The Cure’s Robert Smith Talks New Album, Tour Plans, Rock Hall Ambivalence
The Cure were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame tonight. After performing and being honored with a speech from Trent Reznor, frontman Robert Smith answered questions from the press about his feelings post-induction and the band’s plans for the coming year.
Regarding the new album, which he’s been teasing for a long time, Smith gave a progress update. “If I’m optimistic it will be finished before the start of this summer,” he said. “It will get mixed through the summer and get ready to be released towards the end of the year.” He also claimed said he’s “sure” the Cure will play North America “before the end of the year.”
Smith was then asked how it feels to be inducted into the Rock Hall. After saying “it’s been a really good experience,” he shared some ambivalence about the experience.
The other half of my head is like, “I’m not quite sure about the whole thing.” Because it’s a cultural thing. I just don’t know. I think it’s like the piece that they showed that’s taking really old interviews, it made me think about what I was saying—that I never wanted us to be part of what’s going on. So it’s funny, I was asked on the red carpet tonight, was I “super excited,” and it’s funny because I feel like we’ve been subsumed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, so there’s a part of me that’s like “nah, come on, if you were 15 you’d think ‘fuck this.’”
Smith then came back around to offer some words of appreciation for the Rock Hall:
But at the same time, there are people in it who are my heroes, so, you know, I’m not gonna… I think it’s great. You know, there are so many people that’ve done this, that I admire so hugely, that have inspired me so much, that it would be really, really wrong of me to be anything other than delighted to be part of it. How’s that? I’m going to run for office!
