A CURIOUS MANIFESTO

"Truly fertile Music, the only kind that will move us, that we shall truly appreciate, will be a Music conducive to Dream, which banishes all reason and analysis. One must not wish first to understand and then to feel. Art does not tolerate Reason." (Albert Camus)


(Kick-ass graphic courtesy of Rev. Heron. Check out her Cure blog: Underneath The Stars)

When I first learned about The Cure in 1985, it was an epiphanal event. It was as though up to that point I had simply swum through counterfeit experiences. For me, The Cure offered a refreshingly surrealistic take on life, both musically and appearance-wise. Physically, the band members' stylistic proclivity toward untamed coiffures, cartoonish clothing, and cosmetic countenances was jolting to my more conservative sartorial sensibilities. But that swiftly changed, as an era of fashion experimentation was inaugurated upon my Cure discovery.

But of course, it's the tunes that matter most, and when the strains of my first Cure song caressed my ears, it delivered a raw punch to my whole conceptualization of pop music. I had theretofore been enamored of middle-of-the-road radio titans, with their fairly straightforward pop renderings, and while I still hold a place in my heart for such bands, The Cure's more subtle, whimsical, and inventive aural and lyrical approach changed my life.

I learned about The Cure on accident - I was simply rifling through tapes at my local record haunt, when I happened across The Head on the Door. The cover was so intriguing I just had to purchase it, despite the fact that I had not yet heard the music contained therein. Don't judge a book by its cover, we are told - and yet the musical contents of the Head on the Door masterfully matched the tantalizingly bizarre cover. It was one happy fluke, discovering a band like this.


Twenty-three years later, I am still besotted with The Cure, and continue to be mesmerized by this off-kilter and cerebrally enthralling band. Indeed, I am more obsessed than ever with The Cure, for reasons that are rather murky to me. Better not to delve too deeply into a deconstruction of such a pathological compulsion, and just enjoy it for what it is!

This blog features as its piece de resistance an essay I have written linking The Cure with artists such as Miro and Rimbaud. It will also contain reviews by me of all Cure albums, reviews by me of selected Cure shows I have attended (14 total), and miscellaneous cerebral musings about the band. An Aesthetics section will also be added eventually, which will feature pictures of the boys, plus my favorite Cure-related artwork.

Hopefully you will find something compelling here; feel free to leave constructive commentary of your own as a contribution to the ongoing discourse about the best band of all times, The Cure.