This week I’m featuring 80’s deep cuts on Mental Jukebox. They’re the non-charting singles. The forgotten b-sides. The unheralded album staples. While they may not be the first songs that come to mind when you think of the 80’s, they’re some of the most important musical statements of the decade.

The bass will forever be my favorite instrument. For me, its rhythmic sounds are always in the foreground, not the background. That’s why the rare song “Primary” by The Cure is such a treat. It doesn’t have a single element of electric or acoustic guitar. But it has two bass guitars, played by Simon Gallup, of course, and Robert Smith. Dueling, grating bass guitars playing on separate octaves and achieving The Cure’s ambitious post-punk agenda.

“The very first time I saw your face I thought of a song and quickly changed the tune.”