Random Music Talk XXIX: You snooze, you lose

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Standing on a Beach is probably the way to go, if you don't mind entering via Greatest Hits, agreed.
 
Head on the Door is the place to start. It represents the fundamental sound of the past while also pointing assertively to the future. KM is too scattered and Disintegration too indulgent for a beginner, though I love both of them to different extents.
 
Actually taking Peef's tastes, such as they are, into account, I actually think he would like the early stuff more than the rest. Boys Don't Cry and all that. Keeping that in mind, Standing On A Beach would be a very good choice.
 
I love that we are using the term "Standing on a Beach" rather than "Staring at the Sea." Vinyl purists, you folks are.
 
For the record, what P-Fork had to say about the KMKMKM reissue:

"But then there's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987), the place where every one of these things comes together. This band is best remembered for Disintegration, yes-- it's the kind of epic, single-minded "statement" that asks to be put up on pedestals. Thing is, you don't get the kind of teenage-bedroom devotion this band got by making epic, single-minded statements. In order to get people to dress like you-- to make a whole world out of your music-- you have to offer them a whole world, one that encompasses all of their moods, every waking moment of their days.

The 18 tracks of Kiss Me's double-LP do exactly that. Every major mode of the Cure is here, and sounding better than ever, each one a realm of its own. There's grand, tormented wailing ("The Kiss", "Fight") next to tender, sunny numbers ("Catch"). There are creepy-crawly Orientalist nightmares ("The Snake Pit", "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep") and slow, sparkling romances ("One More Time"). There are bitter shouts ("Shiver and Shake"), all-pop numbers ("Just Like Heaven"), and complex intersections between the two ("Hot Hot Hot", "Why Can't I Be You?"). Smith's lyrics even find, among the usual animals and anguish, a set of linchpin images that reflect in each of those directions. There is a mouth on the cover, and the songs are full of devouring-- both the devouring mouths of desire and the fear of being consumed. Christmas gets to evoke both gaudy colors and sad nostalgia. There's the deep, dark water that would soon be all over Disintegration, and there's an endless romantic push and pull: someone so perfect that Smith asks "Why can't I be you?" and someone else so perfect that Smith asks, "You want to know why I hate you?" Some of these songs play out mixed-up emotions-- weird crossovers of depression and joy, love and loathing, anger and resignation-- that we barely have names for. Bitter torture and giddy excitement and desire, desire, desire: They all come together into one almost maniacally impassioned thing.

This is the world of the raccoon-eyed, mumbling, moping, endlessly sensitive late-80s Cure fan in one gorgeous, totally immersive package, and it's one of the most convincing, emotionally whole, and individual albums of the decade-- an entire imagined land, complete with sounds, visions, and styles, huge on romance and drama. If you were only ever to buy one Cure album, most people would point you to that landmark Disintegration, and there's every chance you'd be amazed by it. But for the whole breadth of the Cure-- and what seems like the whole head of Smith-- in one glorious package, this is the one that matters."
 
There's only so much time left in this crazy world
I'm just crumblin' 'erb
I'm just crumblin' 'erb
Niggas killin' niggas they don't understand
(what's the master plan)
I'm just crumblin' 'erb
I'm just crumblin' 'erb

Imperor said:
I do.
Click to expand...

So it's not just me! I think at this point I'd rather hear them play Zooropa, Lemon, Acrobat, Numb, EBTTRT, The Fly, Gone, Mofo, etc than hear their new music.

I cannot name a Bjork song.
 
iron yuppie said:
I love that we are using the term "Standing on a Beach" rather than "Staring at the Sea." Vinyl purists, you folks are.
Click to expand...

I own it on cassette, that's why. lol.
 
iron yuppie said:
I love that we are using the term "Standing on a Beach" rather than "Staring at the Sea." Vinyl purists, you folks are.
Click to expand...

Ha, he'll probably go looking for it on a bender one night and wonder what the hell we're talking about. Then we'll mock him the next morning for it when he's in hangover mode and he'll finally snap. Hold O.A.R. hostage or something.

Fuck it, maybe Martha was right after all.
 
LemonMelon said:
I bet you would wean someone onto the Stones, Zeppelin and Beatles with Exile, Physical Graffiti and the White Album too.
Click to expand...

The incremental differences between Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers (which is prob what I would recommend to a beginner), and Exile aren't really significant enough to make a difference. With The Cure, Smith was often reacting strongly to the previous work, and those left turns should be taken into account.

With Zeppelin, it's really the same thing as the Stones. I don't think someone would have a different response whether they listened to II, IV, or Houses of the Holy first.

With The Beatles, there are some abrupt turns. The pop giving way to the psychedelia on Revolver, with an increasing amount of that influence on the next two releases. The White Album is a more organic affair, but still retains enough of the studio wizardry to showcase their weirder side. And Let It Be continues in that "natural" direction, until they split the difference on Abbey Road.

So if I was asked to prove why The Beatles were so great, I would direct them to The White Album. But a music fan who's just curious and wants to explore? Tough call. Probably Revolver, which has stronger songs than its classic follow-up.
 
I honestly couldn't tell you what my tastes are if you asked me, so I find it interesting that others have picked up on them and can make an assessment.

Looks like I'm going to be downloading some new music to listen to during finals week.
 
So in summary:

If you want their most popular album: Disintegration
If you want a broad spectrum of their sound: Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
If you want a broad spectrum of their sound via greatest hits: Standing on a Beach (You'll get more of their career out of Greatest Hits, but that collection's nowhere near as good).

You're pretty much looking at 70-80 minutes no matter what you do with all three of those, so if you're in a hurry, The Head on the Door is probably their most accessible album.

Have fun ;)
 
I'll say this about The Head On The Door: it's not likely to drive a new listener away, and agree that it's probably their most accessible/enjoyable.

And it's not like it's stylistically one-note, anyway. Close To Me, A Night Like This, The Blood, In-Between Days...all different.
 
THOTD scared the shit out of me the first time I heard it. I had no idea what I was listening to. Didn't realize that not every Cure song sounded like Lullaby at the time.

And yeah, The Cure is the best singles band of at least the 80s. The albums are great too, but oh man are their non-album singles great too.
 
I have Disintegration. I prefer what I've heard from Boys Don't Cry, though. Beyond that, I have no opinion on The Cure.
 
I enjoy most of Disintegration (it gets a little long and dreary, and I don't care for Lovesong), and am happy to have Staring At the Sea and Galore, so I have the gamut of their hits.

That works for me. That's enough Cure.
 
Disintegration is long, and dreary, I do realize that, but I never notice while I'm listening. Not a lot of albums I feel that way about. It also makes me cry almost every time I hear it. Usually by the time I get to the title track.
 
LemonMelon said:
And yeah, The Cure is the best singles band of at least the 80s.
Click to expand...

LOL, try New Order.

Especially if we're going to look at the actual impact of the "single" format and how influential NO was on other bands as well as in nightclubs.

Not as many songs compared to how prolific The Cure was in the 80's, but I'll put Substance up against the 12 best Cure singles you can put together.

I think I'd even put Depeche Mode above The Cure in this department.
 
I dislike New Order for the most part, at least based on the two albums I've heard. But I'm hardly an authority on the synth or synth-related music, which I only stopped vomiting to sound of about two years ago. I just find them bland compared to their contemporaries.

But that's my subjectivity seeping through. Objectively, they're definitely up there as a singles band. Smiths too. I forgot about them.
 
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