“Boys Don’t Cry” / Le Cure. We don’t get many chart hits on M5, especially ones that are arguably era-defining, and for a certain audience “Boys Don’t Cry” is about as ’80s as it gets. The song is so bouncily catchy I never really listened to the lyrics. Echoes of “Tears of a Clown”: “I try to laugh about it, cover it all up with lies.” Really holds up.
“Sick of You” / GWAR. I know this cult-fave joke band only by reputation, and that mostly for their outlandish costuming, and from reading about their Grand Guignol stage show. This might actually be my first time hearing one of their songs! Funny heavy-metal parody. “just your luck you really suck, that’s all I think of you.” The sequence that made me laugh was “Bring it down. [band fails to bring it down] I said ‘Bring it down!’ [band brings it down] Thank you!” Sort of a toe-tapper in its way, too, if not quite a Priest-level head-banger.
The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry
Ah, that first record – before they developed their “Cureness.” One already knew they had something. Simple, clean production – propelled along by the bass. There were a few bands of the time that had a similar sound at the start (Ultravox comes to mind) interesting how they branched. Familiar track, but always welcome.
GWAR – Sick of You
Knew they were heavy and something about costumes maybe. Nice driving beat – vocals bend toward parody, but then it’s fairly clear they have a sense of humor. Actually makes me think of Country Dick Montana when he would take the lead of The Beat Farmers. Not sure that I would seek out more of their stuff based on this, but the “bring it down” part made me smile a bit.
The Cure- Great tune. The awkwardness is palpable. I always got a kick out of that cheap little cymbal the drummer has; it peeks out periodically. While it does not have the blatant ‘Cureness” as EDTC points out, there are the germinal hallmarks- again, the awkwardness, the propulsive bass that meanders nicely with the guitar line and the new-wave harmonies of Robert Smith. I can’t recall if this song was used in the well known movie of the same name (Fact check: Nope)
Gwar- Don’t think I ever actually heard a Gwar song–only saw the costumage. I am almost laughing out loud at this middle breakdown! Hard to believe there is a ‘break it down’ part where they sing gingerly about their ‘sick’ness. Awesome. The ‘human filth’ line at the end is priceless.
[Disclaimer] Interesting contrasts between the two selections this week! Not going to lie… huge fan of both of these bands. The recent Scumdogs of the Universe remaster was worth every penny. (R.I.P. Oderus Urungus) And yes, I may own, and have a GWAR coffee mug on my desk at the day job. Sick!
“Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure – Love those guitars and that intro… then Robert Smith leads you on a journey with his vulnerability – in under three minutes! Convincing you that he’s not going to cry.
“Sick of You” by GWAR – Again. Scumdogs of the Universe! (1990) Remains a fan favorite. GWAR has a surprising range to offer here… even though it’s fairly well-polished. Carnival of Chaos (1997) and This Toilet Earth (1994) continue to be my favorite runner ups from this band. Sick of You features one of the first baselines I tried to teach myself in what seems like a lifetime ago.
“Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure: This must be really early Cure. Not as produced and polished sounding as later stuff. Interesting to hear a band in a formation stage as they begin to mold their characteristic sounds and get the recipe simmering and percolating in the fermentation machine. The fun, bouncy rhythms work against the more painful lyrics to create a surprising concoction that works for me
“Sick of You” by GWAR: big contrast with its partner this week. A bit of that metal growl in the vocal. This always makes me check to see if they are playing or being serious. It makes me sort of laugh as I listen in a good way despite the angry content. Ok now reading other write-ups it is confirmed they are intentionally trying to be funnyish so…ok…they delivered…well done. Visuals probably important with this band to get the most bang for the buck.
“Boys Don’t Cry” / Le Cure. We don’t get many chart hits on M5, especially ones that are arguably era-defining, and for a certain audience “Boys Don’t Cry” is about as ’80s as it gets. The song is so bouncily catchy I never really listened to the lyrics. Echoes of “Tears of a Clown”: “I try to laugh about it, cover it all up with lies.” Really holds up.
“Sick of You” / GWAR. I know this cult-fave joke band only by reputation, and that mostly for their outlandish costuming, and from reading about their Grand Guignol stage show. This might actually be my first time hearing one of their songs! Funny heavy-metal parody. “just your luck you really suck, that’s all I think of you.” The sequence that made me laugh was “Bring it down. [band fails to bring it down] I said ‘Bring it down!’ [band brings it down] Thank you!” Sort of a toe-tapper in its way, too, if not quite a Priest-level head-banger.
The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry
Ah, that first record – before they developed their “Cureness.” One already knew they had something. Simple, clean production – propelled along by the bass. There were a few bands of the time that had a similar sound at the start (Ultravox comes to mind) interesting how they branched. Familiar track, but always welcome.
GWAR – Sick of You
Knew they were heavy and something about costumes maybe. Nice driving beat – vocals bend toward parody, but then it’s fairly clear they have a sense of humor. Actually makes me think of Country Dick Montana when he would take the lead of The Beat Farmers. Not sure that I would seek out more of their stuff based on this, but the “bring it down” part made me smile a bit.
For lack of a written review, I present Beavis and Butthead in my stead:
The Cure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPgku0EDB2U
Gwar
The Cure- Great tune. The awkwardness is palpable. I always got a kick out of that cheap little cymbal the drummer has; it peeks out periodically. While it does not have the blatant ‘Cureness” as EDTC points out, there are the germinal hallmarks- again, the awkwardness, the propulsive bass that meanders nicely with the guitar line and the new-wave harmonies of Robert Smith. I can’t recall if this song was used in the well known movie of the same name (Fact check: Nope)
Gwar- Don’t think I ever actually heard a Gwar song–only saw the costumage. I am almost laughing out loud at this middle breakdown! Hard to believe there is a ‘break it down’ part where they sing gingerly about their ‘sick’ness. Awesome. The ‘human filth’ line at the end is priceless.
[Disclaimer] Interesting contrasts between the two selections this week! Not going to lie… huge fan of both of these bands. The recent Scumdogs of the Universe remaster was worth every penny. (R.I.P. Oderus Urungus) And yes, I may own, and have a GWAR coffee mug on my desk at the day job. Sick!
“Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure – Love those guitars and that intro… then Robert Smith leads you on a journey with his vulnerability – in under three minutes! Convincing you that he’s not going to cry.
“Sick of You” by GWAR – Again. Scumdogs of the Universe! (1990) Remains a fan favorite. GWAR has a surprising range to offer here… even though it’s fairly well-polished. Carnival of Chaos (1997) and This Toilet Earth (1994) continue to be my favorite runner ups from this band. Sick of You features one of the first baselines I tried to teach myself in what seems like a lifetime ago.
“Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure: This must be really early Cure. Not as produced and polished sounding as later stuff. Interesting to hear a band in a formation stage as they begin to mold their characteristic sounds and get the recipe simmering and percolating in the fermentation machine. The fun, bouncy rhythms work against the more painful lyrics to create a surprising concoction that works for me
“Sick of You” by GWAR: big contrast with its partner this week. A bit of that metal growl in the vocal. This always makes me check to see if they are playing or being serious. It makes me sort of laugh as I listen in a good way despite the angry content. Ok now reading other write-ups it is confirmed they are intentionally trying to be funnyish so…ok…they delivered…well done. Visuals probably important with this band to get the most bang for the buck.
GWAR – GWAR is GWAR is GWAR. You get what you expect. It’s about spectacle, tongue in cheek, f**k it let’s have fun.