No. 442: Boys Don't Cry

Band: The Cure
Album: Boys Don't Cry
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Before the Cure became a 1980s staple and a Goth-rock institution, they were a post-punk trio. Full of angular guitars, great hooks and thwomping bass ines, the record is tons of fun.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: The production on the album isn't just thin, it's anorexic. The drums sound like they are played on a Toys R Us dum kit.
Best song: The title track is brilliant and "Killing an Arab" is great.
Worst song: "Three Imaginary Boys." Meh.
Is it awesome?: Not really.

As a freshman in college, my then-girlfriend and I would often rent movies and watch them in her dorm room. Often, they were sweet movies that were good for boyfriends and girlfriends to enjoy together. Other times, they were new releases or recommendations. One such recommendation was the film named after this film.

I remember looking up the film on the Web and seeing that it had gained an R rating for a "brutal rape scene." Not just a rape scene. A brutal rape scene.

Not a great date movie.

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"Boys Don't Cry" is an interesting record to juxtapose against "Disintegration." "Disintegration" is a lush record while "Boys Don't Cry" is more a post-punk record. The production on "Boys Don't Cry" is so different, I had some trouble listening to it.

The grand example is "10:15 Saturday Night." The guitar on the song sounds thinner -- even though Smith dual-tracked the guitar -- than later Cure records. The drums, specifically, are problematic, as the cymbal work sounds very thin. Quite frankly, the production started to eventually distract me.

With that said, "Boys Don't Cry" is really a nice record. The title track is wonderful and the hook has been in my head for several days. The lyric is s similar theme the band would reuse, but poignant nonetheless. "Subway Song" has a great bass line and "Jumping a Train" is jumpy and punk. "Killing an Arab" -- on Clear Channel's list of banned songs after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks -- is wonderful. Based on Albert Camus' "The Stranger," the song is pretty and clever. I'm kind of a sucker for songs based on my favorite books, so I have to love that song.

"Boys Don't Cry" is a nice record and a picture of a band finding its feet. The post-punk angular guitars are something the band would mostly abandon, but make for a fun record.

No. 326: Disintegration

Band: The Cure
Album: Slowhand
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Like David Bowie, it's difficult to understate the Cure's influence on fashion and the overall musical culture of the 1980s. The gothic look largely came from the mind of Robert Smith, his powdery makeup and ridiculous hair. Oh, also, they made some decent music.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Like Bowie, the band's influence on music isn't groundbreaking. They were mostly just an '80s band, albeit one that did tremendously sad songs.
Best song: "Lovesong" is, probably, the band's best work.
Worst song: "Prayers for Rain" isn't great.
Is it awesome?: Nope.

The Cure always occupied the same place in my mind as the Smiths. They're mopey English bands from the 1980s. The people I knew in college that liked them were annoying and dressed like idiots. This is probably foolish, as the Smiths were more political and jangly, with the Cure being a more straightforward '80s band.

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I used to work with a woman who was a fan of the cure (Actually, two women, but we'll just deal with the one I actually liked). This woman sat about five feet from my desk and would listen to her iPod at a ridiculous volume. I could identify much of her music simply from how loud her headphones were.

She was (and still is, I assume) a very sweet woman with pretty good taste in music. The ebst way I could describe her is by saying she was in a sorority in college, but was the cool chick in her sorority. She'd totally talk to the college radio dorks and the engineering students.

Anyway, one day, I'd seen one of those commercials for "Alternative Rock Hits" or something. This particular set had 311 doing a cover of "Lovesong." If I remember correctly, 311 had a minor hit with this cover.

Now, if you're even remotely familiar with my music tastes, you can correctly assume that I find 311 to be a terrible, awful band. I sorta assume that everyone hates 311. So, I turned to my co-worker and asked her "Hey, did you know that 311 does a cover of 'Lovesong?'"

"Oh, yeah. I love their cover. I'm a big 311 fan."

Speechless.

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With all that said, I've turned a little bit after listening to "Disintegration" a few times. It's a pretty good record. "Pictures of You" is pretty, though long. "Lullaby" has a cool arrangement and the synth strings in "Last Dance" are decidedly '80s, yet still warm. "Lovesong" itself is the type of song that works on repeated listens and the title track is similar.

Smith's vocals are touched and aching. It's not hard to feel for the dude, even if he wasn't really that sad when the album was recorded.

Overall, it's a much better album than I anticipated. while I still dislike the Smiths, I might be turning into a closet Cure fan.