It feels like yesterday when I heard the music of The Cure for the first time. And although it’s been over twenty years I still remember it with the same nostalgia and sentimentality. Maybe because The Cure produced a unique post-punk psychedelic euphoria and an incredibly unusual chain reaction that shivered my spine. Maybe because The Cure bridged the gap between the punk and the pop; they managed their sound manners with sadness and rage; they established their own style creating armies of fans and imitators around the globe. The Cure built their myth using selective ingredients from their work and their life; and they have become a real cure for the souls of millions of people, who have cried, laughed, danced, and passed endless nights thinking about the meaning of life and the dark side of things.
Robert Smith, a dark personality himself, melancholic, eccentric, strange, unstable, had all those virtues that a person should have in order to create artistically. His amazing verses and his peculiar way to pronounce them soon idolized him to the eyes of the group’s fans and made The Cure the vehicle of his musical explorations and one of the most important post punk groups in the history of music. The Cure marked an entire generation with their music, their pioneering sound, their unique appearance and became an attitude of life for the young generation of the 80s.
In the early years, Smith’s melancholy was reflected on his dark verses. He was the dominant figure of the group, the composer and the singer. The first reward for the group was rewarded from Melody Maker in a competition for new groups. The Easy Cure got a new name and begun their magic journey of absolute creation that swept as a tycoon the psychedelic, pop, dark Gothic, rock and punk sounds and converted them into the sound of The Cure. During this journey, the group produced records that shook the global audience such as “Boys don’t cry”, “Pornography”, “Disintegration” and many others with tracks that literally brought up and stigmatised the generation of the 80s and the 90s.
The Cure’s success is also attributed to the fact that the group is not a one-dimensional Goth-punk band. The Cure are the post punk of “Three Imaginary Boys”, the funk of “Hot Hot Hot”, the pop of “Close To Me” and the overflowing love of “Just Like Heaven”. Even in their darkest moments from “Faith” or “Disintegration” they are more influenced from the French Existentialism (“Killing an Arab” is based on the “Etranger” of Albert Camus) than from the German roots of Bauhaus or The Sisters of Mercy, who would perfectly fit in Berlin during the Third Reich. The only group that could share the sense of loneliness and isolation is Joy Division. However, even after Ian Curtis’ suicide and the group’s rebirth as New Order, Joy Division suffer from an one-dimensional style, from which they cannot not escape, and they cover themselves with a new name, while being the patriarchs of the dance music. On the contrary, The Cure mix different music styles and produce great songs.
No matter how much light the music industry pours on the glamorous figure of Robert Smith, the dark side of music remains dark. Robert never wanted to see the cheerful side of life; at least not musically; His 25-years course with The Cure is a maelstrom of melancholy and gloom, which captures our souls and makes us think, open our minds, see our lives from a different perspective, value our time and set priorities. Smith’s lyrics practically save us from the emptiness of the trendy bullshit; fortunately for all of us. And this is the greatest contribution of The Cure to the society: they have created great thinkers…
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