2008.12.19 "RS: I can't see a long future for The Cure", World Cafe, WXPN-FM, US

Started by dsanchez, December 25, 2008, 16:46:23

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Ulrich

Quote from: cheyler on July 22, 2015, 18:24:27
...long before any line-up changes would have been contemplated.

Yep, but he himself ended that line-up. Why should he if his wish was something else... (and then play the song to remind listeners of his failings)?
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

dsanchez

Quote from: dsanchez on December 25, 2008, 16:46:23
So I don't have these dreams of continuing on for another, like, ten years.

Ten years have passed and I am glad Robert changed his mind :P
2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

chemicaloverload

I find it rather amazing how you can dig up a comment from 10 years ago!
Life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves

tanyasmith

Quote from: dsanchez on December 25, 2008, 16:46:23
So I don't have these dreams of continuing on for another, like, ten years.

I appreciate how he doesn't overestimate himself and his abilities. It leaves room to surprise and impress the fans.

My sense is that Bob has reached a place in life where he doesn't have as much to gripe about except for the basic things that irritate older, English men, except for the nature of the music industry and how embittering being affiliated with it can make a person, (which he sung about in Open). He's well-off, married to his soulmate, has made his mark on the world. So what can we expect the new songs to be like? He already expressed the theme of stagnancy of being in a long term relationship (Loudest Sound), blew our socks off with Out of This World. He reads a lot, so maybe has some inspiration from that, but does he still struggle with being in love with women he can never have a fulfilling relationship with, the theme of some of their best songs? (Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Trust, Letter to Elise, Apart, etc.) How has age changed his perspective on life?

He sang Killing an Arab with such passion at their anniversary show. Was it that he felt determined to sing that song fully as it was written (they've changed the "killing an Arab" to "kissing an Arab" and other things to appease those who thought they were being racist over the years) and do away with the smaller minded people who think there are racist undertones in the song? His face contorted with so much anger when he sang it and I wondered what the source of the anger was. It definitely seemed he was in a position about it, like trying to prove something.

I was very happy when he said "here's to another decade" at the anniversary show. I'm just really curious what he's/they are going to unfurl these next 10 years. Is he likely to cling to the same themes or expand out into something different? I will always love the old Cure songs (Boys Don't Cry, Three Imaginary Boys, The Lovecats, The Caterpillar, A Night Like This, Push, Catch, How Beautiful You Are, Pictures of You, Plainsong, Letter to Elise, Just Like Heaven, Trust, Ocean, Bloodflowers, Out of This World, 10:15 Saturday Night, The 13th, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Dressing Up, To Wish Impossible Things, Harold and Joe, The Perfect Girl, A Few Hours After This, and maybe a few others I'm not thinking of right now) but I want to know what they think about NOW. How have they changed and what's their views on life, the world, and their places in it NOW? Is he ever going to break away from the persona of gloomy/gothic or is he going to take that to the grave? What if he wore colorful stuff at the next tour? I'm guessing he's going to stick to the black, but I still hope to see him in colorful shirts and sweaters as he was wearing during Wish times, again.

I could go on...

Here's the Robert and Cure I was obsessed with from 1992 to 1997. Now I just call my love for The Cure "a deep interest."

Ulrich

Hi Tanya, I did try and fix the "quote" error in your post, so it shows your text as yours.  :cool

I agree, Robert has probably done the best thing for his (physical and mental) health by staying away a bit from the "album/tour/album/tour... treadmill". (Frustrating as that can be for us as fans, of course.)

Quote from: tanyasmith on October 15, 2018, 02:47:47
He reads a lot, so maybe has some inspiration from that, but does he still struggle with being in love with women he can never have a fulfilling relationship with, the theme of some of their best songs?

Indeed this has been a "theme", but it always seemed to me that Robert had the ability to "play" with these thoughts (or should we say to project himself into a person living through this), while his own private life/marriage has been pretty stable.
And yes, literature and poetry has often been an "inspiration" for his lyrics.

Quote from: tanyasmith on October 15, 2018, 02:47:47How has age changed his perspective on life?

He talked a little bit about that in one of the recent interviews, didn't he?

Quote from: tanyasmith on October 15, 2018, 02:47:47
Is he ever going to break away from the persona of gloomy/gothic or is he going to take that to the grave? What if he wore colorful stuff at the next tour? I'm guessing he's going to stick to the black

Yeah, I can't see him change his "style" or his preferred colours now. It's probably too late for that.
However I never really saw The Cure as typical "Goth", they are way too much "pop" for that.

