Pornography

Noise. Just a shit ton of noise. I honestly didn't know what to make of this album. I know I didn't really enjoy it for the most part, but I don't even think I "get" it. Like I can dislike something and still "get" it. But I neither like this nor "get" it. For one, the super whiny Brit Pop voice shows up again and I simply cannot stand that sound (look at "One Hundred Years" or "A Short Term Effect" for early examples of what I mean). I have a hard time imagining a record executive or a producer hearing that and thinking "Yup, that sounds great!" It makes me want to cover my ears and never uncover them. I will give it this - this is far from the pop rock sound I know they eventually adopted as the 80's went on. This is original, uncompromising, and at least feels like an honest and genuine attempt at something different, something bold. But it really just wasn't for me. Like, at all. It didn't cure my distaste for this era of British rock. Two stars. Standout Track: The Hanging Garden

I don’t understand this music

Another album by The Cure in the same week? Honestly not looking forward to this. I was fairly unimpressed with Disintegration. And this album might have a touch more energy to it, but it sounds just as repetitive and one note. I literally can’t tell when one track ends and another starts. I’ve never gone through a gloomy goth phase so maybe that’s the issue for me. Overall this album sounds really whiney and it got on my nerves. 2/5

I'm a fan of later The Cure for sure, but I have never listened to this album. Wasn't my favorite.

Textural guitar work is pretty interesting. Sad-sack vocals drive me up the wall. Still can't get into The Cure. 2 stars.

Generally, not the biggest fan of The Cure; this didn’t really do much to persuade me.

It's just not for me by any measure.

Couldn’t get into this. Just seems slightly discordant

I would loved it if I was still a teenager

Vocals suck. Not for me.

I should like it but I don't. Too much of a dirge. You couldn't even put it on as background music as it is too depressing.

not a fan of "atmospheric" music

Sad but good

Yhtä ja samaa kappaletta läpi koko albumin. ⭐️⭐️

Decent enough. I don't recall spending much time on this record and have probably focused more on their later 80s and 90s work. Still that signature sound. High 2s.

Ehh

Would not buy.

Not really into this type of music but mad respect

Langweilig

Oh man, The Cure never disappoint! I went in expecting boring goth crap, and they delivered!! Nice.

Not for me, though I didn't hate it like I assumed. 80's alt/pop/rock stuff aint for me.

When you hear 80s Cure, you know its 80s Cure.

Homeopathic cure doesn't do shit

Such a downer. Did not enjoy.

Loads of echoey chorus guitar effect slathered over virtually every track. Bit bloated.

A bit too ominous for me. Some songs were okay and others I wasn't a big fan of.

I felt that this was sort of departure from what they usually do. I'm not the biggest Cure fan, but I do like some of their songs. This one seemed to not have the same atmospheric feel as some of their other stuff

For a Cure album, I found the first few tracks shockingly inoffensive. Then expectations were restored and it turned into a slog. The "gothic rock" stuff was fine and had some fun bass guitar; the "slow sad shit" was slow sad shit. I love plenty of sad music, and I know The Cure is often cited as influential for some of the emo music I love, but this ain't it. 1.9

The Cure for what? This was miserable. I liked the drums on occasion. Scrapes a 2.

okay perfect soundtrack for a vampire the masquerade game is what i walked away with. confirmed for me that goth music is not my vein! strikes me as no surprise that the faster paced songs were the ones i enjoyed. I dislike the kind of "cloud" of noise that makes up the majority of this album. liked: the hanging garden

Bland and uninteresting sound from The Cure

This is so background music, I had to hear some songs again because they kept fading into the background. And wtf was the title track, that made no sense. Best song: The Hanging Garden

I did not like this

Maybe there’s a time and place I’d enjoy this album but it’s not right now.

I am sure that this album is somehow important in the evolution of The Cure, and likely had an impact on the music of the time, but it's not a great album to listen to. There's not a single song on this album that is in their top 10 best songs. Pitchfork: 8.4 Rolling Stone: n/a Best Songs

Disappointing

Listened to the deluxe version. Didn't care for the sound, especially vocals. Because I didn't care about the vocals I didn't pay attention to the lyrics. I recognize the significance of this album. Maybe I would have been into it in the 80s.

Not my thing

OK, I get it. He's hyper-depressed and all in his head. The album cover tells the story, as concerned friends look through the haze at him as he fades from existence. Very heavy and challenging. Very different from their pop tunes like Friday I'm in Love or Like Heaven. I guess 'The Cure' was to put all of this melancholy in a record, freeing him to pursue joy on the other side. Thematically (not musically), it reminds me of The Wall, except that that tells a story, whereas this is just a funereal slog, start to finish.

A little too whiney for me.

Not for me but it wasn’t horrible.

"Pornography" is a foundational goth album, yes; but it's just too depressing.

No standouts Downer of an album

Dark brooding, no idea if good or sucks. Might need to relisten.

