statements like that and situations like this always make me say i wish i were ten years older. seriously, i turned 28 a few months ago and i could not be more appalled at the current state of music. yes, i grew up with great bands like the smashing pumpkins, alice in chains and rage against the machine, yet by the time i was old enough to see these bands live, they had already disbanded. most new music seems to lack passion and sounds extremely repetitive, with an ultimate goal of selling out, and selling out quickly. i envy those who could say they saw the cure at dodger stadium in 1989 or irvine meadows back in 1985, i really do. however, i have been fortunate enough to see the cure a total of five times in the past five years, and we all know that all good things come to an end. it just sucks to be this age and to have absolutely no musical outlet except for the bands of a generation i can't empathize with. 
Well, I'm only 29 and I feel fortunate to have discovered them in 1992 when they were still at their peak, in my opinion. It was cool to see them get recognition they really deserved
However, I do find it sad that things changed so quickly after that — with the departure of Porl and Boris, etc., along with a general shift in music trends.
While I came to accept the lineups after this, they've never had the same power since Mr. Williams left the band. And while I know saying this kind of thing might offend some people, I'm sure that's just one of the many reasons that people look at the '80s Cure so fondly, whether they may realize it or not).
As for this recent "end of the band" talk, I can't take it too seriously one way or the other. I suspect that it's nearly impossible for Robert to completely stop doing The Cure, and there's obviously a ton of evidence supporting this view.
However... While few will argue that the band is still at its peak, they are still very respectable performers and I would honestly hope they stop before that changes.
Unfortunately, I think that Robert is having some serious issues with his voice. Just take what happened in the middle of the last North American tour, the Rome MTV special in October, and the recent KROQ show. It's amazing he managed to recover in between that time, but it suggests that something just isn't quite right there.
And frankly, it's pretty embarrassing when you see "classic" band and the lead singer can't sing anymore. I'm not saying it's embarrassing for The Cure yet since it's an on and off thing, but I'm starting to wonder how much longer he can hold it all together.
In the end, I won't have too many complaints when the band completely comes to an end. They've already had more meaningful output than just about any other band in history, so I think we should just be thankful for that.
Also, Robert once said that more unreleased stuff is likely to come out when The Cure is officially done — so I'm sure we'll still get our fill from time to time.
