On The List: 1980s

We are back and proud to announce our newest book.  On The List:1980s.  Out now!!! In this book, we explore that totally awesome decade:  the 1980s.  Neon clothes, big hair, cassettes, fast cars, MTV, and all the great music from pop to rock to metal to rap to every paisley jangle pub punk out there.  It's available now and perfect for under the tree for that audiophile in your life.  Available now on Amazon.

Here are the 11 best quotes from people who have read the book:

1. "Most Excellent!" - Two wild musicians at the Circle K
2. "The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore it." - High School Receptionist
3. "I feel the need...the need for this book!" - Naval Pilot
4. "Inconceivable!" - Some Guy who doesn't know what the word means
5. "It belongs in a museum." - An Archeologist
6. "Bitchin'" - kid hanging out back at the Gas N' Sip
7. "I came. I read. It kicks ass!" - Paranormal Expert
8. "If you read it, you will be happy." - Baseball player
9. "It's great.  Now you know...and knowing is half the battle." - Military Soldier
10. "I'll be back...to read this again and again." Robot from the future
11. "This goes to 11." - Metal guitarist

The Unknown: The Cure - Disintegration (Re-Imagined)

This weekend was Record Store Day.  The greatest single event created for music fans everywhere.  And for all the haters, they're just bitter because they didn't think of it first.  Seriously.  Without Record Store Day, independent record stores would be out of business, not increasing in numbers.  So for any flaws it might have, the positives outweigh the negatives in extremes. This year, for Record Store Day, there were a few "alternate" versions of popular albums.  The Flaming Lips' alternate version of "Clouds Taste Metallic" and Fleetwood Mac's alternate "Tuck" are a couple that come to mind.  This got me thinking.  How can we re-imagine famous albums in a new way? Not necessarily a better way...but a new way.  Like visiting a best friend in a new house or a director's cut of a great movie.  Are there other ways to enjoy something we already love? My favorite album of all time is the Cure's "Disintegration."  It might be the perfect album.  To me.  It got me thinking...is there a new way to enjoy this album?  Even by merely re-ordering the songs...  Is there a new way to experience it?  I took the 12 songs from the original release.  I included the 4 B-sides and used the extended remixes of the singles in lieu of the current album versions.  With these 16 songs, I ventured out to create a new album. Immediately, I noticed one very important thing...the order of the songs is as important as the songs themselves.  Here's something to consider.  If I try to make a 12 song album, using these 16 songs, the possibilities of different albums number in the...get ready for this...billions.  Yes, billions.  There are over 800 billion different ways to order these 16 songs. Eight hundred billion.  This is true. It's called math.  Permutations, precisely.  Google it. So, of the 800 billion possible combinations, are there other combinations that work?  The answer is...yes.  Over the course of re-evaluating this album, I discovered two very different paths, creating two polarizing different albums: a dark album...and a light album.  So I have included them for you here.  Disintegration:  The Light and Disintegration: The Dark.  Listen to them both below...and enjoy a new journey into The Cure.  Even songs used in both alternate versions, come across with totally different feels in their new homes. A unique experience that can surely open the door into the listening of other favorite albums. Trying to stay on par with the original, I have capped the running length under 70 minutes.  Let me know your thoughts...and your own versions. The Cure Disintegration: The Dark     The Cure Disintegration:  The Light    

Halloween 2015 Playlist

Happy Halloween, ghouls, goblins, and all you ordinary people dressing up.  Here's a playlist to keep the frights going.        

