Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
::Today's soundtrack: The Cure "Never Enough" ::
The April 2009 Robert Smith 50th birthday celebration continues with more of me forcing you to appreciate my favourite band of all time, The Cure! Appreciate them, dammit!!
You, the casual music listener, might be thinking, "Sure, William, I'd love to give this band The Cure a chance, but I have no idea where to start! What would you recommend?" Why my fictitious friend, I'd love to help you out with that quandary! In fact, I shall put thought to deed and do so immediately! Enter:
William the Bloody's Cure Recommendations!
Albums:
1. Disintegration. Duh. Everyone needs own a copy of this. You simply have to. It's a law. This album is one big epic poem of love and sadness. Let me know if you can get through it without killing yourself...
2. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. This is one of their eclectic albums with a combination of happiness, sadness and anger. Kiss Me is all over the map with the violin on "Catch" to the sitars on "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" that the people who claim every Cure song sounds the same will eat their words.
3. Pornography. If you're not convinced The Cure should be classified as goth, just listen to this album. This is The Cure at their darkest and it hasn't got anything to do with love at all. It's all.... nihilism, and emptiness, and not caring anymore. And many allegories involving old men.
Singles:
1. Charlotte Sometimes. One of my all-time favourite Cure songs, hands down. With beautiful and dreamy lyrics like "sometimes I'm dreaming where all the other people dance" how could I not fall in love with it?
2. Lullaby. One of the band's trademark songs (re: one of the most covered by emergent goth bands) and highest charting singles. It features spooky, whispered lyrics coupled with a menacing bass line and is about literally being eaten alive by a giant spider. On my personal Goth Top 5!
3. A Forest. Probably their other most covered song, "A Forest" features a pulse-like bass line and breezy synths as Smith is losing himself in the trees searching for a girl he knows he'll never find.
B-sides:
1. This Twilight Garden. Another one of my all-time favourite Cure songs, this one is also very dreamy and poetic. The song is actually about how in love he is, but with the music and the reverb on the vocals, it comes off almost sad.
2. It Used to be Me. Some of Smith's most passionate singing on a studio track, right here. One of his songs about people always wanting a piece of him (see also "Never Enough"), and they've finally taken it all. When he sings "Until my whole head screams with grinding my teeth/ Desperate to find a single word I can keep" it is so wicked.
3. A Few Hours After This. The unusual synth string core of this song is unlike anything else The Cure has ever done, and probably will never do again
Unreleased Album Tracks:
1. Like Cockatoos (Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me). This one is it. This is my favourite. It is so... perfect to me. The lyrics are are more like a poem made up of abstract allegories than a song. Some wonderful, wonderful lines in every verse from "Like all the faces/ That quiz when you smile" to "He left a trace of bubbles/ Bleeding in his stead" is proof positive of the expert level word smithing The Cure is capable of. Couple that with some amazing synth strings, the "bird noise," and one sweet-ass percussion mix and you've got something truly unique and fantasic.
2. A Strange Day (Pornography). In the same vein as "Cockatoos," "Strange Day" utilizes unusual similies and strong visuals which is simply art. But where "Cockatoos" would be a painting strong in red, "Strange Day" would be practically all greys and washed out blues. It tells a fairly straight forward account, if taken literally, of Smith on a stony beach which becomes overwhelmed by the ocean, and he is subsequently overcome and drowns. Gotta love that Pornography era hopelessness!
3. From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea (Wish). This is my favourite song off of the Wish album. Great lyrics about a tormented love with an exceptionally strong vocal performance by Smith. I love the perpetual "build" to this song musically.
Live Versions:
1. Prayers for Rain (Entreat live album). The original is so good, I never thought it could be topped, but this performance surpasses the album cut. When Robert Smith holds that note.... wow.
2. A Letter to Elise (Mtv Unplugged). This version is so cute, what with the child's piano and Smith not having the lyrics hammered down yet and all. Also, Boris Williams (the best Cure percussionist ever, in my opinion) on those bongos is gorgeous.
3. Play for Today (Paris live album). When the audience starts singing along with the synthesizer part, I swear magic happens. This recording is so popular, that the "audience participation" during live performances of this song have practically become a tradition. At least, it was at two of the shows I've seen.
Happy songs (because yes, they exist):
1. Mint Car. When the first line of a Cure song is "The sun is up I'm so happy I could scream," you know it is firmly cemented as the happiest Cure song ever written.
2. Friday I'm in Love. A bouncy and energetic happy song about love. Sure, all those other days of the week may be sad and grey, but on Friday, I'm in loooooooooooooove, dammitall!
3. Why Can't I Be You? A song about Smith admiring someone so much he wishes he could just be them. Perky, upbeat, and an unusual brass section, you really want to sing and dance along.
There you go. I kept each section down to three because I probably could have go on for ten at least and the whole point was a good place to start. So, twelve songs and three albums. Not a bad point to spring board from considering The Cure have been around for thirty years. You have no excuse now. Go download these tracks from your iTunes or whatever else you crazy kids use today for your music. Or, if you already are an established Cure-phile, let me know if one of your faves didn't make my list but should have. Now go, go and appreciate The Cure! DO IT.
William the Bloody (happy the man)
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