INTERVIEW WITH THE CURE (2000)

Robert Smith – the Cure’s main man and pop culture’s unkempt poster child of doom and gloom – has announced (once again) that the band’s new album, Bloodflowers, and accompanying tour are indeed the last. Despite some catchy pop tunes Smith has penned in the past, such as “Just Like Heaven,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Friday I’m in Love,” “Lovecats,” and “The Walk,” somehow the brighter numbers always seem like they slipped in by mistake. Bloodflowers, however, remains true to the Cure’s Goth fans with its ambient, somewhat familiar terrain of somber introspection over lush, brooding guitars.

NYROCK:
There are rumors that you're not an easy person to work with....

ROBERT:
We had quite a few changes in the line-up but that's hardly spectacular. Things happen in a band and maybe I'm not easy to work with but there has to be somebody who knows the direction. Anarchy in a band just doesn't work.... Or maybe I should say that I can't work like that....

NYROCK:
And the record companies? There have also been rumors of some friction with them.

ROBERT:
We invited the people from our record company and the two songs they liked the most were taken from the album. Maybe it was a childish reaction but I really don't like singles. Record companies don't really care for the artistic part of an album. They want a collection of hit singles to make sure the album sells. I'm not interested in it.

NYROCK:
I couldn't help but notice that there isn't much promotion for the new album, which is usually a sure sign of friction between artist and record company....

ROBERT:
They're not happy with it. They think it's commercial suicide because they're missing the singles. They think this album is the worst I could've ever done but they said the same when we released Disintegration and it wasn't a failure. They've got a screwed-up idea who our fans are. People who like the catchier, happier tunes like "Friday I'm in Love" are not our fans. They like single songs but they don't buy our albums.

The Cure have been around for 20-odd years and the good thing is that we don't need to compromise. We're not exactly new comers.

NYROCK:
Some critics have accused the Cure of starting to rehash their earlier stuff. Others say you're losing direction. Your old friend Wayne Hussey from the Mission UK claims you're doing a "Cure by numbers": a happy song, a pop song, a sad song....

ROBERT:
On the last albums I fought against the idea of the Cure having a certain sound. But on this record I used this in a positive way. I wanted the album to sound like us. We've been together for over two decades and you can't always reinvent yourself. It just doesn't work.

In the past we have attempted different styles, and it was often good. It can be satisfying to experiment even if it's only on a small scale. But I really know that what it all boils down to is there is one particular kind of music, an atmospheric type of music, that I enjoy making with the Cure. I enjoy it a lot more than any other kind of sound.

NYROCK:
So what was the main inspiration for this album?

ROBERT:
I wanted to make another great Cure album, something I could really be proud of and, to be honest, Disintegration was the last album I really liked. So I grabbed the band and made them listen to it. I actually made them listen to Pornography and Disintegration and said, "These, to me, are the two high points of what we've done as the Cure in this idiom, and I would like us to make a third part of an emotional trilogy." I mean it isn't the third part of the trilogy but I wanted it to sound like it was. I know it all sounds a bit crazy but then that's how the press has described me often enough and maybe it's time to take full advantage of my image....

NYROCK:
Were you trying to capture the typical Cure sound with the new album?

ROBERT:
Personally, don't think there is such a thing as a typical Cure sound. I think there are various Cure sounds from different periods and different line-ups. They usually sound very distinctive, but I don't think there is something as "a typical Cure sound." That would be stereotyping it. Of course, there's always my voice and a heavy bass line but I can't change my voice and the bass line always seems to be there.

NYROCK:
You generally take a long break between albums. The last one was four years....

ROBERT:
Because an album is only going to happen when I feel like doing it. I have to be in the mood for it. I can't force myself to feel inspiration where there is none. Ironically, the lack of inspiration can be what triggers inspiration, but that's another subject. I never wanted to trade in the name "The Cure" like a brand name and throw an album out every year. If I had to I'd go mad.

NYROCK:
You've been together 24 years. Bloodflowers is the 13th album. With each album since Disintegration there have been rumors that the Cure would stop recording. Once again, it's the last album. How final is this one?

ROBERT:
We owed our record company one album and now we fulfilled our contract. I promised myself that when I got to 40 I would do something new. I'm almost 40 now and it seems like a good time to start something new.

I want to work on a solo album and I don't even know if I'll sing on it. Maybe in a couple of years I will feel different and want to record another Cure album. If I feel like doing it I will. I don't want to burn all my bridges but for the moment it's time to stop. I'm proud of this album and if it's really the last album we've recorded then I feel it's a good way to go, a good way to finish. But I've learned from the past. I won't rule out the possibility of another album – just not anytime soon.

April 2000
Fuente: http://www.nyrock.com