The 111 Best Songs By the Cure

Since I did this about a year and a half ago...I figured I would just re-post instead of re-thinking something new.  I have been listening to the Cure's Bestival album.  It's their new live album with an insanely good track list   Musically it sounds solid and Smith's voice sound stellar...although I'm sure it's just pro-tools track at this point (I'm trying not to think about it too much).  But the most alarming thing about the album isn't the possible lip syncing...but the butchering of one of their most famous tracks.  Killing An Arab has been changed.  It's now called Killing Another.  And it's not just the title...Smith actually sings alternate lyrics!  This is PC gone too far.  First of all, this isn't a racial slur...it's a a reference to a philosophical novel by Albert Camus.  It's recalling the events that occurred in the book.  You can't change the lyrics because the events in the book are still the same.  If he sings about something else...then the song is referring to some other metaphysical book altogether.  Killing another?  What the hell does that mean?  That has no impact.  I know in the political climate that the song could have other implications...but it doesn't.  It has nothing to do with racism toward Arabs.  It's a literal analogy.  Literature is supposed to be challenging.  It's supposed to question pre-disposed views.  You can't question anything if your remove the question mark.  I'm disappointed in the Cure for this one.  I know you're trying to be politically correct...but you're better off not singing the song than altering it into some vanilla version.  Hey...31 out of 32 songs ain't bad.

Here are the 111 Best Cure Songs:

1. Lovesong (Disintegration)
2. Disintegration (Disintegration)
3. Just Like Heaven (Kiss Me)
4. A Night Like This (Head on the Door)
5. A Forest (Seventeen Seconds)
6. Pictures of You (Disintegration)
7. Primary (Faith)
8. Like Cockatoos (Kiss Me)
9. Homesick (Disintegration)
10. 10:15 Saturday Night (Three Imaginery Boys)
11. Kyoto Song (Head on the Door)
12. How Beautiful You Are (Kiss Me)
13. The Figurehead (Pornography)
14. In Your House (Seventeen Seconds)
15. Cut (Wish)
16. Last Dance (Disintegration)
17. Push (Head on the Door)
18. Same Deep Water As You (Disintegration) 
19. Jumping Someone Else's Train (Boys Don't Cry)
20. Prayers For Rain (Disintegration)
21. Trust (Wish)
22. Harold and Joe (Never Enough B-Side)
23. Charlotte Sometimes (Single)
24. From The Edge Of A Deep Green Sea (Wish)
25. Close To Me (Head on the Door)
26. A Strange Day (Pornography)
27. A Short Term Effect (Pornography)
28. Play For Today (Seventeen Seconds)
29. Plainsong (Disintegration)
30. Watching Me Fall (Bloodflowers)
31. A Chain of Flowers (Kiss Me B-Side)
32. Closedown (Disintegration)
33. The Walk (Japanese Whispers)
34. Let's Go To Bed (Japanese Whispers)
35. All I Want (Kiss Me)
36. Apart (Wish)
37. Siamese Twins (Pornography)
38. Fascination Street (Disintegration)
39. Babble (Disintegration B-Side)
40. All Cats Are Grey (Faith)
41. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (Kiss Me)
42. Object (Three Imaginery Boys)
43. Plastic Passion (Boys Don't Cry)
44. Bloodflowers (Bloodflowers)
45. Scared As You (Wish B-side)
46. One Hundred Years (Pornography)
47. Doing the Unstuck (Wish)
48. Numb (Wild Mood Swings)
49. Killing An Arab (Boys Don't Cry) 
50. 39 (Bloodflowers)
51. Anniversary (The Cure)
52. Lullaby (Disintegration)
53. In Between Dreams (Head on the Door)
54. The Hanging Garden (Pornography)
55. A Japanese Dream (Kiss Me B-Side)
56. I'm Cold (Three Imaginery Boys B-Side)
57. Faded Smiles (Three Imaginery Boys Reissue)
58. Open (Wish)
59. Want (Wild Mood Swings)
60. Underneath The Stars (4:13 Dream)
61. Cold (Pornography)
62. The Baby Screams (Head on the Door)
63. Fear of Ghosts (Disintegration B-Side)
64. A Foolish Arrangement (Wish B-Side)
65. All Kinds of Stuff (Digital Single)
66. Doubt (Faith)
67. Fire in Cairo (Three Imaginery Boys)
68. Untitled (Disintegration)
69. It's Not You (Three Imaginery Boys)
70. The Empty World (The Top)
71. End (Wish)
72. Treasure (Wild Mood Swings)
73. Torture (Kiss Me)
74. Three Imaginary Boys (Three Imaginery Boys)
75. It Used To Be Me (Wild Mood Swings B-Side)
76. Play (Wish B-Side)
77. Snow In the Summer (Kiss Me B-Side)
78. Icing Sugar (Kiss Me)
79. Temptation Two (Pornography reissue)
80. Birdmad Girl (The Top)
81. Twilight Garden (Wish B-Side)
82. This Morning (The Cure B-Side)
83. Just One Kiss (Let's Go To Be B-Side)
84. Shiver And Shake (Kiss Me)
85. One More Time (Kiss Me)
86. Out of Mind (Disintegration B-Side)
87. The Exploding Boy (Head on the Door B-Side)
88. Shake Dog Shake (The Top)
89. Play With Me (Three Imaginery Boys Reissue)
90. Burn (The Crow)
91. The Promise (The Cure)
92. The Upstairs Room (The Walk B-Side)
93. Man Inside My Mouth (Head on the Door B-Side)
94. 2 Late (Disintegration B-Side)
95. The Big Hand (Wish B-Side)
96. Fight (Kiss Me)
97. Ocean (Wild Mood Swings B-Side)
98. Maybe Someday  (Bloodflowers)
99. Switch (4:13 Dream)
100. Taking Off (The Cure)
101. The Catepillar (The Top)
102. It's Over (4:13 Dream)
103. Last Day of Summer (Bloodflowers)
104. Why Can't I Be You? (Kiss Me)
105. M (Seventeen Seconds)
106. Your God Is Fear (The Cure - B-side)
107. Labyrinth (The Cure)
108. Six Different Ways (Head on the Door)
109. Freakshow (4:13 Dream)
110. Us or Them (The Cure)
111. Carnage Visors (The Soundtrack)