Can definitely tell there's something to these lyrics. Superficially, pondering our own mortality and some degree of nihilism comes through - but I can't properly appreciate the message of this album through 1.5 listens. The sound is not for me, not much at all. Maybe on the fifth listen I'd love this album, but for now I think I kind of have to leave it at a 2. Would be a 2.5 if I could. Title track isn't necessarily my favorite, but was certainly one that stood out on an album I couldn't seem to pay attention to for more than a few minutes.

not my jam,

Can’t say I was thrilled to get another Cure album, but let’s see how we go… Urrggghhh. Just be quiet please and turn down your intensity and increase your joy. Struggling with this one and the SMACKING intensity just makes it more unbearable. I don’t know if it’s just my mood, but this is really grating on me. Unskilled, droney, basic and so lacking. Couldn’t wait for it to end.

This is not my first try to appreciate The Cure. I know they are often cited as hugely influential and a big piece in the evolution of modern / rock music. However they just don't do it for me. I felt like this album was just dreary, a bit whiny and boring. I know that's not a hot take as dreary is probably exactly what they are going for.. I just feel like if I criticised them any more it would come of as bullying the emo kid... Truth is I like all sorts of "emo" music, the cure just present the genre in a way that almost gets on my nerves a bit. I will still give them the respect they deserve but feel confident I won't be finding any sort of epiphany of appreciation for their music anytime soon.

Disappointing. One or two good tracks.

Just didn't do much

2 Maybe I wasn't in the right place listening to this but it was very average and every song sounded the same

Monotonous.

I thought the cure had chill music, this was weird demonic stuff

Like classic rock, but not really anything.

Not really for me.

Always the overrated band

Was initally really excited for a The Cure record, but kind of letdown due to the repetitiveness. Guess Disintegration would rather be my cup of tea.

The second of three Cure albums on this list. Two too many if you ask me.

Just did nothing for me.

Batman at Glastonbury or when your in THAT mood something to cry over

Never liked The Cure. Trying not to be prejudiced but this jangly mess is not helping.

Dit is een soort vage gothische rockopera? Heel duister album met een zanger die huilt over de gitaren en drums. Is het een lekker meezingalbum? Ik hoop het niet voor je, maar het luistert opzich best prima weg. Ik had eigenlijk niet door dat het album nog aan stond, is dat positief of juist heel erg negatief? Het is echt sadbois het album, en ik denk gewoon niet dat ik op het moment zo depri ben dat ik er goed naar kan luisteren. Ik kan er verder ook erg weinig over zeggen. Het is depri, het is The Cure, maar hun andere album was echt een stukje beter nog FAVO: The Hanging Garden, The Figurehead

“Rahhh maaaaa laaa baaa ta ta wahhh” Fuck the 80s man.

Not a fan

What an awful album. Not quite a 1, but 2 feels too high. I'll say 1.5 and round up.

Not my fav

meh

Honestly pretty forgettable. I like its sort of smoky allure and the instrumentation is often great but idk man. I can't really make out the vocals half the time and I just don't see myself revisiting it

Depressing as hell. Wasn't really that into it.

It wasn’t like completely terrible or anything but I just did not vibe with it at all.

It's okay, not what expected from Cure. Never listened them before. I really like the cover art. Maybe I don't like the singing that much. Yeah, I don't think I would listen to this that often haha And also, I'm on the last song and I have the feeling I was just listening to one same song for 40 min, and now only that last one changed. Would love it if it was a bit more diverse.

I like Robert Smith’s voice on hits like Friday I’m in Love and Lovesong, but not on most of these tracks — seems whiny to me and gets old quick. We still have their album Disintegration to do. So that should be more to my liking.

Very rompiche quand même

Honestly, I am not feeling this at all. So many more tuneful and memorable cute songs. This feels like a malaise of their most reverberous and muted sounds. I respect the project for the sounds it defined, but the cure hit their stride later in their career.

I like newer Cure, but this album didn't do it for me

Not really for me. To slow and the singer isnt my favorite. Won't listen again.

Day 2. So boring

I've never quite understood The Cure, and this album really exemplifies the ways in which they confuse me. I listened to it, and while there were moments when I was humming along and enjoying the pleasant groove, most of the time I was just kinda unaffected by the whole thing. It was alright, I guess, but I just can't figure out how I'm supposed to react to this music. I see a lot of people saying the The Cure albums are their all-time favorites, and this one is on this list, so _someone_ must really love it, but I just can't figure out why anyone would be so interested in what I hear as perfectly mediocre sounds. The last track, Airlock: The Soundtrack, was just 13 minutes of infuriatingly distressing noises, and I absolutely hated it. It took all of my willpower not to just close the tab in rage. Two stars.

Not the biggest fan of cure anyway, couple of decent tracks, not an album I'll revisit

They say they've got the cure, but I don't have a disease

It's definitely The Cure. Not their best album by a longshot though.

I don’t HATE this but I don’t understand how it’s special. I would love to hear someone else sing to see if I liked it better

After the pleasure of hearing "Disintegration" on this project, I'm back to the Cure I know and don't like very much. Dude screaming rather than singing while the band wallows in the distance.

I like the Cure but this album didn't deliver.

Reminds of Joy Division a bit. Not a huge fan of Joy Division.

Pretty underwhelming all the songs feel the same to me without any standout songs.

2.5

Like having your head held under water by a wailing, depressive.

So, I love 80s alt, but this is just a little too much. When Robert Smith is angsty it comes off to me as whiny and too high-pitched. One song wouldn’t be bad but a whole album of it was too much. I really love the drums. I also really liked one track-A Strange Day. I’ll still listen to The Cure‘s later stuff.

