interview with Robert Smith (the Cure)

[schwantz34]

wise guy indeed, isn't it?

[BBvideo 425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8bSyQjc ... r_embedded[/BBvideo]

[Ronin]

I thought he made a few could points

schwantz34- Thanks for the Vid

[dazmb]

God I hate these patronising champagne socialists. Aaawww, Bob the former pop star is a little rich boy socialist - yeah he' s just like you or me but with a million quid stuffed in the bank which so far he's not gotten around to give away to the poor and needy. Bless.

"Hate to grow old and embarrass myself" - yes because as a 50+ year old chubby man wearing 'cool' gothic black eye liner you are a long way off from doing that old boy....

"There is no honour you could give me" - no one wants to give you an honour Bob. Why would they?

[Daniel Quinn]

Dazmb , ive no desire to get in to a political argument with you , primarily because this is a Hi-fi forum ,so as this is a Hi-fi forum i will simply say Robert Smith as sold some 30 million records , this means he's got considerably more than a million in the bank , primarily however , selling so many records is one hell of an achievement .

by the way , having a go at somebody's appearance , come on im sure you can do better .

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Dazmb , ive no desire to get in to a political argument with you , primarily because this is a Hi-fi forum ,so as this is a Hi-fi forum i will simply say Robert Smith as sold some 30 million records , this means he's got considerably more than a million in the bank , primarily however , selling so many records is one hell of an achievement .

by the way , having a go at somebody's appearance , come on im sure you can do better .

ADMIN:- I will leave this up, but you must understand what ad hominem means. Please address the points Daz made, not him. Have a political argument with pleasure as long as the points refer to the content of the post not the poster.

AND this is ad hominem in a debating context not a legal context.

[Daniel Quinn]

bloody hell and i thought I was being so diplomatic :D

Homework for Daniel needed .

[dazmb]

Dazmb , ive no desire to get in to a political argument with you , primarily because this is a Hi-fi forum ,so as this is a Hi-fi forum i will simply say Robert Smith as sold some 30 million records , this means he's got considerably more than a million in the bank , primarily however , selling so many records is one hell of an achievement .

by the way , having a go at somebody's appearance , come on im sure you can do better .

Neither I nor you have any idea how much money he's made. The million pound figure is my generic representation of his remark that he's a rich man. Nothing more nothing less. Doubtless he is worth more than that. But if so that's not doing this so-called socialist any favours is it.

Selling 30 million records is an achievment. I am not disputing that. But doubtless you know that many UK artists have sold many times more records than that, and they don't have establishment 'gongs' - so why should he? He's severely presumptuous if he thinks he deserves one for some reason as none of his albums are international revered classics, none of his songs all time greats (perhaps 'A Forest' should get more recognition). His best guitar work probably in Siouxsie & The Banshees, his worst the jingly jangly massively overdone flanging and chorus pedals in some of The Cure's work (although ironically A Forest features a lot of the former).

As for "having a go at somebody's appearance , come on im sure you can do better" - why should I do better? He sets himself up for my response which I'm sure many people will agree with. He looks a complete mess (and he's still doing the lipstick...). Hearing his statement of bowing out before he looks ridiculous as an old rocker, and then looking at his appearance Daniel you don't think that he might have missed the day he passed that milestone already?

Bottom line - rich former pop stars who have lined their bank balances in a free market economy in a capatalist society should think before they open their mouths spouting 'trendy' b*shit about being socialists. It leaves them with less credability than if they took the money and flaunted it in front of their audience like Jay Z.

[Daniel Quinn]

Your arguement's do not engage with what he actually said ,what you are saying is clearly you legitimate opinion , but you have used the video as a conduit to voice your opinion and not fairly or reasonably engaged with what he says .

firstly , i presume like me you dont speak Italian , so i have no idea what the questions were .It was an informal interview after a concert , it is harsh and unfair to subject his words to such critical scrutiny.

The socialist comment was a minor remark in a prolonged argument against Royalty and privilage and unearned wealth . There is nothing incongruous in being a millionaire and hating royalty . Further socialism and wealth are not incompatible, but they are more difficult to reconcile than a simple hatred of the parasitic granny in London and her relatives. But at no time did he attempt to , indeed he basically said he hated the world as it was so he just did his own thing . There is nothing wrong with that , he doesnt set himself up as a politician or activist .

Hypocrisy in itself does not defeat an argument , just ask a murderer who argues killing people is wrong .

If as a young man you hate the world , think its an unjust ,unfair , bag of shit so you try not to fit in , make yourself look different make some records and ask people to buy them and they do to the tune of 30 million and then retreat from it , you can't have a go at him because a journalist asks him a question and he answers honestly .

It is also legitimate to argue , the world is a bag of shit , this is how is should be , but i dispair it will ever be like this because power is to concentrated and the populace is to thick , so i will live my life the best i can . In short socialists can drink champagne alone until -
There's an angel standing in the sun, and he's crying with a loud voice,
"This is the supper of the mighty One",
The Lord of Lords,
King of Kings,
Has returned to lead His children home,
To take them to the new Jerusalem.

[dazmb]

Daniel I have not taken a single thing out of context. He stated he was wealthy, and he stated he is a socialist. End of. I have not sought to put them in context as I don't feel it necessary. No-one is asking him to retreat from his beliefs. But he stated them and in this interview the language is irrelavant as the headline statements made stand alone for him to be judged on by people. As always what we say as indivduals can be judged.

I'm not going to go through line by line all your reply, but I do feel you are given him a freedom with his socialism that is not warranted. There is a tendancy to let champagne socialists off the hook with statements like 'socialism and wealth are not incompatible' as it's a quick get out for them from having to question their moral compass / beliefs too much. You state his 'prolonged argument against Royalty and privilage and unearned wealth'. I defy you to take a hardworking contract cleaner on minimum wage in an NHS hospital or a nurse in an emergency ward and benchmark their situation with that of Mr Smith. I'm sure he would be guilty as charged of privilage and unearned wealth to those workers just as he applies it to the Queen and her family. The context may be different, but the argument is relative as these things always need to be. A millionaire pop star is as fair a target to someone on minimum wage just as royalty are to him. Hence my comment that these so-called socialists should be very careful before opening their mouths as they are talking from a whooping big greenhouse!

And I would say the very same thing to the recently departed Nigel Doughty (RIP) who as a socialist Labour supporter (and a decent chap) spent over £100 million of his own money keeping my beloved Nottingham Forest football club from bankruptcy, paying the inflated wages of footballers for years despite parts of Nottingham like St Annes having children in poverty by the modern definition. Perhaps his generous nature would have been better directed elsewhere than propping up a striken football club (although he did do many things for good causes it must be stated).

In my eyes a socialist with millions in the bank Daniel is ALWAYS in conflict with (and contradicting) their core ideology. The socialist Labour party benefitted very much from the huge wealth Nigel Doughty generated through the capatalist free market economy, but ironically that wealth would likely have been far less had it not been for the likes of Margaret Thatcher et al who engineered the modern free market we have today. Life is a tangled web indeed

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Life is one big compromise folks