#65) The Cure - Standing On A Beach: The Singles (released in 1986, I bought this on cassette in middle school but eventually gave it to my sister because it was a bitch to fast forward through all the "bonus" b-sides on side 2. My friend Lisa made me a CD-R of the album in college. Instead of b-sides the CD includes several singles not on the LP or tape. Of them, I'm most grateful for "A Night Like This")

In which the cranky singer of a Wire-inspired house party band notes that boys don't cry, then hears Joy Division, realizes they can cry and joins the group. Eventually he discovers pop and the band becomes New Order. Then he discovers happiness, becomes a lovecat and starts a jazz band. Finally he combines the jazz group with New Order and by the end they've warped into the Psychedelic Furs. It doesn't really flow but I don't really mind. It's probably Robert Smith's fault that so many boys aren't afraid to cry, and while there's definitely some upsides to it, its a shame he never told us how to stop. Galore, which covers the decade of hits that followed this comp, would probably be on my list if I didn't already own all the later full-lengths (I may buy it anyway someday).

By the way, if anybody wants to read the bloated reviews I wrote about a year ago (including one for this album), they better do it now. Out of simple embarassment, I'm going to delete a healthy part of the archive soon.