Hey there, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. How are you doing? Better than this person I bet... Mei Rui, a concert pianist and cancer researcher, claims she was kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight from Houston, Texas, to Newark, NewJersey on Friday. The reason? It had nothing to do with the flight being overbooked or Rui acting disorderly, unless you consider breastfeeding your baby disorderly, which it seems Spirit does. The flight had been delayed due to weather, and Rui started breastfeeding her child, to keep him from crying and hopefully put him to sleep, she told the "Washington Post." She said, “Every parent with a young child can image, you don’t want to be that parent on the plane. It would be very embarrassing. I was just trying to avoid that.” Rui told the "Post" that while passengers were still moving around the cabin and the plane door was still open a flight attendant notified her that her baby had to be in his seat for takeoff. In response, Rui asked for "just a couple more minutes" because if she stopped feeding him then, she worried he'd wake up and make noise. She told the attendant, "I promise I'll finish before you close the plane's door." As the attendants considered Rui's request, she stopped feeding her son and he immediately started crying. And then the crew told Rui she would need to get off the plane, according to the "Post." Rui, who was now filming the incident with her camera, asked, reasonably, why she was being told to leave the plane if the baby was already strapped into its seat as requested. Seems like a fair question. Rui told the "Post," “It’s not like I was resistant, I put him in the seat. If they had shown a little compassion, it wouldn’t have happened, they didn’t have to let it escalate.” Rui left the plane as directed, where she was met by police officers and notified that she would not be allowed to re-board. Rui asked a Spirit Airlines rep why she was kicked off the plane, and was told it was because she wasn't "compliant," the "Post" reports. She was given no further details, despite her questions. Rui, who was not only traveling with her son but with her elderly parents, began to say, "If this happened to your family...” before being interrupted by the airline rep, who said, "It wouldn’t happen to my family, I can assure you.” WOW. Rude! That wasn't the end of it. The family's bags weren't immediately returned, and after driving back home, Rui's father had to be admitted to the hospital when he collapsed from heart trouble. Rui told the "Post," “They treated us like we were criminals. A baby crying is not a crime.” But the airline isn't apologizing. A rep for Spirit Airlines told KHOU in Houston, "Our records indicate a passenger was removed from Flight 712 after refusing to comply with crew instructions several times during taxi to runway and safety briefing. To protect the safety of our guests and crew, FAA regulations and airline policies require all passengers to stay seated and buckled during takeoff and landing. We apologize for any inconvenience to our guests. As a courtesy, we’ve issued a full refund to the passenger in question." Where's the spirit in that?
Online retailer Wish.com is under fire for running an ad for plus-size tights featuring skinny models pulling them up over their entire bodies. Yeah, I can't make this shit up...
Because, you know, nothing appeals more to a target consumer like being body-shamed in an ad. People were furious and confused as to why they wouldn't just hire a plus-size woman to model the plus-size tights. However, others argued that the picture from the ad is not for plus-size tights at all. Multiple people accused Wish.com of stealing images from a completely different ad selling "magic tights"... tights that won't run or rip if you stretch them. Well, Wish certainly has a lot to explaining to do. First for the fat-phobic ad, and second for potentially stealing images. At this time, the website has not addressed the controversy. While they are at it, they also might want to change their slogan from "make shopping fun" to " make shopping fun for skinny people only. Also, we steal pictures!" Just a thought!
On Friday, Katie Couric broke her silence on the sexual misconduct allegations against Matt Lauer. Since Couric spent 15 years co-hosting the "Today" show alongside Lauer, the public has been curious to hear her thoughts. So curious, in fact, that one Instagram commenter posted an emotionally heated critique on a photo of Couric and her daughter. Much to the surprise of her Instagram followers, Couric broke her silence and posted a short and succinct response. “It’s incredibly upsetting and I will say something when I’m ready to. Thanks for your interest," Couric wrote. In the weeks following Lauer's firing from NBC over allegations of "inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace," more women have come forward to accuse the 59-year-old of sexual assault and harassment. In lieu of the growing allegations, old footage of (and about) Lauer has made the rounds on the Internet. One recently resurfaced interview from 2012 shows Couric joking about Lauer's inappropriate behavior towards her. When "Watch What Happens Live" host Andy Cohen asked what Lauer's "most annoying habit" was, Couric answered, "he pinches me on the ass a lot." Hopefully, Couric's Instagram comment indicates she's processing the allegations against Lauer with the intention to speak up. Because there are a lot of questions left unanswered that she might shed light on.
