PORNOGRAPHY ~ The Cure

PORNOGRAPHY ~ The Cure

The Cure has been one of the most influential bands of all time and is still recording and performing innovative music to this day. Along with bands such as Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Joy Division and Bauhaus, The Cure was no exception to help shape the dark 80’s music and influence the gothic music scene. The Cure created many genius and artistic monument albums that have gained critical success and some that have also been very underrated. The Head on the Door, Disintegration, Bloodflowers, Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me and The Top are just a few albums by the band that represent their many forms of art.

Pornography, released in 1982 was the conclusion to the trilogy of Seventeen Seconds and Faith. These three albums really set the stage for the dark side of the 80’s. The Tears for Fears album The Hurting, and Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration are prime examples of classic albums influenced by The Cure. Personally being a huge fan of The Cure for so many years and appreciating all their musical elements, Pornography really stands out for me in so many ways. Lyrically the album is very dark, some of my friends say they appreciate the work but look at it as a movie like Schindler’s List, a classic work of art but something you cant consume on a regular basis. Personally, this album to me speaks volumes and is very therapeutic.

Robert Smith stated regarding the album” I had two choices at the time, which were either completely giving in or making a record of it and getting it out of me”. It was an album so intimate and full of raw emotions, radio airplay or appreciation wasn’t even sought after. Needless to say the album is a “high-water mark for goth’s musical evolution” and “arguably the album that invented goth” according to Spin and NME.

In conclusion, I’m sure everyone has heard The Cure. I’m sure most people own at least one Cure album. If you haven’t heard Pornography in its entirety, please do. And don’t just hear it, really listen to it.

Apter, Jeff (2006). Never Enough: The Story of The Cure. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1844498271.

Beaujon, Andrew (April 2005). "66.6: Greatest Moments in Goth". Spin: 72. Retrieved 27 October 2012.

"Best Albums of the 1980s | Music | Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.