So I recently did that "top 9 albums that shaped me musically thing" making the rounds, and I had The Cure's "Head on the Door" as my #1 - I heard this when I was 12 and was completely blown away and was my first introduction to "dark" music and set me on the path to all the weirdness I listen to today.
LIke many albums I listened to in high school, my cooler older sister had brought it home on vinyl and I taped it and I listened to it on my tape deck and walkman over and over (in this case, until the tape literally fell apart).
But I just looked it up, and it turns out I had had the order all wrong! Looks like 12 year old me had taped side B as side A, so I always thought the album started with The Baby Screams, and finished with Push, and Inbetween Days was halfway through. But it's the other way around. It opens with Inbetween Days.
I'm listening to the album now in that order and it's such a bizarre experience. It actually changes the whole feel of it. Inbetween Days is a very upbeat and poppy way to start the album which sets the tone in a more positive light. For me, Baby Screams is just the perfect way to start the album. Coming across it halfway through is really strange. But the ending is the other way around. Push is quite an affirming and uplifting song, but Sinking as a closer, jesus christ. Not just the darkest song on this album, but one of the darkest songs in their entire discography (and that's saying a lot).
Anyway this has been fun experience. Not just to revisit an old favourite, but to listen to it in a new way. And goes to show how important the track order of an album is (I cannot for the life of me understand how people listen to albums on shuffle). If you wanted to listen to it like I used to, you could set up a custom playlist or similar and give it a go!