The popular music venue Doctor Brown's in Middlesbrough, England is facing backlash for refusing to book female-fronted rock bands. The pub manager Paula Rees told the "Northern Echo" the rule isn't meant to be sexist, but her customers simply don't connect with female rock musicians. "We had female singers on in the past and customers just didn’t like it... we’re a rock bar and they don’t think that women should sing male rock songs," Rees said. "It’s nothing to do with me, it’s the pub’s regulars who come in every week, they won’t come in if there’s a female singer." So, it appears the sexism in question is more attributed to the bar regulars than the management itself. While the booking policy is passively exclusionary at best and discriminatory at worst, Rees claims the bottom line is the customer. And since her customers don't believe women can play rock music, she's not going to push it. "We have got to keep our regulars happy, I’m not a rock fan so can’t judge myself but I’ve been told that some women can sing and some can’t, but they can’t sing heavy rock. If we put a poster up and our regulars know there’s a woman in the band, they won’t give them a chance... they’re my bread and butter and we can’t risk nobody coming in." Unsurprisingly, people on Twitter weren't too fond of the booking policy. While others in the music scene felt bummed at the coverage of such a negative policy, when so many good bands go without press. This is a fair critique, it's unfortunate the newscycle prioritizes backlash over art. While Doctor Brown's keeps talented female musicians off their stage, the rest of us will be enjoying the sweet aural fruits that so many woman musicians have to offer.
If your Christmas tree says things like "let's build a wall to keep out those Mexicans!" boy have I got the perfect ornament for you...
Amazon.com is currently selling a Christmas ornament in the shape of a teeny, tiny MAGA hat. HAPPY! I'll have a RED Christmas, amiright?! This all could be YOURS for only $99, which might seem like a lot of money for an itty bitty hat that you can't even wear unless you're a mouse. But that's because the brass ornament is finished in 14 karat gold! And besides, how many tiny hats out there promise to make the entire United States of America GREAT... again?! Only this one. (JK there are others, some you can even afford!) Well, I'm someone who thinks America was already great(ish) (for some people), and one of those reasons is because of free speech. And currently, Amazon reviewers are using their power of free speech to roast the hell out of this MAGA ornament, while flooding the page with hilarious one-star reviews. Like these...
Other reviewers commented on how the ornament clashes with "ornaments of color" and only wants to be on trees with "white Christmas lights." Now, we can't be certain, but it almost seems like these reviewers may NOT be writing about a hat. But if they are, WOW. Definitely do NOT buy this for your family this holiday season. It sounds like the exact opposite of a Christmas miracle.
I've never been arrested but if I ever do I hope I'm not wearing this t-shirt...
Actually, that's very clever. So, I like to follow the rules but not as much as this person...
Hahahahahahaha. So, if I had a TARDIS I would go back to 1960 but knowing my luck I'll end up seeing this...
Altogether now... awwweeeee. Parents, I hope you don't get a note from your child's teacher like this one...
Hahaha. Some people are the worst...
Hey, you know who likes breasts? Donald Trump Jr. He doesn't know about sexual harassment though...
You know thing that is great about the Internet? You can easily look at porn. Well, the problem with that is if you get tired of one site, say this blog, you might go and look at some naked pics. So, I thought I can show a porn pic here and make you happy. But you could be at school or work and I don't want get you in trouble. So, I came up with a conclusion...
See? Hey, ever go somewhere and see wifi names are creative? Like this...
Hahaha. And now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is...
Top Phive Real Reasons Russia Was Banned From The Winter Olympics
5. Trump would've had a real dilemma deciding which country to root for.
4. The IOC figured that if Putin wanted a medal badly enough, he could always just take one from a weaker county.
3. A hot mic caught Putin saying what everyone else was thinking: Nobody gives a shit about the Winter Olympics.
2. It was felt that Russia would be better served by focusing its vast cheating energies on wrecking America's democracy.
And the number one real reason Russia was banned from the Winter Olympics...
1. Putin's ice-dancing outfits were just getting too damn sexy.
Me: Hey, Alan, welcome back to the Phile. So, let's hear your new joke...
Alan: Salutations, Jason. A Welchman shitting from a bridge, "Good shit, by Davy," said he, "what a Devil no plump?" for he expected to hear his excrement fall in the water, but all the while shit in his coat-pocket.
Me: What the hell? Okay. Here goes... A man shits off a bridge and is surprised when he doesn't hear it plop. It's because he accidentally shit in his coat pocket. That's so dumb. Do you have another one, Alan?
Alan: John Cross and Joan Cross used to lead hands to shit together, and being one day hard at it, something fell from Joan with an unusual noise; Quoth John, "Do you piss love?" "No," reply'd Joan, I shit honey."
Me: Ugh. A husband and wife go to shit together, but Joan's poop sounds weird. John asks, "Did you pee, love?" She says, "No, I shit, honey." Like she's calling him honey, but she is also jokingly saying she shits honey, so it doesn't make much noise... get it? Alan, good job I guess. Alan Raglafart, the 100-year-old comedian, everyone.
