Monday, June 2, 2008

Because it needs to be said...

And due to my stupidity, it hasn't been said on COF in a few years.

Robert Smith (Porl, Simon & Jason too) KICKS ASS!

Now THAT was a show!
And if anyone has a good copy of the show, I'm begging for it.
Or at least OOTW, Bloodflowers and Faith.

63 comments:

  1. as they say, it takes many carrots to lead a donkey to deep waters...

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  2. or in plainer english, roughly said, you had every right to NOT be complimentary dude...

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  3. Craig - I am soooo glad that you have rediscovered the passion.

    The way RS treated you back then was WRONG! But i think it is great that you are moving forward!

    Craig - we love everything you do!

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  4. agreed. agreed. don't feel bad, craig. you are the cure fan keeping this whole crazy thing spinning. that's not even an exaggeration.
    you are SO so very appreciated.

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  5. Craig: It's so, so true! Well said!

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  6. Yes, Craig, The Cure is the best band of all times.

    No doubt.

    RSX is the greatest frontman.

    30 years later and they still have the magic to do amazing tricks like tonight.

    They hadn´t lose any inch of this extraordinary and unique talent.

    All my respects to such a excellent rock band.

    CURE, RS, SG, PT, JC must be written all caps, you´re the brightest star on the sky.

    Hail The CURE 4 ever !!!!

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  7. I can understand Craig. I was also pissed at Robert for many reasons, but hell yeah, when you see them on stage, or when you hear a new song, this damn passion feeling comes back from my teenage years (well ok, I'm 34 now), and the magic happens again !

    I wish COF and The Cure staff did communicate better, as no official website will ever be able to beat COF's worldwide network, dedication and expertise!

    Thanks again for all Craig !

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  8. Like everyone else has said, it's great to see you this excited about Cure again, Craig! :D

    And I can't put it better than you did. The Cure just ROCKS! They're the only band in the world I get this obsessed with.

    I hope people will flood you with good recordings of the BF songs & Faith when they see you beg. (People, COM'ON! Craig is begging!) I'm craving for some recordings, too, to the extent that I still can't focus on my work after the show is over...

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  9. Yeah Craig, there´s no reasons for quiting.

    You are created the biggest CURE fans net around the whole wide world.

    Any doubt of it.

    For thousand of fans your site is the first one to look when we´re on-line.
    It´s kind of healthy addiction.

    I always do it.

    I have a deep respect for you and what you´ve done.

    Cheers man, i´m happy you´ve find again your love for RSX & Co. work.

    You EARNED IT:

    Craig Parker & COF KICK ASS !!!

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  10. Yes, COF does rock.

    On another note, I will have to say that out of these three SoCal shows I very unfortunately missed that there were different aspects of each setlist I liked. But the Shrine most definitely got the best old school encore.

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  11. A good old impromptu outburst of affection for the band is good for us time to time ain't it?!

    Yes The Cure rock, but so do you Craig; I barely even bother with the official Cure site anymore; keep up the good work! =)

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  12. I have not written a review in a very long, long time. The Shrine show was the best Cure Concert that I have ever been too!!!! I have been going since the Swing tour and man this blew everything out of the water!!!. I am sorry but I do not miss the keyboards. Sorry Roger…Good Luck to you.I can't believe how much Porl truly adds to the band. Again…Sianara Perry loved you while you were here but Porl Kicks your ass all over the place. Lol was there. He was in the fifth row in the center. By the way I want to give a correction. Robert dedicated the Three Imaginary Boys song to Lol not Si. It was very clear. I remember thinking that they must be on good terms now for that.
    Everything was so amazing!!!. For me the standouts were the bloodflowers songs. Bloodflowers and the opener Out of this world. Koto song was a pleasure. I was so excited to hear How Beautiful you are. I was so stoked to hear Three Imaginary boys, Fire in Cairo; Jumping someone else’s train and Grinding halt. I have been hoping and praying for those songs and boy was I not disappointed!!! It was the first time in the 12 times that I have seen the Cure that I have heard those songs. I also enjoyed the faith encore with Happy Bday Simon...very nice ending!!!! I only wish I could have heard the Blood, to wish impossible things, and doing the unstuck…but I should have gone to the Hollywood bowl the night before and with the two nights I would have had heard pretty much my dream set list.
    I can't rave enough about the show!!! It truly rocked. It brought back all the old passion and warmth for the Cure...I had been angry with Robert for quite come time and I thought he had lost his passion…boy was I wrong!!! They truly rocked the house and proved once and for all that they still got it!!! I loved all of the new songs!!! The Perfect Boy is my fav. I like sleep when I am dead....It kind of has a baby screams tone to it...The one I am not a huge fan of i s the Only one...it sounds great live...but comes off forgettable to me like the last album...I must say that the songs they played off the last two records absolutely kicked some major ass tonight...every song they played sounded better tonight than I have ever heard them....live or on the album that is truly saying something!!! What a magical show and such a kick ass moment for me!!!! Tonight will be a standout moment in my life that I will never forget!!! Long live the Cure with this line up...You guys effing rock!!!

