Pornography

I never could get into The Cure and I just don't know why. I think Robert Smith is great by the way, and I am really intrigued by the songs musically. I also love people that are Cure fans - they always seem like good people to me. But something I can't put my finger prevents me from enjoying this as much as I should. This is my first Cure album, there's three more on this list so there's time to be converted.

I don't know why, but I often find British vocalists in the indie/alt/goth-rock genres to sound whiny. And most of the time, that's a bad thing, but for some reason Robert Smith always gets a pass from me. His vocal stylings somehow don't give me the same 'nails on a chalkboard' reaction as similar singers. If you need an album to define goth rock, Pornography easily ranks in the top 5 recommendations. Smith's songwriting is pure poetry, though the subject matter of the album is most likely not to everybody's taste. The guitar and bass work seem pretty standard new-wave sounding to me, but the drums are impressive. That said, not my favorite album from The Cure. It is very much an album I have to be specifically in the mood for. It's not a daily rotation album, but it would serve as a very solid foundation for a genre-specific playlist.

unreal!!!! listened through twice, thoroughly enjoyed this. great time

Prefiero otros de esta banda

Jesus that was awful.

The cure never really did it for me... Extra star cause Pornography haha

Omg, I love Pornography!!....T-t-the album...ofc

i think to accurately rate this album id have to listen to the previous albums and the following since apparently this marks the end of their more gothic dark style of music but i think its a great album on its own

Well that's a big bag of misery. Musically solid, although the lyrics are pretty impenetrable. Reminds me a bit of those two first Roxy Music albums

Ooooh I love the cure!! Don't think I've listened to this all the way through. This was great! 4 stars.

LOVED IT

Can't be mad about listening to a Cure album! Not my favorite of theirs, but I have no complaints ⭐⭐⭐.49

The album has a really cool sound and atmosphere but no songs stand out, a few of them like the figurehead feel like they don't go anywhere after the first few minutes. My favourites were A Strange Day and Pornography.

Not really my thing. Had moments, but overall not for me

326. nice

The book calls this 'a monumental opus of gloom, squeezed into 43 minutes' and after listening to it, I don't think I could sum it up better myself.

such a good autumn album

Songs are ok? Lacking standouts, sound quality is poor. 5/10

Meh

Me gusto, muy agusto pa mi

I am not currently sad enough for this to hit how it probably should.

The zombie apocalypse music

I thought it was very good. Seemed sorta similar style to other albums but enjoyed it. Didn’t get to listen to lyrics as much.

Ну це вже класика)

Good album. The Cure are awesome.

music is love

Het is net geen 5 sterren voor mij, Pornography klinkt net te vaak als hoe Robert Smith eruit ziet en dat kan soms net vervelend zijn

De enige rede dat dit 4 sterren krijgt is omdat ik oprecht vind dat alle andere Cure albums op de lijst nog een stapje beter zijn. Pornography is schitterend duister, wat hou ik van deze band.

Sounds fine, little meh/whiny at times.

I initially hated this album and then I read into the Wiki. Lo and behold, this album was written and produced during the band's most turbulent waters. Every member was fighting each other, there was hatred and toxicity in the studio, and none of them were sober of illicit drugs. The anger and depression can be heard in the music without a doubt. It's like most contemporary art. There's incredible skill, undoubted artistic ability, and competence in the media being displayed. However, the art needs context to really hit home, it can't just stand on its own. Which is why I don't like it. If art needs a fleshed out backstory full of colorful tragedy or impressive comedy, is it really art? Or is the context the art? I guess that's why we have pissed-in urinals as art displays; everyone knows the art, but no one knows the artist. Knowing its real-world circumstances I have raised my score from a 3/10 to a 4/10. It's still not my cuppa tea but it at least makes more sense why it sounds like it does. Definitely carries the weight of the band's social situation.

Готишно и ебать как грустно, вот это я понимаю раздали пост панка, легенды

This is where I need some half stars. Like this older moodier Cure stuff but like the 90s run more. 3.5

It’s like evil 80’s pop music. I unfortunately found the album pretty monotonous to listen through. I can’t call it bad music by any means, just really not to my taste.