Btw, for many years I had this A4 poster (from a mag I'd bought in UK in 1992, promoting the album release) on my wall:
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

MeltingMan

 Simon described Robert recently as "Mr.Goth" and that gave me a sort of satisfaction
that he hasn't forgotten The Cure's roots. He is not too focussed on older albums and
aged fans. He doesn't want that, and if I try to imagine that scenario it would be really
sad, for The Cure in particular. Playing at festivals, on the other hand, offers only advantages
for them (new people, larger audience, slightly reduced setlist and a less financial risk).
It makes sense and it works! We don't have to worry about the next ten years, do we?  ;)
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

Ulrich

Quote from: MeltingMan on October 15, 2018, 11:14:13Simon described Robert recently as "Mr.Goth" and that gave me a sort of satisfaction that he hasn't forgotten The Cure's roots.

Well I thought that has to do with his "lifestyle" (rather than the music of the band):
Quotehe does go to bed at seven (am) and gets up at 2pm

Musically, I think, Robert has often put his "melancholy" into Cure songs - I guess he will keep doing so.
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

tanyasmith

Quote from: Ulrich on October 15, 2018, 10:37:24
Hi Tanya, I did try and fix the "quote" error in your post, so it shows your text as yours.  :cool

THANKS!

Quote from: tanyasmith on October 15, 2018, 02:47:47
He reads a lot, so maybe has some inspiration from that, but does he still struggle with being in love with women he can never have a fulfilling relationship with, the theme of some of their best songs?
Quote from: Ulrich on October 15, 2018, 10:37:24
Indeed this has been a "theme", but it always seemed to me that Robert had the ability to "play" with these thoughts (or should we say to project himself into a person living through this), while his own private life/marriage has been pretty stable.

YES! HE USES HIS IMAGINATION TO WORK THROUGH THE LOVE AFFAIRS WITH WOMEN IN HIS SONGS/MIND. 

Quote from: tanyasmith on October 15, 2018, 02:47:47How has age changed his perspective on life?
Quote from: Ulrich on October 15, 2018, 10:37:24He talked a little bit about that in one of the recent interviews, didn't he?

HE SAID HE WAS NOT AS POSITIVE AS HE USED TO BE. I HOPE THAT CHANGES.

Quote from: Ulrich on October 15, 2018, 10:37:24Btw, for many years I had this A4 poster (from a mag I'd bought in UK in 1992, promoting the album release) on my wall:

WONDERFUL!!!  :heart-eyes

tanyasmith

Quote from: MeltingMan on October 15, 2018, 11:14:13
He is not too focussed on older albums and
aged fans. He doesn't want that, and if I try to imagine that scenario it would be really
sad, for The Cure in particular. 

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THIS MORE? I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU MEAN. AND WHO IS NOT FOCUSED ON THE OLDER ALBUMS AND OLDER FANS? ROBERT OR SIMON?

Quote from: MeltingMan on October 15, 2018, 11:14:13
Playing at festivals, on the other hand, offers only advantages
for them (new people, larger audience, slightly reduced setlist and a less financial risk).
It makes sense and it works! We don't have to worry about the next ten years, do we?  ;)

AGREED!

MeltingMan

I didn't want to mention his (Robert's) name twice and that was obviously an error.
Let's face it together and correct me if I'm wrong: The so-called mainstream and the
fans respectively are not on the same page. The audience of The Cure consists roundabout of
80% mainstream. The latter wants "Greatest Hits" and more festivals - so to speak. That's
quite the opposite from what an average fan wants. Those are the remaining 20%. My impression
is that those won't be heard anymore. In other words: Only the 80% will decide about The Cure's future
(i.e. the next ten years). Those fans (20%) are perhaps older and some of them have a gothic background(!).
I don't care about Robert's lifestyle or if he's wearing black or not or if his marriage is good or bad
as long as he keeps those 20% in mind. Is that still the case? I don't know. I hope so!!
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

Ulrich

Quote from: MeltingMan on October 16, 2018, 09:23:40
The audience of The Cure consists roundabout of 80% mainstream. The latter wants "Greatest Hits" and more festivals - so to speak. That's quite the opposite from what an average fan wants. Those are the remaining 20%.

Where do those numbers come from? That might ring true for a festival show. (The fact that they will play festivals in 2019, does not mean that they will never do a tour of their own, btw. The only thing that bugs me a little bit, is that a festival tour indicates that a new album is not very likely in the near future...)

Quote from: MeltingMan on October 16, 2018, 09:23:40
...as long as he keeps those 20% in mind. Is that still the case? I don't know. I hope so!!

As far as I remember from an older interview, it is mainly Robert and Simon who decide about the setlist(s).
I'm pretty sure they do keep "older fans" in mind, e.g. by adding the odd "rarity". (Of course, with those festival gigs, there will be more emphasis on the "hits".)
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

tanyasmith

MELTING MAN:

It's difficult to predict what's going to happen, but Robert doesn't seem particularly opportunist, so I don't think he's going to forget the older fans. He seems to be the kind of person that's weary of new people, and I believe he can differentiate the mainstream fans from the deeper fans. It seems that he's impressed that they're still able to do this and he must recognize that it's the older fans, their younger siblings, and their children who are keeping them going. The new fans of the younger generations might love them as much as the older fans (think of young fans of Beatles, Rolling Stones, et. al. who never got to see them play, but get to know their music and stories as well as the older fans) so they're helping to keep them going, too. I think in principle Robert would like to be fair to the newer fans, too, but he won't abandon the older fans for the new.

