Looks like there’s a bit of a war going on in the posted comments (under the News section) at the official Cure site after a particularly upsetting rumor was posted to a widely known fan site, Chain of Flowers, regarding members of The Cure leaving the band. So now there’s a blurb on the official site that says “REMEMBER: www.thecure.com deals in NEWS not RUMOURS”. Seems to me like a personal jab.
I was tempted to post my thoughts at the site, but felt it would be more befitting to unleash here instead and avoid all the drama. I tend to be long-winded and have often turned a comment into a full-blown editorial. :)
The thing is, both sides of this little argument have points, although for me I admit I am leaning toward siding with the underdog, Craig. Personally, it disgusts me when some people automatically take Robert Smith’s side because a) they are butt-kissers who think by defending the man he might send them a personal email or become their friend (fat chance) and b) he’s not a god, just a very talented person who has made some great music over the years.
But honestly, who do you think is out there caring more about the fans: this guy running the fan site and investing all his time for no paycheck, or Robert Smith? One fan argued that Robert doesn’t need “us”. Oh really? I think he damn well does need our hard-earned cash or he wouldn’t be in business. Another fan mentioned that Robert must love the fans to be re-releasing past albums with new material. Not necessarily. The man just has good business sense. “Let’s get the fans to pay for re-hashed material all over again. We’ll just slap some outtakes and old live stuff on there to give them a reason to own two copies of Seventeen Seconds”.
Look, I bought the reissues too, and will buy anything else the band releases, but frankly, that bonus material is nothing to write home about. Let’s just chalk it up to what it is: a way to make more money. Call me skeptical, jaded or negative, but that’s what it comes down to. I’m not so in love with the band that I can’t see it for what it really is. Maybe if this was the 80’s and they were still releasing a new album every year, I’d come to their defense and agree it’s “all about the music”. But when they’ve been recording a new album once every four years and from between 1995 to present have put out more live and re-issued material than anything else, it’s hard not to see it being about the financial gain.
So this guy posts something that turns out to be untrue and suddenly the very same people who have his site bookmarked and probably visit it five times a day are jumping down his throat for an innocent mistake. Then they bring up the fact that not everything on his site shows the band in a favorable light. Since when was being a fan about blind worship? This is the very same crap that I used to get into heated debates about on the now defunct alt.music.thecure newsgroup because I had the “audacity” to not like a particular Cure song. Oooo shame on me! This whole “if you can’t say anything good about the band, then you’re not a true Cure fan” shit has got to stop already. It’s really pathetic.
That being said, I hope Craig doesn’t take down his site because of this. Regardless of what people are saying in the posts at The Cure site, there is no denying that Chain of Flowers has been a very informative and helpful site to the many people who love The Cure, and it would be missed. Yes, Robert is correct that the official site only posts facts, but for how often these facts are posted, without COF there would be a large hole left in our quest for Cure information.