They're angry about something, hard to tell from the lyrics what it is. Really good bass lines and some nice guitar, but the Oh so spooky lyrics are distracting

I'd already completely forgotten about this album by this morning. There was nothing for me here.

This is a “listen more than once” kind of album. I’m wasn’t a huge fan on first listen. But for some reason I want to listen to it again? I like the moodiness of it, but I disliked the repetitiveness. Maybe it’s just the vibe I enjoyed but overall the songs were meh.

Not their best. Not very accessible songs here. No radio hits. Self obsessed

I like the Cure but this album was boring unfortunately

Not their best album

I can’t. I’m sorry. Don’t hate me.

The birth of emo? I’ll be honest. The cure are not my favorite. His pleading / whining / singing is something I can take in doses but not for a full album. I know people love this band. I am not one of those people

Found myself wanting this to end long before it did. Sad boy music

The first 10 seconds got my hope up, but then he started singing.

Just finished this and already forgotten it

Never been a big fan of The Cure and still not.

Final Cure album. I'm nearly a fifth of the way through this list, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I'm reaching the end of the line for many multi-album inductees. Still, it's strange. I thought I would have more time to know of these artists before bidding them farewell. Anyways, the album. It's more of The Cure. Very gloomy and macabre, with some artistic choices that I respect. The signature "heavy" production is back in full swing and more engrossing than ever. The synth is quite good - especially on Cold. I don't remember such a sound being prominent on the previous albums, so it does a good job of distinguishing Pornography from the rest of their discography. It's also very well-suited to the dark atmosphere of the album, as are the synths on Joy Division's Closer. The garbled, distorted guitars and occasional reverb are other aspects that I like, especially with regards to the title track. My biggest gripe with this album has been my biggest gripe with all of The Cure's albums - the vocals. They're tolerable when they're on the more straight-laced, focused songs like One Hundred Years, though the songs where his vocals are more "atmospheric" and strained do not work for me, like on The Figurehead and A Strange Day. I admit that Robert Smith's vocal stylings weren't as over-exuberant and intolerable on this album as I remembered them being on Disintegration. Maybe he's growing on me. Another aspect of this album which I disliked was the extreme length of the songs. These songs are all competent and have some good ideas, but they just fail to hold my attention due to being much longer than they needed to be. It's a sombre feeling to bid farewell to the first artist I listened to through this list (it's not really, but go along with it, mmkay?) Disintegration was the first album in my journey of 1089. I've honestly thought of revisiting it sometime in the future as I do remember there being aspects of the album which I liked. In any such case, I will give this album a proper sendoff by paraphrasing from the book. "best and darkest of all the early Cure records". I guess I can agree - I greatly preferred this album to Seventeen seconds. "perfect soundtrack for any aspiring goth". I know the vocalist of this band hates the comparison of The Cure to the goth subculture, so up yours, Robert Smith. "The Hanging Garden" was the only successful single of the album. I can't fault the inclusion of this album if it really is the best of their early discography, though I was expecting to be sold on it more with how critically acclaimed the band is.

En lidt mørk omgang rock, lidt punket

I can understand the appeal of this album and I enjoy it more than ones when the Cure moved towards a more new wave sound. That said I did not enjoy it on its own and not based against the bands later albums.

Some parts felt like very easy listening.

Pa volim tu i tamo poslušati koju pjesmu i ima dobrih i tu, ali cijeli album mi je malo too much jer imaju specifičan sound i vokal. Zbog toga 2/5, 4/10

Uff this is depressing for a Friday (and "Friday im in love" is not included here...) 2/5

This album is a tight musical metaphor for profound, clinical depression. Its flattened affect lacks dynamic range. Each track consists primarily of Robert Smith's tuneless, depairing bellow, over a confused swirl of guitars and synths, backed by a seemingly disaffected rhythm section who sound like they were mic'd from the wrong end of a disused warehouse. The album only finally gets interesting on the title track; its last six minutes only serving to accentuate the indistinguishable mire of the previous 37. I'm sure this album must be a soothing listen if you're depressed. Unfortunately, I was enjoying life today, so it didn't do much for me.

I found it boring honestly. Expected a lot more.

idk wasn’t really my vibe at the moment. to depressing

This album isn’t sad or depressing or dark, it’s just a grown British man whining the word “died” a bunch

The drums are all sounding the same which makes me think the songs sound the same.

One Hundred Years isn't bad; reminds me of The Killers. The rest is all quite samey and overdramatic, except for The Figurehead which is pretty good.

Yeah, this is a boring as I remember it. I could never get into The Cure; never liked their sound. But I feel like I'm betraying my generation.

Album 763 of 1089 The Cure - Pornography (1982) Rating : 2.5 / 5 An intense bleakness. Kind of depressing with a nightmarish, claustrophobic feeling. An overwhelming gloom.

Didn’t finish it. Got a little annoying for my tastes. I can appreciate what they’re doing but it just doesn’t appeal to me

I like Robert Smith, but hard for me to stomach a full album of him.

Songs all sound the same

Tough one to get through. Not a happy listen, and although there were some musical high notes (emphasis on some), this wasn’t a very enjoyable listen for me at all. Pretty much waited for the end, which is also what The Cure sounded like they were doing during this album.

