Welcome everyone to the latest edition of Top Five Fridays! When I brought this feature back after a break at the end of last year, I had a ton of top five lists that were either done or close to complete.
In fact, this week’s was the first one of those that I worked on. Over the years, I’ve gained a newfound appreciation for Robert Smith and the Cure. It’s strange how when you rediscover a band because of one song that you hadn’t heard before and that instantly changes your opinion of them. For years, I knew of some songs and was a casual fan of the group until a few years ago and can gladly say that Disintegration is one of my favorite albums of all time and not because of the big hit off the album in Lovesong (which doesn’t crack the Top Ten FYI).
Anyway, let’s get to the countdown!
5. Just Like Heaven
When you hear a lot of music from The Cure side-by-side, you’ll start to notice some recurring themes in terms of how the music is arranged. I’m not even a music analyst, but there’s a formula to it and Just Like Heaven could be one of the best songs that follows that formula.
The new wave influences were definitely in this song and despite them being typecast as a goth group, have quite a few upbeat songs. Right when that drum beat hits, you can’t help but nod your head and jam out to this classic.
4. Play For Today
Fun fact: Play for Today was a TV series that played on BBC from 1970-1984. While Sixteen Seconds isn’t the best album from the group, it still has a strong song in Play for Today. It gets you up and moving while having an interesting overall theme, being a part in someone else’s play for that particular day.
3. Close to Me
Robert Smith has gotten quite a bit of song ideas from dreams. One of the big examples is Lullaby which is based off of a recurring dream he had when he was a kid about being eaten by a spider. This one’s a little different though as it’s about him being stuck inside a linen closet that fell into the ocean.
Much like some of the other songs on this list, it’s the pop feel to it that makes this song work extremely well. I’ll give it some bonus points as well for being featured briefly in Accepted.
2. Friday I’m In Love
If there was ever a pick in the top five that was any more obvious, I challenge you to find it. Ever since I first got a job in high school, I worked weekends and still do to this day and when I do have an occasional weekend off that feeling when it is Friday is unlike any other.
This was actually the song that first got me into the group and it’s a good starting point for people to listen to some of their other tracks.
1. Pictures of You
Quick story: during the fall of 2015, I did a binge watch of the first season of Mr. Robot. The second the first episode ended, I had to check out the next one. At the beginning of one episode, you hear this playing in the background when Elliot meets Shayla. I won’t spoil anything further because it’s an awesome show that everyone should check out. From that second I had to check out the full song and was blown away by it.
Another big reason why I’ve always enjoyed this song is because of the fact that it clocks in at over seven minutes. While I don’t like every song that goes longer than six minutes, this was one of the many songs that I listened to while walking around campus. You put that song on during a beautiful spring day and tell me that you don’t start feeling really good. This is my favorite song from the Cure for a litany of reasons, but being a big part of the college soundtrack was a key factor.
