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Rants >> Rant 351

::Today's soundtrack: The Cure "Disintegration (Live)" ::


Now I know I don't normally talk about me or my personal stuff on here. I just don't. Today, however, I am going to talk about how my hopes and dreams were dashed this past week. This may or may not wind up being something that closely resembles what you kids call a "blog" entry. We'll see.

Well, if you follow me on that there Twitter thing (and you might wanna), then you might have heard me bitch about this already. I'm bringing it up again because I felt the need to go into more detail with it. Whether or not this is actually warranted, well, you be the judge (probably not).

My favourite band is The Cure. Yes, really. I have like them since around 1992 when the album Wish came out. I have pretty close to all of their albums, in one format or another (some on multiple formats), a good bulk of their singles, and all of their singles and greatest collections.  When I got a good internet connection, I wasted no time in tracking down rarities, bootlegs, and live recordings. I created my own six disc Cure Best of collection ("..and the night sang out: Oddities and Ends," available on the Prize CD list HERE (new window)), which included my favourite album and single cuts, remixes and B-sides, and demos and live tracks. I was flabbergasted when The Cure shortly thereafter released Join the Dots, an official release that was similar in effort, but in my opinion, still lacking. I bought it anyway.

However, I drew a line for myself when The Cure started to release remastered versions of their old albums. Each of their albums was being released with a bonus disc of rarities and B-sides. Sounds tempting, doesn't it? But after my 10+ years of devotion, I had managed to compile nearly everything on my own and with a great deal of personal effort. They were now offering it up on a silver platter. But I managed to say "no thanks" to these offerings. Everything from Three Imaginary Boys to Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, I had already to near completion. Sure, there would be the odd track I still lacked, but I couldn't bring myself to justify rebuying all these albums I already owned for one, maybe two songs, if that. I mean, the first release was Three Imaginary Boys, and I was disappointed that I did indeed already have all of the bonus material. If you yourself are a Cure fan, then you might appreciate that the rarest Cure thing I own is an actual copy of the audio cassette Concert and Curiosity, the cassette counterpart to Concert. Concert was released widely, but Concert and Curiosity was not even released in the USA. I was in a record shop in Canada in 1994 and the only Cure thing they had that I didn't was this tape so I bought it. I had no idea how lucky I was at the time. The majority of the bonus material on the Three Imaginary Boys Deluxe Edition are the Curiosity recordings, songs on Boys Don't Cry and some demos. I already had these things. Pretty close to the same can be said of the other Deluxe Editions.

However.

Last month I was catching up on what was going on on TheCure.com as I hadn't looked in a few months. I saw that they were releasing Disintegration as a Deluxe Edition. For those of you who don't know, Disintegration is pretty much THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER. Anyone who likes the Cure will tell you that it is their best album to date. I own Disintegration on vinyl, cassette tape, and CD. I would have sex with it if I could. I was admittedly intrigued, but also reluctant. If all they were going to offer me were the demos of "Lovesong", "Lullaby," and "Pictures of You", the B-side tracks to the singles, or even the super-rare unreleased track "Pirate Ships" well, then I don't think I would need to add this Deluxe Edition to my collection either. I already have all this. No need for a FOURTH version of Disintegration.

However.

The Disintegration Deluxe Edition was to be a heretofore unheard of THREE DISC EDITION. I read this article with relish:

http://www.thecure.com/blog/default.aspx?nid=25518

Not only were they re-releasing Disintegration, but they were also releasing it with an extended version of Entreat, The Cure's BEST LIVE record release ever. The Entreat album contains my all time favourite versions of "Prayers for Rain" and "Disintegration." I absolutely MUST own the entire show! I must own what could possibly be the best version of "Lullaby" (previously NOT on Entreat, but to be included on Entreat Plus!)!! In addition to this awesome live disc, there will of course be the obligatory disc of rarities, much of which I didn't know about! There are several other unreleased demo tracks here as well as instrumental versions of the single B-sides! "Fear of Ghosts" instrumental?? Yes, please!

When would this glorious re-release enter unworthy life? At the start of the article I see a date:

24 May 2010

I only had to wait a month!! I can do this....

However.

On the 24th of May I'm searching for it. Disintegration Deluxe Edition is nowhere to be found! On the 25th of May, I check the internets. There it is on Amazon! Just this once I will allow myself to be lured in by the evil Amazon behemoth.... wait... PRE-order??? What's this crap?? PRE-ORDER, MY BUTT!! I read the article again. It turns out May 24th was the UK release date. The USA won't have it until JUNE EIGHTH!! YOU SONS OF BITCHES!!! You evil, British pricks get to own this awesomeness before I do! By more than a week!! AAUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!

And thus do we find your humble servant and narrator completely crestfallen. Hopes dashed, much like the Longfellow's "Wreck of the Hesperus" upon the reef of Norma's Woe. I had resigned myself to bitterness and despair, when, lo! A ray of hope upon our grey horizon:

http://www.thecuredisintegration.com/bin/

I can listen to these tracks online! FOR FREE!! Of course, I still absolutely MUST have a copy of Disintegration Deluxe of my very own, so that I may pet it and keep it and call it George, but this website will make for a fine temporary respite until then. And if you are a Cure fan also, I think you will definitely enjoy it as well!

And this is where my little narrative draws to a close. With a happy ending no less! Well, moderately happy. How happy were you expecting from an avid Cure-listener? Sorry, you'll have to try elsewhere for adorable kittens.

William the Bloody (boy does cry)