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  13. Roger? Perry? Who are these people you speak of?

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  14. been to every california show since wish rolled thru (including stuff like coachella and inland invasion) and seriously, the shrine show was the best I have ever seen them. They sounded, fresh, energized, and certainly not a band nearing the 30 year mark.

    I see PLENTY of young upstart bands play in LA and none of them could hold a candle to the power, skill and endurance of The Cure. I wouldn't have said that a few years ago, A crazy as Porl looks these days, he added some magic back in the mix and Robert, Jason and Simon sounded incredible.

    Awe inspiring show.

    Thanks Craig for helping keep fandom alive.

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  15. Yeah, Robert and The Cure rock, alright... but lately only live, it seems.

    It would be be nice for a change to have a new album which could really merit such words of approval.

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  16. "Roger? Perry? Who are these people you speak of?"

    I think it would nice to aknowledge those people who have contributed to The Cure over the years and not dismiss them so lightly.

    Roger was simply the best keyboard player The Cure have ever had, and also the main author of such gems as "Fear of Ghosts", if I´m not mistaken.

    And Perry was roadie for the band for several years before finally stepping upfront when The Cure needed it. Maybe he was never as good a guitarist as Porl, but then even Robert Smith is less technically accomplished than Mr. Thompson. If my memory serves me well, Perry was also the main composer of "Trust", on of the (few) gems in the "Wish" album.

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  17. Wow, I find this very... touching, actually. I like happy endings, sort of.

    COF is a bit slow these days I find, no doubts because of all the hits, this place is in a frenzy!! And with reasons!

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  18. Aw, Craiggers, you're not stupid. It was just a terrible misunderstanding and miscommunication. And as I said before, Robert, though divine in so many ways, can be a moody volatile artist. We just have to look beyond it sometimes in order to appreciate the music - though I certainly understand your profound disillusionment at the time.

    WE LOVE YOU CRAIG. This site is amazing, even moreso now.

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  19. Craig, it is just amazing how you find the energy to keep COF rolling after all these years!

    I still remember the first time I found COF. Back in Brazil, 1997, could barely read English...

    Thanks for everything. You are the MAN.

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  20. Right you are - THE CURE are amazing. You got me out of hiding with this comment - I usually just check your page but during the last few months it has become an obsession! So here's my first comment. Honestly, I am really astonished how good they are - that'll increase my hopes for some new shows in Europe next year.

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  21. Why waiting for 2009 for new shows in Europe ? I think with the release of the album a new European tour is already in plan.....

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  22. :o)

    (Yes, a simple happy face is my post.)

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  23. Long time lurker....had to comment after this show, truly fantastic. I must follow Craig in requesting anyone with a recording see fit to make it available

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  24. Revolt - fair play - I was only messing, remembering a time when people here said The Cure would never be good again after dismissing the (terrible) twosome.

    Seriously though, at Witnness in Ireland in 2004 Roger looked like he could not give a shit and after retaining my consciousness all day in the rain under the influence I expected, nah demanded, more from my favorite band.

    Perry, bless him, I never warned to the guy in all honesty. IMHO he was OK for The Cure-by-numbers but never really added (or subtracted) anything to the band.

