Robert Smith: Reluctant Goth?

Is Robert a goth?  Was Robert ever a goth?  What would Anne Rice do?

The debate rages on between the fans who believe he is, believe he was, or believe he never was and ain't never gonna be, goth.

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Another Superfluous Historical Dissertation re: Contemporary Pop Culture

     When we became involved in the punk scene WAY-Y-Y-Y back in the late 70's/early 80's, punk was already thought to be dying a slow death, and the goth scene in America had... yet to be. 

    Even though we still went to the majority of the punk shows within our reach (NYC, DC, Raleigh), most of us (punk) chicks were pretty much over the high testosterone, slam-fest at these shows.  We yearned for something deeper, yet still kind'a dark.  When Siouxsie Sioux finally made it to our shores, we were saved from a life full of shaved heads... unbeknownst to us, she was our deliverance into goth.  We dressed like Siouxsie, we walked like Siouxsie, we danced like Siouxsie, & we spent hours in front of the mirror doing our make-up like Siouxsie.  And the goth scene, as we now know it was born (in America).

<= can't imagine why people would think Rob looks goth!
    When the Cure's first albums showed up in the racks of the local record (chain)store, we were ecstatic to have another 'alternative' act worthy of our attention.  And when the Cure finally came to America on tour, we were thrilled to see others (albeit few), like ourselves at their concert.  The fact that there were others with similar taste in fashion quite naturally made us feel at home... as extreme individualists we found a sanctity of sorts, in the familiar.  Obviously, there were people outside of the east coast who also appreciated the early goth-like scene.  There just wasn't anything else out there like the Banshees & the Cure... 

Every since, goth fans have been drawn to Cure concerts seeking sanctuary - looking to sleep within his velvet arms, in a bed made of flowers & quench their goth-ly desires (getting paralyzed by the blood of Christ).

Undisputable fact #1.) 20+ years ago - the Cure was there, and we were there.

  Yet, we can think of at least three separate interviews where Rob has insisted that the Cure are not and never were a "goth" band... hmmmmm.  Is it possible that they unwittingly helped inspire a pop-fashion movement?  - and that they could have been completely oblivious to the level of influence they had upon it?

<= Thrice you hath denied them!!! (is that a Rosary?)

Undisputable fact #2.) The goth scene of today was bred & nurtured by early punk-offspring acts, in particular: the Banshees, the Cure and in America the Cramps... whether or not some people choose to acknowledge this is irrelevant.

    As absurd as this may sound in 2002, ya' gotta remember that in those days, there wasn't much to pick from.  It was way before alternative radio existed.
 

Undisputable fact #3.) While many of these bands still exist, none of them are particularly 'goth' (in the mod sense) anymore...

What scared them off?  Marilyn Manson? (after his latest annihilation of the Almond/Ball pop hit, 'sno wonder)(BTW which Hollywood horse's-ass suggested to Manson that HE should ruin his already shaky career by being the first to attempt a goth/hip-hop hybrid?!)

Well we could go on about it for years, post 101 pics of Robert completely goth'd out,  and as many points as we may legitimately make in favor of one view or another, we'll get just as many feverishly emotional  rebukes from fans on the other side of the fence...

A rhetorical question: whether you're a goth, mod, hippy, rocker or skin-head, what color did you wear to your last Cure show?

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the gospel according to thecure.com:

FOR THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE, NO EXPLANATION IS POSSIBLE.
FOR THOSE WHO DO, NO EXPLANATION IS NECESSARY.

JOSEPH DUNNINGER (MAGICIAN AND MENTALIST 1892-1975)

 

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Peace, Love & Robert Smith

 

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