 The Cure Perhaps one of the most conspicuous used cd shop bin-cloggers of all time, the Cure remix album is actually a pretty cool little disc. You just have to adjust your idea of "remix" – this ain't any kind of afterhours. This is pure pop weirdness, dance music for the danceless. I'd sold it back years ago (thereby fulfilling my obligation to the used cd shop community – just like Israeli men have to do a stint in the army, so do American post-collegiates have to do the "college rock" cd purge at some point), then one night was inexplicably overcome with a craving to hear it again. Dated remixes, bring them on! As it turned out, all the stores in town were closed except for Wherehouse Music (yucky), so ironically I ended up paying $10 for the privilege of owning another used copy. Oh well, do I have regrets? Not a one. It's kind of a shoddy excuse for a CD, but that's more or less its beauty. Take some extended mixes from the Distintegration singles, throw in some frivolous remixes of older hits, and add one new song for the fans – voila, instant album. The Disintegration songs are the least interesting, since they're the closest to the original mixes; stuff like "The Walk" and "A Forest" fare better in pseudo-trancey electro treatments. These songs were made to be remixed. Probably the best cut on here is the "Flicker Mix" of "The Caterpillar," which adds tablas and a loping drum beat for a somewhat Peter Gabriely experience (not to be confused with my tribute band, the Peter Gabriely Experience). A dark exploration of "In Between Days" doesn't quite work, and "Never Enough" just isn't a very good song. All that said, I still have a pretty warm place in my heart for good ol' Mixed Up. Perhaps I will sell it back and then buy it again.
Review by Fierce Strawberry Hopkins |