From the first part of the interview..."Smith addresses his legendary one-time hangout with a sigh. "The Batcave, good grief. The Batcave is how I know that I wasn't a goth. Because during the heyday of the Batcave, I was writing 'Lovecats,' and that wasn't exactly the finest goth hour, you know? Specimen and Alien Sex Fiend were goth bands; the Cure and Bauhaus weren't.""

This is what I have always said and thought...The Cure aren't goth at all...just shabbily dressed.

So you beat the Smiths to the record release but I'm so sick of you nontheless!

"We've been playing constantly every year for 25 years. We're a living and breathing band." Yeah right Rob! This coming from the leader of the band with the Guinness book of records title for the most member changes and back and forth departures in history!!!! Who are "The Cure" now, anyway? Wasn't your previous album supposed to be the last?

I like both the Cure and the Smiths and of course Morrisseys' solo work. In my opinion Morrissey has far more credibility as a recording artist and relies far less on image and looking like a complete fool. Robert Smith is by far the more totalitarian of the two and shouldn't even consider himself worthy of comparison at all. Who dressed up as a cat and someone trapped in a giant spiders web anyway!

He's wrong. Bob, if you're reading this, and I know you probably will be as you know people are going to bitch about you on this site after what you said and you feel it may give you a chuckle to check in, fair do's but you're wrong. What you say is incorrect, untrue, false, the wrong answer, an ill-advised opinion, not fact, simply not the case. Sorry. Now go back to your fish supper you fat bastard!

Fat Bastard.

God, I hate Robert Smith.

I love the Cure...at least up through Wild Mood Swings, the latest stuff is worse than bad, it's boring.

As for not being goth, well, the best goth bands were never proper goth, like the Cure, Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie, and Bauhaus. The bands that tried too hard and are considered "real goth" were just pantomime and a smoke machine.

And i'd like to remind Robert Smith that Morrissey isn't cashing in on any sort of nostolgia. He's just as alive as the Cure...more so if we're speaking artistically. He toured without a deal or album twice and was still able to sell-out venues.

When it comes to recorded material. But live, boy they really, really bored the hell out of me at last yeard Inlad Invasion in San Bernardino. Robert Smith has no sense of entertainment, no on-stage presence and certainly no clue. Robert can gloat all he wants about who put out a record first and how many years he's been putting out music, but when it comes to quality and not quantity, Morrissey and the Smiths are the cream of the crop.

They had a couple of admittedly catchy pop songs in the late 1980's but other than that they are complete shite. Moz's last single is one of the best things he's ever done and has spent 4 weeks in the UK top 30. The Cure's 'End of the World' in incredibly weak. A chorus-less, meandering half-baked song with a phenomenally weak melody and spectacularly crap lyrics, which somehow managed to fluke one week in the top 30. 90% of The Cure's current live set dates from before 1990 compared with less than 50% of Morrissey's. Morrissey's just had his biggest ever radio hit (First of the Gang) in the year 2004. He's a current, relevant artist still making fantastic pop music.
The Cure are, plain and simple, an 80's nostalgia band. The British record-public have voted with their feet. Shame the Americans didn't do likewise.
John

Lots of Morrissey/Smiths fans also like The Cure and vice versa. Both Moz and Robert are aware of this and have often made reference to it before having a playful dig at each other. Personally, I love Morrissey's lyrics - the wit, the style - but his band are far less talented than The Cure. Say what you like about The Cure, but they can really play their instruments and have written some exceptional songs. Having said that, I didn't like either of their last 2 albums - not a patch on You Are The Quarry and nowhere near as commercially successful. Moz is definitely the most relevant at the moment.

I can't believe he's accusing Moz of this!!!
Look at The Cure's live set. It contains nearly all their successful singles from the 1980's.
Although Moz plays Smiths songs, he tends to go for the more obscure stuff.

I can't believe the cure are still aorund after all this time. I wish robert smith would just give up already.

signed,
Morrissey

"We've been playing constantly every year for 25 years."

from '78 to '92s 'Wish' The Cure had been quite prolific- 9 proper studio albums plus many singles, compilations and live offerings. than a four year hiatus till the next proper studio album, '96s 'Wild Mood Swings'. than almost another full four years to 2000's 'Bloodflowers' and more than four year's to this year's self-titled release. yes, these gaps hav been filled with redundant compilations and one off singles but The Cure hav had more than their share of down time. infact, 'Bloodflowers' was originally supposed to be The Cure's last album with Smith constantly eluding to this and making the Dream Tour out to be The Cure farewell tour. with this year's new album, the Curiosa festival and other touring, 2004 is seeing The Cure basically coming out of retirement.

