Of course a striped shirt is a must on any power pop album cover. In fact, many modern rock poseurs would don the stripes hoping to convince the record buying public that they really were new wave...





I can't choose between the Katarzyna Gartner cover below or the Armando Trovajoli above as my favorite design of the bunch. I'm working on a polka dot gallery to accompany this one...

It is hard to believe that The Cure have been recording albums for over 30 years now. They had already been a band for about 10 years before I became a fan, and I have now been obsessed for the last 20 years -- ever since I first heard them. The Head on the Door was the first album by The Cure that I ever heard and bought, way back in 1985. Two years later came the amazing album Kiss Me Kiss Me. By the time Disintegration came out in 1989 I was a hardcore crazy fanatical Cure fan. It is sort of funny. This was the album that Robert Smith made that he thought would not be a commercial success. His label also was worried about this album. It was their darkest album yet and would remain their darkest of all time, yet everyone embraced the album and fell in love with it. It somehow managed to speak to an entire generation. The Cure was not just for the goths and weirdos anymore. Everyone liked them. I could not get enough of this band. Disintegration remains most Cure fans' favorite album. It came out at an important developmental part of my life and probably was the most important album in my life. People often overstate the importance of certain albums, but it came out a couple days after my birthday during my last couple months of junior high. It became my album of the summer of 1989, the year before I started High School. I probably listened to this album at least once a day. Wish came out 3 years later, a couple weeks before my 18th birthday and close to the end of my life in High School. While Disintegration would remain my favorite, I also fell in love with Wish. The album was everywhere. The singles that most Cure fans didn't really like were all over the radio. It was really all about the B-sides and the non single tracks on this album. These were the songs I was obsessed with. I could live without ever hearing "Friday I'm In Love" or "High" again, but still can't get enough of "Apart," "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea," and "To With Impossible Things." This album became the album of my summer of 1992. I was not alone. It was another important album for a very important part of my life. The Cure was there for me again to help me transition both emotionally and physically. For most of us, Wish would be the last great Cure album. We are hopelessly devoted fans for life but nothing can compare to those albums.

I really thought the new album by The Cure would be out by now. I talked about it on this blog almost a year ago back in July of last year. I was very excited back then. But I am still holding my excitement. I guess it might be even stronger since their shows are coming up at the end of the month. They are playing at the Hollywood Bowl and the Shrine in Los Angeles. I know they are also playing at a city near you, in case you don't live in Los Angeles. But the album has been delayed a bit and is now coming out September 13th. They are doing something a little special before the album comes out, maybe to make it up to their fans for making us wait so long for the album. For the next four months they are going to put out a single with a b-side every month on the 13th. This should be starting on the 13th of May, which happens to be next Tuesday. I am still not entirely sure the label is really going to be able to pull this all together in time for a domestic single, but hopefully by next week I will have a copy of the new Cure single, "The Only One" in my hand. If they are smart it will be coming out on 7" as well, since they should know that we will buy it in all formats they give us. You can hear the single on their website right now. Just in case you were wondering, this new Cure album will be their 13th album --this explains the singles coming out on the 13th. By the way, The Cure still owes us a couple more of those fantastic double CD reissues. They stopped with Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. I am still highly anticipating two of my favorite albums, Disintegration and Wish. Maybe they will happen before the new album-- there is a good four months still. That really should be enough time. So come on Robert Smith, finish what you started.

So I just watched the new video for the new Siouxsie song "Into a Swan." I thought I would share it with all of you. I have known for a while that she is working on a new solo album. But I had no idea there is already a video. Things are now moving fast. The new album is called "Mantaray" and comes out October 2nd.  I have loved Siouxsie since I can remember liking music. She is amazing and is still amazing. She manages to stay brilliant and relevant after all these years. I met her about 8 years ago at an instore for the Creatures and she was not really the nicest person that I have ever met. But Budgie was such a wonderful nice little guy that he kind of made up for it. And she is Siouxsie Sioux so she can kind of get away with anything. There is really nothing like a Siouxsie fan. They are crazy fanatical devoted fans. So this is really something to be excited about.

You can check out the official Siouxsie website for more info. Here is the new video....
Siouxsie -Into A Swan




I am seriously excited for the new album. The countdown begins. Only 2 months to go. And a new albums means a new tour.

The Cure are also working on a new album! It will come out at some point this year. And Porl Thompson is back in the band! Tickets for the October 6th show in the bay area at Shoreline go on sale July 19th. Go to the Cure website for more info. I have never missed a Cure tour in the last 20 years or so. But unfortunately some really good friends of mine are getting married on the exact date of the Cure show at Shoreline. So I will most likely be driving down to Santa Barbara to catch the show there. But they are also playing at Red Rocks in Denver. And I have always wanted to see a show there. And there is nothing like a Cure show. They still put on the most amazing live show. Sort of like what a Dead show was like to a Grateful Dead fan. I guess.