The Cure's full lineup history is as follows: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar 1976-present), Lol Tolhurst (drums, keyboards 1976-1989), Michael Dempsey (bass 1976-1979), Porl Thompson (guitar, keyboards 1976-1978, 1983-1992, 2005 -2010), Simon Gallup (bass, keyboards 1979-1982, 1985-present), Matthieu Hartley (keyboards 1979 -1980), Andy Anderson (drums 1983-1984), Phil Thornalley (bass 1983-1984), Boris Williams (drums 1984-1994), Roger O'Donnell (keyboards 1987 -1990, 1995-2005, 2011-present), Perry Bamonte (guitar, keyboards 1990-2005), Jason Cooper drums 1995-present) and Reeves Gabrels (guitar 2012-present)
Just as the group's lineup has changed, the band's sound has evolved throughout the years, starting off as a post-punk band similar to Wire and Gang of Four before morphing into a gothic rock band in the early 80's, to a synthpop group in the mid-80's and a power-pop-alternative band in the early 90's. The Cure has always been an alternative and very independent band which was evident from the early days. Shunning the anarchistic tendencies of many punk bands after their formation in 1976 , The Cure's first release was Killing an Arab, based on material from French writer Albert Camus' "L'Etranger" (translated into English as The Stranger or The Outsider). This track courted controversy because of its theme (misinterpreted as racist, it was in fact, about the futility of killing any ethnicity), but it started to secure a small following, which grew following the release of debut album Three Imaginary Boys and non-LP single Boys Don't Cry in 1979, the latter of which would become one of The Cure's most famous songs. At that time, The Cure embarked on tour as the support for Siouxsie & the Banshees' Join Hands Tour. After the sudden departure of guitarist John McKay, Robert was recruited as guitarist for the Banshees as the band 'felt he was the only person capable of taking on the task.' As a result, Robert completed the tour playing two sets a night with The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Following this, The Cure moved from their punk leanings into the portentous post-punk territory, releasing three albums of doom-laden rock in three years, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography, the latter of which charted inside the UK top 10, though the band were repeatedly dogged by the "Second-class Joy Division" tag. Following their third set of line-up changes, the group released Japanese Whispers, a compilation of three singles and their b-sides. Through their desire to escape the Joy Division description, the singles were a poppier effort, featuring danceable tracks like Let's Go To Bed alongside pop songs like Love Cats. Following the commercial disappointment of follow-up album The Top in 1984, The Cure returned to form with 1985's The Head On The Door. Featuring the singles In Between Days and Close To Me, The Head on the Door was distant from the band's punk roots, having more in common with successful alternative bands like The Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen than their gloomier roots.
Two years later, the eighth studio album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was a more stadium-sized effort, though featuring audacious pop songs like Why Can't I Be You, it was seemingly caught between two styles. However, it was the band's ninth effort (following the departure of last surviving founder member other than Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst), Disintegration, that would be their greatest success, both critically and commercially. Disintegration spawned hit singles like Lullaby (no.5 in the UK), Love Song (an impressive no. 2 in the USA), Pictures of You, and Fascination Street. The album itself was a culmination of The Cure's directions through the eighties, featuring the poppier side combined with the more tender aspects, as well as the gloomier facets.
Following this, a remix compilation named Mixed Up was released in 1990, featuring one new track, Never Enough, and two years later tenth studio album Wish surfaced, which was a hit mainly from the momentum gained by Disintegration, though it also featured their most famous pop song, Friday I'm In Love (no.6 in the UK and no.18 in the US). During the years following this, the band became distracted and discouraged by the lawsuit launched by former member Lol Tolhurst, who felt he had been deprived of royalties. As a result, the 1996 album Wild Mood Swings felt unfocused, and was a critical and commercial failure, though the single Mint Car was a moderate hit.