from '79-2004 The Cure hav released 12 proper studio albums- if you want to be generous you might include studio compilations 'Boys Don't Cry' and 'Japanese Whispers' to make it 14- and theyve had 33 official singles. Morrissey, including his career with The Smiths, has released 11 proper studio albums- and you dont hav to be too generous to include compilations like 'Hatful Of Hollow', 'The World Won't Listen/Louder Than Bombs' and 'Bona Drag' to bring it to 12 or 13- and [only including the Smiths singles that made 'Singles', as there were more] 28 singles- soon to be 29. so, Moz has released only 1 less album and [at most] four less singles than The Cure where Morrissey was 7years without a recording deal and The Cure had a 4-5 year head start.

if Robert Smith is trying to imply that Morrissey has taken any more absence than The Cure hav over their careers or that Moz is somehow less prolific than Smith and the gang he is juste plain wrong. despite his recent time spent in obscurity, Morrissey remains as prolific and relevant as any of the artists fortunate enough to span generally the same 2-2.5 decade period of the 80s, 90s and now- The Cure, R.E.M., Sonic Youth, U2 and thats about it [pretty select company]. if Robert Smith cannot respect anything else about Morrissey he should at least hav to respect that.

before i open my mouth im gonna say:

dont get me wrong, i ADORE morrissey!!

but this harshness towards the cure by moz fans is so unneccessary...not to mention old and boring. why is it that cure fans really DONT have a huge OVERBEARING hatred for morrissey/smiths
fans...but moz fans LOATHE robert smith? does that mean that cure fans are just friendlier, more apporachable, less miserable? maybe...

as a fan of both, i find they are, not to put anybody here down.

surprisingly a lot of cure fans like the smiths and vice versa...i dont understand why some smiths fans dont like to admit they enjoy the cure (at LEAST 5 Cure songs!)c'mon i KNOW you sing along to their infectious pop tunes, if anything...wheres the shame in admitting you enjoying music?

maybe some smiths fans havent even given the cure a fair shot? go listen to faith, pornography, disentegration and kiss me kiss me kiss me...you'll change your minds, i promise.

again as a Cure AND Smiths fan, i say just get over it. this whole thing is a HUGE "myth" and i think Robert AND Morrissey just play off of it for sheer hilarity. they probably drink tea together every now and then and have a good chuckle at this...who knows? they DO like to keep their private lives private.

and as for the Cure CONSTANTLY being compared to Duran Duran...wtf? how so? because both bands wear make up? thats about all i can see in comparison...otherwise, they are complete POLAR opposites musically...and thats what really matters...THE MUSIC, not the image, NOT the supposed cheesy feuds. get over it cure AND smiths fans! listen to the music and enjoy it regardless of what everyone else or the frontmen think...and move on.

dont accuse cure fans of brooding...smiths fans brood over their "hatred" of robert smith MORE than cure fans do about moz or anything.

p.s. i absolutely LOVE morrissey, despite my somewhat biased comments. dont beleive me? try me.

you mozz fans are pretentious assholes.

i love the mozzer but the new album is quite boring and his 50 minute sets are sad and pathetic.

the setlists are also pretty sad. how about playing some of your good stuff...ya know, the stuff you made 10 years ago?

Robert Smith has always been a disgusting pig.
And that's exactly what he still is today and will always be. He can't sing, he can't dress and his hair looks pathetic. I wish he would shut up forever.

I like Morrissey more than The Cure... But the Cure have just announced that they will be playing 2 gigs (sold out already the 15,000 seats for each) in Mexico city in September. And one additional date in Monterrey, which is the one I´ll be attending ´cos I live there.
So please MOZ tour Latin America again... Maybe when you extend your American tour by Texas, please come down to Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico city at least...

goth shmoth whatever is it/was it was/is great stuff

i never had any trouble loving the Cure or the the Smiths immensely and oddly enough, discovered the Smiths first.

interesting comments below about the live show tho. never seen the Cure live unless you count in Orange at the theatre. probably wont now cos stadiums are a grind.

its not a two party system. you can love them both without guilt or shame ;-)

I'm tired of always reading rabid posts, shooting down anyone who is critical of Morrissey. He's an icon, and a wonderful artist, but he's not perfect and has his share of crap songs and silly musings.

I remember a while back when everyone ripped into Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen for knocking Morrissey. It was an over reaction then as it now with the Robert Smith comment. Take Bob's comments for what they are: worth a chuckle and that's it.