Dark and moody. Charlotte sometimes is the unrealized hit. They headed down a sulking tunnel. Thankfully, they realized it and followed it up with what resulted in some of their best work, Japanese Whispers, The Top, In between Days

I found it a little one note but also gave me the sense of being a protag in a noir film

Mope rock, goth rock, whatever you want to call it, this is one of its seminal albums. I found it just alright.

Not bad for a genre I don't usually care for.

Great dark gothic themed album, with awesome baselines and apocalyptic vibes thrown all over the place. Loved it.

I liked Disintegration, but that wasn't thanks to the voice. Here, the monotone, unmelodious singing is really grating. I also find the music here to be pretty unimaginative, unlike on Disintegration. At times, it almost sounds like Sisters of Mercy, but without the sheer energy. The songwriting is very good tho.

Nah. I mean, it's fine, but nah.

Thought I'd enjoy this more than I did.

creo que me gusta mas de lo que sabia the cure. me gustaria escucharlo devuelta, pero me re gusto

Pornography is great! It made me rock hard. I experienced A Short Term Effect and it was very satisfying. And when The Figurehead popped up? I nearly exploded with excitement!

basically this is background noise to me, not the least bit appealing.

The drum machine use and bass on this album are really cool. I'd put this as another album from this list that would have come up a lot and been important to me if I had been aware of it at like 17. Good stuff.

Iconic Cure sound, but they have better albums than this one.

At one point I said, "this is just someone banging a drum and a man shouting at us, they are not even singing!". I found the unrelenting drum beat and whining lead singer to be a difficult listen, especially at almost 2 hours long.

I had a college friend (Little Jim) who was into the Cure, which by extension had me interested in them ... but their later work. No need to go back and listen to this one again.

I've never been a big fan of Robert Smith's vocals. The album starts out very brooding and gets lighter as it continues. The '80s is not my favorite decade and this album suffers from some of the classic tropes of this time.

Kinda mehh. Sounded like mediocre background music

Yesssss, I love this record. It has a dreamlike atmosphere that starts at the very beginning and then continues with that level of intensity. It’s a sad, dark, threatening dream, but a dream nonetheless. The guitars, the vocals, the percussion: mesmerizing throughout the entire album. Until I started doing this project, the only Cure album I had was that comp “Staring at the Sun,” so I already knew and loved “The Hanging Garden” (the drumming! the imagery!). New favorites on this album? Well, the whole thing, really, but especially “Cold” and the intense, chaotic title track.

CI AVVICINIAMO AD HALLOWEEN E QUEST’ALBUM È UN FILM DELL’ORRORE, UNO DEI MIGLIORI DEI THE CURE. PUÒ RISULTARE PESANTE DA ASCOLTARE, SPECIALMENTE L’OUTRO, MA SONO 8 CANZONI SULLO STESSO ALTO LIVELLO E CON UN SUONO CARATTERISTICO. È UN 4.5 TENDENTE AL 4, IL 5 LO TENGO PER UN ALTRO ALBUM DEI THE CURE. 4/5.

Definitely not the vibe I expect from that album. It was more raw, darker than I thought, and it’s not how I wanted to listen to The Cure. 2/5. Definitely better albums in their discography. One Hundred Years: 2 A Short Term Effect: 2 The Hanging Garden: 2 Siamese Twins: 2 The Figurehead: 2 A Strange Day: 2 Cold: 2 Pornography: 2

Another good one from the Cure, however the sad factor has been turned up from melancholic to straight up depressing. Don't get me wrong, I was still impressed by the technical prowess and a lot of the storytelling on display, however it just bogged me way down after a while. Robert Smith remains a genius, I wouldn't say there's any bad songs here, and I'd still listen to these guys after this, but it's by no means my favourite.

Fell asleep

Eu não conhecia o álbum, mas a energia dele é muito boa. (4/5)

loved the gothic vibes, feels unique compared to much of their other music

If colin likes it I likes it

Britisk. Gammelt. Gubbete. Men absolutt hørbart.

