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Just
Like Heaven: The Influence of The Cure on Modern Music
Since their humble beginnings in 1978, the British pop/rock band The Cure
has been quietly influential in many manners of popular music.
From their early days, their stark, minimalist sound influenced fellow
English bands, such as Joy Division, New Order (essentially Joy Division, but
add/minus members), early incarnations of The Sisters of Mercy, and Echo and The
Bunnymen, being some of the most notable. As
the sound of The Cure grew denser and darker from the addition of a synthesizer
and personal tensions, culminating in the aural assault of 1982’s “Pornography,”
The Cure was instrumental in helping form and nurture the Gothic style of music
of the mid- to later 1980s. It was
said that at one point, around 1985 in the British magazine ‘Melody Maker’
by Paul Morley, that all Goth bands sounded like either The Sisters of Mercy or
The Cure. It should be noted,
however, that The Cure were never technically a gothic band, but were a
technically a post-punk or positive punk band until the release of “The
Head on The Door’ album in 1985, in which they were now a decidedly pop
band. They did tour with fellow
punk band (and label mates) Siouxsie and The Banshees in 1980-81, and which
Robert Smith (singer/guitarist) was also briefly a member, playing also on the
1984 “Hyaena” album, the subsequent singles and world tour.
The Banshees were first punk, then Goth until they metamorphosized into a
leading dance-rock band around 1991, with the “Superstition” album.
Other notable goth bands the Cure influenced are The Swans/The Angels of
Light, Depeche Mode, and The Mission.
In the late 80’s and ‘90s, The Cure began to grow ‘poppier’ and
have a more mainstream rock approach, and were dubbed ‘The Masters of
Mope-Rock’ by David Letterman on a 1996 appearance on his show.
This more mainstream approach has gotten them international attention,
much more radio and TV airplay, and has enabled them to sell out huge stadiums,
such as Dodger Stadium in LA, Wembley Arena in London, and the world’s largest
soccer stadium, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Cure has a huge fanbase in South America, with notable bands such as
La Dama Se Esconde, Heroes del Silencio, Patu Fu, and El último De La Fila, all
from South America. The typical
Cure fan is still mainly the black clad type, but more and more, the fans are
more non-descript, coming from all sects of culture.
With this widespread influence on more mainstream and popular bands,
subtle hints of Cure influences are popping in many strange places.
Many larger and better-known bands are even going as far as to do covers
of Cure tunes in their concerts, one notable influence is Dinosaur Jr.’s cover
of ‘Just Like Heaven’ has influenced the way The Cure play the song live.
The Counting Crows have done a few live covers, but they originally
started out as a Cure cover band, playing only Cure songs!
Metal band A Perfect Circle used the music from the song ‘Lovesong’
(one of the Cure’s biggest singles) and the lyrics of Ozzy’s ‘Diary of a
Madman’ during one of their concerts. Other
hard rock bands such as The Deftones and The Smashing Pumpkins have cited The
Cure as notable influences in interviews. No
Doubt, Coldplay and Linkin Park have also noted The Cure influence, and Linkin
Park’s first album is stylistically similar to the first Cure album, “Three
Imaginary Boys” from 1979. The
Cure has hugely influenced British bands Mogwai and The Cranes, and in return
they have also influenced The Cure, and were recently the opening acts at the
most recent Cure show in London, at Hyde Park.
The Cure have recently been heavily influenced by the nu-metal style
recently (except for the rapping bit), and have rumored that the next Cure album
will be a more hard rock album, and have confirmed that Ross
Robinson will produce the album. Robinson
has most recently been the producer for Korn.
Very few bands have run the musical gamut that The Cure has.
They have constantly re-invented themselves with each new album, going
from post punk, to pre-Goth, to psychedelia, to pure pop and an eclecticness
that only they could pull off. Enigmatic
enigmas, they are the only pop band that still wears stage make-up and backcombs
their hair into the easily recognizable electrocuted spiders web (a la Edward
Scissorhands), and isn’t laughed off the stage.
They are debatably the fourth biggest rock band to come out of the UK
(following The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie in that order).
They are also one of the most bootlegged bands, with nearly every concert
recorded and traded by fans. Their
rise to international stardom has been a quiet one, without ‘fist in the
air’ anthems, or a down-home stance on popular issues. Soon to celebrate their 25th anniversary next
month, it seems they will continue to be quietly influential on the current
music scene for may years to come, even if they do continue to hint at breaking
up, as they have done after the completion of each album since 1989.
