I’m not sure if there’s a band that I can claim as my favorite of all time, because the reality is I have a different favorite every day. This process of choosing one favorite over all others seems futile. But, for me, The Cure, is about as close as it gets. For me, their music is irreplaceable. There are things that I feel when I put on a Cure record that I can’t experience with anything else. For the month of June, I hope to share some of this as a I cover a different Cure song each day – counting down from #30 to #1. And, in this case, I have no qualms stating my #1. #30DaysofTheCure
U.S. original release: The Head On The Door (1985) - Track 6
Ranking: 28
This is my first entry from the album that turned me on to The Cure in the first place. For me, The Head On The Door was palatable. It was 100% Cure, but it. had this ease and accessibility about it. It’s common to deem this trait as a weakness. But nothing could be further from the truth. It isn’t so much a mainstream album, and it certainly isn’t The Cure selling out. The album explores a number of different genres and influences, conjures up a dozen different emotions, and it just happens to be danceable. Just maybe you’re dancing in a cemetery, not at prom. The unheralded track “The Baby Screams” clocks in at #28 on my list.
Here’s proof that the quintet works. It thrives. Smith, Tolhurst, Thompson, Gallup and Williams sound like they’re having a ball playing this. To this day, I still don’t know what the song is about, although it’s definitely not about colicky babies. Like many Cure songs, it’s not about what the song is telling you, it’s about how it makes you feel. When I play “The Baby Screams”, I wanna play air bass to those chunky bass hooks from Gallup. I wanna play air keys with those ironic flourishes from Tolhurst. I wanna get behind Boris’ kit and wail on the drums all afternoon and skip work. I wanna crush those guitar riffs side by side Porl. And I want to scream like a hyena with Robert. But the headphones will do just fine for now.
“Heaven, give me a sign. Waiting for the sun to shine. Pleasure fills up my dreams and I love it, like a baby screams.”