1. The Cure : Faith
2. The The : Dusk

The Cure : Faith (1981) Elektra/Ayslum Records (Fiction UK)

the holy hour (4:25) -- with a nagging baseline this song pulls at you, the percussion bangs you into submission, and the vocals walk around boxing you in. ends with more power then it begins, chiming out with as the bell tolls.
primary (3:35) -- the music kicks into overdrive with this song. you are being pushed from behind as robert smith lays down a field of fire for you to dodge. i wouldn't mess with him on this song, he'll bite your head off.
other voices (4:28) -- slithering, sneaking down around your feet, the music follows as you walk into the darkest recesses of the imagination with this song only to be greeted by the howling entrance of smith. watch out for the rattler, the sting of this song is intoxicating. a wonderfully highlighted bass line on this one.
all cats are grey (5:28) -- out on the flat, neverending expanse of music. you can look a thousand miles in any direction and find yourself right back inside yourself again. lulling, calming, warming to the soul, yet ultimately a welcomed aloneness. "i never thought i would find myself dead amongst the stars..." here is the oasis in a desert of isolation. here you are not alone.
the funeral party (4:14) -- fall down within yourself. spiral deep within all of the harshness of being. let yourself cry out in pain and frustration like a child again. in a nursery rhyme smith has you "dancing at the funeral party." the stars shine brighter, the wind seems colder, and you walk a little taller.
doubt (3:11) -- jump up out of your seat and start raging! throw your body this way and that, ripping the shit out of your system. free the ghosts haunting you. scream out your unspoken soul. let it all go.
the drowning man (4:50) -- with all the power of an epic, feel this song pull you into oblivion with its echoing, intoxicating spirit. smith sings out of two places at once forcing you to turn this way and that: coercing you to look all around. definitely a tour through uncharted waters. and maybe, by the end you won't be the drowning man anymore.
faith (6:43) -- a slow march as the soldiers make their way home. wounded and scarred for life, those eyes have seen unbelievable horrors. their homecoming is less then embracing, as lives fall into cracks in the wayside, into the greyness of life. and maybe only faith is all that can save them.

The The : Dusk (1993) Epic

True Happiness This Way Lies -- Ever wonder what it'd be like to have your own laugh track? Just Matt Johnson coming at you with his acoustic guitar and his unique voice.
Love Is Stronger Than Death -- Take a walk through the cold winter's dusk. Think about love, death, and everything in between. Find your own personal route to fufillment guided by friendship. Come to terms with the inevitable end of all and everything with Johnson caressing you closer every step of the way. In the end you'll find "blue skys and springtime" and will revel in the dew-wet freshness of beginnings.
Dogs of Lust -- Full-force jam session. Locked in a boiling, steaming room watch yourself stew in the rawness of your being. Become a dog running in circles chasing the scent of your lusty ways.
This Is The Night -- The upright bass plucks you, ringing all your deepest notes. The incessant piano plays chopsticks with your ears as Johnson takes you on a honky tonk ride through the bars, bordellos, and brothels of your inner wild west. Petticoats swishing and legs dancing until the dawn hour approaches.
Slow Emotion Replay -- Johnny Mar blasts your mind with his killer lines on the harmonica. Matt Johnson shrugs his shoulders and confesses he doesn't know it all. Both are riding down the streets in the back of a convertible in a tinker tape parade, looking out at the cheering masses, both sides wondering if the other has any clue why any of this is happening at all.
Helpline Operator -- a fairly lifeless telephone conversation with the helpline operator. keep dialing in to finally get that busy signal which comforts you into compliance. asking the operator for help for every known ailment and problem. just hang up.
Sodium Light Baby -- creeping down t he crowded streets of the big city in the back of a big yellow-bellied cab. staring out at the sidewalk people of life, the sodium streetlights flushing the dirty gutters of life out into the open. a backseat peepshow driving down the blvds. through late night traffic. trawling the streetcorners for plankton and bile.
Lung Shadows -- muted trumpets rising out of a dream. johnson comes whispering out of the same shadows. a brief episode of something promising which ends before it got a chance to breath.
Bluer Than Midnight -- the muted trumpet will not die, rising back up from the depths. johnson rolls out the blues, slippery sliding down the ivory keys. it's a small jazz club late at night, almost everyone's gone home. it's just you, the bartender and the music. it feels like its closing time and time for bed.
Lonely Planet -- coming on like the grand finale encore at a benefit concert, this song has johnsoon crooning "If you can't change the world, change yourself." and you expect michael jackson and the stars of rock and pop to join him in a tear-jerking plea for cooperation and charity. it almost all happens as planned with the exception of the slight twist johnson slips in with "And if you can't change yourself then.....change the world." Otherwise a cheesy, hip-happy throwaway song.