    But that's just my opinion. I didn't like anything after Wish except 2 songs on WMS, 1 song on BF and maybe 3 on TC and I'm hoping September 13th 2008 proves me right - that it was a personnel thing rather than a artistic decline on Robert's part.

    Lovely, talented guys in their own right and I wish them all the best, just not really right for this particular band.

    Again, just my opinion.

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  25. Ronan - I hope you are getting some excitement back!!! A lot of negativity has surrounded the band since 1994 (apart from a short period around Bloodflowers when things seemed "better") and it's great to read, feel, share excitement again!

    The last few albums have been such dividers in Cure nation. None of them made any unanimity at the time and they still don't today (just read COF!). I really hope you are able to grasp the renewed energy and passion that surrounds the band now! Best tour in a loooooong time imo.

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  26. I'll echo everyone else and say that it's great to see you so enthusiastic about the band, Craig. But I'll add a note of thanks, because despite the fact that your devotion may have diminished for a time; you kept this going when it would have been easy to walk away.

    Obviously, based on some of his comments; somebody is telling Robert about comments on COF. If so, then they should note, as a few others have commented, that COF runs circles around the "official" site and is truly the online home of Cure fans worldwide. COF fuels our passion and commitment. I visited at least every other day during the band's four-year hiatus from US shows and I visit every day now. Thank YOU a thousand times.

    And about that set list? I'm seeing both New York shows and the Shrine show has me totally stoked for Radio City.

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  27. "I didn't like anything after Wish except 2 songs on WMS, 1 song on BF and maybe 3 on TC and I'm hoping September 13th 2008 proves me right - that it was a personnel thing rather than a artistic decline on Robert's part."

    Well, there is tiny possibility that I´m being unfair here, but I would say that The Cure's creativity decline has clearly been a case of Robert Smith losing much of his inspiration and vision.

    I admit that personnel matters because it can either enhance or diminish the musical possibilities of the whole, but even if you think, for example, that in some songs the guitar solos have lost their taste or that the drumming is not up to Boris' standards, I think what really stands out is that the basic melodies and the lyrics just haven´t been nearly as good as they used to be. And that is mainly Robert´s department, isn´t it?

    Anyway, Robert is The Cure's "Democratic Dictator", and ultimately all falls on him. For good and for bad.

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  28. Robert never lost anything. I don't see how people can say this. Yes, I'm in a cantankerous mood. But when you have songs like Want, This is a Lie, Jupiter Crash, Bare, Treasure, Lost, Labyrinth B43, TGB, TM, Going Nowhere, EOTW plus the entire BF album, I don't see how anyone can say Robert has ever lost his vision or passion or creative craft.

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  29. yeah, let's have an argument on the internet. it makes you all look sooooooo smart.

    i'm cranky too.

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  30. Because it also needs to be said...

    Craig, darling, you are and always have been a CLASS ACT!

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  31. YES! Thanks for all these years, Craig! We are so deeply indebted to you....

    Can't wait to see them in Texas (esp. in Austin)!

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  32. monkeybutt, dude, come on. no one is arguing - except you, my darlin'. ;-)

    i was just sayin' that roberto ain't ever lost it. i was countering those naysayers.

    it's all subjective in the end, of course.

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  33. What Robert seems to have lost is the ability to put together the best tracklisting. Both WMS and the self-titled albums were misses in the department.

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  34. i agree that he does not have the best tracklisting skills of late. the best stuff left off of self-titled is just a travesty.

    on the other hand, i think it was a deliberate move to pull in the younger crowd. substitute us or them for this morning and you could bring in the yunguns who like nickleback maybe was the reasoning.

    of course, it backfired, and we were left to pick up the waste.

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  35. cat, i wasn't directing that comment to you, but to the convo going on between the others above you.

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  36. gotcha, monkeybutt. i just thought you were responding to the overall vibe. we are all quite passionate right now!

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  37. Craig, your site is great -- thanks so much for keeping it going.

    from another 'robert'...

