well, eventually, then, my "observations" (or if you will thoughts, look you see) on the new tape (which i have on disc) off of The Cure. yes, it did indeed come out a little north of two weeks prior to this being published. by modern standards where all is disposable that would mean this album would be already long forgotten. not so with this one, i suspect. anyway, as has been much reported, this is the first new album off of them in 16 (or so) years, so me only writing of it two (or so) weeks later isn't an issue.
and what an extraordinary album Songs Of A Lost World is. in a sense. the album is one they wished to release rather than felt obliged to, and carries all the hallmarks of their finest work. that a band can still take as long as they feel necessary to create a work of art that they are happy with, well, of these, hope.
the single most curious aspect of the (overwhelmingly positive) reviews is how many reference that it, Songs Of A Lost World, "only" has eight (8) songs on it. measuring albums in such a way strikes me as odd. how, exactly, did those who made such reviews feel about Faith and/or Pornography (if i can get away with using that album title here) which also only had that many songs? going a bit further afield, Bowie's Station To Station comprised six songs, whereas Blackstar (which has some relevance to this album) "only" had seven songs. it has not occurred to me to be concerned about how many songs were on those four albums, and nor is it much of a worry here.
for the album Songs Of A Lost World itself, as has been widely reported (and openly discussed in some truly engaging, interesting interviews) Robert Smith has taken loss as the overriding theme. this is in an overt sense, with him having seen so many close ones depart over the last few years, but also as a concept which reaches further, out towards a universal sense of the concept. it's by no means a stretch to say Mr Smith's friend saying goodbye via Blackstar has a clear influence here, although no, this is not an immediate farewell from him or the band. yes, they have indeed signalled the point at which they shall cease, but it's not all that soon, and we can but hope not quite of the dramatic way of Bowie.
provenance of my copy of Songs Of A Lost World was one of my favourite shops, Sister Ray Records. for reasons i can't quite grasp they were selling the fancy la-de-dah version (album, a disc of instrumentals and a blu ray audio of it) for about £5 less ("fewer") than the official site. if i remember right the same was true of that Manics Lifebood special edition thing. indeed, in the absence of how it all used to work with record (and tape) shops i would prefer to support artists directly, but if they will go right ahead and let others sell it for less ("fewer"), well, that's on them.
no, i cannot point out or suggest a specific high point. the whole thing is a journey to be taken in at once, which is what i have done several times. i long for different days, perhaps those in the lost world referenced. there and then i would have taken the (actual) tape of this and my walkman to a place of suitable seclusion and, well, just played it until the batteries ran out. had i enough sense to bring spare batteries then i would have put them in whilst at that place and listened some more.
despite having no clear concept or reason as to why, i would all the same suggest that it's the song I Can Never Say Goodbye which resonates with me the most. there's just something about the, for want of a better term, "subversive" esque use of the line something wicked this way comes. partially, i suppose, like the moment on the most recent Nick Cave album which goes "and all the king's horses and, oh, never mind, never mind". the "exhausted resignation" for some reason comes to mind.
my suspicion would be that i have never really mentioned The Cure all that much before here. it's very fair to say that my appreciation, or fondness, for them stems from some very dear people in my life. at a push i would consider Disintegration my "favourite", if that term is right. there is a chance that this record will be played often enough to be a contender for this prestigious title (being my favourite), which i have every confidence will greatly please Mr Smith, Mr Gabrels et al. overall i just love the concept of the band, in that they are as comfortable (and great) producing moments of pop genius like Close To Me and Friday I'm In Love in the exact same manner they can produce challenging, immersive, confrontational and ultimately astonishing works such as Pornography and the already mentioned but once again Disintegration.
how does Songs Of A Lost World stand in the "race" to be declared my "best" album of the year? quietly confident of success, it can be. there's the small matter of the new Primal Scream tape (disc) sat here, still sealed as i am not really ready to remove this one off of The Cure from the stereo. up to now, no, i have not put the fancy video (blu ray) on to play. perhaps i shall, one day.
drums for Endsong have just kicked in as i write this. you know what, f*** it, i may well just go get the tape of this (or a blank and tape it myself), procure a walkman and just disappear for a while. no one shall come looking, after all.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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