The Cure:Seventeen Seconds

The Cure:Seventeen Seconds

1980

Fiction Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. A Reflection  2. Play for Today  3. Secrets  4. In Your House  5. Three  6. The Final Sound  7. A Forest  8. M  9. At Night  10. Seventeen Seconds

 "Welcome to the McGothlin Group, where we discuss pressing issues within the Goth community...I'm your host Count Unemployable, and with me are today's panelists...Let me start with Worst-Selling dark poetess, Raven Writingdesk..."

"Thanks for having me, Count...Allow me to read my latest work...ahem...

"Peresphone Rex: An 18th Century Gothic Opera in 82 Parts:

Book One:

O, river of crimson,
of whom the raven doth caw, 
So pale, so dead...
Phantoms summon with icy fingers,
will she succumb to their call? 
Father, O Father,
Which drunken fit of rage?
Which heavy hands?
Which heavy, heavy hands?
I see the mute Savior,
Bleeding eyes and mouth,
Reaching for the last crumb,
cruelly pushed away...
O, Father doth the ovens call ye?
Will you sacrifice another daughter?
To the Gods and Sons of Hollow Hopes?
Did I disappoint thee? 
Am I not all that you hoped?
Eagle-Eyed like a hawk,
The Incredible Hulk,
For to ravens doth thee die..."

 "Stunning! A bold, bracing work! Where can the audience buy the book?"

"Oh, uhhh....There isn't a book...But you can come to Denny's at 3 am...I'm usually there all night taking advantage of a bottomless cup of coffee from 12:00pm-5:00am..."

"Excellent, Excellent. Our other panelist dresses head-to-toe in black, smokes the occasional clove cigarette, and owns albums by Bauhaus and the Cure, but isn't a Goth... Allow me to introduce Jamin 80, writer of the Friday Night Record Party blog, which won the 2013 Bloggie Award for 'Least Viewed Blog'...Is it true you only get 2 hits a day?"

"Yup...Me hitting you and the ambulance hitting 60! Har Har! But no seriously, I'm hoping my hits go up when I do my post on The Cure's "Pornography" in a couple days...Words like 'pornography' tend to get me a lot of views...As do words like "big boobs"...Well, technically that's two words, but I think you get my point...I'm hoping someday a band called "2 Hot College Girls Making Out" will release an album called "Big, Bouncy, Naked Boobs" and that review alone would ensure I have a good year..."

 "Good luck with that. Today's topic is the album "Seventeen Seconds" by the Cure...Goth Classic or Transitional Post-Punk effort? We'll start with you, Raven...

"It's not 'Pornography' or 'Disintegration' so I have to go with Minor Goth classic...I've spent many a night listening to this on my ipod while slitting my ivory wrists while whispering curses on my Father's soul...You won't be able to ignore me anymore, Daddy! I'm going to haunt you for a loooooooong time..."

"Now, let me ask you a question, Jamin. Why do you hate Goths so much?"

"I don't hate goths!"

"Then why do you write Raven like some sort of cheap caricature of a self-absorbed moron with Daddy issues, constantly threatening suicide just to get attention? And why would you name me 'Count Unemployable'? Not exactly a term of endearment...Us Goths are people just like you...

...we have jobs...

...Families...

 Why, I wouldn't be surprised if one day there was a Goth President!"

"I am a man chastised!"

"It's so pitiful when 'goth' is still tagged onto the name The Cure. We're not categorisable."

"There. You have it from the man, himself...Not Goth...Mystery Enigma music..."

 "Boner-Killing Rainy Life Music."

 "Boo!"

..................................................................................................................................

Alright...Enough of the horse-shit... (throws chair across the room) It's time for some straight-talk...I like the "Seventeen Seconds" album...It's somewhere in-between the post-punk influence of the first album and the atmospheric, doom rock of "Faith" and "Pornography"...For this reason, I tend to like it a bit more than "Faith" but not as much as "Pornography" (where they finally nailed this style)...

As is often the case with Cure albums, the singles are the clear highlights (even the most minor of Cure albums have killer singles)...And "A Forest" is a pivotal moment in the Cure discography...If the terms "droning bass" and "drab, repetitive structures" don't sound too exciting on paper, they sure sound nice in your headphones...A kaleidoscope of radiant grays...The Cure is good at this moody, stuff...I'm usually not the type of person that's into "atmosphere" really, but for some reason the Cure has always appeared to me...I think it's because they never seem to be trying to bore me...Again, I think it comes down to Robert Smith being a great songwriter...He knows how to subtly build the drones (when the tape doesn't run out (see: "The Final Sound")) and when to bust out the catchiness ("Play for Today").

By gum, today does seem like the kind of Friday where it's totally appropriate to listen to some Cure...And I'm not talking "Friday I'm in Love"...Let's spin "A Forest" and crack open a bottle of "La Fin du Monde"

(Sorry to keep forcing these Goth stereotypes on you Robert Smith...I'm going to make a concerted effort to never bring up the "G" word again in these Cure posts...)

“It’s is pitiful when goth is still tagged onto the name The Cure.
“We’re not categorizable. I suppose we were post punk when we came out, but in total it’s impossible.

Read more at http://www.gigwise.com/news/25662/the-cures-robert-smith-im-not-a-goth#2KH6c3fvm40yVpqq.

“It’s is pitiful when goth is still tagged onto the name The Cure.
“We’re not categorizable. I suppose we were post punk when we came out, but in total it’s impossible.

Read more at http://www.gigwise.com/news/25662/the-cures-robert-smith-im-not-a-goth#2KH6c3fvm40yVpqq.99

He said: “It’s is pitiful when goth is still tagged onto the name The Cure.
“We’re not categorizable. I suppose we were post punk when we came out, but in total it’s impossible.

Read more at http://www.gigwise.com/news/25662/the-cures-robert-smith-im-not-a-goth#2KH6c3fvm40yVp