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  38. Craig, I'm confused about something. You'll list the Adagio for Strings opener before Out of This World, but you won't list Tape before Open? What's up with that? It's not like Tape was any less an integral part than Adagio.

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  39. Shawn - I don't know, probably because I'm an idiot. : )
    Nah, it was just nice to type out Adagio For Strings once again.

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  40. I've been wondering if they had been playing Tape or any other opening music. Thanks for letting us know.

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  41. The distinction between The Cure's output up to and including Wish and everything that came after it is that the stuff that came after it doesn't have that infectious quality where high school kids think, "Hey, I can do that too," and they pick up a guitar and start learning BDC or IBD or A Forest. I think Jupiter Crash (as an example) is an awesome song but there's nothing about it really to make teenagers want to emulate it. Same with Cut Here, The Only One, etc. Maybe I'll be able to articulate it better later but I'm sure someone else will know what I'm talking about.

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  42. Didn`t I told you a few weeks before in march that they will kick ass?I think now you all will forget the artwork on the Cure Homepage and all that rubbish you said in these days!!!I never thought that I will get a biggger cure fan as i was before,but after 4Tour I am!!!Where will this end?

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  43. I agree with ya Craig! The Cure is kicking some major ass! Last night's show just proves The Cure are still one of the best bands around! What a show, I wish I was there!

    And it's nice to see that you have the passion back about The Cure once again! I think everyone at one point has felt the way you did.

    Thanks for keeping the fans informed with all things Cure. Without you, we wouldn't know half of what we know about the band. Keep up the good work!!! :D

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  44. christian: i understand what you are saying - that the youth is not catching onto the cure as much as they used to - but i disagree because i think the music world currently is awash in really bad music and kids are being programmed to like shit. the genuis of the cure would elude them. i do think the cure has made plenty of fine tunes post-wish, and i think the fact that they aren't catching on as much is due to a confluence of factors. frankly bubblegum pop ala FIIL and Taking Off annoys me. actually i like FIIL, but it's the dark stuff that I care about, and there are plenty of kids that care about the dark stuff too - but they are being peddled CRAP, and the cure is not as accessible to them.

    they would prolly never be a teenaged band again anyway, due to their age. i could be wrong but kids often tune out bands if they have been around for a while.

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  45. unrelated to this dicussion, but i think i like the trip mix of high better than the album version.

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  47. Glad to see you have the spirit again Craig!

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  48. The show:

    http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=199406

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  49. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  50. I'm just not sure yet...,

    I want to believe this is a renaissance, but until I hear the album I just can't be sure. I didn't realize how important Porl was to the band until he came back recently. Maybe I gave Robert to much credit for things done in that past, and need to recognize that other members have contributed more then I originally thought.

    Best new songs IMO
    - UTS
    - Freak show
    - Sleep when I'm dead
    - BRDB

    I don't feel like these songs are a rehash of old material (yes I've read about the history of some of these songs - sleep when I'm dead). Each of these songs has that oh so cure feel to them, but seem to lead us in a new exciting / original direction.

    The other songs while nice, just feel like the same content they've been pushing for a while; the "I've had this before" deja vu.

    I've been excited about the last few albums only to be disappointed about song selection etc.. Most of the current releases (96 +) have had great songs but then again we've had some stink bombs as well.

    If the cure change, I'm fine with that. I just don't want them to retread the same stuff with half the heart/emotion of the original.

    First Post, but I've been a fan of Craig's site since 96!

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  51. "Robert never lost anything. I don't see how people can say this."

    Clockwise, I just love arguing with you. ;)

    Yes, Robert has lost a few things along the years. His youth, for starters. And, according to his own words, his vision ("I really don´t know what I'm doing here") and a significant part of his passion ("the fire is almost out"). But then maybe we should never take his words seriously, not even those immortalised in song?

    "But when you have songs like Want, This is a Lie, Jupiter Crash, Bare, Treasure, Lost, Labyrinth B43, TGB, TM, Going Nowhere, EOTW plus the entire BF album, I don't see how anyone can say Robert has ever lost his vision or passion or creative craft."

    To each of the songs you mention I could oppose at least 5 songs from their back catalogue that would blow them out of the water...


