Friday, April 5, 2024
The Consequence Bassist Survey: 34 Bass Players on Their Favorite Bassists of All Time
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Fan poll: Top 5 songs on The Crow soundtrack
From Revolver:
1. The Cure - Burn
The Cure were originally going to contribute their rumble-haunted "The Hanging Garden" single to The Crow, with the track — originally off 1982's Pornography — having been referenced in James O'Barr's original comic. Then Robert Smith opted to base a new tune off the plot of the film instead, creating one of the most iconic outliers in the English group's massive catalog in the process.
Put together solely by Smith and then-drummer Boris Williams, the soundtrack-opening "Burn" is a slow-simmering epic of dark-jangled guitar moodiness and wind-whipping percussive squeals. Smith's familiarly aching voice references the corpse-painted titular character, love and pain, and what it feels like to scream an animal scream night after night.
Thematically on-point, and outright legendary.
50 Greatest Basslines of All Time
From Consequence:
21. The Cure — “The Lovecats”
While The Cure’s Simon Gallup deservedly made our list of the 100 Greatest Bassists of All Time, it’s a song recorded during his brief time out of the band that makes the cut among our greatest basslines. Phil Thornalley’s melodic double bass playing on 1983’s stand-alone single “The Lovecats” is undeniably infectious. Even a forlorn goth kid has to crack a smile when they hear this one. — S. Kaufman
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
10 Albums Death Cab for Cutie’s Nick Harmer Thinks Every Bass Player Should Own
From Consequence:
BONUS ROUND: The Cure — Disintegration (Simon Gallup)
Obviously, most bass players probably already own and love this album, I’m absolutely not claiming The Cure has not been given their due praise and worship. HOWEVER, my admiration of Simon Gallup is a huge reason I am a bass player to begin with so of course I’m going to include him. If for any reason you’re unfamiliar with Simon Gallup and his work, pick up a bass guitar, put this album on and get to work learning these bass lines. If by the time you reach the end of Disintegration you aren’t feeling the deep call to join a band and make music, then I’m not sure what else there is to talk about. Ok, you’re very right, there is plenty else to talk about… Still, these are some timeless, incredible bass lines, no?
Essential Tracks: “Pictures of You,” “Lovesong,” “Lullaby,” “Fascination Street,” “Disintegration.”
Robert signs open letter warning against “predatory” use of AI in music
From NME:
Billie Eilish, Robert Smith and more sign open letter warning against “predatory” use of AI in music
The letter, which has over 200 signatures from musicians, calls for protection against the "use of AI to steal professional artists' voices and likeness, violate creators' rights, and destroy the music ecosystem"
100 Greatest Bassists of All Time
From Consequence:
44. Simon Gallup
Coming in only behind Robert Smith, Simon Gallup is the second longest-standing member of The Cure. Despite the notoriously rocky history of the band, time alone would indicate Gallup’s contributions have been an integral part of their sound. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s groovy, melodic basslines are the driving force behind classic tracks like “Just Like Heaven,” “Forest,” and “Friday I’m in Love.” — S. Noor
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Interview with Lol
From Hot Press:
With The Cure reissuing their classic live album Paris, ex-drummer Lol Tolhurst discusses the band's storied career, as well as his fascinating book Goth: A History.
30 years of Burn and The Crow soundtrack
From Mashable:
The Crow' soundtrack turns 30: Looking back on the album that defined an era
The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, and the bands who almost made the cut.
The iconic English rock band The Cure seemed a no-brainer for inclusion on The Crow soundtrack, as their songs were quoted through O'Barr's comics. Most anticipated this would make it easy to get frontman Robert Smith onboard, as he'd clearly approved the lyrics' use and therefore must be familiar with Eric Draven's story. So, it was quite a shock when Smith's rep said he'd never heard of The Crow.
"I went back [to] O'Barr," Most shared, "And I said, 'James, you know, you've got 'used by permission' all over the place [in the comics] and Robert Smith [has] never heard the comics.' And he goes, 'Well, yeah. Every time I'd ever seen lyrics used [in comics], it has 'used by permission,' so I just added that.'"