In 1997, The Cure released the compilation Galore, featuring new song Wrong Number. Three years later, at the release of original album Bloodflowers, Robert Smith announced it would be the last album for the band, the album itself being a return to the gloomier rock of Pornography and Faith. Resultantly, another hits compilation was released in 2001. However, in 2004, the band surprised all by returning with a self-titled album, their twelfth studio album, which was a surprise hit, reaching the US Top 10, its lead single - The End of the World - becoming a modest hit on Modern Rock radio, and receiving a relatively warm reception from the press.
In May 2005, Smith fired Roger O'Donnell and Perry Bamonte from the band, along with Bamonte's brother Daryl, who had been The Cure's tour manager for many years. The remaining members of the band (Robert Smith, longtime bassist Simon Gallup and Jason Cooper) made a few appearances as a trio before it was announced that founding member Porl Thompson would be returning to The Cure.
In early 2007 the band toured Asia and Oceania, but a planned North American tour in Autumn 2007 was delayed until Spring 2008 so the band could continue recording their next album.
The band released their thirteenth album 4:13 Dream on 27 October 2008. Four singles and a remix EP called "Hypnagogic States" were releases on the 13th of each month preceding the album's release.
In 2009, Robert Smith won the Godlike Genius award at the NME Awards. On April 19, 2009, the band performed at the Coachella Festival in California.
During 2010, Robert Smith contributed songs to the soundtrack of the Tim Burton film "Alice in Wonderland" and provided guest vocals on the songs "Not in Love" by Crystal Castles and "Come to Me" by 65daysofstatic.
Between 31 May 2011 and 1 June 2011, the band performed three concerts at the Sydney Opera House performing the entirety of one of their first three albums on each night. Porl Thompson did not perform with the band at any of the concerts, but Roger O'Donnell performed with the band for the "Seventeen Seconds" and "Faith" concerts, and co-founding member Lol Tulhurst performed with the band for the first time since 1988 for the "Faith" concert. As of 2011, O'Donnell has returned to the lineup officially. In 2012, the band added former Tin Machine guitarist Reeves Gabrels to the lineup.
In 2013 The Cure started The Great Circle Tour, headlining festivals in Japan, South Korea and North America. In 2014 Robert Smith announced the upcoming release of a new album, to be called 4:14 Scream, featuring 14 songs recorded during the 4:13 Dream sessions and also an accompanying double album 4:26 Dream containing all the tracks from those sessions.
The Cure official website: www.thecure.com
The Cure official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thecure
The Cure on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/thecure?ref=ts
The Cure - Disintegration Microsite: http://www.thecuredisintegration.com/bin/thecure
Switch
The Cure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I stopped being myself
And without a word
Turned into somebody else
Full of wishes wants dreams
And desires
For a life
Of conceit and deceit
Not sure who I was
Before this me and I changed
But I know this me now
Is not really the same
Friends are as strangers
And strangers as friends
And I feel like I'm wired in a why
Yeah my friends are as strangers
And strangers as friends
And I feel like I'm lost in a lie
And every day my world gets slower
And colder and smaller
And older and lower
And every day
My treat gets closer to trick
Yeah every day my world gets slower
And colder and smaller
And older and lower
And I'm tired of being alone with myself
And I'm tired of being with anyone else
Yeah I'm tired
Like I'm sick
None of my favorite things
Are quite right
To the mirror man
Screaming at me
In the spite of another
False start
Dirty worn out and used
Up and down
To the ground
Disavowed
So confused
All made up in the belief
That me is the same
As the eyes in the glass
But I see my eyes change
Friends are as strangers
And strangers as friends
And I feel like I'm wired in a why
Yeah my friends are as strangers
And strangers as friends
And I feel like I'm lost in a lie
And every night my world gets quicker
And lighter and shorter
And tighter and slicker
And every night
My truth gets closer to dare
Yeah every night my world gets quicker
And lighter and shorter
And tighter and slicker
And I'm sick of being alone with myself
And I'm sick of being with anyone else
Yeah I'm sick of being alone with myself
And I'm sick of being with anyone else
Yeah I'm sick
Like I'm tired?
