THE CULT IS OVERTHINKING IT

The Cult is amazing, but singer Ian Astbury is confusing. He publicly wipes his ass with Dave Grohl’s name and generally decries modern disposable pop. It’s like he’s too aware of rock’s legendary personalities and their creative, conceptual, and technological leaps in the art form. So he gets a bit holier-than-thou these days, even when guesting on lame vanity records (Slash) and lame hipster records (Bore-us). Whatever. But what possible reason could he have for dramatically changing the way we enjoy The Cult? Oh, I see. Poor sales.

The Cult’s capsule will consist of two new songs — “Every Man And Woman Is A Star” and “Siberia” — plus live recordings from the sold-out Love Live tour, and the short film “A Prelude to Ruins” (directed by Ian Astbury and Rick Rogers). The capsule will be available in several formats, including MP3, CD/DVD and 12-inch vinyl in limited quantities for a limited time.

Guitarist Billy Duffy: “It was really Ian’s general feeling, which I sort of agreed with [that] attention spans are shortening, and I think the idea was … to capture the music quickly and get it out there. That was the theory; the practice is not always quite so as easy as putting that into practice. If you wanna be old-fashioned, you could call it an EP.”

This is where it gets hazy for me. The Cult (and every other band) is having trouble selling records, so they’re bringing about a major change in format? It seems less like a cutting-edge move than a band-aid for flagging creativity and low sales. Instead of giving fans more, and thus a better reason to purchase, The Cult is giving us less. Much less. A post-internet 45 with fold-in poster and stick of bubblegum. And it’s kinda knee-jerk, and Astbury is trying to be seen as a pioneer at his fanbase’s expense. Guys, just make a great record. Stop plotting and start rocking.

-ADF