Buy the Cure's new live album, Bestival now!!

The 111 Best Songs By The Cure

I imagine I'll inflict numerous hate email/comments about how wrong I am with this one.  But come on...it's the Cure.  Every song is great.  And each person has their own relationship with this epic band.  So take it with a grain of salt.  And before you say...you don't know the Cure...just know...I've been listening to this band religiously since 1983.  So suck on that...and yeah...I'm old.  Again, thank you to Chain of Flowers for the live tracks.

Here are the 111 Best Cure Songs:

1. Lovesong (Disintegration)
2. Disintegration (Disintegration)
3. Just Like Heaven (Kiss Me)
4. A Night Like This (Head on the Door)
5. A Forest (Seventeen Seconds)
6. Pictures of You (Disintegration)
7. Primary (Faith)
8. Like Cockatoos (Kiss Me)
9. Homesick (Disintegration)
10. 10:15 Saturday Night (Three Imaginery Boys)
11. Kyoto Song (Head on the Door)
12. How Beautiful You Are (Kiss Me)
13. The Figurehead (Pornography)
14. In Your House (Seventeen Seconds)
15. Cut (Wish)
16. Last Dance (Disintegration)
17. Push (Head on the Door)
18. Same Deep Water As You (Disintegration) 
19. Jumping Someone Else's Train (Boys Don't Cry)
20. Prayers For Rain (Disintegration)
21. Trust (Wish)
22. Harold and Joe (Never Enough B-Side)
23. Charlotte Sometimes (Single)
24. From The Edge Of A Deep Green Sea (Wish)
25. Close To Me (Head on the Door)
26. A Strange Day (Pornography)
27. A Short Term Effect (Pornography)
28. Play For Today (Seventeen Seconds)
29. Plainsong (Disintegration)
30. Watching Me Fall (Bloodflowers)
31. A Chain of Flowers (Kiss Me B-Side)
32. Closedown (Disintegration)
33. The Walk (Japanese Whispers)
34. Let's Go To Bed (Japanese Whispers)
35. All I Want (Kiss Me)
36. Apart (Wish)
37. Siamese Twins (Pornography)
38. Fascination Street (Disintegration)
39. Babble (Disintegration B-Side)
40. All Cats Are Grey (Faith)
41. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (Kiss Me)
42. Object (Three Imaginery Boys)
43. Plastic Passion (Boys Don't Cry)
44. Bloodflowers (Bloodflowers)
45. Scared As You (Wish B-side)
46. One Hundred Years (Pornography)
47. Doing the Unstuck (Wish)
48. Numb (Wild Mood Swings)
49. Killing An Arab (Boys Don't Cry) 
50. 39 (Bloodflowers)
51. Anniversary (The Cure)
52. Lullaby (Disintegration)
53. In Between Dreams (Head on the Door)
54. The Hanging Garden (Pornography)
55. A Japanese Dream (Kiss Me B-Side)
56. I'm Cold (Three Imaginery Boys B-Side)
57. Faded Smiles (Three Imaginery Boys Reissue)
58. Open (Wish)
59. Want (Wild Mood Swings)
60. Underneath The Stars (4:13 Dream)
61. Cold (Pornography)
62. The Baby Screams (Head on the Door)
63. Fear of Ghosts (Disintegration B-Side)
64. A Foolish Arrangement (Wish B-Side)
65. All Kinds of Stuff (Digital Single)