Okay, so, you know I live in Florida, right? Well, some of the craziest stuff happens in Florida that happens nowhere else in the Universe. And a few days ago Trump was in the state which made things even crazier. So, once again here's the pheature called...
The liberal group American Bridge trolled president Trump's Friday night campaign rally in Florida by using Ivanka's criticisms of Alabama Republican and alleged pedophile Roy Moore. While Trump was inside urging a Pensacola crowd to vote for Moore in the special Senate election this week, the Democratic group circled the rally in a truck featuring a mobile billboard of Ivanka's pointed commentary on the alleged sexual predator. The giant digital ad covered all sides of the truck and showed a picture of Ivanka's face alongside a quote from her interview with The Associated Press last month. In the interview, she said there was "no reason to doubt the victims' accounts" and claimed "there's a special place in hell for people who prey on children."
Her statements against the embattled Republican came just days after the "Washington Post" reported that Moore preyed on teenagers in his 30s, with one woman alleging he sexually assaulted her at age 14. The contrast between Ivanka's criticism of Moore and her father's endorsement of him at the campaign rally speak for themselves. Rather than promoting their own critique of Trump's endorsement of Moore, American Bridge saw Ivanka's commentary as a clean vehicle for critique. “Try as Trump and the Republican Party might, there’s no way to escape the truth about Roy Moore or Ivanka Trump’s own words. It’s a disgusting new low that the President, the RNC, and the rest of the Republican Party are trying to help send a pedophile to the U.S. Senate, and the American people won’t soon forget it," American Bridge spokeswoman Allison Teixeira Sulier said in a statement. Meanwhile, while Ivanka's face was bashing Moore's allegations outside the rally, Trump was undermining sexual assault victims in front of a crowd. While Ivanka's critique of Moore is rightfully scathing, President Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by 19 women, so it's hardly surprising he's backing another alleged predator.
Do you know what net neutrality is? Well, this might be able to help you understand...
Hahahaha.
Two things happened this morning: An "attempted terrorist attack" in New York City and a Trump tweet shortly afterwards. The two events, to the disappointment of many on Twitter, are completely unrelated.
Wrote "The Daily Show," sarcastically retweeting Trump's morning message. The show films in New York City. Trump instead tweeted about a "New York Times" report from the weekend that alleged he watches between four and eight hours of TV per day.
Some... like former advisor to Barack Obama, Dan Pfieffer... pointed out that the "Times" story, from Saturday, may have caught Trump's attention on Monday morning because it was being talked about on TV. Others were less interested in irony and more interested in the lack of tact (or whatever you call tweeting about television instead of a terrorist attack in your hometown). Trump will probably tweet about the attack later today. The suspect was reportedly the only one hurt in the attempted bombing, when "some sort of pipe bomb or other type of improvised explosive device... either went off prematurely or only partially detonated." According to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump's been briefed on the incident: So we know he didn't just miss the news because he doesn't watch TV.
This is cool! Today's guest is a founding member and the former drummer and keyboardist of British band The Cure and the author of "Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys," the 71st book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club. Please welcome to the Phile... Lol Tolhurst!
Me: Hey, Lol, welcome to the Phile. its so cool to have someone from The Cure here on the Phile. How are you, sir?
Lol: Thanks, Jason. Good to be here.
Me: So, your book "Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys" is the 71st book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club. So, how did you discover you wanted to be a musician, Lol? In the book you said you were bored in the town you grew up in when you were a kid, is that true, and that's why you became a musician?
Lol: Yeah, I just saw a clip of Jim Carrey who is apparently is a really good painter and he just recently discovered he had painting as a talent because he was looking for something else to do. I sent the clip to my son who said, "life choses what you're supposed to do, you don't get to chose it yourself." You can try to do something safer but in the end life tells you what your vocation should be. I agree with that. A part of that is what we had with The Cure because we loves music so much it was impossible that we wouldn't do something with it. Also we had to do something together because Robert and I were friends... if we had wanted to be furniture builders that might've happened as well. But growing up then is not entirely different than the time now, which is a lot of uncertainty about life, and their were two ways out as far as we could see. One was to become a very good footballer and the other way was to form a band. Nine of us were good at football... well, Robert might've made a good football player but that all changed with sex and drugs and rock and roll. We decided the band was to the best way out.
Me: Do you think your suburb of Horley was unique, Lol?
Lol: No, when I went around with the book meeting fans I found out that kind of environment we grew up in exists everywhere. It exits in California, it exists in Cairo, it exists in Paris... it's everywhere. So, that's where people associated and connected with us, they understand the small town suburban angst. Luckily that was the thing we were able to communicate to people. That enabled people to understand us when they didn't really know exactly where we were from.
