Thursday, May 8, 2014

Happy 35th to 'Three Imaginary Boys'!

'However Far Away'

From Victor D. Infante at the Worcester Telegram:

'However far away': Revisiting The Cure's 'Disintegration'

"'I think it's dark and it looks like rain' you said
'and the wind is blowing like it's the end of the
world' you said 'and it's so cold it's like the
cold if you were dead' and then you smiled for
a second. — The Cure, "Plainsong"

"Plainsong," the opening number on The Cure's seminal album, "Disintegration," rolls along slowly like fog. The song's in no hurry. It's about two minutes and 40 seconds until the vocals appear, and when they do, they're more spoken than sung, finding a strange, muffled middle ground between the two. It's an almost alienating way to begin the album. The gloom informs everything that comes afterward. It soaks into your skin, sticks to your ribs.

And it's utterly rewarding.

"Disintegration," released 25 years ago last week, was a dangerous album for a melancholic 17-year-old to discover. It was entirely too easy to sink into its operatic heartbreak and multilayered sense of loneliness, the Sturm und Drang of adolescent romance, that awkward moment where love inevitably slipped through your fingers like water, leaving behind a bitter "almost."

'Beautiful Noise' Kickstarter campaign

Kickstarter campaign started for the 'Beautiful Noise' shoegazing documentary (with a Robert Smith interview) that's been in the works for the past 8 years. We've been following this for over 4 years now, and you can read some of Eric's  previous updates here.  There's also a post about it on The Cure's Facebook. (Thanks John, Keith, and @Pjotrke)


Update: Only a few days left to help get this funded. They've added this clip of Robert talking about the Cocteau Twins. (Thanks Laurent)

Update: The project has reached it's goal and will be funded! Congratulations to all involved, and to all who contributed! (Thanks Shawn)

Update (05/22/13): Eric finally posted an update last week.

Update (02/26/14): Looks like we are finally getting close to a release! From their Facebook - "Good news everyone, we are finalizing the end credits now and prepping for final post. So, if you are a Kickstarter supporter who pledged for a credit in the film, please make sure to respond to our email thru Kickstarter and verify your name by Friday the 28th. More news to come soon!"

Update (05/01/14): The latest - "Just a quick note to let you all know the progress on the film.  The music clearances are finally done and with that 15 month odyssey behind us we can happily move forward towards the release. The documentary is now being mixed on the sound stage and we are preparing for a summer 2014 festival release. 
Kickstarter rewards will go out after the festivals, during the home video release stage. When the rewards are about to be sent out we will send you a survey confirming your addresses.
Thank you so much for helping us to make this happen and for your continued patience!  This is an independent documentary made for the fans without any corporate backing. More to come soon...Thanks again, Eric & Sarah"

And now we have a debut date! May 31st & June 1st at the Seattle International Film Fest.

Update (05/08/14): International premiere will be June 8th & 9th at Sheffield Doc/Fest.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

'So Much More Than Anything'

From John Freeman at The Quietus:

So Much More Than Anything: The Cure's Disintegration 25 Years On

John Freeman looks back at The Cure's masterpiece - 72 minutes of magnificent self-flagellation, fuelled by Robert Smith's fear of entering his fourth decade.

In 1989, I was a callow nineteen year-old intent on devouring as much new music as his ears would allow. Wednesday mornings were set aside to read NME, Melody Maker and Sounds cover-to-cover, and a lifetime of tinnitus was launched by my five-gigs-a-week habit. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 1989 was my annus mirabilis for new album releases, twelve months of incredible albums that I would cherish as only an obsessive youth could.

In 1989, Pixies gave us Doolittle and The Stone Roses unleashed their debut album. Like most doting indie kids, I loved both records with a fanatical passion. I also was infatuated by De La Soul's groundbreaking Three Feet High & Rising, NWA's incendiary Straight Outta Compton and the cool vibes of Soul II Soul's Club Classics Volume 1, while also finding time to swoon over Hunkpapa by Throwing Muses, Technique by New Order, Spaceman 3's Playing With Fire and Neneh Cherry's indefatigable Raw Like Sushi. Genuinely marvellous albums by Lou Reed (New York), Kate Bush (The Sensual World) and The Beastie Boys (Paul's Boutique) would barely get a look in.

However, even set against these rivals, one album would rule them all. In May 1989, The Cure would release their eighth studio album, Disintegration, which was described at the time by tQ's Chris Roberts in his Melody Maker review as being "as much fun as losing a limb". But for me, who had only ever previously flirted with The Cure's musical output, it sounded like one of the greatest albums I'd ever heard. The fact that much of Disintegration was a funereal dirge, with lyrics reeking of self-absorbed self-flagellation, mattered not a jot. In a year of mighty albums, Disintegration was The Daddy.