66. Doubt (Faith)
67. Fire in Cairo (Three Imaginery Boys)
68. Untitled (Disintegration)
69. It's Not You (Three Imaginery Boys)
70. The Empty World (The Top)
71. End (Wish)
72. Treasure (Wild Mood Swings)
73. Torture (Kiss Me)
74. Three Imaginary Boys (Three Imaginery Boys)
75. It Used To Be Me (Wild Mood Swings B-Side)
76. Play (Wish B-Side)
77. Snow In the Summer (Kiss Me B-Side)
78. Icing Sugar (Kiss Me)
79. Temptation Two (Pornography reissue)
80. Birdmad Girl (The Top)
81. Twilight Garden (Wish B-Side)
82. This Morning (The Cure B-Side)
83. Just One Kiss (Let's Go To Be B-Side)
84. Shiver And Shake (Kiss Me)
85. One More Time (Kiss Me)
86. Out of Mind (Disintegration B-Side)
87. The Exploding Boy (Head on the Door B-Side)
88. Shake Dog Shake (The Top)
89. Play With Me (Three Imaginery Boys Reissue)
90. Burn (The Crow)
91. The Promise (The Cure)
92. The Upstairs Room (The Walk B-Side)
93. Man Inside My Mouth (Head on the Door B-Side)
94. 2 Late (Disintegration B-Side)
95. The Big Hand (Wish B-Side)
96. Fight (Kiss Me)
97. Ocean (Wild Mood Swings B-Side)
98. Maybe Someday  (Bloodflowers)
99. Switch (4:13 Dream)
100. Taking Off (The Cure)
101. The Catepillar (The Top)
102. It's Over (4:13 Dream)
103. Last Day of Summer (Bloodflowers)
104. Why Can't I Be You? (Kiss Me)
105. M (Seventeen Seconds)
106. Your God Is Fear (The Cure - B-side)
107. Labyrinth (The Cure)
108. Six Different Ways (Head on the Door)
109. Freakshow (4:13 Dream)
110. Us or Them (The Cure)
111. Carnage Visors (The Soundtrack)

Buy The Cure's 20th anniversay 3-disc remasters reissue of Disintegration...now!!

The Unknown: The Cure's Disintegration Alternate Rarities & Disintegration Live in Dalla

Not only is the Cure's Disintegration one of the best Cure album (honestly, it's really just the best).  Not only is it one of the greatest alternative albums of the 80s.  Not only is it one of the 10 best albums of the past 30 years.  It is one of the greatest albums of all time.  Don't take my word for it...even South Park agrees.  And South Park doesn't like anything.  If they're praising something instead of insulting it...then it has to be good.

I once heard a drunk guy claim that the Cure's Disintegration was the alternative Dark Side of the Moon.  And instead of blowing him off for being crazy...I thought about it...and agreed.  It is that good.

This week the Cure sets to release their pivotal musical zenith in a 3CD set.  A remastered version, a disc of rarities, and the full version of Entreat, which has only been available in an abridged version on Import.  But that's not all.  Robert Smith himself has a gift for all the loyal fans.  He has posted 2 free extra Disintegration albums.  A second album of rarities and another live concert from the Prayer Tour, this one in Dallas.

