The Cure Not at the Olympics?

I found it really odd that The Cure, one of the UK's most popular bands, was not included in the Olympic ceremonies. Okay, so Robert Smith doesn't look the same a he did back in the early eighties, but who among us does?

What I found tragic was that during the Goth part of the ceremonies they trucked out Annie Lennox of all people to be the "figurehead". There were many bizarre happenings at the 2012 Olympics, but this had to be near the front of the list.

Review of Ten Imaginary Years

I am a huge fan of The Cure. So when I learned of Ten Imaginary Years that was published over twenty years ago, I had to read it. Initially this was no easy task because it was difficult to find. A used copy showed up on Amazon and I snatched it.

The book is physically large and filled with great photos of The Cure's early years. Contrary to other reviews I have seen, the book does contain color photos though they are outnumbered by the black-and-whites. For some reason the text is intent on establishing The Cure as a classic heavy drinking/drugging band. I am unsure why because most fans (myself included) love The Cure for their music and phenomenal lyrics. In this regard I would have liked to learn more about the songs, what inspired them and how they were written. Alas, it is not until we get to The Top album that much attention is paid to song meanings.A few snippets address Camus and Killing an Arab, but that is about it. There is nothing about the whole drama that unfolded between The Cure and Penelope Farmer, author of Charlotte Sometimes, when the song of the same name was released. There is not a word about The Gormanghast Trilogy and its impression on Robert Smith and a number of the band's songs. An entire section could have described the video shot in the insane asylum and what Robert found there. Sigh.

Many bad reviews of The Cure are included in the book and a quarter of a century later appear comical given the wild success of the band. A number of these clippings are so small that one needs a magnifying glass to read them. The exclamation point is used like it is going out of style and few year dates are given in the book so it is easy to get lost. But these are small annoyances.
   

"Ten Imaginary Years" is a must for any fan of The Cure. Just the photos alone make it worthwhile, especially those of a beanpole Robert Smith. If you only know Just Like Heaven and Boys Don't Cry, however, you will likely be disappointed by this book. Now, if only The Cure would publish "Twenty Imaginary Years," or better yet "Thirty Imaginary Years!"

#TenImaginaryYearsReview #CureBookReview

Charlotte Sometimes Book and The Cure Song

I’ve recently read “Charlotte Sometimes” if for no other reason than to compare The Cure lyrics of their classic song Charlotte Sometimes to parts of the children’s fantasy. This is what I learned and it’s very interesting. ***Spoiler Alter***

All the faces, All the voices blur

Change to one face, Change to one voice

First sentence: By bedtime all the faces, the voices, had blurred for Charlotte to one face, one voice.

Prepare yourself for bed

Second sentence: She prepared herself for bed . . . .

The light seems bright, And glares on white walls

Book 2^nd paragraph, 6^th sentence: The light seemed to bright for them, glaring on white walls . . . .

All the sounds of

Book 4^th paragraph, 4^th sentence: All the sounds about her . . . .

Charlotte sometimes

Into the night with

Charlotte sometimes

Book 5^th paragraph, 1^st sentence: She must have slept at last . . . .

Night after night she lay alone in bed

Her eyes so open to the dark

Part II, chapter 4, 1^st sentence:  Night after night, Charlotte lay in bed with her eyes open to the dark . . . .

The streets all looked so strange

They seemed so far away

But Charlotte did not cry

Part II, chapter 4, paragraph 15, 1^st sentence: The streets looked strange . . . .

The people seemed so close

Playing expressionless games

Part II, chapter 2, paragraph 24, 3^rd sentence: Charlotte, on the other hand, became absorbed, concentrating wholly on her fingers’ easing . . . .

The people seemed so close

So many other names

Part II, chapter 2, paragraph 37: “Good night, Mr. Chisel Brown,” she said with almost a curtsy. “Good night, Mrs. Chisel Brown. Good night, Miss Agnes Chisel Brown. Good night, cat. Good night, dog . . ..”

When all the other people dance - Reference to school dance

Expressionless the trance - Reference to séance

So many different names - Reference to names of Brown family

The sounds all stay the same - Reference to airplane sounds overhead

On a different world - Past that Charlotte travels to

On that bleak track

(See the sun is gone again)

The tears were pouring down her face

She was crying and crying for a girl

Who died so many years before

 Part III, chapter 2, paragraph 53, 1^st sentence: On that bleak track, the sun almost gone again, tears were pouring down her face. She was crying and crying for a girl for a girl who had died more than 40 years before.

Charlotte sometimes crying for herself

Part III, chapter 7, paragraph 13, last sentence: She began crying bitterly, could not stop . . . .

Charlotte sometimes dreams a wall around herself

Part III, chapter 7, paragraph 10, 1^st sentence: She dreamed she stood below the picture, The Mark of the Beast, and there were soldiers all around her in red uniforms, stiff as toys but tall as men. There were dolls, too, like Miss Agnes’s doll, as tall as the soldiers . . .

Glass sealed and pretty

Part III, chapter 7, paragraph 15, 4^th sentence: And when she looked at the wall at the picture glass, it looked quite empty, as if a mirror hung there, not a picture at all.

#CharlotteSometimes #CureCharlotteSometimes

Ghost References in Cure Lyrics

The Cure is the most successful Goth band in history and at times their lyrics have referenced the supernatural. This post is about a marriage of the two. What I mean by that is I did a little research into scary ghost reference by The Cure in their lyrics. I found 5 songs that contain them. I dare you to listen to these songs while reading The Best Ghost Stories 1800:1849: A Classic Ghost Anthology.

The Hungry Ghost - 4:13 Dream

Siren Song - 4:13 Dream

The Upstairs Room - B Side to "The Walk" and Join the Dots

Fear of Ghosts - "Lovesong" EP

Untitled - Disintegration