Despite this copyright confusion, Smith liked the comics — once he did see them — and the script. So, for the first time in his storied career, the legendary British rocker wrote a song specifically for a movie.
While some acts wrote songs purely based on the screenplay, some of the film’s footage was transported to London for Smith to see. The resulting track, "Burn," is 6:39 seconds of scorching hot yearning. The song kicks off the album, and is given a place of prominence in the film; it plays over Eric's macabre makeover early in the movie. Lee's physicality is on full display as his Eric is rattled with flashbacks in the abandoned apartment he once shared with his late fiancée; he frenziedly applies the now-iconic black-and-white face paint in a shattered mirror while Smith sings, "Just paint your face, the shadows smile / Slipping me away from you."
And just like that, The Crow is born.
Friday, March 22, 2024
Daniel Kessler (Interpol) on the Curiosa tour
From NME:
That ‘Curiosa’ tour sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime event. What was the vibe of that like?
“It was great. Sometimes you do those tours and it sounds amazing on paper but then all the bands live very separately, but there was an amazing camaraderie. It was like a travelling circus. Everyone got along really great and hung out. There would be these really intense football matches between all the bands; just wherever made sense like behind the stage. I remember one of the guys from Muse hurt himself really bad during one of the matches and had to leave the tour.
“The Cure guys were just the best: really hospitable and friendly and welcoming.”
The Cure have a similar problem as Interpol – people think they’re miserable and goth, when they’re actually quite romantic and human.
“Oh, 100 per cent. Their music has that quality, plus Robert Smith and the rest of the band are such great people to hang out, shoot the shit and have a drink with. I have wonderful memories of hanging out with those guys.”
Friday, March 8, 2024
Teenage Cancer Trust posters for sale
"New in! A series of exclusive gig posters celebrating a History Of Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall.
Designed and printed by incredibly talented creatives and autographed by some of the worlds greatest musicians."
All 4 of these prints are a limited edition of 25 each, and the autographed editions are signed by Robert Smith and Andy Vella.
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
A Conversation With Alison Shaw of Cranes
From Post-Punk:
Well, since we’re hinting at some vague things here – what’s the scoop on returning to America? Is that something we can look forward to in the coming years?
Ahh, well, I can’t say much at the moment, but I’ll give you a hint. Just recently we have been offered something in America and it’s looking very positive…
Well, I accept that you can’t tell us more, but that’s very promising news! We’ll stay tuned for some more details on that, if and when the time is right! So, here’s a more open ended question – do you have a favorite moment throughout all the years you’ve been together as a band?
Favorite moment? Well, I mean obviously the tour with The Cure was completely awesome for us. I remember especially on the American leg of that tour, I remember just being happy every day, like every moment of every day, driving from city to city and playing these incredible arenas and auditoriums and stadiums, even…
How did that come about – how were you first approached by the band?
Apparently, Robert, and Simon had heard the Wings of Joy album, and they liked it. We had an agent at the time, and I think that’s how they approached us. We met them around that time, they did a few warm up shows before the tour, playing in much smaller venues in the UK. They played in our local town hall, which is called the Guild Hall in Portsmouth. We were invited to the show, and that’s where we met the band and that’s when they invited us on the tour.
Well, it was a perfect match, and obviously they’ve invited you back regularly since then, for the Trilogy shows and some other one-offs over the years. It seems like the door is always open!
Well, they’ve been so amazing to us over the years. Every few years we’ll get a call. I’ve chatted to Robert a few times recently, over email, and he’s really supportive of what we’re doing now. They’ll always be a really important part of our journey.
I’m so glad it’s still be so positive over the years. It seems like it’s a lifelong friendship with the two of you, and some of the other bands they’ve been friends with over the years, like And Also the Trees…
Yeah, he’s pretty amazing…as you might imagine.
Monday, March 4, 2024
Saturday, March 2, 2024
Health update from Roger
From Roger on Facebook:
"Thanks for all the kind messages of support just a quick update, Im about 60% through treatment and everything is going very well. I feel pretty good and looking forward to the Spring when I will be done. Working on lots of new musical projects with lots of interesting new people and instruments... X"
This is great to hear and I sincerely hope everything continues to go well. Can't wait to hear the new projects!
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