The guitar is phenomenal but I only found myself liking 3 of the 8 songs. I normally like The Cure but I'd say this album fell sorta short for me

Mid

This is not close to my favorite Cure album. It maybe I just want in the mood today, I dunno.

Definitely my least favorite of their albums on here. I feel like the overall sound was droned out and not very enjoyable.

oof i expected to like this as a pornography enjoyer, but too weird (and not in an interesting way) for me

An almost 45 minute, mostly empty and meaningless, grind that ended end up way less satisfying than initially anticipated. Might be the most appropriately titled album ever.

Eh

Not all experiments yield great immediate results. I didn’t like really anything on here although I believe it led to better music. I can be enamored by risks taking like PILs Flowers of Romance but this is not music I need to hear again.

Lots of mewling and moaning over echoing soundscapes. Fairly unique, but not very impressive.

I only know the singles so it was interesting to hear properly gloomy Cure stuff. I kind of liked it but it all seemed to merge into one song. I imagine it probably benefits from relistens, but it's a 2 for now

This was decent. I want to like The Cure more than I do, but I don't think I'm super in to Robert Smith's voice. There are some cool moments in the songs. I found myself enjoying A Strange Day and Pornography a fair amount.

2.5....rounding down because it seemed more depressing than Disintegration

No.

Well played, but very repetitive. The vocal is not good.

2 slow

Not my jam. I like maybe two songs by The Cure. Neither were on this album...

While I am a big fan of lots of The Cure’s music, this album didn’t do it for me.

Тоска зеленая

Man, I didn't like this at all. A big surprise tbh. 2/5

Not super familiar with The Cure, save a couple of their hits, which I do quite like. I certainly knew that they were post-punk (which I generally love) and gothic, so I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly enjoy this. The album feels emotionally one-note throughout. The opening track, "One Hundred Years", I actually found to be quite annoying. I was really kind of expecting something more like Joy Division. Something catchy, even if discordant. It's all atmosphere here, but the atmosphere puts me to sleep. It isn't completely awful, though. I love the driving bass on "A Short Term Effect". And those ridiculous horror-movie synths actually gives "Cold" this great vibe. Fav tracks: A Short Term Effect, The Hanging Garden, Cold

Sometimes the Cure really does it for me, sometimes not so much. This was very interesting if not a bit monotonous. This was a very passive listen for me and not much else.

Nothing like a Cure album to turn a sunny day grey.

2 stars. I liked the synths on most songs but the singing was really grating after the second song.

I appreciate The Cure in the right mood but this album was not for me.

I like the cure though I must admit this record struck me as a bit of a downer today.

Sounded like they were still trying to figure out what they wanted to be.

Don't know if I like this phase of the cure, too emo and aggravating on a Friday. 2*

I don't like his voice

Er svært skuffet. Virkelig langsomt, røvsygt og whiny. Man er næsten fristet til at give bundkarakter, men den der sprøde metalliske guitarlyd post-punk redder den fra bunden, men også kun lige præcis. Så snart Robert Smith ikke synger er det næsten fedt nok

I wonder if the word "cure" in The Cure a noun or a verb? That's the most inspiring thought I had listening to this dark wave noise. There are some The Cure songs I like, they just aren't found within this brooding Halloween soundtrack.

Ei itseä varten tämäkään albumi, sen saundi.

Never really enjoyed The Cure. To dreary for me. There are some fantastic singles on their greatest hits album but not this one

I was excited to see a Cure album pop up as the album for today but that excitement was short lived. This album was a bit of a downer. It is clear that there was a lot going on behind the scenes that subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, left a dark stamp on the tracks. A bit too dark for my tastes.

Just not a band/style of music that I enjoy.

The music feels suffocating, like a heavy fog. It lingers, cold and unrelenting. There’s a darkness, but it doesn’t unfold like Nick Cave’s work—it just sits there. It’s relentless but not always compelling. There’s something missing, maybe hope, maybe a spark?

As much as I enjoyed the last couple Cure albums, this one was the most drab and dull. It might be more emo than the other ones (Disintegration, Seventeen Seconds), but not in a way I really enjoyed. No overly weird songs either, like Lullaby. Every song is also 45-75 seconds too long. If I'm picking a favorite song, it's going to be Siamese Twins.

More like ‘Snorenography’. It starts off quite menacing and nicely evil sounding but that song and every one after it just turns out to be super repetitive, droning and tedious. Not a whole lot of, or rather, any melodies to be found here and Robert Smith yelp singing is way more annoying that it usually is. Some cool wiry guitar lines that are basically copied and pasted from Joy Division Closer.

Sounded like they were still trying to figure out what they wanted to be.

Never heard the entire album before. Not much of a Cure fan anyway, but this doesn't resonate with me.

I love the Cure but I just can't jive with their darker, mopey stuff. I like them here, but I appreciated the band more as they evolved into a more poppy sound (sorry). So for skill, 4 but a 2.5 for sound. When we get to Head on the Door I'm all in!

Really nothing remarkable for me. 1,5

Nope. Dark, monotonous, a tedious listen.....but not terrrrrrrrible, in an odd way.

Found this harder going than I expected. It's very Joy Division-y but with a, let's say, more distinct singer. Very echo-y. Lots of icy atmosphere. I liked the songs with the sort of tribal drums, especially Hanging Garden but overall I think I prefer the happy, upbeat The Cure of Love Cats and Friday I'm In Love...

boring ... drums play the same rhythm through each song (although different for each), could be a drum machine. Voice characterless and instrumentation boring. Nothing to bring me back here.

