My First Listen Through: The Cure Live 1979-2022

A friend gave me two "Realistic" speakers from the defunct Radio Shack chain. Very heavy and less than a foot across for hanging on walls. I used my wire stripping tool to craft the speaker wire, which was wire to wire on both ends. A Sony receiver at the flea market (the multi-channel AV receiver for an amazing $20) and I finally am listening to The Top surrounded by speakers with the proper setup in quadraphonic sound. (Although the Sony amp is 5.1 Surround.)

That was a lazy Sunday. Right now I am listening to Home Cookin' by "The Incredible Jimmy Smith", part of three records I selfishly ordered from Blue Note records:



Regarding The Top, this very thick vinyl loves static electricity. Maybe I'll get one of those anti-static brushes later on. Right now I'm using a records brush that looks like a shaving brush, good enough. And The Top has never sounded better.

I think Birdmad Girl should have been a single...

After many months of preparation, my review of The Top picture disc featuring "Bird Mad Girl":

rumble.com/v54im2i-central-florida-vinyl-the-cure-bird-mad-girl-the-top.html

I simply placed the camera near the speaker. The speakers at the other end of the room are surround, but it is true stereo for someone seated in front of the turntable. Here's my turntable setup for the curious:

rumble.com/v5438zi-central-florida-vinyl-return-to-turntable-6-27-2024.html

So yesterday I wanted to go to a "Retro Records" store in Orlando, and brought my family to eat lunch at the restaurant next door.

Inside the retro store, the first thing I asked the Eric Stoltz-looking clerk was if they had any free vinyl records. He pointed to a box. He wasn't kidding, these were rejects where the record sleeves were covered in black mold, serious water damage. But I found a number of decent albums including oddities like a "Officer and a Gentlemen" soundtrack. It's this sort of treasure hunting that I truly value.

When I got home that night, I tried scrubbing some covers and the black mold came right off. Others were too far gone and I simply washed the vinyls with Ivory dish soap and water (put them in a dish rack to dry, remember to carefully dry the inner label with a paper towel and it will suffer no damage).

So after that, I decided I had to buy some records. They had Duran Duran's latest record on 40% discount for record day, snapped that up. I asked "Do you stock The Cure under C or T?"

They had the best selection I've seen yet in Central Florida for The Cure. They had the debut vinyl, hits, Wish, and Disintegration. I'm not going to spend $40 for the latter two, I enjoy my 3-disc deluxe edition CDs quite nicely and am not that rich.

THey had an original Pornography for $60, and behind it was a new pressing of Pornography for $27.95. Sold!

I now have "The eighties" sound of The Cure on vinyl: Pornography, The Top, and The Head on the Door. This should be it for my Cure vinyl purchases, which is just a vanity project.

When we got home yesterday, I put Head on the Door on and just laid down listening to how it sounded on vinyl for the first time. I found myself listening to little melodies and backing vocals that you don't hear on a live show.

I even like Screw, a song I hated when I first heard it. Sinking closed out the album, very nice. My favorite song on the album is A Night Like This.

July 23rd vinyl DJ set, featuring a song from The Head on the Door!

rumble.com/v5829fw-central-florida-dj-set-22-july-2024.html

Screw by The Cure on my latest vinyl DJ record set.

rumble.com/v5a5ze5-central-florida-vinyl-dj-set-aug.-8th-2024.html

I'm gonna put "Short Term Effect" or "Hanging Garden" from my Pornography record onto my next set. Not sure which.

It sounds like the drumbeat pattern on Garden varies on my record. After decades of experiencing ADHD on every digital recording, where every second and every note must be precisely as I remember it, it's been a huge step for me to just accept an analog vinyl record for what it is; a unique musical artifact. Each record is different.

To feel when I listen to music again is a rewarding experience. I feel these records, I don't really feel a digital MP3 file in the same way.

Yes, it's a hobby and something I have found rewarding this year.

I have three Cure albums on vinyl now (Pornography, The Head on the Door, and The Top) and don't plan to add to the list. I could play these over and over...