    As regards lyrics quality, I'm sure that you, as an English teacher, would have to agree that they have lost some of their poetic quality, no? I mean, those "Underneath the Stars" tentative lyrics, for instance, as sweet and romantic as they are, could have easily been written by some 12 year student, no? And not necessarily a kid whose 1st language is English.

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  52. "i think i like the trip mix of high better than the album version"

    Now, here is an opinion I can surely agree with. The extra keyboards in that mix have an ominous quality to them that add a whole new dimension to what otherwise is a pretty song but not much more than that.

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  53. Heh, clockwise, I was going to add to my list of "Robert-himself-admitting-he-has-lost-it" songs the words from that little ditty that ends the European version of the self-titled album...

    You know, the one that goes "I´m going nowhere"...




    Nah! It would have been to easy... :-D

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  54. revolt: I could not disagree with you more. The only thing you are right about from my perspective is that he has lost his youth - but that's an obvious fact! Duh. Other than that, I think those songs I listed (plus more that I just can't think of right now) are as strong as anything in the Cure catalogue.

    As far as lyrics, I'll have to touch on that later. His style has definitely changed, but IMO, not necessarily for the worse - depending on the song, of course.

    PS I'm not arguing, just discussing. :-)

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  55. "I think those songs I listed (plus more that I just can't think of right now) are as strong as anything in the Cure catalogue."


    Come on, clockwise!...Before Three? Truth Goodness and Beauty? Going Nowhere? As strong as anything in the Cure catalogue!? Aren´t you trying a little too hard? It´s not that they are not NICE songs and all that, but they are just more or less pale, under-developed variations of that "Disintegration" type-song...

    Anyone that says that "Going Nowhere" is as good as "The same Deep Water as You", "Homesick" or "Apart" must surely be taking the piss... No offence.

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  56. Wait, clockwise, I think I get it now... You meant to say "The Cure" catalogue, right?

    So, that would mean:

    "Songs like Lost, Labyrinth, B43, TGB, TM, Going Nowhere, EOTW are as strong as anything in "The Cure" catalogue".

    I think it´s hard to diagree with that. :-D

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  57. yes monkeybutt i too always wondered why they left the extra keyboards off the album version. the single and 12" version is much better.

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  58. I agree with clockwise

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  59. think what you want, revolt - it's your opinion and i gots mine. i'm not taking the piss - piss is yucky. ;-)

    i think there are better songs in the cure catalogue than b43 and lost and so on, but i also think there are better songs in the cure catalogue than sdway. it can go either way, ya know. i find breathe to be the most "breathtaking" cure song ever.

    people always use disint as a measuring stick. for me, that's not the best cure album by far. hotd is.

    but i do think that the songs i listed from tc and wms are just as strong as many cure songs.

    i find it hilarious that some people are so "offended" by my assertions that the cure have never lost it.

    i would not be here right now in the cof comments if i thought for one minute the cure ever lost their creative craft.

    the only thing that i think has gone awry is recent years is robert bowing to label pressures to put out a more pop-heavy album, one more tailored to the new crowd. hence why the cure was hit and miss in parts. if they had included tgb, gn, fake and tm and excluded cheese like taking off, us or them and alt end, it would one very stunning cure album. and in parts, it already is.

    all of this is imo. obviously you have a different view and that's fine. :-)

    but i ain't takin' the piss, dude - it's just how i hear things.

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  60. It's already been said better than I can muster, but I just wanted to throw in with my thanks to Craig for running this site so well for so long, and that it actually has been fun seeing him enjoying The Cure more again lately.

    And also, allowing comments now in the new format just makes it all seem more communal and fun. Three cheers!

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  61. "i find it hilarious that some people are so "offended" by my assertions that the cure have never lost it."

    Well, "offended" I am not. Sometimes suprised, others maybe amused, but not offended.

    I see now that I didn´t even criticise that "the whole BF album" comment, but then again, it´s just opinions. I suppose you are ready to defend every song on that album, even that ditty, how is it called, "There is no RIFF"? ;)

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  62. Whatev, revolt. Think what you want, and I'll think what I want, and we'll leave it at that. :-)

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