Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - The Cure and "Friday I'm In Love"
Guest author Matt Fish of the superb "Best Music of All Time" newsletter joins Chart Chat this week to talk about The Cure's final Modern Rock Tracks #1 hit
The Cure - “Friday I’m In Love”
Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 4 weeks (June 13 to July 4, 1992)
Previous Modern Rock #1 hit: XTC - “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead”
Next Modern Rock #1 hit: The B-52’s - “Good Stuff”
Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:
Kris Kross - “Jump” (8 total weeks, 4/25/92 to 6/13/92)
Mariah Carey - “I’ll Be There” (2 weeks, 6/20/92 and 6/27/92)
Sir Mix-A-Lot - “Baby Got Back” (1 week, 7/4/92)
Editor’s note: It gives me great pleasure to welcome of to this week’s edition of Chart Chat. Best Music of All Time is a newsletter that delivers multiple music recommendation write-ups every week, complete with all the streaming links you need. This newsletter aims to create a positive, supportive online community where music lovers can discuss, share, and discover all kinds of great tunes, from the classics to the best new releases. Sometimes, the day’s pick is a single song; other times, it is an entire album. Matt also frequently shares themed lists and studio discography rankings of well-known artists to see what albums stand out the most.
Thanks all for reading along, and enjoy! — Matt M.
The truth is, for a while, I missed the boat on the Cure’s music.
As a teenager, I was familiar with tracks like “Just Like Heaven” and “Boys Don’t Cry,” but I considered them inconsequential sonically compared to my rock heroes: AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. This trend of ignorance persisted through my twenties and into the COVID-19 pandemic, when I, like the rest of the world, found myself with ample time to delve into their studio discography. It was a revelation. I realized how wrong I was to dismiss the band as lightweights, and my musical horizons expanded in ways I never anticipated.
From the near-perfect synth-pop of “Head on the Door” to the dark, dreamy soundscapes of “Disintegration,” you’d be hard-pressed to find a group whose catalog has aged as gracefully as the Cure’s. In part, that’s because, buried under the grand emotional overtures and goth/emo aesthetic, is a brilliant pop songwriter in Robert Smith. For me, he’s the engine that drives the Cure’s appeal and, in the case of “Friday I’m in Love,” proves the band can craft a colossal hit that, in his words, is "a very naïve, happy type of pop song."
The song was the second single off of 1992’s “Wish,” which was, surprisingly, the Cure’s most commercially successful LP to that point in their career. It went platinum in the U.S. less than two months after its release and has sold an estimated 3 million copies worldwide. Much of that success can be attributed to “Friday,” which cracked the Top 20 in 10 countries, including Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the UK, where it peaked at No. 6. Its universal popularity has made it a concert staple for more than three decades and, in Smith’s mind, disproven the goth label the band inherited from critics and industry pundits over the years.
"It's always been paradoxical that it's pushed down people's throats that we're a goth band," he said. "Because, to the general public, we're not. To taxi drivers, I'm the bloke that sings 'Friday I'm in Love' [...].”
The song’s universality was on full display when I finally saw the Cure live in my hometown in 2023. After riding an emotional roller coaster through much of their darker material, a switch flipped as soon as those instantly recognizable opening chords leaped out of the stadium’s PA system. At one point, I remember looking around and seeing flashes of unabashed unity for what felt like the first time in forever. It’s no secret that many people are struggling like never before, and pop music’s current hit parade reflects that trend with playlists full of sad songs. It’s to the point where I’m not sure a track like “Friday” would even be prioritized by a producer or label now.
But, in an arena packed to the gills with nearly 30,000 people, I saw folks of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of Cure fandom jump, embrace, and allow themselves to be brought to tears by this song. If that’s not the sign of true transcendence, I don’t know what is.
I mean, it’s such a simple idea, no? Framing one’s headspace as a progression of the days of the week? Like many of their other hits, the secret sauce that makes this single work so well is that we’ve all been there in some way. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday suck. Thursday is merely a jumping-off point for Friday, which is when your mood brightens. The weekend and all the possibilities that come with it are upon you. The bridge lyrics (which begin: “Dressed up to the eyes, it's a wonderful surprise/To see your shoes and your spirits rise”) are such an incredibly vivid piece of writing that, even if they’d only written another one or two hits instead of a dozen, would’ve gotten Smith and Co. into the Rock Hall.
Alongside “Pictures of You” and “Close to Me,” this track was one of the show’s highlights, and it was among the handful of moments that transformed me into a true Cure superfan. Couple that with Smith and the band’s de facto status as faithful fan supporters, and it’s hard not to fall for them hook, line, and sinker. I don’t care if this one is considered obtuse or more airheaded than your average Cure song. It’s a great hang for three-and-a-half minutes. Honestly, we need more of those in the world.
In 1992, Smith acknowledged as much to Spin Magazine. “‘Friday I’m in Love’ is a dumb pop song, but it’s quite excellent actually, because it’s so absurd. It’s so out of character – very optimistic and really out there in happy land. It’s nice to get that counterbalance. People think we’re supposed to be leaders of some sort of ‘gloom movement.’ I could sit and write gloomy songs all day long, but I just don’t see the point.”
Neither do I, good sir. Neither do I.
Rating: 10 Robert Smith eyeliner applications out of 10
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Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period
Morrissey, once again, misses out on the top spot, but hopefully isn’t too upset that his friends are becoming successful. Annie Lennox makes her Modern Rock Tracks chart debut, Indigo Girls hit their peak, while Jesus and Mary Chain continue to churn out solid alternative rock.
“We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful” by Morrissey: For the fourth time since the launch of the Modern Rock Tracks chart, Morrissey misses the top spot on the chart by one number, hunkering down at #2 with “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful.” I found this quote amusing in the Wikipedia writeup of the song: “Andrew Collins in NME gave a very negative review of the single, writing that ‘this is by far and away the ex-Smith's WORST single’ and described the music as ‘the sound of five men bashing around in the darkness in search of a tune’ before finishing the review by announcing ‘Moz is history, and we'd all do well to learn it.’” I’m hardly the biggest fan of Morrissey, but I didn’t think it was THAT bad.
“Far Out And Gone” by Jesus and Mary Chain: This is so good. JAMC was on point in the early ‘90s, blazing a trail for what alternative music would sound like the rest of the decade. Case in point: “Far Out And Gone” is just a wonderful mix of post-grunge soft rock punctuated with occasional hard-edge guitar riffs and a catchy percussive beat. This track peaked at #3 behind The Cure.
“Galileo” by Indigo Girls: Folk-rockers Indigo Girls hit their high-water mark on the Modern Rock Tracks chart with “Galileo,” which peaked at #10 on the chart behind “Friday I’m In Love.” It’s a smooth-rock jam with impressive vocal range and harmonies, well worth a listen if this is in your wheelhouse.
“Why” by Annie Lennox: Former Eurhythmics singer Annie Lennox managed a brief crossover stint from the pop charts to the Modern Rock Tracks chart, a stint that began with “Why,” which peaked at #12 behind The Cure. It’s not really very “modern rock” in the way that so many other tracks fall within that category, but it still found a place there. Her most famous solo single will soon take up residence in this space as well.
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The people that dismissed the Cure as some sort of "gloom band" missed out on quite a few fun, poppy songs along the way. There's no universe I know of where "Love Cats" is gloomy, or where "Why Can't I Be You," or "In Between Days" don't qualify as pure pop gold.