3.5

Great album 4/5

Nice album

Coprophagy

I like The Cure, but didn’t walk away from this album with any standouts or real desire to dig further.

This whole album felt like one long song. I like some songs by The Cure, but this wasn't interesting to me.

same as the last one imo. wasn't in the mood today

Not my favourite as far as The Cure albums go. Smith's songwriting goes strong here, as always, but sonically, this album felt messy, jumbled and blurred, just like the cover suggests. Although I do appreciate how atmospheric and dark it is, this stylistic choice is much better executed on 'Pornography's' follow-up, 'The Top', which is also packed with experimentation- a truly thrilling listen. Later works like 'Disintegration' also fine tune this moody, poetic sound to perfection, so although this album had some standouts like 'Cold' and 'A Strange Day', the lack of variation made it a bit disappointing for me.

this trumps disintegration

Great Goth Rock that would influence others to take up the mantle as the Cure would get a bit more poppy after this.

Dark. Steady.

Sound: Murky, claustrophobic Lyrics: Anguished, raw Highs & Lows: Nothing stands out either way; the album is uniform in tempo and mood

This is #day792 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... hell yeah, finally, my first The Cure album on the list. They're one of my favorite bands, so it's hard to revisit this record without bias, but anyway. It's a very special one, full of substance and character. I've always loved its atmosphere: paranoid, unsettling, and nerve-wracking, set against this murky, murderous mix of gothic rock and post-punk. A perfect musical backdrop for an October Friday afternoon. "Cold" is one of my favorite Cure songs ever. Happy to have seen them play Rock Werchter 2019. This is, without a single doubt, a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day793.

it's good? i think? nowhere near disintegration, though.

Held off listening to this until I was able to give it the big speaker treatment back at home. I've very little else to say which hasn't already been shouted from the rooftops. When an album opens with a line like *"it doesn't matter if we all die*, you know you're in for a truly desolate experience. There isn't much else out there, even today, which matches this album's suffocating darkness. It worked a treat for me amidst a canvas of grey skies and torrential rain through my bedroom window.

a bit to emo for me but still a nice moody album

I liked it! Very depressing. Good for wallowing.

Ikke så nice. Generelt sytete synging som jeg ikke er spesielt fan av, og stort sett utrolig monotone låter der det ikke skjer noe som helst. "Figurehead" er grusom. "Hanging Garden" er ok, men ikke nok til 3ern.

The Cure har sååå mye, bra men har glemt å ta med det i dette albumet. Veldig skuffende ut fra forventninger, så det blir midt på 3 for min del.

Digger The Cure (i riktig humør)! Ikke deres beste album (mangler noen bangere), men jevnt over solid

This is one of those albums where my grade could vary wildly by mood. The album lands when mentally moody on a moody grey day. I don't think I would like it if I was in a content or good mood on a sunny day.

day 12 of not rolling Aja by Steely Dan I kept skipping songs after listening to 3 horrific minutes of each one looking for something that didn’t suck, but I didn’t find anything. “The Figurehead” came close, but not even that saved it for me. That weird riff at 2:00 did me in

Two (2) [II] ⭐️⭐️2️⃣🇨🇼🥈

This is an astounding album, but man you really have to be in a mood to hear it.

One of my fav bands but not one of my fav albums by one of my fav bands, even though it’s generally ranked in their top 2 by most.

Nao é meu estilo de album. 3.5/10

Too depressive for me today

I’m just not utterly mad about The Cure guys, this was good and that’s as far as I’ll go remembering this album

The beginning of their sounds. I can hear so much if their influence in so much Brit and Goth rock and beyond.