I used to hate the cure. I referred to them, childishly, as the Disease. Suddenly, I began to really enjoy their music. My best friend in high school in college was a fan and I began to like them as a result. All these years later, and I have to think that they’re kind of in the middle for me. This album is definitely not my favorite. I’d love to give them at least three, but I just can’t do it.

Alright last song a bit revolution 9

I'm no a fan of music like this. Not a lot going on here it's just a bunch of reverb to me. Lots of TENSION but the output is very sad.

To dark and gloomy for me.

I did find it a little samey. Got distracted and couldn't really tell I had heard most of the album. Didn't really keep me interested

I'm disappointed, but I suspect I might need to revisit this one eventually. I feel as if I missed a lot of the nuance.

🎧2 stars might be a bit harsh for this, but it’s about as dreary and dark as they come so you really gotta be in the right mood to vibe with it. Favorite track: A Strange Day

Great band but so dark and depressing....all the time. And I always hated Robert Smith's voice. Sounds like screaming from a distance in a tunnel. Not a fan.

Might get better on a relisten

Who doesn’t like the cure? Lol. Idk if I was THIS into them.

2.5 ok samey sounding

bit of a droner

Wieder so ein 80er-Sound, den ich nicht mag.

da hatte ich mir dann doch mehr erwartet

I can't 100% remember how I've rated every other goth album my group's come across, but I think it's here I wanna firmly put this genre into the "not my thing" box. Like, lemme just stop saying "If I were goth...," y'know? 'Cuz this album in particular, this album was very "in one ear, out the other; can't recall nuffin'" for me. Normally I'd attribute that to undiagnosed ADHD, or a general "if I had more time to spin it," but here, with this kinda soundscape, it does nothing for me. And I'm not particularly clamoring to remember, either. There's not even any one element I can shrug at to justify bumping it an extra star. So, all the goths of the world out there, I like your fashion, and I like your girls with the big tiddy, but your music? I jus' gotta be honest with myself here and stop giving the benefit. Maybe down the line I'll find out that appeals more to my sensibilities, but for sure it's not here.

Some interesting sound scapes, but not an album for me. I can see why people would like this album, but I don’t think I will come back to it. Again, it did have some really cool sounds to it

mm weiss ich nich digga...

Depressing

Kind of weird and slow.

Pillars of gothic rock. Gets boring real quick. 2 stars

Just didn’t really enjoy this

2.5

I like a lot of The Cure's stuff but not on this album

new wave, brit. pop, 1982 -> 2

found out today that I do not like the cure

The machine gun-like drums are a cool part of the album, but it doesn’t overtake the sadness at its heart. I’m not sad enough for albums like this. I much prefer The Cure’s radio-friendly pop stuff.

Too depressing and anti-melodic with songs that go on forever. I understand why some would like this but not for me.

Yeaaaa I don’t think this album is for me. Super angsty with a harsher tone

It just felt really bland and pretentious. I just don't get it. Maybe sometime I will. Very different from the more upbeat "The Cure" songs i actually know and like ("Lovecats", "Boys Don't Cry" etc etc.)

Not my favorite by the Cure

I just don't get this band. So affected, so dreary, so downbeat. I think it's a post-Bowie case of style over substance to be honest. A band for the girls who wrote poetry all over the covers of their exercise books at school and who thought Morrissey was "sensitive". Dull.

pre listening notes: i know friday i’m in love and boys don’t cry, but those aren’t on this album. i hope i like it bc the 80s is a challenging music time for me. let’s go! One Hundred Years - immediately, drum machine sounding beat. kinda creepy guitars? synth. 80s. “it doesn’t matter if we all die” is such a strong start to an album. maybe i’m projecting but with the political climate right now, i feel like this song is about knowing a war is going on. something much bigger than yourself but being unable to do anything about it. the hopelessness and being unable to stop thinking about it. dark. A Short Term Effect - reverb going crazy! the floaty guitars make me a little uneasy. the lyrics are poetry. The Hanging Garden - different vibe immediately, driving drums. every song so far has mentioned dying. what drugs were they on while making this? ik it had to be something. i like this one more than the other two tho Siamese Twins - ok who hurt them bc damn. i do like this song tho The Figurehead - y’all this is depressing music. heavy stuff. nothing like friday i’m in love lol. i looked up if the band used drugs and apparently two members left briefly after this album because of the heavy drug use. not to belabor the point it’s just so obvious to me A Strange Day - lots of references to being blind. i guess this song is about the world ending? very similar sound to a short term effect Cold - more synthy! another reference to a mirror. this album feels so introspective. once again, poetic lyrics. sad. Pornography- the title track! the reversed radio clips are the beginning are cool & creepy. the lyrics don’t start until three minutes and thirty seconds in. i did more reading and i guess this album is considered by some to be the final in a dark trilogy, with this being the height. i guess i didn’t know much about the cure before now and although i definitely feel more educated, i can’t say i enjoyed it. this is what the emos of the 80s had i guess lol (jokes!). i’d give this a 3 or 2 out of 5, i didn’t like it very much. in other news, this experience is fucking up my algorithm, Be Somebody from the Kings of Leon album is on my spotify daylist🙄

Huonoa: ei melodiaa, ei rytmiä - vain yhtä massaa - ja kuinka hidasta! Ei B-osia, hätäiset sanat. Hyvää: eka biisi ratsastaa riffillään kiitettäväksi kokemukseksi. Soundi on loppuun saakka viilattu ja ihan pysäyttävä. Toisin sanoen tämä kannattanee kuulla kerran. Ainakin levy on lyhyempi kuin... Disintegration.

