Album of the Day

If you hear The Cure on the radio these days, it's probably a poppier song from one of their (quite wonderful) singles compilations. But survey the fans and they're more likely to point to PORNOGRAPHY as the British band's high-water mark. The set finds frontman Robert Smith at his most despairing (after a year of grinding tour dates, the group was on the verge of splintering), and tracks like “The Hanging Garden” and “One Hundred Years” practically drip with gloom. “We wanted to make the ultimate, intense album,” noted drummer Lol Tolhurst, and the collection resonated with enough listeners to put it into the U.K. Top 10. Released on this day in 1982, PORNOGRAPHY plumbs some very dark depths, and stands as a milestone of goth rock.