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: Pornography (1982) - Track 3
Ranking: 16
Just outside my Top 15 sits the lone single from Pornogrpahy: “The Hanging Garden”. You could easily make the argument that the album shouldn’t have had any singles. It just wasn’t that kind of album. A sort of purge for Smith, the album was a way to get the demons out of his head during a very dark period wrought with suicidal thoughts. It’s one of the finest examples of hyper creativity and expressions born out of desperation, an album best suited to listen in its entirety. But, at the same time, there are a handful of tracks that I can listen to in isolation on repeat. “The Hanging Garden” is one of them.
The song is a perfect example of the influence that Siouxsie & The Banshees had on The Cure’s own musicality. Smith played with Siouxsie briefly in 1979 – and then again the year after Pornography was released. Interestingly, “The Hanging Garden” sounds a lot like early Siouxsie. Tolhurst’s frantic, incessant pounding on his kit are reminiscent of Budgie’s drumming. Gallup’s furious bass playing bares an uncanny resemblance to Steven Severin. And even Smith’s atmospheric guitar riffs sound eerily similar to both McKay’s and McGeoch’s playing style. On “The Hanging Garden”, every instrument – including Robert’s voice – is a rhythm instrument. I think that’s a big reason why I’ve always loved this track so much.
“Catching haloes on the moon gives my hands the shapes of angels. In the heat of the night the animals scream. In the heat of the night walking into a dream.”