Like I'm scared
The lyrics to The Cure's song "Switch" convey a sense of disorientation and identity crisis. The singer seems to have lost touch with their true self and has transformed into someone else, full of superficial desires and living their life based on deception and repetition. The people around them are both strangers and friends, adding to their sense of confusion and feeling lost in a lie.
The singer is tired of being alone with themselves and also tired of being with anyone else, suggesting a deep dissatisfaction with their current existence. They don't feel like their favorite things are quite right anymore and are confronted by a "mirror man" who screams at them, further emphasizing their disconnection from their true identity.
The repetition of the phrases "every day my world gets slower and colder and smaller and older and lower" and "every night my world gets quicker and lighter and shorter and tighter and slicker" convey a sense of a gradual descent into a dark place, where the truth becomes harder to distinguish from lies.
Overall, the lyrics to "Switch" paint a bleak picture of a person who has lost touch with their true self and is trapped in a cycle of self-deception and disconnection from others.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometime it seems
At times, it appears
I stopped being myself
That I am no longer who I once was
And without a word
Silently
Turned into somebody else
Transformed into a different person
Full of wishes wants dreams
With aspirations, desires, and hopes
And desires
And longings
For a life
Aiming for a certain lifestyle
Of conceit and deceit
One characterized by vanity and dishonesty
And repeat and rewrite
One of repetition and editing
Not sure who I was
Unclear about my identity
Before this me and I changed
Prior to my transformation
But I know this me now
However, I am aware of myself at present
Is not really the same
I am not truly the same person
Friends are as strangers
Friends seem like strangers
And strangers as friends
Strangers appear as friends
And I feel like I'm wired in a why
I feel a sense of confusion
Yeah my friends are as strangers
Indeed, my friends feel unfamiliar
And strangers as friends
And strangers feel close
And I feel like I'm lost in a lie
I feel disoriented and deceived
And every day my world gets slower
As each day passes, things seem to slow down
And colder and smaller
And become colder and more confined
And older and lower
And more aged and diminished
And every day
Each day
My treat gets closer to trick
My pleasant experiences seem to get closer to being deceptive
Yeah every day my world gets slower
Indeed, every day things slow down
And colder and smaller
And become increasingly confined and cold
And older and lower
And more aged and limited
And I'm tired of being alone with myself
I am exhausted from being isolated with myself
And I'm tired of being with anyone else
And I am weary of being around others
Yeah I'm tired
Indeed, I am exhausted
Like I'm sick
As if I am unwell
None of my favorite things
Even my favorite things
Are quite right
Seem imperfect or off
To the mirror man
Even when looking at myself in the mirror
Screaming at me
Yelling out to me
In the spite of another
Reflecting the anger and frustration of another
False start
A failed beginning
Dirty worn out and used
Worn down and feeling impure
Up and down
Feeling unstable
To the ground
To the lowest point
Disavowed
Rejected or disowned
So confused
Overwhelmed with confusion
All made up in the belief
Based on the idea
That me is the same
That I am still the same person
As the eyes in the glass
As represented in the reflection
But I see my eyes change
But I notice that even my eyes are changing
And every night my world gets quicker
As each night passes, things seem to speed up
And lighter and shorter
And become more carefree and brief
And tighter and slicker
And more compact and polished
And every night
Each night
My truth gets closer to dare
My honest experiences become more like dares or risks
And I'm sick of being alone with myself
I am tired of being isolated with myself
And I'm sick of being with anyone else
And I am fed up with being around others
Yeah I'm sick of being alone with myself
Indeed, I am exhausted from being isolated with myself
And I'm sick of being with anyone else
And I am tired of being around others
Yeah I'm sick
I am unwell
Like I'm tired?
Is this exhaustion?
Like I'm scared
Maybe it's fear!
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KWAME HOLLAND, LENNIE BENNETT, WILLARD SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind