"At my funeral, they will play 2 Late"

When I was a teenager, I had what would turn out to be the best job ever, working at Tower Records. It was such a great place to work with no real dress code and a company that totally promoted individuality and self-expression. I worked on the "video" side of the store with people who would turn out to be close friends for the rest of my life. The great thing about working on the video side was that we could play any video we wanted to--providing it wasn't too offensive.

Between our Planet of the Apes marathon days and playing Willy Wonka over and over, we would play various promo videos that were sent to the store from different record labels. I was working one day when someone popped in one of those promo videos. The video that was playing was obviously older because the Cure song was Lovecats but Head on the Door had already been out for a while at that time. I had heard the singles from HOTD and liked the band well enough, but when I saw the Lovecats video, I was mesmerized and instantly hooked--what a fantastically, quircky band and a really fun video. It was shortly after that when I built up my collection with everything they had realesed and I've bought every Cure related thing I could get my hands on since--it is always fun having people look at my cd collection and seeing the Judge Dredd soundtrack and looking at me in total confusion...:)

Over the years, the band has remained my favorite. When the original TheCure.com site (the old house one) was up, I found a score of like-minded friends who I have remained close to over the last 11 years. I know it sounds weird, but it was really great meeting people to whom I could talk about the band members using their first names and knowing they knew exactly who I was talking about--dorky, I know. At the time that the site was alive and thriving, I felt more connected to the artists who I admire so much. The access to so much information so quickly really made The Cure experience more intimate. It was a great experience connecting with other Cure heads and talking endlessly about different versions of Forever or what Robert wore at certain shows, even talking with Roger back when the Conservatory was still on IRC. Their music remains extremely important to me after all this time.

Just about any important event that I can remember in my life has some sort of connection to a Cure song--either it was playing in the background at the time, or there was a song in my mind that would be appropriate for such an event. When my kid was born, we brought Kiss Me x3 to the hospital and the album was playing the whole time. When my best friend died, it was Faith and Pornography that I listened to while lying on the floor, crying my eyes out for weeks. The one time I was in a bit of trouble with the cops, Paris was playing in the car when I got pulled over (to this day I won't even allow that CD in the car!). Although most Cure fans have their preferences, I think it's fair to say the faithful all anxiously await each new release. Some songs I love, some songs I will always skip over and that's ok--not every song is for me, but most are. I am older now, a grown woman, but I get excited, even now, knowing I will be going to a Cure show next month.

Anyone who knows me, even slightly, knows that nothing will keep me from a Cure show. I even got my really large family to reschedule a huge party for my parents because it interefered with Curiousa and they all, even my parents, totally understood and knew that the party would have to be changed. In the summertime, I will always try to find a shirt that allows my Robert Smith tattoo to show. I will always buy everything they release. I will always check Chain of Flowers each day. After all these years, they remain the single most important artists to me and that will not change. At my funeral, they will play 2 Late.

(From: Lisa - whereabouts: unknown)