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GRAMMYs

Robert Smith in the Cure's "Lullaby"

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The Cure's Robert Smith on "Lullaby" cures-robert-smith-lullaby

The Cure's Robert Smith on "Lullaby"

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Video director Tim Pope discusses the ghoulish inspiration behind the Cure's "Lullaby" in this week's edition of Forgotten Videos
Bill Forman
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am

Welcome to Forgotten Videos. For some, these videos are forgotten, for others just filed away, and for others still, a totally brand-new discovery. Whichever category you fall into, each week we'll feature a video that's possibly been collecting dust when what it really deserves is a fresh look. Or vice-versa. … We're not here to judge, we just want to take you on a little trip down memory lane. Yep, you'll remember when hair was really that big, when drums were that up front in the mix, when video was young(er) and so were you.

The Cure 
"Lullaby"
1989

As memorable as the Cure's "Lullaby" becomes after repeated listens, it only takes one viewing of the accompanying video to lodge it in your brain forever. Awarded Best British Video honors at the 1990 Brit Awards, "Lullaby" is an artfully nightmarish ode to arachnophobia, with the Cure frontman Robert Smith drawing a close comparison to Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands as he's serenaded by ghoulish bandmates, tormented by predatory versions of himself, and transformed in ways that would do author Franz Kafka and director David Cronenberg proud.

Director Tim Pope, who also directed videos for the Cure such as "High," "Friday I'm In Love" and "Just Like Heaven," among others, says the "Lullaby" video grew naturally (if you can call it that) from its source material.

"That song was particularly lurid and vivid," says Pope, "and it's got one of my favorite lines: 'And I feel like I'm being eaten/By a thousand million shivering furry holes.' My god, where can you go wrong with a line like that?"

GRAMMYs

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The Cure - Lullaby

Pope says his work with Smith and the Cure fit nicely with his own early interest in filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski. "I had grown up with the films of Roman Polanski — you know, films like Repulsion and The Tenant [and they] were a great influence on me," he says. "They all tend to be kind of dark and obsessive. And that was something that went very well with the Cure's music and Robert's lyrics."

Meanwhile, devotees of the Cure continue to debate the source of the song's subject matter, which feels like a hallucinogenic take on Mary Howitt's early 19th century poem, "The Spider And The Fly" (an inspiration Smith makes explicit when he whispers something reminiscent of the poem's opening line near the end of the song). 

While Smith most often attributes "Lullaby" to childhood nightmares, fans have speculated that it's actually a metaphor for everything from depression to addiction and abuse. The latter interpretation was further fueled by a portion of an MTV interview where Smith talks about the song. "One particular night, my uncle burst through the window, and he did unspeakable things," said Smith, before adding with a laugh, "He didn't really."

Pope is quick to point out that his friend and collaborator's knack for imaginative storytelling often spills over into real life. "He's one of the hugest liars, but in a lovely cuddly sort of way," he says. "He frames his story however he wants to. So maybe that's one of his, shall we say, slightly made-up stories."

While Pope also spent decades making videos for artists such as David Bowie, the Cars, KT Tunstall, and Neil Young, he eventually moved into film and advertising work after MTV pulled the plug on its "music television revolution." More recently, he's worked with artists ranging from the Kaiser Chiefs to Fatboy Slim.

When asked about the age-old criticism that music videos somehow take away from the purity of the listening experience, the director points out that we have eyes as well as ears. 

"I don't think they ruined the songs," says Pope. "With all my videos, I tried to add to the song, but still allow the song to breathe — if the song was brilliant enough to be allowed to breathe."

(Bill Forman is a writer and music editor for the Colorado Springs Independent and the former publications director for The Recording Academy.)

Robert Smith of the Cure on stage

Robert Smith

Photo: Scott Legato/Getty Images

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The Cure Tease 40th Celebration Show cure-announce-all-star-lineup-40th-anniversary-celebration

The Cure Announce All-Star Lineup For 40th-Anniversary Celebration

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Interpol, Goldfrapp, Slowdive, and more to join the British dream-rockers in London next July celebrating four decades as a band
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Dec 12, 2017 - 5:29 pm

Next year, the Cure will celebrate 40 years as a band with a celebration concert at London's BST Hyde Park on July 7, 2018, and they're bringing along some very talented friends.

Interpol, Goldfrapp, Slowdive, Editors, Twilight Sad, and Ride will join the Cure, along with additional performers to be announced at a later date, according to Rolling Stone.

Led by emotive frontman Robert Smith, the Cure have provided the soundtrack for a generation with their dreamy rock sound and impassioned, crafty songwriting. From the refreshingly melancholic anthems of the 1980s on such landmark albums as Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and Disintegration, to their chart-topping GRAMMY-nominated 1992 album Wish, to their pair of solid releases in the 2000s, including 2004's The Cure and 2008's 4:13 Dream, the Cure have continued to influence new bands and win new fans. Last year, they played a string of U.S. tour dates and even debuted two new songs live in New Orleans.

Presale for the 40th-anniversary celebration show starts Dec. 12 with tickets going on-sale to the general public starting Dec. 15. More information is available via the Cure's website.

Florence Welch Hosts 40th Anniversary Of David Bowie's "Heroes"

GRAMMYs

Concrete Blonde in "Joey"

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The inside story of Concrete Blonde's "Joey" inside-story-concrete-blondes-joey

The inside story of Concrete Blonde's "Joey"

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Concrete Blonde's "Joey" in this week's Forgotten Video
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am

Welcome to Forgotten Videos. Well, for some forgotten, for others just filed away, and for others still, a totally brand-new discovery. Whichever category you fall into, each week we'll feature a video that's possibly been collecting dust when what it really deserves is a fresh look. Or vice versa…. We're not here to judge, we just want to take you on a little trip down memory lane. Yep, you'll remember when hair was really that big, when drums were that up front in the mix, when video was young(er) and so were you.

Concrete Blonde
"Joey"
1990

The story of a love affair torn apart by alcoholism serves as the theme for Concrete Blonde's heart-wrenching "Joey." The video illustrates this love triangle in the truest sense, spotlighting frontwoman Johnette Napolitano performing for an audience of one in a dark, dungeonesque bar. The lone member of the crowd could only be Napolitano's lovesick lover…who's only sick for the bottle of alcohol from which he can't avert his eyes. But what Napolitano leaves behind is anything but bitter: "But if it's love you're looking for/Then I can give a little more/And if you're somewhere drunk and passed out on the floor/Oh, Joey, I'm not angry anymore…."

While the inspiration behind "Joey" has never been officially revealed (some speculate it could be about Joey Ramone or Wall Of Voodoo's Marc Moreland, with whom Napolitano later played in the band Pretty & Twisted) — the track was the band's most successful single, peaking at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Formed in Los Angeles in the early '80s by bassist Napolitano and guitarist James Mankey, the duo originally called themselves Dream 6 until fellow I.R.S. Records labelmate Michael Stipe of R.E.M. suggested they change their name to Concrete Blonde. With a group of songs almost entirely written by Napolitano and Mankey, they released their self-titled debut with drummer Harry Rushakoff in 1987, followed by Free (1989) and Bloodletting (1990), which featured "Joey" and cracked the Top 50 on the Billboard 200. Concrete Blonde released several more albums, including Billboard 200 charters Walking In London and Mexican Moon before officially disbanding in 2006. Napolitano released her first proper solo effort, Scarred, in 2007. Three years later, Concrete Blonde regrouped for several performances in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of Bloodletting.

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Concrete Blonde - Joey

Do you know a Joey? Got a Forgotten Video recommendation? Leave us a comment.
 

Last week's Forgotten Video

GRAMMYs

Heather DeLoach in Blind Melon's "No Rain"

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Blind Melon Get Bee'd Up

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Costumes, rain and neo-hippie fashion in this week's Forgotten Videos
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Welcome to Forgotten Videos. For some, these videos are forgotten, for others just filed away, and for others still, a totally brand-new discovery. Whichever category you fall into, each week we'll feature a video that's possibly been collecting dust when what it really deserves is a fresh look. Or vice-versa…. We're not here to judge, we just want to take you on a little trip down memory lane. Yep, you'll remember when hair was really that big, when drums were that up front in the mix, when video was young(er) and so were you.

Blind Melon
"No Rain"
1993

Ah, the sweet memories of 1993. An Arkansas governor named William J. Clinton was inaugurated president; Michael Jackson became the first solo performer to entertain a Super Bowl halftime crowd; the colorfully low-budget Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made their body-suited television debut; and previously unseen parts of Madonna made their own debut in the erotic thriller Body Of Evidence. But with all that magic in the air, the nation's heart was won over by a plump, tap-dancing 10-year-old girl in a bee costume.

The Bee Girl (née Heather DeLoach) was the runaway star of the video for Blind Melon's "No Rain," the hit single from their 1992 eponymous self-titled debut album. Peaking at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, the song marked the band's highest-charting single, and the video was in near-constant rotation on MTV. The winning blend of the tune's jam-band flow capped by Shannon Hoon's keening vocals and the heart-tugging tale of Bee Girl's quest for joyful acceptance in a non-tap-dancing world, seemed irresistible as the album went on to international and multi-platinum success.

GRAMMYs

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Blind Melon - No Rain

The concept for the video was actually an extension of the album's cover art, which featured a 1975 picture of drummer Glenn Graham's sister, bedecked in her own dance recital-ready bee costume. In the opening shot of the video, Bee Girl's happy dance is met with derisive snickers from an unseen crowd. It would take a cold, cold heart not to let out an "awww" as she dejectedly leaves the stage. As the lonely bee takes to the grimier streets of Los Angeles in search of a kindred soul, Hoon and the band are in the golden haze of a beautiful meadow, jamming away in fine neo-hippie fashion. When Bee Girl finally makes it to the gates of that meadow, she's thrilled to discover a group of dancing people in bee costumes just like her, and the video's triumphant closing shot features the happy little bee literally letting her freak flag fly.

The easy, inviting groove of "No Rain" marked Blind Melon as a band worth paying attention to, but their career was cut short with the untimely death of Hoon in 1995 (the band has regrouped and recorded with different lead singers in the years since). As for DeLoach, she bee'd up one more time for a cameo appearance in "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Bedrock Anthem," a parody of Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge" and "Give It Away," and has since racked up a number of non-bee-related acting gigs, including appearances in "ER," "Reno 911!" and Balls Of Fury.

Have you ever dressed up as a bee? Ever been stung by a bee? Got any Forgotten Video recommendations? Leave us a comment.

Last week's Forgotten Video. Click on the "Forgotten Videos" tag below for links to other GRAMMY News stories in this series.

GRAMMYs

White Town's "Your Woman"

News
he-will-never-be-your-woman

He Will Never Be Your Woman

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White Town's one-hit wonder in this week's Forgotten Videos
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Welcome to Forgotten Videos. For some, these videos are forgotten, for others just filed away, and for others still, a totally brand-new discovery. Whichever category you fall into, each week we'll feature a video that's possibly been collecting dust when what it really deserves is a fresh look. Or vice-versa…. We're not here to judge, we just want to take you on a little trip down memory lane. Yep, you'll remember when hair was really that big, when drums were that up front in the mix, when video was young(er) and so were you.

White Town
"Your Woman"
1997

"I could never be your woman." Even though that chorus is repeated four times over throughout White Town's first (and only) hit, it's still hard to find any sense in the words or the meaning of the song as it's performed by frontman (and sole member) Jyoti Mishra. However, if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that the song was actually inspired in part by Mishra's teenage infatuation with a lesbian friend.

But there is still much left to be interpreted by the song, and the video. Produced in a black-and-white silent film style, the video features recurring shots of crossroad signs bearing choices that are often presented in romantic relationships — seduction vs. relationship; humiliation vs. sympathy; knowledge vs. confusion; doubt vs. promise; expectation vs. independence; and lust vs. love; with the latter being a primary theme throughout the video. But who will end up at the finish line in the race to find love? You'll have to watch to find out.

Born in Rourkela, India, Mishra's family emigrated to England when he was 3, an experience that later inspired him to name his project White Town after growing up a foreigner in a small English village. The first edition of White Town, a four-piece indie band, formed in early 1989 and released a self-titled EP the following year. Subsequently, White Town disbanded, leaving Mishra to continue on his own as a one-man act. He released his first full-length album, Socialism, Sexism And Sexuality (three themes that seem to recur in almost all of Mishra's recordings). "Your Woman," which features a trumpet sample from Lew Stone's 1932 jazz tune "My Woman," was first released on Mishra's 1996 EP Abort, Retry, Fail? It was re-released on 1997's Women In Technology, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, Mishra's first and only appearance on the chart. White Town continued on for a few more years, releasing Peek & Poke in 1999 and Don't Mention The War in 2006.

He will likely never be your woman, but you can still keep up to date with what the White Town frontman has been up to on his website.

watch%3Fv%3DcIQWt3oMids

What would you choose, lust or love? Got any Forgotten Video recommendations? Leave us a comment.

Last week's Forgotten Video

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.