Stable Medicine for Troubles
This November the global music world is dominated by The Cure. Mentions of one of the most influential bands of the late 20th century have been off the charts. The main reason is simple: on November 1st the band released its fourteenth studio album, Songs of A Lost World — their first new record in sixteen years. It’s enough to make you ask: what year is it?
With war, collective exhaustion, and frayed nerves, that reaction isn’t surprising. There’s comfort in treating The Cure as a symbol of stability — both musically and otherwise. I’m not skeptical of the idea that as long as The Cure still exists, the world hasn’t completely fallen apart; for now, that feels true. It’s fitting that their name suggests “healing.”
I mention time deliberately because The Cure offers a clear example of how time can feel irrelevant. Let’s leave the clichés about the band’s greatness and its influence on generations to one side. To be specific: for the past 45 years The Cure has been with us — in the 1980s (their most celebrated work, albums like Faith, Pornography, and Disintegration, came then), the 1990s (albums like Wish and Bloodflowers stand out), the 2000s (the band released a couple of solid albums and stayed active), in 2018 it marked its 40th anniversary loudly, and in 2019 it toured the cult album Disintegration around the world. I saw office workers in Ukraine stop work to watch Robert Smith and the band perform thirty-year-old material live from Australia. And now a new decade, a new album. An interesting trend: as soon as the first singles appeared, old and classic Cure songs started popping up everywhere. Let’s recall a few.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
On August 13, 1988, in a Benedictine monastery in Sussex, The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith married his partner, Mary Poole. They’re nearly the same age (Mary is slightly older) and met when Robert was 14 and Mary was 15 in a school drama class where students paired up. They haven’t been apart since.
Robert proposed a year earlier — during a studio session for the album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. As with many rockers, especially those with a gothic streak, Smith and his bandmates treated the ceremony with a certain indifference. “It didn’t change anything in our relationship,” he later said. “We got married simply because we wanted to have a nice day, so Mary could walk down the aisle in a white dress; it was also great to gather our relatives together.” In another interview he admitted, “It was a bit stupid, but we needed to get through it.” The wedding itself was low-key and family-oriented, with close friends and The Cure musicians present and no journalists or fans.
Robert wanted to give Mary a wedding gift — and he gave her a song. It later became a hit and one of The Cure’s most successful singles. He handed her a tape with the new song as a present; she ran to her room to listen, then came out and, Smith recalled, nearly smothered him with kisses.
Everyone’s Enchanted by Mary
Every time, just being alone with you,
I feel like I’m home again.
Every time, being next to you,
I’m in peace and harmony with myself.
It’s a simple, direct message — probably the best way to express feelings to a loved one. This is likely Smith’s most straightforward lyric, without metaphors; as he joked, “Cheap and from the heart.”
And wherever life takes me,
I will always love you.
And no matter how long I stay there,
I will always love you.
Whatever words I say,
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
“I just wanted to write a song about love, so it’s called ‘Lovesong.’ Instead of making up all sorts of symbols, I wrote it as if I was just talking to someone,” Robert Smith later said. Any artist will tell you there’s nothing harder than writing the simplest love song and making it a hit. Still, fans found allusions in the lyrics: the line “Fly Me To The Moon” naturally evokes the 1950s jazz standard most famously sung by Frank Sinatra. This year an American film called Fly Me to the Moon even used that song as its leitmotif.
However, the music video for the song had its own controversy. It shows Smith in full gothic mode — much like Edward Scissorhands — in a magical cave, looking very sad and almost frozen. Smith had asked director Tim Pope to dial back his usual irony because this wasn’t just a love song; it was a confession.
Smith later called the video one of the band’s worst. He wasn’t especially fond of the song itself or of its sudden success. “I think it’s the weakest song on the album,” he said. “But somehow it ended up second on the US singles chart — only someone like Janet Jackson was higher. I exhausted myself thinking: out of all the songs I wrote, only this one broke through.” He was disappointed.
Mary appears in the video for “Pictures of You,” among the photos the song is about. In the video for “Just Like Heaven,” Robert and Mary dance together above a seaside cliff, with Mary in her wedding dress.
Rumor has it that Johnny Depp’s Edward Scissorhands was inspired by Robert Smith’s iconic look, and that Tim Burton once asked Smith to write the film’s soundtrack. But Smith didn’t know who Burton was at the time and declined the offer.
Fifty Years of Kisses
“The first concert I ever attended was The Cure’s show in Finsbury Park, London,” Adele said when asked why she covered “Lovesong.” “My mom was a big fan and took me to the show.” Adele added that Smith’s image at the time frightened her a little, reminding her of Tim Burton’s Edward. The British singer, who became a global sensation with her 2011 album 21, included a deeply moving version of the song in her performances.
A very different take came from American band 311, whose version reached a wider audience after it appeared on the soundtrack for Adam Sandler’s romantic comedy 50 First Dates. The soundtrack reimagined 1980s hits through reggae and Caribbean rhythms to fit the film’s Hawaiian setting. You might wonder how such a serious romantic song became so relaxed — these guys somehow managed it:
Robert and Mary have been married for more than 36 years; including the years they knew each other before marriage, that’s nearly half a century. When asked what moment he’d like to relive, Smith answered, “Our first dance.” He has also said, “She’s my Cindy Crawford.” “Lovesong” has remained a staple on anniversary tours — it’s practically part of the family.