Spare me

none of the songs really stood out to me, but i like the cure. 3.5

Pre Listen: I've heard of The Cure, but I'm racking my brain to try and recall at least one song they've made, and I just can't do it. I've known of them for ages it seems, but I really can't name one song they've made. Ah well, no expectations as a result I guess? Notable Tracks: The Hanging Gardens - Album started to really lose me here. These songs blend together. Post Listen: This album felt like something your brain might conjure up if you were going through a heavy Smiths and Oingo Boingo time of your life, and had a fever above 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Strange album. Wasn't the biggest fan of it honestly, but I didn't hate it or anything about it specifically. I think my biggest issue with it was the heavier, slow droning guitar and drums got a little repetitive after a while. The vocalist too was incredibly meh, just started feeling the samsies between every song. Album feels like how depression makes ones brain work; sluggish, uncomfortable, tired, and grey. I figure that's what they were going for, given the albums title and lyrical subject matters, but it's just not the sort of music I look for. There is no "Cure" for a Pornography addiction, other than having the strength of will to quit looking for it. Thankfully, it doesn't take too much strength to stop listening to this album. 2/5

I love the cure. Its just hauntingly beautiful. I find it crazy how early in the 80s this is. Robert Smiths voice is just great. My only gripe with the cure, in this particular time period is that lots of the tracks sound similar which can get a bit repetitive, but I think the length of this album is perfect to make sure this doesn't happen. Not sure I can fault it.

This was good but wasn't quite Disintegration levels of quality. I would listen again.

Not for me, dark trippy rock music.

I love The Cure, but I don't think this needs to be on the list. It's lovely. I personally enjoy it. You only need two albums for this list: Standing On A Beach/Starting At The Sea (The Singles) and Disintegration. So. Personal enjoyment: 5 List-worthiness: 1 Final: 3

The first words uttered on here is frontman Robert Smith declaring that it does not matter if we all perish. That should give you an indication of what kind of vibe this record brings! Not many bands could pull off lyrics that dramatic, but the world this album creates is cold and atmospheric that they somehow pull it off. The bass pulsates while the drumming feels primal and animalistic. The guitar sound is dark and psychedelic. Everything just comes together perfectly. You aren't going to find many hit singles here, this record is meant to listened in one sitting and not listening to individual tracks. Carrying on with the work that Joy Division laid down, this is one of the most defining goth records.

It wasn’t exactly porn.

Feel like I should like the Cure more, but outside of their main hits I can't feel it...

🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 (could be 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 if this were simply an average of each song’s rating but I think the overall effect should count for something) THEY SAID IT! THEY SAID THE NAME OF THE BAND! I think whoever compiled this list does not like The Cure very much, because by any metric of these rules, I’m not sure for the life of me why Pornography and Wish were selected as The Cure’s ambassadors. It seems like this sometimes whole albums are thrown on here because of a few hit songs, which might explain Wish’s presence, but in that case, why not Disintegration or Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me? If we’re going by historically influential sound, how about The Head on the Door? All three of those also qualify as just all-around solid albums, though that’s hardly something this list counts. Really baffling choices both, but choices I’m still up for, because honestly, uhhh, I haven’t listened to them. 
I’m not really all that familiar with Pornography (ha ha hee hee ho ho), but I had high hopes going in given the one song I’d heard, “Cold.” Turns out I’d also heard “Hanging Garden” before, but this was far from the only pleasant surprise—I think I ended up liking just about every other song like clockwork. The overall effect of the album is what really stuck the landing for me, though. It might sound rich to call such a ubiquitous, foundational band “unique,” but I’ve yet to find anyone like them. Even though a lot of people sound a little bit like the Cure, and a few sound even a middle bit like them, nobody sounds a lot like them, that’s for damn sure. Robert Smith’s voice is obviously iconic, definitively gothic, but there’s a lot to be said for the almost tribal drums, the synths, and even the specific progressions of notes that sounds so distinctly “Cure” here. I don’t think it’s enough to carry the momentum of every song out of the general atmosphere of the album—I think these songs seem a lot more simplistic then what’s coming when they tighten up—but it’s still a deliciously spooky soundscape that would have hooked me immediately even if I’d have never heard the Cure before. 1: Bad | 2: Below Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities) | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing

I'm usually into The Cure but wasn't wowed by this album