I tried to be a goth during my Cure obsession years, thinking that if I was to be really devoted to The Cure I had to mirror them, but I was too colorful and happy to be a true goth, but I was drawn to the music because it expressed the feelings of what my life was like that I didn't know how to talk about. Now I understand that The Cure balances out my happy disposition. I'm like the Sun and they're like the Moon.

The Cure was the only band I spent a lot of time getting to know about. I liked The Smiths and Morrissey, liked Depeche Mode, Siouxsie, Suede, Gene, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Pulp, Mazzy Star, Echobelly...but The Cure was the only band I was devoted to. It's still the same.







Ulrich

Quote from: tanyasmith on October 16, 2018, 20:05:24
It's difficult to predict what's going to happen, but Robert doesn't seem particularly opportunist, so I don't think he's going to forget the older fans.

In my humble opinion: when it comes to pre-planning the live shows, Robert (& Simon & Co.) will think of the fans (of course they do want to make an audience happy) to an extent. Still, they'll have to keep in mind: "what can the band play, how many songs can we rehearse? which song(s) do we not want to play?" etc.!

However, when it comes to "career moves", I do have the impression that The Cure always have behaved like "independent artists" - they've had quite a lot of "creative freedom". I don't believe there ever was a "masterplan", things just turned out the way they did, by Robert following his nose (or his "inspiration"), e.g. when he made these "pop songs" in 1983, it was a way of "destroying" the myth of the Cure as a "goth" band, but not a careeer move to become a "pop star" - of course he wanted and enjoyed the success, but not at the price of giving up his "artistic freedom" (e.g. by repeating a "formula").

In my opinion, he didn't care about alienating the fans of the "darker" albums by releasing quirky pop songs like "Lovecats". Also, later on, he didn't care about losing some of the "pop" fans by releasing a "dark" album like "Disintegration". He's basically doing what he wants (to an extent, of course at times the record companies went on his nerves and he gave in).
If there'll be a new album I think it will be what Robert wants it to sound like, it will be his artistic expression (with the much-welcome help of the band of course).  :cool

Quote from: tanyasmith on October 16, 2018, 20:05:24
I tried to be a goth during my Cure obsession years, thinking that if I was to be really devoted to The Cure I had to mirror them, but I was too colorful and happy to be a true goth, but I was drawn to the music because it expressed the feelings of what my life was like that I didn't know how to talk about.

I second that. The Cure's music & lyrics (the whole "feeling" of it) has at times been a "soundtrack" to my life - I wished I could've turned my emotions into music like they did!

There was a time in my life when I didn't feel like wearing all black - I didn't feel too well with that. Then again, I didn't feel well wearing bright colours (I still don't, apart from wearing a light blue shirt at times)...
thus it's a mix of black, grey, olive green, brown, blue etc. for me...

Quote from: tanyasmith on October 16, 2018, 20:05:24
Now I understand that The Cure balances out my happy disposition. I'm like the Sun and they're like the Moon.

I think within The Cure's output you'll find these "extremes" within their music too:
"The sun is up, I'm so happy I could scream" as opposed to (for example) "I'll never lose this pain",
"how the end always is" etc.!
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

MeltingMan

Quote from: Ulrich on October 16, 2018, 10:35:41
Where do those numbers come from? That might ring true for a festival show. (The fact that they will play festivals in 2019, does not mean that they will never do a tour of their own, btw. The only thing that bugs me a little bit, is that a festival tour indicates that a new album is not very likely in the near future...)

The admin himself estimated an 80% mainstream proportion - couple of years ago. As we already
discussed earlier, a festival is not the right place to promote a new album. But what about an EP
or at least a Single? Nothing. The "We don't need a new album" approach is wrong as well - long term.
Greatest Hits (on vinyl) and Mixed Up de luxe are, in my view, aimed on the mainstream, so that we
"old men" don't get through obviously. I hope that doesn't sound too pathetic. On the other hand, I'm
happy with the people in Greece and Serbia. That approach is right.
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

Ulrich

Quote from: MeltingMan on October 17, 2018, 15:21:49
... and Mixed Up de luxe are, in my view, aimed on the mainstream, so that we
"old men" don't get through obviously.

Erm, I don't think so. "Mixed Up" deluxe was the logical follow-up to the "Disintegration" remaster/deluxe, as all the albums from 1979-'89 had been remastered and re-released. Logically, "Wish" is supposedly the next one. Nothing to do with old or new fans or "mainstream", just re-releases in chronological order.
The holy city breathed like a dying man...