Very annoying to listen to. Took me two days of revisiting. Definitely not for me. I even saw these guys live like 10 years ago and was bored out of my mind then, still am.

Not in the mood for this kind of music for now

80s to the max

A more rough and tumble kind of Cure, not entirely for me, though nice to hear some early influence for this kind of stuff. 2.5 is more accurate for this.

Such very sad people

Pour ceux qui aime un geignard qui se plaint d’un air lancinant tout au long d’un album, The Cure est pour vous!

wtf did I just listen to

Pornogaphy By: The Cure Genre(s): Gothic Rock, Post-Punk Date Ranked: 09 . 01 . 24 ---> 13 . 01 . 24 Halo Numbers: 3 One Hundred Years: 6.5 / 10 ☆ > Gee, this felt so dragged on to be honest. It is not done in the worst way, but it isn’t that good either. I just don’t feel very invested in the song. A Short Term Effect: 6.75 / 10 ☆ > This one gives me such an 80’s vibe like wow (that’s not a bad thing by the way). But honestly, I do like the lyrics and that delivery is something I love too. It is quite nice I’d say. The Hanging Garden: 6.5 / 10 ☆ > This one was kinda hard to rate so I’ll just round down. It really isn’t bad, but I feel it is kinda repetitive and is boring in terms of music and delivery, but, idk, it also is kinda good. Siamese Twins: 6.75 / 10 ☆ > Alright, I see we are fluctuating here, aren’t we? I’d say that lyrically, it is the best one so far. I am not a fan of the delivery by the very end, but throughout the rest of the song, I can’t complain. The Figurehead: 6.5 / 10 ☆ > Uhhh, well, this certainly feels like a very long song. I don’t even mind songs being long, but this one just felt so boring most of the time. The lyrics kinda feel all over the place. A Strange Day: 6.75 / 10 ☆ > That’s better. The lyrics got more interesting and the delivery went up in quality too. It still felt kinda prolonged but not really bad, so, yeah, good. Cold: 6.75 / 10 ☆ > Again, this one feels much more coherent and overall better. I love the music in this one, and the lyrics with this delivery are also pretty nice. Pornogaphy: 6.25 / 10 ☆ > Ah yes, a 3 minute intro. Not just that, but the wait isn’t even worth it in the end. I suppose I am supposed to not hear shit either. And the delivery is of questionable quality too. Meh. Total Percentage: 65.9375% —> 66% Average Song Rating: 6.59 / 10 ☆ Best Song(s): > A Short Term Effect > Cold Additional Note(s): Maybe The Cure is simply not for me. I was kinda interested in checking them out, but after this thing (which is considered to be one of their best albums) I am not as interested. Or, at the very least, I will postpone it for much later. I am not the biggest fan of their delivery in this album, however I suppose lyrically it’s not that bad.

Hm

My range of music I enjoy is not good. I feel like I'm supposed to like the cure but this is a tough listen for me

Boring goth music. Similar to Depeche Mode but worse. Nothing really exciting in this album except for a couple cool guitar parts that I picked up on. Other than that I was hoping for redemption from their last album because I know The Cure is extremely popular. I can't figure out why after 2 albums.

no sunshine on this album.

I like The Cure. This album is a drug-fueled slog.

'One Hundred Years' and 'Cold' are the best songs but this particular incarnation of The Cure isn't really for me.

"Hey dad, I'm buying this Pornography record" "What do you mean pornography? Don't buy it, it's terrible!" "No, I mean the record by The Cure." "Exactly."

Pornography is the fourth album by English rock band the Cure. This was the last album of their dark, gothic rock phase before they switched to brighter, new wave. The music is heavily layered with instruments, lyrics, and effects, all the while giving off depressive vibes. It was poorly reviewed by critics at release, but was the Cure's most popular album and has since been considered an important piece of gothic rock development. I commend the musical talent by the Cure on Pornography, but I do think there's a little too much "woe is me" in the lyrics. The band were going through a rough patch and this was their expression of that. Their pain did make a great gothic rock album though. This is a nice piece of rock history, even if it's not mine or your type of rock.

Meh

The best Cure songs sound timeless, while this record sounds so 80s in an old, dull way.

No thanks

Too slow and low

I REALLY want to love the cure, and some of their songs are great, but I'm afraid I find much of their stuff, including this album, quite dreary :(

1/8, 13%

They really front-loaded this with the two worst songs. The rest are better, but not by much. The vocals and guitar both have this terrible reverb all over them that make them almost unlistenable, so the best songs are those that focus on bass and drums, like The Hanging Garden.

A bit boring to me

Very rare good parts don't save it from the boring mess

I would not consider this pornography

First the Cure album for me. I was kind of looking forward to it, but sadly it was a dreadful letdown. Just echo-heavy, depressing sounding muck. Why am I even giving it a 2/5?

