Dickens is a master at summing up people in brief but evocative descriptions, and I think The Cure have a similar talent for summing up emotions and situations in (relatively) brief but evocative pieces of music. The Promise is a vivid portrait of deep disappointment and grief, and it instantly took me back to the last time I’d heard someone express these emotions, to the same painful extent. The fact that this was also on my iPod and in the garden probably helped to link the two; the brain does things like this…
Julian’s Lap of Honour
February 13, 2022 It’s been over two months since my long-time equine friend Sunsmart died (see this goodbye post). Three years ago I had already done much of the preliminary training to start riding his younger half-brother Julian, but then came Sunsmart’s Cushings diagnosis and I decided to completely focus riding time on him while …
The Kingfisher, the Horse, and being on Country
FOR DAVID GULPILIL, SUNSMART AND THE EARTH, WITH LOVE AND THANKS Written December 6 – 16, 2021 This is still being revised because it’s so difficult to find the words and tie everything together, but I thought I’d put this out in the open now. A week ago a longtime friend died on the same …
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Exploring the Back Catalogue: 4:13 Dream Wrap-Up
In general, I will say that musically, this album isn’t very representative of why I personally like The Cure. Even the musical highlights here don’t actually lift me off the ground as some of their other tracks through the years really do. I enjoy 4:13 Dream better when I listen to it in “performance poetry” mode, rather than “amazing music” mode. For that, it’s worth revisiting, though I don’t like every song on it. But then, I don’t like every song on a lot of Cure albums, and on a lot of albums from anyone – and that’s OK, as long as things are generally interesting, and the majority of tracks appeal to me in some way (not everything speaks to everyone; but things that don’t speak to me may well speak to others ?). I probably wouldn’t have been particularly amenable to this album if I’d not already liked a lot of this band’s prior work – it’s like with authors, you’ll give them more leeway after you’ve already enjoyed a couple of their books, and you’re more likely to be interested in anything they subsequently do that’s unlike what you liked before. It becomes more of a cerebral exercise then, rather than huge enjoyment and/or being really moved by something. All those things have their place though.
The Scream is a very good example of what I’d class as really effective performance poetry. And while I’m at it, and just because it’s the first thing I think when confronted with that title:
Flower Memorials
May 2018 The week after the chestnut mare was put down last November, the veterinary hospital sent a card and a packet of wildflower seeds – now that was a great idea. When my Arabian mare was buried back in 2014, I’d wanted to plant a beautiful tree on top to mark the spot, but …