Robert Smith of The Cure and Ashlee Simpson are collaborating.
I…I am sad. This makes me so sad. Sad enough to listen to The Cure, but right now that just can’t be.
sigh
Aaawwww…that’s so sad. So, he’s got a touch of dementia, does he?
That’s the only explanation, right?
Jeeeze, she’s working with a member of Keane, too?? Is nothing sacred? God I hate that talentless little twat.
I bet he’s “collaborating” her brains out.
In situations like this, I just say to myself, “working actor.” (Well, working musician in this case, but I think you get my drift.)
It’s odd, I just heard a Cure song on the radio last night and I was thinking of how unblemished Robert Smith’s career is. Looks like he’s just got a huge zit on his forehead named Ashley Simpson.
I don’t know, he’s already done vocals for Blink 182. Granted, this is definitely worse, but that wasn’t what I would consider all that cool, either.
I think **featherlou **has it right - a musician’s gotta eat.
And while I don’t know much about Ms. Simpson - she is a manufactured pop confection who got exposed on SNL, sure - but she took an edgier approach than other pop tarts and pulled it off. The song La La is a good, solid commerical song with a decent edge to it - if Pink sang it, it wouldn’t sound out of place.
I have a friend who has worked with Robert Smith in the past - I will see if they are still in touch to the point where he can ask him about it…apparently Mr. S is a bit random with emails, so I doubt it will happen, but worth a try…
I think a little piece of me just died.
Well at least Smith’s still talented enough to make an entire generation of music fans really depressed…
I don’t think Robert Smith needs the money. I think perhaps he’s woefully out of touch these days. 20 yrs ago I would have been crushed by this. Now I just think “oh well”.
Are you serious?! He just played the Coachella festival a year or so ago - and was triumphant. He’s dialed in.
Look, neither you nor I are professional musicians. I play gigs in a semi-pro way, but I didn’t slog through the bowels of one of the most unforgiving businesses ever, get rejected by many (many) record labels like Smith/The Cure did and come out on top. Trust me - you (and I) have NO idea what Smith is thinking.
I talk with my buddy the record producer - who has platinum records on his wall and has worked with some top acts - all the time. Bottom line is that what is defined as “challenging” or “worthwhile” or “solid journeyman’s work that you shouldn’t be ashamed of in any way” is very different for very different artists. And those definitions are personal and stuff we non-pro musicians can’t claim to understand.
- David Bowie sand Little Drummer Boy with Bing Crosby on a Christmas Special
- John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted the Mike Douglas (afternoon talk show in the 70’s) for a week
- Jimi Hendrix’s first tour in the U.S. was opening for the Monkees
It’s very easy to dismiss credibility and get all Holier than Thou - and, who knows, it may be deserved in this situation. All’s I’m saying is that sometimes the artist has earned a bit of credibility over the years and maybe we should just be quiet and see where it goes…
But come on, Ashley Simpson? I mean come on! I’m not saying he loses credibility but for me it’s like if Robert De Niro appeared on Saved By the Bell.
PS The Bowie/Crosby song is one of my favorites and in no way is Crosby analogous to Ashley Simpson.
I agree. How about Eddie Van Halen playing the guitar solo on Michael Jackson’s “Beat it?” (Slash and Carlos Santana have also played on MJ songs).
Crosby is obviously not analogous to AS. Ah - but back in the day, Crosby was considered as squares-ville as you could possibly imagine. In other words, sure, he was a great, great singer, but still a credibility-killer in rock circles.
As for DeNiro - jeez, look at some of the crap movies he has been in. Those Analyze movies, Rocky and Bullwinkle (his participation in that was recently selected by Entertainment Weekly as the biggest sellout in film history), etc. And folks may like Meet the Parents/Fockers, but they ain’t Raging Bull.
Again, I am no Ashlee Simpson apologist - literally the only song I have ever heard of hers is La La - and it isn’t bad. Well-produced and written, catchy with risque lyrics and she sings them well. All I am saying is that given Smith’s rep - over a long period of time - I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt…
Hmmmm, possibly, and you make some good points that remind me not to be too eager to dismiss.
As to your examples of unexpected collaborations, Bowie, Crosby, Lenon and Douglass were huge stars. Monkees while popular were not acclaimed, and Hendrix was just starting out. However, Ms. Simpson is nowhere near in the same league as the aforementioned were in their time.
I could see Smith working with say Interpol or Franz Ferdinand though that may not be all challenging or novel. Hell, I’d accept Smith working with Busta Rhymes or Shania Twain. But Ashlee Simpson??? While I haven’t dug most of his material since Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, I still hold him in pretty high regard. This collaboration though just makes me shudder.
We’ll see if the venture proves to be noteworthy. Afterall I was pretty surprised by Nick Cave recording with Kylie Minogue and that turned out better than expected.
I am too, I’m just saying it’s a blemish on his career. Maybe I have overly strong feelings for Ashley Simpson and her ilk; in fact I know I do. Perhaps I should take a look at that, but honestly the consequences on my life are negligible.
As for EV and MJ I’m all for it (I love that album) and think they both have/had a lot of talent.
On preview: Nick Cave and Kyle Minogue!? What the hell is this world coming to. 
All good on this end. It may turn out to be a big blemish - who knows? I just want to give the man some credit before a quick dismissal…
Maybe he’s just planning to sing from backstage where people can’t see him, while she lip syncs…
Ashlee really should give up the ghost and just leave the music industry. She’s talentless, and if anything good comes from her records, you can give that credit to the talented audio people back at the studio.
She was easy enough to ignore because I don’t listen to pop - but now she’s treading on my territory…and I am not okay with that.
I can’t imagine why Robert would even consider this.
Maybe he just doesn’t care very much about other people’s notions of credibility/authenticity. Maybe he met Ashlee Simpson, they got along, and he just thought collaborating on a song would be fun. If the song sucks, then by all means trash it. But the guy should be able to work with who he wants.