SOUNDTRACK: THE CURE-The Cure (2004).
I’ve been a huge fan of The Cure since my friend Garry introduced me to them circa 1985. I saw them twice in concert, I overplayed Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, and even got the giant Boys Don’t Cry poster.
And then I grew up. I basically stopped getting Cure albums around Wild Mood Swings (which was only two albums before this one even though it was nearly a decade ago). I eventually got Bloodflowers when a friend said it was very good, and I agreed. But it took me a long time to get this one (I think I was tired of the persistent “last album ever” deal). Nevertheless, I still like the Cure, and I do like this one.
This self-titled disc is very familiar sounding. In fact, it’s as if someone told Robert Smith: make a greatest hits album but with all new songs. And that’s more or less what you get with this disc. It doesn’t have a theme like Disintegration or The Top. There are manic highs and lows all over the album. In fact, on several songs Robert is happy and in love, and on others he will never be in love. Rather than depression, it’s almost all schizophrenia.
It starts in a very downbeat fashion (“Lost”) with scowling, reeling vocals despite him singing about being “so happy and so young.” The mood continues on “Labyrinth” with its sinister, somewhat Egyptian sounding guitar line.
And then you get two of Robert Smith’s upbeat songs, “Before Three” (“The happiest day I ever knew…”) and “Until the End of the World” (“I couldn’t love you more!”). You know they’re happy songs when he drifts into that impossible falsetto. “Anniversary” is one of their dark songs like ” A Forest” with that great Cure drumming tribal drumming. And there’s the single “alt.end,” which is, simply, another great single from The Cure.
The sonic landscape continues with another falsetto song “(I Don’t Know What’s Going ) On.” And then we’re back to the aggrieved and angry “Us or Them” where Robert almost repeats a line from “The Kiss” “get your fucking head out of my world” (the original being “get your fucking voice out of my head”).
The only questionable song is the final one, “The Promise”. And the only reason it’s questionable is that it’s 12 minutes long. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for The Cure, since the aforementioned “The Kiss” is 6 minutes of delightfulness. But I think 12 might be a bit too long. Nevertheless, it lets the album end on an angry, bitter note, just as it began. Symmetry, after all.
I guess I’m still a Cure fan after all these years.
[READ: March 8, 2009] SkyMaul
I heard about this catalog through a plug from The Sound of Young America. They said it was selling cheap on Amazon, so I snatched up one of the last remaining copies.
This catalog is hilarious. Obviously, it is a parody of the Sky Mall catalog that you look at on airplanes when you have run out of everything else to look at, and have no intention of purchasing anything from (unless you are Barney Stinson [I tried to find a link to his Sky Mall compulsiveness, but there are no official ones, so if you just Google “barney skymall” tons of things comes up].
Many parody titles don’t live up to the hilarity they promise. This boils down to a couple of reasons: They are so true to the original it’s hard to tell them apart; they require a deep awareness of the original in order to really appreciate the joke; most people who know they original that well actually LIKE the original, and don’t want the parody.
SkyMaul however, is that rare beast: a parody that is very funny but is also full of crazily inventive and absurd humor. Unlike many of the very specific parodies that exist, SkyMaul allows for across-the-board humor, so it never gets bogged down in finding that “perfect parody moment.”
SkyMaul works similarly to The Onion, in that some of the items in this catalog are direct parodies of existing items (Atheist motivational posters; the first ever Milk vacuum–for when people put unwanted milk on your cereal), and others are simply utter nonsense (like the Llamacycle (a llama with a wheel for front legs, or the Air Straightener “Stop Breathing Disorganized Air!”)).
There were a number of things that had me laughing out loud and thinking of people who would love to read this (Happy Birthday, Matt).
The genius of the book is dividing the catalog into smaller subsections (just like the real thing) which allows them to diversify their products. Some subsections include: The Image Sharpener; The Statuetory (Meeting and Exceeding Your Home Statue Needs); J. Crewcifix (Extreme Religion Since A.D. 33); Tomorrow’s Garage Sale (Filling up you home, office, and storage areas); NASCAR Stepdad; WhadjaGITme? (Toys for demanding kids…); Shemail (Doodads for ladies) [Although that’s not as good as Arrested Development’s designer Shemále]; Heavy Petter (pushing animal product on people]; The Nicest Gift (is to let people deal with stuff on their own); Coming Soon (the store 4 sex toys ‘n’ stuff).
You get the idea of where this catalog is going. And to top it off there’s even a crossword puzzle in the back. This may have been the funniest part of the book, so don’t skip it! Sample entry: Q: Superman’s weakness. A: Chocolate.
To see some examples from the book, click here.
Oh, and in case you’re like me, you didn’t know that Kasper Hauser is not a person but a comedy troupe.
SOUNDTRACK: SUFJAN STEVENS–Peace! Songs for Christmas Vol. V (2006).
This EP comes very close to being my favorite; it may even beat vol 3. In part because the disc is 35 minutes long (still short for Sufjan Stevens but longer than some bands’ full lengths).
SOUNDTRACK: PAUL F. TOMPKINS-Impersonal (2007).
SOUNDTRACK: NADJA-Truth Becomes Death (2005).
Slow and low that is the tempo. Very few reviews of Nadja will quote the Beastie Boys, and that is probably wise. The only reason I do is because the quote is so apt. Nadja plays music that is very very very slow. And the notes are very very very low. Have you ever played a 45 RPM vinyl record (remember those) on 33 and laughed at how it sounded? Well, that’s what this record sounds like. On purpose. There are 3 songs. The first is 23 minutes, the second is 16 and the third is 11.
I Just Read About That... 