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1984
was a very particular year for many reasons in the history of the Cure,
making it one of the most harmful but fascinating period : The Top album
was almost recorded alone (Robert Smith almost playing all instruments
except drums), a new line-up slowly emerged, bigger popularity, the first
real world tour... That time was really busy and tiring with him being
part of the Banshees as well...
On a personal level, he would sleep on the floor at Steve Severin's place,
as he didn't have one of his own yet (that would occur in August, finally
!).
The official biography (Ten Imaginary Years) describes Robert Smith following
his "schizophrenic" life on that era. The word seems well thought
and accurate indeed. The conception of the album had been chaotic, large
amounts of drugs and alcohol appeared reflecting on the songs and lyrics.
Pretty obvious the Cure's frontman was in a phase of self-hatred, living
an alienating life style, the wound with Simon Gallup took a while to
heal too...
The tour that followed was excellent but exhausting. The lyrics that were
made up every night on the song Forever, contrary to the other songs already
rehearsed, give good insights to understand that immediate mood. Efficient
for the inspiration but certainly damaging for the spirit with that confessed
fear of waking up insane.
One of the main recurring theme from those versions is that confuse state
of mind, wondering who oneself is in reality. A line like "It's not
me, it's not you, it's not anyone at all" depicts that kind of moment
when you encounter yourself in front of a mirror and don't recognize your
own image or realize you're not really you. Trying to find an improbable
answer : dramatically begging "talk to me" to yourself. One
can see difficulties to follow his public role and character. In London
he sang about "wanting to see you without anything on your face".
There were also mentions about "every face that you will take today".
Another interesting and usual line is "give me a look". The
song Mr Pink Eyes includes the same line in its lyrics (interestingly
that song is also about that dialogue with oneself tainted with low self
esteem). Giving a look, like noticing another or agreeing on something.
He would also sing about asking to be given "a word" or "a
way" very often. Like someone being trapped in a situation becoming
unbearable. This got sometimes mixed with a feminine figure, unclearly
attracting and manipulating before leaving. In Tokyo, this seemed reminiscent
of children's play, "hiding underground".
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That
night, he also expressed that impossibility to communicate, to put into
words feelings that overwhelm or understanding everything has gone really
mad : "If I could make you live inside my head / If I could make
you see what I see". Quite close in his way of singing to the drug
inducing recording of the song New Day (probably recorded sometime mid
1984).
Finally after all this constant unstabilty in lots of domains (being out
of it, -Milano/Zurich trip was done by taxi cab !, stopping the tour to
see a doctor, kicking out a drummer, finding replacements, sick on stage
-in Tokyo, isolation, not socialising etc...). How could Robert Smith
survive and start the next round (the pop and successful Head On The Door
album) is a wonder. But instinct was the strongest and served getting
through all this difficult time before
redemption.
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