1 year ago
236
The Cure has been my favourite set since I was astir 14. This was not excessively agelong aft Wish came out, and portion I enjoyed “Friday I’m successful Love,” it was beauteous acold connected the airy broadside of popular for my 8th people punk-grunge taste; I liked it, but I listened to Nirvana and the Ramones, truthful it was much of a “Thursday doesn’t adjacent start.” But erstwhile I started listening to their backmost catalog, I was successful emotion each time of the week.
By 1996, I was specified a large instrumentality that my brag gave maine his Kissing Tour T-shirt due to the fact that it’s my favourite medium and I was truthful bittersweet I’d been excessively young to spot it. I did spot them play the pursuing spring, connected the Wild Mood Swings tour, and it was 1 of the champion shows of my life.
The Cure is presently connected circuit and I’m going to spot them astatine the Hollywood Bowl with my champion friend. My aged garment doesn’t acceptable maine anymore (though I inactive person it!) truthful I’ll conscionable person to find thing other to wear. To support myself engaged portion I hold for the nighttime to arrive, I’ve been listening to each of their albums again, and acceptable myself the task of matching a publication to each one. I’ve skipped unrecorded albums and astir of the compilations (the exceptions I made are explained below), and tried to brace each grounds with a publication that matches immoderate facet of the album.
Boys Don’t Cry (1979)
Edinburgh by Alexander Chee
This medium is really the U.S. rerelease of their archetypal UK album, Three Imaginary Boys, positive their archetypal fewer singles. I person been listening to the Cure my full beingness and lone conscionable learned this, but due to the fact that I americium 1) American, and 2) precisely the aforesaid property arsenic the Cure, truthful I anticipation you’ll forgive me.
I deliberation of this medium arsenic being astir the mode being young feels, which is casual to accidental from my mediate 40s, but it’s true. There are a batch of Bildungsromans I could brace here, but Chee’s meditation connected boyhood and maltreatment feels right.
Bonus: The Stranger by Albert Camus: “Killing an Arab” is astir this book, truthful it seems appropriate.
Seventeen Seconds (1980)
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (October 31, Tor)
This album, and particularly the opus “A Forest,” are a gothic fearfulness story. If they were a movie, they’d beryllium The Company of Wolves, truthful I accidental I could person chosen the Angela Carter collection with the communicative that movie is based on, but I don’t deliberation the postulation has the vibe of the movie oregon of Harrow’s upcoming confederate gothic, a escaped retelling of Beauty and the Beast with mythology layered successful arsenic good arsenic what I tin lone telephone a grownup mentation of Howl and Sophie.
In Reading Color Newsletter
A play newsletter focusing connected lit by and astir radical of color!
Thank you for signing up! Keep an oculus connected your inbox.
By signing up you hold to our terms of use
Faith (1981)
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
This medium feels similar a continuation of the themes of Seventeen Seconds, truthful I chose different gothic romance. Like Starling House, this combines fairy communicative and mythology retelling with thing caller and a small excessively large to label.
Pornography (1982)
A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell
Damn, the Cure, 3 goth AF albums successful a row? (Yes, I americium alert of the philharmonic genre.) This 1 feels similar it’s astir acceptable to crook into thing else, and what amended for that than a YA coming-of-age caller that is much than 1 thing?
Japanese Whispers (1983)
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Technically a compilation (it contains 3 singles and respective B-sides), this medium feels similar the archetypal flush of falling successful love. As acold arsenic I know, Robert Smith has been successful emotion with Mary Poole for adjacent longer than he’s been successful the Cure, but possibly this was wherever helium felt comfy penning astir it. (According to an interview, it wasn’t until “Lovesong” connected 1989’s Disintegration that helium addressed emotion head-on.) It’s playful, it’s sexy, it’s joyful. Nothing but a romance caller could perchance acceptable the bill.
This recovered household witchy romance is the astir playful, sexy, and joyful publication I could deliberation of.
The Top (1984)
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
A confession: erstwhile I started penning this, I couldn’t retrieve a happening astir this album. So I listened to it, and I curse to you, contempt decidedly owning and loving this 1 connected cassette successful the aboriginal ‘90s, I person ne'er heard it earlier successful my life. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In grant of my confusion, I’m pairing it with a publication that ne'er astatine immoderate infinitesimal allows the scholar to beryllium definite what’s going on, but successful a compelling way. Dark academia astatine its astir gothic, this 1 volition get nether your skin.
Head connected the Door (1985)
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
Simultaneously upbeat and acheronian to a grade that surpasses erstwhile albums, this is 1 of my favorites. It feels thing similar driving excessively fast, which made maine deliberation of the opening pages of Our Crooked Hearts, but besides the hopeless propulsiveness of the book.
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (June 27, Berkley)
Okay, perceive maine out: similar Japanese Whispers, this is an medium astir falling successful love. It’s just…angstier. When I was 15, I listened to “Why Can’t I Be You?” connected repeat, reasoning astir my crush, M. “Just Like Heaven” is my favourite opus of each time. I americium not nonsubjective astir this album.
You cognize what other I americium wholly incapable of reasoning intelligibly about? This book. No substance however galore times I work it (and it’s been…more than one, and the publication isn’t retired yet), it’s simply cleanable to me.
Disintegration (1989)
How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler
I’m going to hazard ruining this cleanable medium for you: it’s astir turning thirty. Yes, really. (So is R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People. I americium genuinely sorry.) This publication doesn’t needfully lucifer tonally, but the reflective quality of the superb essays feels precisely close to me.
Exploring gender, race, immigration, and galore different aspects of identity, Imbler writes astir oversea creatures successful beauteous and relatable ways.
Wish (1992)
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
With this medium we’re backmost to the mode emotion feels successful each of its complexity. Rather than focusing connected romanticist love, I selected a publication astir the fierce depths of sisterly love. I honestly get Cure vibes from each of Nova’s books, but this 1 feels close with this album.
Bonus: Friday I’m successful Love by Camryn Garrett
I mean, travel on. I had to.
Wild Mood Swings (1996)
A Prayer for Vengeance by Leanne Schwartz (September 19, Page Street)
This was the past Cure medium I bought. I didn’t halt loving them, and they didn’t halt making music, but I just…stopped listening to their caller music. (I’m correcting this now!) The vibe is each implicit the spot here, from joyful love-filled ditties to the gothiest goth songs to ever goth.
I haven’t had a accidental to work this publication yet, but I’m hoping it volition tally the gamut of feelings — the premise surely promises that it will! An angry, abdominous warrior pistillate trapped arsenic a statue for hundreds of years and woken by the prayers of an autistic poet, written by a fat, autistic author? YES PLEASE.
And determination you person it. Not rather each of the Cure’s albums, matched with books. The Cure not your jam? How astir a publication for each opus connected Taylor Swift’s Folklore?
English (US) ·