 1-12 with a rating (1 being 12points, 2 being 11 etc.) and added up where each album came on everyone's lists... so, if you're interested:
1. Disintegration (227 points)
2. Faith (177)
3. Pornography (159)
4. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (155)
5. Seventeen Seconds (143)
6. Bloodflowers (141)
7. Wish (131)
8. Head on the Door (128)
9. The Top (103)
10. Wild Mood Swings (80)
11. Three Imaginary Boys (67)
12. The Cure (46)
Hello folks! Late to the party as ever.
ReplyDeleteI'm in constant turmoil over my Cure album rankings. But I'm going to put my halfpenny’s worth in anyway:
1 Disintegration
2 Pornography
3 The Top
4 Faith
5 Bloodflowers
6 Wish
7 The Cure
8 WMS
9 17 Seconds
10 KMx3
11 THOTD
12 TIB
The top five swap places constantly!
The Top has so many good associations (not least it’s being my first Cure album) for me, as well as being just massively underrated; I just love that stark, spacious sound. And it has Shake Dog Shake, which is my fave Cure song. I love ‘em all though.
P.S Wish would have been pushing hard at my number one spot if the “Lost Wishes” tracks had made the final cut instead of some of the tracks that were included.
I was reviewing my list, and I was surprised I ranked Kiss Me so low! I actually listen to it and WMS quite a lot.
ReplyDeleteI also like TIB much more than a 12th place would indicate, as it is a very solid album. "Blue Sunshine" is one of Robert's best works, IMO. And I don't like the lady's voice, but it was a good thing RS didn't sing.
Staying on topic, that review is just garbage.
hmm, I really understand what you're saying Cat, but that title did not invoke any of those mental images for me. True, they do have some "cliched" titles, but I never found "The Hanging Garden", "Jupiter Crash", or the others I mentioned, (with the exception of UTS :p), cliche in any way. Actually, please replace UTS with "This Twilight Garden"!! lol.
ReplyDeleteI understand your point about "quirky" Cure titles perfectly, the difference with BRDB is that, not only does the title not create any special impressions in my mind, but I have a hard time even physically uttering the title. I can't think of any other whimsical Cure title, where the words didn't just glide out of my mouth... uh oh, this is getting erotic...
Anyway, I think they could use a more fluid choice of words, while still evoking the imagery that you referred to.
I hate to go on about it, but I've never come across a Cure title that I just... loathed to say out loud. Oh, and there’s the radio aspect of it. I can’t see the DJs being
enthusiastic if they had to say this title over and over.
In the end, I suppose, it does come down to personal preference, aesthetics, semantics, etc, etc.
A great surprise to everyone, I'm sure.
PJW- re: Wish.
I second that sir!
Ugh, I made a mistake earlier. For a spilt second, I had it in my mind that Without You was an a-side... that's what trauma and sleep deprivation do to you.
ReplyDeleteTPB pwns all the other a-sides, hands down. TOO and FS are a little too close to call....
Helsa, we must agree to diverge, then, darlin', cuz I feel almost the exact opposite about BRDB. Sure, it's a bit clunky and cumbersome on the tongue... that's another element I like about it. For me it invokes all those things and more that I listed... anyway, no point in circling round and round about it, eh? :-)
ReplyDeleteHey PJW. I've been trying to get your attention for weeks but it seems you are never here enough for that to happen. I'm interested in your paintings; I'd love for you to e-mail me.
:-)
1. wish
ReplyDelete2. kiss me x3
3. head on the door
4. the top
5. disintegration
6. pornography
7. faith
8. wms
9. seventeen seconds
10. tib
11. bloodflowers
12. the cure
Hello Cat!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I never stick around for long, it's because until this week I was limited to stolen moments at work. I'm on line at home at long last now, so i'll be on COF a lot more. I'll E-mail you today re the paintings! Very flattered!
Helsa: Wish as it stands contains three of my fave songs of all time; End, FTEOTDGS and Open, but much of the rest just doesn't grab me like other Cure stuff does. The feeling itensified when I heard Lost Wishes, which is amazing, even without vocals.
hm
ReplyDelete1.17s
2.everything else(cept the truly awfull before3)
3.wish(3 perfect songs -9 average as fuck)
4.3ib
bof
Sorry,Cat,I just tried to send you an e-mail on the address in the sumissions section of your magazine, but it didn't work.
ReplyDeletePjw: dunno why it's not working - try again
ReplyDeletefleurdumal666@gmail.com
if anyone stalks me at this e-mail, i'll come over and steal all your cure stuff.
and PJW, i agree about Lost Wishes. Gorgeous stuff there.
ReplyDeleteWish for me does not hold huge allure... but EDGS, DTU, High, FIIL are great. It's the one eclectic album where for me the pop overshadows the harder or lusher stuff.
Really, all Cure albums abound in merit, though. Wish is still great, just not a fave.
The Cure is the BEST BAND OF ALL TIME. Thats all I have to say today. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteswifty, i do so agree. thanks for conveying that, because i have been feeling like that all day, inexplicably.
ReplyDeleteswifty- Obviously! Why do you think we were (lovingly) carping with each other over ONE title! XD
ReplyDeleteI won't nitpick unless it's something that I really care about.
Pjw- I looooove lost wishes. Cloudberry and Uyea Sound are my favorite. I think it would be awesome if they did an instrumental only album... just as a one off thing for the die-hards.
I found the quote below on wiki. I thought it was interesting what Robert said when he tried to sing over "Off to Sleep". I'm going to go off on a limb here, but I think he's just naturally inclined to sing that way most of the time!
Buncha musical geniuses... I forget where now, but I read somewhere that Simon wrote the music, not the lyrics obviously, to Lovesong.
"It started because Porl had written an excellent weird thing, very stirring, with bagpipes and harmonium which he really wanted to do but it didn't fit any of the lyrics I'd been writing. Simon had a piece too which is nominally called 'Off to Sleep', a nursery rhyme kind of sound, very gentle and sweet but if I tried to sing over it, it would get very morose. So we hit on the idea of a separate album of purely instrumental things...the fifth one sounded like a Cure backing track without me singing. That seemed a bit pointless so we shelved it for the moment but we'll probably get back to it" - Robert Smith, liner notes
Thanks Helsa, I hadn't seen that before, not actually owning a copy of it. I have to make do with various second hand sources, like the little films that are on U-tube.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I hadn't actually said what I thought of the review (seeing as how that is the topic on this thread!). Quite simple really; the man is a cock.
LOL PJW. Tell us how you REALLY feel.
ReplyDeleteAh that was a goofy article, a waste of 5 minutes of my life....
ReplyDeleteNot that anyone would care at this point but here's my Cure album rankings:
1 The Top
2 Disintegration
3 The Head on the Door
4 Wish
5 Faith
6 Pornography
7 Bloodflowers
8 Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
9 Wild Mood Swings
10 17 Seconds
11 Three Imaginary Boys
12 The Cure
I can't be the only person whose #1 choice is The Top! It's an underrated musical masterpiece!
I, too, love that everybody's lists are different. And I think most of us agree that even albums 9-12 are really good and worth listening to on a semi-regular basis at the least.
ReplyDeleteI mean, when their freaking b-sides give me chills every single time and often overshadow a lot of their album songs, you know you've got a band that has to try really hard to do any wrong.
Can't wait for Dream:13!!!! Only 2 weeks and 6 days to go!!!!
I guess an interesting question would be: based on the 6 songs we've all heard so far, where would you expect it to land on your list? Personally, I'm expecting somewhere in the 7-8 range (which isn't that bad!) Maybe below Wish and above THOTD.