19. The Cure - Just Like Heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3nPiBai66M Show me how you do that trick, the one that makes me scream she said, The one that makes me laugh she said, and threw her arms around my neck For many The Cure are a central character in the story of the 80s because they were the embodiment of goth; black clothes, big hair, gloom, doom and smudged lipstick, but that wasnt even half of the tale, as the words that start this chapter show, The Cure were romantics and even goths wear white in Heaven. Their breakthrough song The Lovecats showed that they could be as frivolous as Wham! Speaking with the subtext that the most important thing in the world was sex, Just Like Heaven painted the real picture of what Robert Smith wanted to do with the band - to tell the story of love. The song showboated what they were fantastic at; extended guitar arpeggios, big keyboards and synth-like bass guitar, overlaid with a poem of love, obsession and devotion. Never mind their haircuts, what made The Cure such trailblazers of the 80s was that they had no interest whatsoever in being New Romantics, they went much further back than all that, Just Like Heaven has more in common with John Keats than it does with John Lennon. This is a wonderful song that totally got the other side of the 80s story; romance was by no means dead and it will be a wedding dance for years to come, and then some.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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