While I was out in San Fran, I discovered that The Cure were putting out a compilation of all of their B-Sides and some alternate mixes of their stuff. Much of it was only available on vinyl or hadn't been released at all. It's called "Join the Dots B-Sides & Rarities 1978 - 2001 The Fiction Years" A long title that requires 4 discs and 70 songs to tell. So, for the first time in some months I'm listening to the Cure. I know that when most people think of the Cure they think of dour, gothic tunes that make you want to slit your wrists. You'd be surprised to know that there are a handful of kind of upbeat falling in love kind of songs that they are also good at. Musically, I like a lot of their sort of hippy / dreamy music. On the oft occasion where I really need a downer song, the Cure do provide, but it's usually on an album by album basis. Some albums are mostly downbeat, some are more upbeat. The Cure really do defy the box they have been put in, but one thing has attracted me to the Cure, and has made collecting mostly enjoyable. The lead singer for the Cure wrote the following foreword to the box set "The first thing I always did when I got a new single," remembers Robert Smith, "was flip it over and play the other side. I always hoped the B-Side would give me another version of the artist, something as good as the A-Side but somehow different. I expected great B-Sides from the artists I loved..."

    That pretty much explains why I enjoy collecting the artists that I do. Almost all of the one's that I buy frequently have excellent B-Sides, live tracks and remixes. U2, the Cure, Radiohead and James all have excellent B-Sides. Coldplay is doing a pretty good job so far and Peter Gabriel and Depeche Mode are so-so. Which is why I don't really collect Depeche Mode anymore. Anyway, as I was doing this diary entry and publishing the pages from my San Francisco trip, I realized the lyrics that I chose were really mopy. At the moment I'm not mopy. Well, at least not today. So, even though I chose the Cure to listen to, I've been listening to upbeat Cure. Like "Doing The Unstuck" which is all about being happy with the abandon that we usually reserve for childhood. As the Chorus starts the following lyrics stampede toward the listener:

Kick out the gloom. Kick out the blues. Tear out the pages with all the bad news

    I'm sure I won't make any Cure converts today, but thanks for listening for a few minutes. Who thought listening to the Cure would actually make me smile. Oh well! My secret!

    How'd you like that Super Bowl? What a great game! Just between you and I, I think that the Janet Jackson boob shot was choreographed. Given the size of that nipple ring, I've got to believe that it wasn't because she likes to wear that under her blouse. It's meant to conceal, or to impress depending on the motivation behind wearing it. If it was planned, it just goes to show, how they (MTV, CBS, Janet Jackson, Timberlake et al) don't think of anything but themselves. The Super Bowl has become the nation's TV show for the entire family, and they decided to cheapen it by going for something over the top. I hope the FCC comes down hard on them. I do. If you want porn, you can get it. Don't bring it to my house without asking. Look, I haven't been much of a prude, but I still believe that foisting things on people just aren't cool. In all honesty, I didn't actually see it while it was on. I saw it on the internet later. (Where my own curiosity led me, not when I was watching the Super Bowl with kids around)

    Well, I gave Janet too much time. I actually hosted the Super Bowl at my house. I had about 20 people (including children) and it went very well. I arranged my couches differently for the game and I think I'm going to leave  them as they are. I think it's an improvement on what I had before. It's also makes the living room look bigger. Because of the late game and Survivor, last night was way late! I'm still tired.

    Well, I need to get off, I'm tired of writing, and my pupils are beginning to dilate. I need one of those Dictaphones so that I  can just talk to the mike and have it transcribe to the page. I spend a lot of time working on my typos, or my train of thought. Aw well, night tots and toddlers, I am out of here!

    Whoa! Not so fast! One last thing. I'm headed back to the great white north for the holiday weekend in two weeks. I'll attempt to contact my old friends in Albany. If you are reading this, let me know so we can make arrangements at Sutters for a happy hour, or lunch somewhere else. Ok that's it. Night!