The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs
The Cure cannon is a treasure trove of jams, bangers, dirges and moments of pure ecstasy. Songs like “Killing an Arab”, “Boys Don’t Cry”, “A Forest”, “Inbetween Days”, “Just Like Heaven”, “Lovesong” and “Friday I’m in Love” all played pivotal roles in the evolution of the band. You could make the argument for any of those songs to be the most important Cure song. As much as I detest “Friday I’m in Love”, it did introduce a wider audience to this incredible band. However, the song that maybe holds the most significance may not be any of those classics. It might just be “10:15 Saturday Night”, the song that got the attention of a record label executive and led to the band’s signing.
Robert Smith wrote the song one night when he was bored. I love the irony of a dull situation inspiring something far greater. "10:15 Saturday Night” started off as a b-side, but eventually became a single in some markets. Thing is, it’s very un-single in its composition. It’s not very accessible or catchy at all. It feels less like a song and more like a mood piece, using space and volume changes to evoke a series of emotions. A Saturday night might seem so trivial, yet Smith made us feel the gravity of those nights when you’re waiting for something, anything to happen.
“Waiting for the telephone to ring. And I'm wondering where she's been. And I'm crying for yesterday. And the tap drips. Drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip.”