Typical early 80s sound. 2/5

Sounds better than their earlier album, I like the instrumentals more. Still don't want to kill myself though

An album that consists of The Cure tuning their instruments, preparing to record a better album

An extra star because it was shit but reasonably well composed.

One Hundred Years- Dawg What (2) A Short Term Effect- Better Mid (5) The Hanging Gardens- Meh (6) Siamese Twins- MIDD (4) The Figurehead- Interesting but nah (6.5) A Strange Day- Huge Turnaround (8) Cold- Decent (7.5) Pornography- What is even happening (3)

Fittingly, a load of wank 👍🏾

Probably The Cure's worst album

This is the third The Cure album this generator has given me. I did not enjoy this one…. The Cure is one of those bands where I enjoy their hits but their wider discography is very hit or miss for me. This album didn’t have a single hit. 100% a miss.

its like 40-50 minutes of the same song 2.5

Some cool parts, but for the most part nothing caught my attention and the album just droned on

Only got through the first 4 songs, not sure what was going on here, not my style

This is from The Cure’s depression era. That’s their worst era.

C+ One Hundred Years - 4. A Short Term Effect - 3. The Hanging Garden - 3. Siamese Twins - 2. The Figurehead - 2. A Strange Day - 3. Cold - 2. Pornography - 2.

Neither good nor bad. Unremarkable.

Dark and ominous, they definitely change their sound in later albums. I can appreciate the art and direction but overall it isn't my cup of tea. I do enjoy the later stuff more though. I think it is a little too dramatic and avant garde for my liking. 2/5

The 80s legit did not understand that male singers could have vocal range. I don't like it.

I loved this when I was about 13-14, and the opening track is still a haunting tune. But I found this hard going listening again - it's too dark and too ploddy after more than a track or two. It made sense at the time, but hasn't aged as well as other albums by The Cure. A few more catchy tunes may have helped. Interesting more than engaging.

Meh is how I feel about this one. Nothing stuck out to me- there is creativity for sure but but much success in my opinion. It was bland unlike their other albums, they’ve done better.

I _want_ to like the Cure. But the goth is just too much for me. And this album, every song sounded exactly the same and the production as well, like it was recorded in a garage or something. Not a fan. Sorry. I know they have their die-hard fans, but they just... nope. Not for me. Next.

God, this was a bummer. I’m glad I listened to it because I’d never heard true goth music before, and it’s fascinating to hear how different the cure was (how did this same band put out just like heaven two albums later?), but it’s not for me. The unchanging drum beat made it difficult to distinguish between songs, which I’m sure was intentional but ultimately resulted in a wall of gloom with no real payoff. I’ll stick with joy division for my mopey tunes.

I don’t really like the early’80s synth pop very much and this is the epitome of the genre

In my adult life I've really come to really enjoy serious bands from the 1980s. The decade was bloated with cheesy synths and corny lyrics and I think it was a sound that pretty quickly became outdated. As I have gotten older though I've come to appreciate this sound, and I think if you say to yourself "at first glance this may sound corny, but I'm going to not care about that and get lost in the music" then it's really easy to enjoy all of the other facets underneath the surface. With that being said, The Cure hasn't been one of the standout acts for me. I think maybe I'm missing something, like how influential they were to other bands. This album is a 2/5 for me with not many standouts and I don't think any of their big hits.

The Cure has never really appealed to me. This record doesn't change that. It's not terrible but it's not really great either.

Listened on 2/28/23 2.5/5 Favorite song: cold I felt like I was being yelled at and the songs were entirely too long. I am worried for their well-being but the album was fine

So depressing

Tolerable. No great tunes.

cool style for sure. but gives me a headache.

Meh.

Good Rock

Mmm, è uno stile molto particolare (ma non particolarmente strano): una basso da una tonalità molto pronunciata e caratteristica e una voce che stride un po'. Non mi prende. Cioè The Cure perché bisogna cominciarla dopo un ascolto prolungato?

I had to really try on this one, and that surprises me. I think this was toooo much Cure for me.

I had a greatest hits CD of The Cure when I was in high school that I loved. There were so many hits! And they were the greatest. But I always skipped the song Lullaby. It felt too creepy. It didn’t have the fun, peppy overtones in its instrumentation that made the darker, more goth and emo aspects of The Cure palatable. This whole album is like a never-ending listen of Lullaby. It’s too goth and industrial for me. I don’t want to go down this creepy spider hole with them. I’ll stick the hits that keep a lighter vibe going, you know, Just Like Heaven and Friday I’m In Love, thanks.

I understand if was of an era, but not my style at all

Best track(s): ? Non-existent, if I had to pick I'd say 'Cold'. Worst track(s): all of it I do love the eighties sound! The first track sounds very ominous and atmospheric.. Usually I don't really mind long tracks, but the first one was too long for what it is. 15 minutes in and the voice of the singer is starting to be annoying. Don't think this album is for me. Tracks started to blend together and weren't any more interesting for it... I was already in a bad mood starting this and it hasn't improved (which was to be expected apparently, looking at the summary).

2/5. Not bad but not quite good either. It feels too epic for themes that don’t feel very epic. Every song feels like the end of the world.

I've tried a few times but this band just does nothing for me.

