Maybe a good model for release for Robert to look at is Bob Dylan's. Bob release another new song yesterday & announced his first record of new material since "Tempest" in 2012. The song yesterday was the third released from the new album which is coming mid-June. & these aren't necessarily "singles". The first song was 17 minutes long. I know he's not everyone's cuppa tea but excitement is building. & the new stuff has been real good so far. Article on the link.
I'm pretty sure RS knows about all the different "models" for releasing material these days. I also doubt he would consider something like that. Just a hunch. He seems to have pretty definite ideas about this sort of stuff and I don't really see him considering what others are doing in that regard.
as someone who worked in the business for over 25 years, i respectfully disagree. to me, robert is stuck in the 1980s & 1990s. those days are dead & buried. sure, you'll get some oldtimers but you won't reach new fans. all of the momentum built during last summer's nostalgia fest has already been squandered. i think a good title for the record would be "chinese cure". in honor of "chinese democracy" another record that took a ridiculous amount of time to come out. we'll hope it isn't the case but its a sign that maybe the new stuff isn't reallly good, like say 4:13 dream & might never actually get released. they are dangerously close to becoming a legacy act. how many times can you release "disintegration"? it's very disturbing.
I'm pretty sure RS knows about all the different "models" for releasing material these days. I also doubt he would consider something like that. Just a hunch. He seems to have pretty definite ideas about this sort of stuff and I don't really see him considering what others are doing in that regard.
as someone who worked in the business for over 25 years, i respectfully disagree. to me, robert is stuck in the 1980s & 1990s. those days are dead & buried. sure, you'll get some oldtimers but you won't reach new fans. all of the momentum built during last summer's nostalgia fest has already been squandered. i think a good title for the record would be "chinese cure". in honor of "chinese democracy" another record that took a ridiculous amount of time to come out. we'll hope it isn't the case but its a sign that maybe the new stuff isn't reallly good, like say 4:13 dream & might never actually get released. they are dangerously close to becoming a legacy act. how many times can you release "disintegration"? it's very disturbing.
You disagree with the fact RS isn't concerned with considering what other people do? I certainly don't think TC played festivals last summer to "build momentum." I don't think they're concerned with reaching new fans, frankly. Personally, I think the only thing RS is concerned with is releasing material that he feels great about because he wanted to create good music.
as someone who worked in the business for over 25 years, i respectfully disagree. to me, robert is stuck in the 1980s & 1990s. those days are dead & buried. sure, you'll get some oldtimers but you won't reach new fans. all of the momentum built during last summer's nostalgia fest has already been squandered. i think a good title for the record would be "chinese cure". in honor of "chinese democracy" another record that took a ridiculous amount of time to come out. we'll hope it isn't the case but its a sign that maybe the new stuff isn't reallly good, like say 4:13 dream & might never actually get released. they are dangerously close to becoming a legacy act. how many times can you release "disintegration"? it's very disturbing.
You disagree with the fact RS isn't concerned with considering what other people do? I certainly don't think TC played festivals last summer to "build momentum." I don't think they're concerned with reaching new fans, frankly. Personally, I think the only thing RS is concerned with is releasing material that he feels great about because he wanted to create good music.
think what you want, don't care. there are economic realities involved & it's a new game in the decade since RS has released new material.
I certainly don't think TC played festivals last summer to "build momentum."
I agree, but that doesn´t change the fact that they indeed build momentum with that tour. Greatest Hits CD charted again very high in UK (better chart place than on its original release date!), best festival headliner award from NME for this tour, guitar sales for the guitars Robert and Reeves using on that tour increased significantly in UK-Shops directly after their Glastonbury Set. The Cure trending Twitter number 1 spot for the very first time. And then there was also the Rock´n Roll Hall of Fame thing. Would have been nice, if the album had been ready in the wake of this momentum.
I certainly don't think TC played festivals last summer to "build momentum."
I agree, but that doesn´t change the fact that they indeed build momentum with that tour. Greatest Hits CD charted again very high in UK (better chart place than on its original release date!), best festival headliner award from NME for this tour, guitar sales for the guitars Robert and Reeves using on that tour increased significantly in UK-Shops directly after their Glastonbury Set. The Cure trending Twitter number 1 spot for the very first time. And then there was also the Rock´n Roll Hall of Fame thing. Would have been nice, if the album had been ready in the wake of this momentum.
I can see your point. There was a ton of exposure, for sure.
I have to admit I'm a little disappointed to read about the guitar sales because that seems kind of cheesy and definitely consumeristic. I have no idea what a Twitter no. 1 spot even is (popularity of a post?) so I can't really relate to that, but again, I can't say I like the sound of it.
As for RnRHoF, I was really disappointed when I first heard about it because of the nature of the RnRHoF itself. But it resulted in another chance to see them live within walking distance, so it turned out OK.
I guess the real question may be what the end goal is...
Also I really don´t think the permanent delay of the new album is only because Robert wants it to be as good as possible. He appears to me somehow unsure and not so overly confident as he used to be in older times. The songs for 4:14 Scream for example that were supposed to follow 4:13 Dream as an album got after a time remixed and rewritten (lyrics) by Robert and then got never released. I guess that some of us fear, that even if the new album gets finished, but not released near time after its completion (due to the band cannot tour and promoting it this way because of Covid) than Robert will change his mind again after listening to the songs in a year and rewrite and remix and never release.....
You disagree with the fact RS isn't concerned with considering what other people do? I certainly don't think TC played festivals last summer to "build momentum." I don't think they're concerned with reaching new fans, frankly. Personally, I think the only thing RS is concerned with is releasing material that he feels great about because he wanted to create good music.
think what you want, don't care. there are economic realities involved & it's a new game in the decade since RS has released new material.
Bob Dylan approaches his music with possible literal religious fervor and evangelism in terms of disseminating his music and its message. Hasn't he always been associated with social activism and a larger message since the day of the Vietnam War?
I think the difference is between being more concerned with making sure the your music gets out there versus being more concerned with maintaining control and artistic integrity. My understanding is that RS has chosen to surround himself with people he can count on in terms of being able to contribute at a level he supports while they, in turn, understand and support his need for control.
Either way, this new album thread will have an end. It may be 1-3 albums of new material, or it may be fertilizing the earth. It may be possible that not even RS knows the answer to that, now.
Also I really don´t think the permanent delay of the new album is only because Robert wants it to be as good as possible. He appears to me somehow unsure and not so overly confident as he used to be in older times. The songs for 4:14 Scream for example that were supposed to follow 4:13 Dream as an album got after a time remixed and rewritten (lyrics) by Robert and then got never released. I guess that some of us fear, that even if the new album gets finished, but not released near time after its completion (due to the band cannot tour and promoting it this way because of Covid) than Robert will change his mind again after listening to the songs in a year and rewrite and remix and never release.....
I agree there may be an amount of "performance anxiety" involved.
I agree, but that doesn´t change the fact that they indeed build momentum with that tour. Greatest Hits CD charted again very high in UK (better chart place than on its original release date!), best festival headliner award from NME for this tour, guitar sales for the guitars Robert and Reeves using on that tour increased significantly in UK-Shops directly after their Glastonbury Set. The Cure trending Twitter number 1 spot for the very first time. And then there was also the Rock´n Roll Hall of Fame thing. Would have been nice, if the album had been ready in the wake of this momentum.
I have to admit I'm a little disappointed to read about the guitar sales because that seems kind of cheesy and definitely consumeristic.
Other (probably mostly young) musicians being so impressed by seeing/hearing The Cure´s Glastongury Set and being so passionate about it to buy those guitar types to sound like them and play their songs at home is for me a very positive thing. I strongly disagree here with you. For me it is a manifestation of admiration. Just like every musician hat got its role models.
And the main goal for me is that The Cure create an (hopeful) strong album. The Music/the art always comes first. But that doesn´t mean it hadn´t been great if the The Cures new album had been heard (in the wake of the mentioned momentum) from significantly more (young) people whith whom we could share our love for The Cures music.
I have to admit I'm a little disappointed to read about the guitar sales because that seems kind of cheesy and definitely consumeristic.
Other (probably mostly young) musicians being so impressed by seeing/hearing The Cure´s Glastongury Set and being so passionate about it to buy those guitar types to sound like them and play their songs at home is for me a very positive thing. I strongly disagree here with you. For me it is a manifestation of admiration. Just like every musician hat got its role models.
And the main goal for me is that The Cure create an (hopeful) strong album. The Music/the art always comes first. But that doesn´t mean it hadn´t been great if the The Cures new album had been heard (in the wake of the mentioned momentum) from significantly more (young) people whith whom we could share our love for The Cures music.
I guess for some reason it's just not a leap I can take. Maybe it would just be as good from the standpoint of inspiring people to be creative and play music if the people who bought those guitars played for six months and then just lost interest. But I can't help but see the marketing of those guitars a little cynically. Maybe it's more meaningful than selling foam beer cozies and black light posters, but it's also a lot of cash to drop, and thus to reap. Why not just get a guitar you like the sound of and slap some stickers on it or customize it and call it your own?
We do agree, though, on the fact the main goal is a great new album. I just get disappointed that the collective attention span seems increasingly short in the wake of social media, faster new cycles, etc.
The whole guitar sales thing was the press trolling out baseless crap as usual. Guitar sales did spike after Glasto but (& this is in the story) they always spike after Glasto (& all the other summer festivals). The only The Cure related part of that story was the fact that Schecter saw an uptick on searches not sales. Using The Cure & Glasto in the story just made it more click-baity. As for the album, since when has Robert done what anyone else does? Last time he did that was TIB & he's admitted repeatedly he wasn't happy with that album. Since then he's retained control as much as possible. Yes it's 2020 & the industry has changed. Maybe that's why the amount of truly good quality music around is pitifully small. Is it any wonder anybody would want to stick to what they know? Additionally, for some insane reason, more people seem to want vinyl under some illusion that it sounds better when played on a large plastic disc that attracts dust & finger marks the second it comes out of the sleeve. To have that on the shelves at the same time as other formats you need to secure pressing plant time & I daresay a Bob Dylan album will shift more units than The Cure's new offering so guess who's getting the pressing plant capacity first? (something else that's also killing off smaller bands BTW). I am hoping that Robert is using Reeves to help produce this one so we don't end up with the Uddin flavoured "sonic soup" that 4:13 ended up being. That man should never be let near an audio engineering desk. Roger is the only member who has talked this album up from what I've read. Robert just keeps saying it's on the dark side of the spectrum. Bottom line, it'll be ready when it's ready & it'll be done in the way Robert sees fit.
Love Reeves but he is also partial to a bit of sonic soup...
Been listening to 'Hours...", wondering if that has any co-writing clues
Never known him to compress the living cr@p out anything I've listened to like Uddin did to 4:13. & in any case, Robert's going to want a hand on the tiller for production & he'll certainly have the last word.