Is there ever such a thing as too much Cure?  The answer is always no.

Here are two free albums from the Cure.  These are not my links...so I'm sending you to the Chain of Flowers blog who is hosting them.

Alternate Rarities

Live in Dallas 1989

Buy the mega 3CD Disintegration set, digitally, now!

The 11 Best Albums of 1989

In 1989, the first recordable CDs were announced for the public. Though, they wouldn't go on sale until 1990, what most people didn't know is what kind of music revolution that would follow a short decade later because of this simple invention.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 1989:

1. The Cure - Disinitegration (Last Dance)

2. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

3. Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever

4. Pixies - Doolittle

5. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (Sin)

6. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising

7. Nirvana - Bleach

8. Fugazi - 13 Songs

9. Bad Religion - No Control

10. Ministry - A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste

11. Fine Young Cannibals - The Raw and the Cooked

Buy these albums here.

The 11 Best Cure Songs (post-Disintegration)

Instead of a rant or a little story that quietly refers to the music I'm blogging about...today, I have a question for you.

What is more influential...more memorable: an album or a band?

(example: Nirvana or Nevermind...Guns N Roses or Appetite for Destruction....The Cure or Disintegration)

The 11 Best Cure Songs (post-Disintegration)

1. Cut (Wish)

2. Trust (Wish)

3. Watching Me Fall (Bloodflowers)

4. Apart (Wish)

5. Bloodflowers (Bloodflowers)

6. Anniversary (The Cure)

7. Treasure (Wild Mood Swings)

8. From The Edge of a Deep Green Sea (Wish)

9. 39 (Bloodflowers)

10. Open (Wish)

11. The Promise (The Cure)

Buy The Cure's new album, 4:13 Dream...now!!

The 11 Best Cure Albums

Used CD stores are killing the music industry. It's a bold statement. Most people want to blame greedy college kids in dorm rooms for bringing down the sincere music exec's salary by downloading millions of songs illegally. But there's one problem with that theory...which I've repeated many times...college kids don't have any money. They can't afford to buy albums anyway. If a kid has $20 in his pocket, he can only afford to buy 1 CD. Even though he may sit in his dorm room and download every seattle grunge rock album, that doesn't mean he had the money to buy that music. Granted, I'm not trying to say it's legal...it's still not legal...but that's not what is causing the downturn. The downturn is coming from the used CD stores.

Why you ask? Used CD stores put a value on a CD. In a regular music store...all music is the same list price...or relative of that. But in a used CD store...the prices fluxuate based on demand. The new Jakob Dylan album...though only a couple of months old was selling for a meager $4.99...while Bob Dylan's "Oh Mercy" was selling for $11.99. Both used. Bob's album is in fact selling for more "used" that it is new in most retail locations. Here's where the problem lies. Used CD stores are the way station between retailers and the internet. Though the money doesn't go to the muscians...they keep certain albums in circulation. Once the Used stores try manipulating the market for financial gain...it will just the customer to other forms of purchasing (or stealing) music. People go to Used CD stores for an alternative. But if the alternative is less satisfying than the retailer...it's going to turn off music buyers completely.

Here are the 11 Best Cure Albums:

1. Disintegration (1989)
2. Wish (1992)
3. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987)
4. Three Imaginary Boys/Boys Don't Cry (1979)
5. Head on The Door (1985)
6. Pornography (1982)
7. Bloodflowers (2000)
8. The Top (1984)
9. Faith (1981)
10. Seventeen Seconds (1980)
11. Wild Mood Swings (1996)

Pre-Order The Cure's new album...4:13 Dream.

The 11 Best Cure B-Sides

I often get emails why I don't include new songs on the "best of" lists. The whole point of the site is to take a look back at the bands (that I like) as they are on the cusp of a new stage of their career with a new release. Lots of times, it's hard to really feel where a "new" song deserves to fall until you've listened to it a few dozen times...then take a break from it...then come back to it. Usually, initial listens don't do the song justice. If you're really excited about a new release, you tend to fall in love rather quickly...wow, this is the greatest song ever!! But after the novelty wears off...I've found myself almost embarrassed that I liked the song to begin with. Other times...I've hated new songs only to find myself a few months later digging through my boxes of CDs because I can't a certain tune out of my head. Hope that makes sense.

Barring anymore delays...the new Cure album should hit stores next week. One of the best parts of the Cure's career has been their vast depth of B-sides. The Cure's b-sides have never been cute little additions to CD singles in hopes of getting you to shell out another 5 bucks for a song you already own. The Cure's b-sides are more like extensions of the album. Taking the sound of the band at that moment in time and expanding out....testing the waters in ways that sometimes were too limiting on the constrictive nature of the album. I honestly can't think of Disintegration or Wish without thinking about their b-sides. Maybe this is why the Cure chose to honor their b-sides with a proper box set release (Join the Dots). If you don't have it...get it.

The 11 Best Cure B-Sides

1. Harold and Joe (Mixed Up)
2. This Twilight Garden (Wish)
3. Burn (The Crow)
4. Scared As You (Wish)
5. Babble (Disintegration)
6. A Foolish Arrangement (Wish)
7. Fear of Ghosts (Disintegration)
8. Snow in the Summer (Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me)
9. This Morning (The Cure)
10. Out of Mind (Disintegration)
11. A Chain of Flowers (Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me)
11. Play (Wish)

(I honestly couldn't choose between the last two songs...I rarely do this...but it's a tie. Which one is your favorite?)

Buy the Cure's new album...4:13 Dream

The 11 Best Cure Songs (Part One)

Let's be honest...if I were to do a true "best of" list for the Cure it would look something like this...

1. Disintegration (Disintegration)

2. Lovesong (Disintegration)

3. Prayers For Rain (Disintegration)

4. Same Deep Water As You (Disintegration)

5. Homesick (Disintegration)

6. Pictures of You (Disintegration)

7. Last Dance (Disintegration)

8. Plainsong (Disintegration)

9. Fascination Street (Disintegration)

10. Closedown (Disintegration)

11. Lullaby (Disintegration)

...so, the only fair way to do this was to split the Cure's career up into two categories...the Best Cure songs pre-Disintegration...and the Best Cure songs post-Disintegration...

Each era represents a sharply different sound for the band...the early material harkens back to a darker gothic style born out of the post-punk of London's underground...while the later material finds the band perfecting their pop sensibilities. This isn't to say that one is better than the other...but that they are just vastly different and each deserve their own list.

In the 70s, the Cure set off on their own path by layering their own music with emotional mood rather than the typical raw angry emotion of the waning punk scene. If you listen closely to Smith's vocals in the early days, you can hear the perpetual punk pang honed by Johnny Rotten, which sounds more like he was shouting orders rather than the crooning of their predecessors. In these days, even though he emulated some of his punk commrades, it was Smith's rich textured voice that set him apart...it was the emotion tank that was deep in the back of his voice that would eventually carry his music through 4 decades...spanning a longer musical career than any of his peers.

Though the Cure is best thought of for their dark brooding material, in all honesty, it's their more lively energetic songs (Primary, 10:15, How Beautiful), where the band truly excels.

Like the Travis disc...the Cure's new album has also been pushed a couple of weeks...so the second part of this list will surface around that time.

Here are the 11 Best Cure Songs (pre-Disintegration)

1. A Night Like This (Head on the Door)
2. A Forest (Seventeen Seconds)
3. 10:15 Saturday Night (Boys Don't Cry)
4. How Beautiful You Are (Kiss Me)
5. Primary (Faith)
6. Like Cockatoos (Kiss Me)
7. Kyoto Song (Head on the Door)
8. Siamese Twins (Pornography)
9. Charlotte Sometimes (Charlotte Sometimes)
10. Killing an Arab (Boys Don't Cry)
11. Just Like Heaven (Kiss Me)

Pre-Order the Cure's new album...4:13 Dream to be released on October 28th.