Pornography

Having been a diehard CURE fan since I was a child. Ive always loved DISINTEGRATION and even remember when the album in 1989. The band even had a follow up tour that year and ended up in my small college hometown,a fluke im sure. Enough rambling, on with the BLOODY review of PORNOGRAPHY. This album is like no other, it is way ahead of its time and has stood the test of time. You could pit this album up against any talentless music of this decade and to this year of 2013 and totally blow it out of the water. The sounds lyrically are otherworldly and the drumming yet repetitive are amazing, an almost experimental of sorts. Having artists by the likes of Trent Reznor and others in sheer envy of the raw talent exhibited in this album. Pornography is album that cant be duplicated by no other and I'm sure there will never be an album that even comes close by any artist EVER!!!! For me personally my 3 most favourite tracks have to be "Short Term Effect" , "Pornography" and "100 Years" , the chaos, gloom,despair,Blood thirsty erotic LUST,depression and HURT are best reflected in these three. The album makes you feel Normal in comparison to, even if you hadn't previously . It has a primal quality that is raw and stripped down and at times in your face. Probably the best glimpse into whom Smith was/is and even the band because it has an unguarded, sincere quality of desperation you are hard pressed to find in their other polished fueled by wealth of latter years. In summing up if you love the CURE then this C.D. is a must have.

"It's happy, for deep people." Buy this magnificent record. Be happy.

Anyone only familiar with Cure songs like "Friday I'm In Love" and "Just Like Heaven" will be taken aback by this album, possibly the most depressing in the history of popular music. This is beyond "goth", this is pure darkness and depression. One could argue that this album leans too hard to the "mope" side of things, and if that's you, you have a point, but what separates this album from other depressing music (other goth albums, doom metal, etc...) is that the mope is extremely convincing. You can totally feel how big-haired vocalist Robert Smith was on a depressive streak of the highest degree during the writing process of this now-classic record. This is most apparent on the last two tracks; the tear inducing "Cold" and the downright scary title track "Pornography", a track which one should under no means be advised to listen to right before going to bed. Those are hardly the only standouts on this album, just listen to the harrowing opening track "100 Years" with it's opening line "It doesn't matter if we all die" and you'll be compelled to listen to the rest of the album for sure. Either that, or quickly remove it from you're stereo system due to being too creeped out to go forward. One unexpected aspect of this album is that there is some definite variety among the songs, anyone thinking that this album is a monotonous wrist-slitting fest would be sorely mistaken. Here, you have the up-tempo "Hanging Garden" with it's tribal drumming as well as the swirling, dreamy "A Strange Day", and don't forget the plaintive minimalism of "Siamese Twins". One complaint I do have about this album is the drumming. Not a single song on here has a rhythm change whatsoever, it's one beat the whole song through, but fortunately, the guitars change frequently over these beats, enough to avoid total monotony as I mentioned above. Still, this is a classic of post-punk music, and If you're into the dark side of things then this album will certainly not disappoint, and perhaps it will make you an entirely darker being.

The song Cold is perfect. It's the Cure's masterpiece. It makes the "dark" songs on Disintegration seem greatly watered-down. The Figurehead is another great track, although the lyric "freshly squashed fly" sticks out a bit too much. The demo for that song is worth listening to. It's quite effective. Short Term Effect is a bit bland, although quite artistically abstract. The Hanging Garden feels like pop more than the other songs - the production seems to alienate it slightly from the other tracks. Siamese Twins may reach the laughing point of horror - like some Stephen King. It may be over the top. This record deserves at least six stars. It's amazing that the band was able to get a major label to even take it - it's not comfortable music at all. The reviewers of the time, except one, condemned it. I suppose that Closer's success paved the way. While Pornography doesn't seem to be as genuine as Closer, it's a brilliant record that is more "arty" and abstract. Closer is more "rock" and concrete. I love the artwork and the thin font, too. The album title is refreshing, as it examines the word pornography for a facet other than sexually explicit.

That was the opening line of The Cure's fourth album, Pornography. Whereas Seventeen Seconds and Faith were dark and brooding, Pornography was dark and angry, with no glimmer of light at all. At the time of the album, Robert Smith was in a dark place, with his group on the verge of collapse. And it shows on tracks such as "A Hundred Years", "Hanging Garden", "Siamese Twins", and so on. Although it was at first panned by critics upon its release in 1982, it's now considered an all time classic in the Dark Wave genre, as well as being considered one of The Cure's career-defining albums. Pornography is also the beginning of The Cure's trilogy set, which would continue with 1989's Disintegration, and end with 2000's Bloodflowers. All in all, I consider Pornography one of the greatest albums ever created, as well as The Cure's second greatest album (second only to Disintegration). I highly recommend this album for any and all Cure fans.

Did not come with expected hype sticker stating "Remastered by Robert Smith". The barcode checks out and it sounds pretty good, so I suppose it's legit.

You know, a lot of people say this is the most depressing album ever. And yes, I am inclined to agree. However, I love that about this album because it gives me a sensation that I've never felt with a whole album before. I could spend all day thinking and listening to this. This is one of my favorites from the Cure and for sure, one of the most thought-provoking.

It's a must have for the collection