The Cure have never really appealed to me and I was not particularly stoked about getting another album from them after previously getting "Disintegration." This is a lot more palatable, possibly because it's not overly long like "Disintegration" is being a product of the early CD era. I enjoyed this a bit more for sure, but still not for me.

Please pass the Kleenex

Its got a bit of an intensity to it, but its a right racket and Robert's vocals are very marmite

Fecking whiny brit pop, I am honestly glad I do not come up in this era of music

The dramatic, whiney voice is a huge turn off for me

Not my type of music

Love his voice, ok album - a bit boring....

Did not hit. Reviewing sat/sun I think, long kayak but a good vibe. Photos, I’m not photogenic and bad skin, but fun. Hang, too much football, chicken katsu, drinking, fire making, smores and shivering, jackbox, walk with A and group, sleepover and ratatouille, then back home, tired, WH lawn tour, tired, call parents, nice sun, vibes, sleep

Oh fucking hell, cheer up.

Not much to say. Never been into this type of music and this didn't change my mind.

"Mooooom! The weird goth kid is beating the shit out of his casio again!" "His name is Robert dear and you'll feel really sorry for bullying him in 20 years when Brandon Flowers steals his vocal cords and you're humming Mr. Brightside." 2/5

Dull.

Did not enjoy this really, it washed over me with a pretty heavy tinge of melancholy. Musically not particularly exciting, lyrically pretty miserable. There are better miserable albums out there, can't imagine myself ever revisiting this. 2/5.

As far as Cure music goes, this didn’t really resonate with me.

I don't know, but it seems like I can't get into post punk stuff. The vibe does not match with me and it also lacks interesting melodies.

Meh.

The Muse sound. But not the best of them. Meh...

First thought: early Cure - yes, I must listen to this! Turns out, it's not so early (4th album), and it's the first album so far for which I have skipped though the tracks without listening to at least one entire track on the first run through. Now that's partly a matter of time - rather behind on work today - but it also reflects my reaction to the music. I suppose it's on the list because it's influential on Gothic music, but it's not something I want to listen to. "The Figurehead" was OK, I guess, if I was ever in the mood for existential angst I might listen to it again. Update: listened again, “need to hear it loud” I was told (and maybe don’t fret about exact lyrics, just pick up the feel). Worked better that way, in the background while cooking and talking. Still not really doing anything for me.

For me, The Cure were a great singles band, but the only albums of theirs I’ve ever been able to listen to are the hits compilations and a live album I own. I checked the hits cds I own, Standing On A Beach : The Singles & The Cure : Greatest Hits, and nothing from Pornography appears on either. This doesn’t surprise me, because I can’t hear any toe-tappers here. I find it just a little boring, except for The Hanging Garden, which was the only single release off this album.

Not my cup of tea. A little ethereal at times which was cool, but overall just boring.

The vocals really grate on me. Instrumental parts are serviceable but not very interesting. It has a solid base not reflected in the score; it wouldn't take many tweaks to bring this up to a 4. So far I haven't rated anything below a 3. However, this was making my rating scale really inconsistent. I'd go "X is better than Y, and I gave Y a 3, so I guess I need to give X a 4". But then I also had given Z a 3 earlier, and Z was at least as good as X! So 3-4 didn't really mean anything. To fix this, I'm re-calibrating my rating scale, rating "meh"/average stuff at 2 instead of 3, which is where this album ends up. That doesn't make it worse than other stuff I've listened to so far.

Umm whatever guys

Not for me.

Vocally uninspiring and repetitive. Not a single song spoke to me.

Distinctly The Cure sound. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood but I didn’t enjoy it. 2*

Less interesting than Seventeen Seconds. Kinda a chore to get through, but good to hear once. (Prior rate)

Eine The Cure-Platte ist eine The Cure-Platte ist eine The Cure-Platte. Hat mich jetzt nicht besonders geärgert, ist einfach nur langweilig.

Eh - its okay. Not for me at this time

A somewhat boring album in my opinion. Felt like the style for the band was pretty consistent and somewhat dark as are most punk rock bands. The songs felt like they blended together and nothing really stood out. Don’t think I’d listen again. 4.8/10

2/5 not something much

I have to say, I enjoyed the Cures beat/rhythm...but I can't really take the vocals!

A bit unremarkable

J’ai trouvé ça long un peu. Il y a plein de bons trucs par contre. Beaucoup d’exploration au niveau des sonorités. Les compositions sont plutôt linéaires. Il faut aimer ça quand les chansons n’ont pas de grands contrastes.

Listened. But I cannot recall a single sung melody that didn't just sound like a kid throwing a tantrum and whining "moooooooom... oh pleeeeease moooooooom...". And this from a fan of The Cure's poppier tunes. Just. Such. A. Whiny. Bastard.

not for me I guess

Eh en ollut kovinkaan vakuuttunut. Hirveän tuskaista mutta vähän tylsää. 2/5.

Kind of a disappointing album and pretty dark. I guess I wanted something "poppier". 4/10.

Meh, not bad, not amazing, didn't notice much

Meh

There are some Cure songs I like, but couldn't get into this album.

Interesting that this is the cure album chosen for the list, I don't like it particularly (And I love the Cure and Robert Smith) but this finds them at a difficult time, haunted by drug use and depression and this comes out in the tracks of this album. I find it depressing in itself, and can't really see why it is here. Sorry |"Lovecats!" it is a no from me.