How I Like The Cure: The Playlist

Of all my armchair Ivo Watts-Russell exercises in playlist-as-compilation making, this might be the most absurd. With occasional obnoxious exception, I generally aim for a brief introduction into a deep discography, or at least a more obscure part of one. But, considering the likely age of most people reading this, it's hard to picture one needing an introduction to The Cure. When I made a hypothetical double record of Beatles tracks, I could imagine someone repulsed by their cultural omnipresence hearing the mix, and gaining a new perspective on them as an album act. But anyone with a similar antipathy for The Cure - especially if it's centered on Robert Smith's unapologetic sniffles and wails - likely won't overcome it after even the most elegantly chosen collection of deep cuts and minor hits. Which this will be. Sadly, grudging respect is the most I can hope to earn the band by refracting their 45 years into a CD-sized summation, and gifting it to a hater.

But these playlists are as much for myself as anyone else, and I'd sure like to have an easy way to appreciate the Cure's terrifying lows, dizzying highs and creamy middles in one fell swoop. As made clear by How I Like The Cure: The Albums, pt. 1 and pt.2, there's plenty of full-lengths I enjoy throughout the decades. The mix below won't replace Pornography, Wish or even Staring At The Sea when I want to enjoy the specific textures, moods and career phases those discs represent. But it will allow me to sit back and say "The Cure! Behold! In all their glory!" Maybe you like to do that kind of thing, too.

All thirteen studio albums contribute a track each, with my favorite single edit from the '80s, a great one-off from the '00s, and my favorite B-side thrown in for good measure. Though it's long enough to be imagined as a 2Lp, I didn't include any gaps for imaginary disc-flipping because The Cure have brazenly been a CD band for ages. I almost put the sound of a cassette flipping after track 8, but a couple tracks came out after 1996, and I'd then be tempted to bloat this into a C90 mix, and...well...best to wrap up my look back at Bob's wild mood swings, already. Just remember, this ain’t a best-of! Buy their albums.

Spotify link above, YouTube links below.

How I Like The Cure: The Playlist

1. "Lost" (The Cure, 2004)
2. "Birdmad Girl" (The Top, 1984)
3. "The 13th" (Wild Mood Swings, 1996)
4. "The Exploding Boy" (Join The Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 2004)
5. "The Reasons Why" (4:13 Dream, 2008)
6. "The Last Days Of Summer" (Bloodflowers, 2000)
7. "A Strange Day" (Pornography, 1982)
8. "A Forest" (Seventeen Seconds, 1980)
9. "A Night Like This" (The Head On The Door, 1985)
10. "The Funeral Party" (Faith, 1981)
11. "Disintegration" (Disintegration, 1989)
12. "Cut" (Wish, 1992)
13. "Hot Hot Hot!!!" (Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, 1987)
14. "Cut Here" (Greatest Hits, 2001)
15. "Three Imaginary Boys" (Three Imaginary Boys, 1979)
16. "Close To Me" (Standing On A Beach, 1986)

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