Taking Sides: Goth Cure vs. Pop Cure.

the hits (which I prefer in the context of Standing On A Beach: The Singles

For whatever it's worth, I've got Standing On A Beach, too. And I prefer the "hits" on Boys Don't Cry (whichever ones the hits are -- sorry, I didn't live in England in 1979) in the context of Boys Don't Cry's apparent "non-hits" myself. (Let's see, though: Okay, "Killing An Arab" got college radio play during the first Gulf War, so I guess that counts as a hit, right? And "Grinding Halt," because it's on the Times Square soundtrack?) (And yeah, I often like spelling songs.)

Oh wait, I get it! -- the hits are the ones on the later Cure singles comp, right? Duh. But personally, since the singles comp is not where I heard them first, I could never figure out why they picked those particular songs. ("Killing An Arab," "Boys Don't Cry," "Jumping Someone Else's Train.") The weren't really the best ones BDC, after all.

Bottom line is, as far as I've ever heard (and yeah, I've listened, just not in the last two years or so, so what) the Cure never came close to matching the energy or bite of those first hits. I never thought of them as "weak Buzzcocks" myself (I definitely like "10:15 Saturday Night" and "Grinding Halt" as much as most singles-that-went-steady.) But even if were, better weak Buzzcocks than weak Cure anyday.

matching the energy of those first hits

Now you've got me doing it! The best songs on Boys Don't Cry (which was sort of a compilation itself, after all) I meant.

They weren't really the best ones on BDC...But even if they were. (Aw, fuck it.)

Especially the voice getting more annoying as he gets older part.

i'd say this is true for about 90% of music ^^

I was referring to the four songs from BDC on the Standing on a Beach CD. I tend to call songs on hits comps "hits" even if they weren't big hits (I was born in West Germany in 1979, so I'm probably less sure than you). Sorry if that was confusing.

I bought Wish for $1.90 yesterday at a thrift store, which I saw at the counter as I went up to purchase a long, black coat. They also had a copy of Disintegration, but I already own that. I think that, somewhere in suburban Maryland, a goth may have died.

I can't make up my mind about the Goth vs. Pop (vs. Punk) thing.

I do think Robert sounds too much like a kid on the first album. I haven't heard them in 10+ years, but I think his vocals were better on the Peel Sessions (Boys Don't Cry, 10:15, and a couple of others).

(I never knew until now that "10:15" was added to the CD version of Standing On A Beach, for whatever that's worth. It's not on the LP version, which is the only one I've ever owned -- and which, judging from Amazon, apparently sells for a pretty decent amount of money--which is news to me, too.)

I can't make up my mind about the Goth vs. Pop (vs. Punk) thing.

Each is great in its own Cure-ish way.

That's pretty much what I'm saying. I like all varieties of the Cure; evaluation can happen on a song-by-song basis.

'The Walk'! when I discovered this song I played it over and over!

(a long time ago now)

If I listen to an album I'll probably choose Goth Cure, but if I'm only in the mood for a song, it'll be Pop Cure (Inbetween Days/Caterpillar/The Exploding Boy/Just Like Heaven/Six Different Watys)

Six Different Ways must be one of the greatest Cure songs never to be a 45 (not saying it should have been) - it's quite adorable.

ooh if you're talking Exploding Boy, then throw in A Few Hours After This !!! mercy, what a B-side.

agreed on both.

in a hanging garden, wearing furs and masks