First of all Morrissey hasn't had an album out in 7 years k so lets adress that HOWEVER everybody everybody everybody who doesn't live inside of a denny's (as apparently robert smith does) knows that for the most part it seems you eigther love the cure or you love morrissey/smiths.
Its like...you can not be a Los Angeles Ca. resident and not give a shit about eigther.
As far as Robert Smiths ..position goes...I was at the Inland Invasion ...2? show and i wanted to die by the 5th moaning epic.
I swear to shit..could these songs drag on anymore?
If The Cure were to ever release ...not a best of but Singles album I doubt the other records would sell anymore because lets be honest people..unless you get into the whole "Gothic" cliche that the cure really personifies...there isn't much point.
They make 2 pop songs per album..or so....and the rest of the show is pretty...well yeah 1978. Hasn't changed much I bet.
Also....Moz hasn't has had an album til You are The Quarry BUT if that fat shit smith would take the burger shuved you know where out for a moment he would see that moz has been touring almost constantly and consitantly for all of that time AND may i add...Perhaps The Cure as a whole is annoyed that they have to constantly be feeding (robert smith &) the cure fans new shit all the time. Where as Morrissey was also selling out his shows...without...with without a new album after new album like the cure.
His music servived 7 years without new material and if there is new intrest in Morrissey, The Smiths and The Cure whats changed? I'll tell you....Morrissey's press.

the mozkateer

we were the first
we were the last
los angeles to england
even japan

lets see....

+ i just saw the cure on monday night, they played for over 2 hours but would have played longer due to curfews. the show was pretty well sold out, everyone had a great time.

- moz has cancelled parts of every north american tour he has ever done and plays for under an hour.

- i would have seen him last thursady at the same venue as the cure played, but lollapalooza was cancelled. why? poor ticket sales! could it be the bill? probably!

+ 15,000 paid to see the cure with interpol, the rapture and mogwai.

- a whole tour was cancelled with moz and sonic youth on the bill.

DON'T FUCKING KNOCK THE CURE, THEY ARE ONE OF THE BEST LIVE BANDS OUT THERE!

MORRISSEY CANNOT EVEN PLAY A FULL SET, NEVERMIND SHOW UP FOR A FULL TOUR.

ROBERT MAY WEAR THE MAKE UP AND USE THE HAIR PRODUCT BUT HE IS NO PRIMA DONNA UNLIKE....NO NAMES MENTIONED...YOUR BELOVED MORRISSEY, WHO BY THE WAY IS PUSHING MAXIMUM DENSITY NOWADAYS. MAYBE HE AND ROBERT CAN DO ATKINS TOGETHER!!!!

He is fat, vile and ugly with train wreck hair and make up, zero charisma and a singing voice like a cat being strangled. That obese monstrosity should think himself lucky that he is even mentioned in the same breath as the wonderful, glamourous and talented Morrissey (who as we all know has great hair, is remarkably dressed and has an amazing voice).

Question: why does ANYONE like the Cure? They are awful! I hate the Cure, I hate Robert Smith and I especially hate goths!!! I don't know how anyone who considers themselves to be a goth could be a Morrissey fan. Morrissey is glamourous and stylish, goths are unoriginal dull white people with no dress sense or style. Even worse they have awful make up and have vile tattoos. If you know someone who is a goth and has a tattoo of, say, a bat, on their arm amputate it immediately! That's the best advice I can give you.

In a recent interview, I cant remember where, Smith acuses Morrissey of saying mean things about the cure. I dont doubt that Morrissey had started this feud as his recent interviews have had some mean things to say about Bowie, unprovoked and poor in taste. Smith doesnt know Morrissey either, not realizing that Morrissey has been touring quite successfully since 97. What I may endeavor to do is a likeness to the grey album and put moz voice over cure music, or v/v. That would do just well over the internet and give the two blokes a good belly ache.

VIVA HATE

i JUST had to say this (all in good fun):

morrissey just hates robert 'cause robert turned him down for a date.

hahahaha! so untrue, but wouldnt it be nice?

i hope no one thinks im serious. its just my stupid, unreasonable, totally fictional answer to the Morrissey/Robert question. :)

i dont think bob is moz' type anywho. morrissey goes for the more "classy"

The Cure, You are the Quarry...because I can have both.

"[Morrissey] has been away for a number of years and has come back I think to capitalize on this resurgence of interest in a particular period of time,"

i'm sorry & who sold "Pictures of You" to Kodak again? sellout.