Me: Okay, so, I love the book, Lol, what made you write it after all this time?
Lol: The real aim with the book I tell people all the time is I wanted to explain my life to myself and I wanted to explain to people how it all started and why it all started, because a lot of people just see us as these guys who played on stage and they don't know who we are as people. I think for me especially, I don't think for Robert is gonna go and write a book about himself. I asked him once if he was ever gonna do a book and he said, "I don't know about book, but maybe a 16 page comic." He was being humorous but he was also being realistic because he was kinda like David Bowie... David Bowie never wrote a book about himself either. I understand why, because on one hand you want people to understand you, but you also want people to understand you in the way you want to be understood. For me I'm quite happy to have an honest conversation with people about who I am. So, I think I was the only person in the whole Cure camp that had ever written a book about that time and about how everything as because number one I was there, and number two I remember most of it, and its always something I felt I wanted to do anyway. I wanted to write, and I had to write this.
Me: So, what does Robert Smith think about the book, Lol? Did he read it?
Lol: I'm not sure, but I said to him four or five years ago I had this epiphany about it one day in 2013, I had to do this, I have to write the story. I said to him don't worry about it, I know where all the bodies are buried, its gonna be fine. That's not what I want to write about, I want to write about to explain to people how it all happened and why.
Me: Did anybody else from The Cure read or know you were writing the book, Lol?
Lol: Simon Gallup knew I was writing the book and said, "If I had one regret, it's we weren't kind together when we were younger. We grew up in a very strange way, and a very strange place, it's kind of inevitable it turned out the way it did with the things that went on. So I guess we have to kind of forgive ourselves," which is what I think.
Me: The Cure was a very serious band I think, am I right? Were you guys all serious and dark?
Lol: When people met us backstage they were always surprised that it wasn't this Batcave with people crying at each other, and lots of velvet curtains everywhere. I think they were surprised that we were quite humorous with each other and stuff. I think they expected us to be a different way, but for me what it boils down to what we did we took seriously. If you take yourself too seriously you are in a danger of disappearing up your own behind. Even now Robert s committed to it on a daily basis, probably to the point of obsession about a lot of things.
Me: In the book you mentioned you guys were "on a mission." What was that mission? You didn't say.
Lol: To a certain extent, and I did try to explain in the beginning of the book, we did have our own kind of culture. There was things we very much liked and things we didn't like. When people make a band the first thing they do is decide all the people they admire and try to play songs like that. If they liked Jimi Hendrix they tried to make a song that sound like Jimi Hendrix, and that's how you kind of start. For us we kind took it from the other way round, we took all the things that we didn't like and stuff we weren't happy about like this over-blown prog-rock and stuff and we thought we won't play that kind of thing so we minimized the drums, we minimized the guitar, and won't have any big guitar solos like most bands at the time and well kind of make it simple in that way. So, with our attitude to most things that, I don't know, for Catholic school boys we were probably un-Catholic in our tastes, we could like something because it appealed to our personalities opposed to being a part of a particular scene. We were never nailed down to one scene because we liked lots of different things. When Glen Campbell passed away I tweeted about it, as I was broken up about it and someone replied, "Really? You had Glen Campbell in England?" They were amazed that I had that connection. I think that's the thing people don't see, some of the stuff we connect, to us it was all a part of us growing up. That was really the way we drew those little threads together, because we liked the same things, the dame stuff in art. We had the motivation to do it because we grew up at the same time music exploded. I always say Jos Strummer gave me there permission to start The Cure. He didn't tell me personally, but seeing the Clash when I was 17 or 18, it totally freed me up. I was like okay, we could do this now, we could do something. Whereas a few years before seeing Emerson, Lake and Palmer, which was strangely enough Keith Emerson before he passed away was one of my neighbors. I interdicted myself through a mutual friend and I told him I went to see him when I was 12-years-old, and it was the first band I ever saw. I told him I went a complete different way, and he said it was funny, because his son's favorite band is The Cure.
Me: So, who were your influences growing up, Lol?
Lol: Robert and myself have older brothers and they kind of introduced us to music through the 60s where it was their time. All that psychedelic stuff filters through our psyche. We would walk past Richard's room, or my brother John's room and we would hear that stuff. I try and be proactive with that with my own son. He's 25 now and I played him all the stuff early and made him go see bands with me when he was younger because they would not be touring at all in the future or be dead. He told me a few months ago he was really glad that we did that, it have him dance notice of stuff that he would of found out about eventually, but he might've not found about until it was too late.
Me: I know what you mean. My dad was the lead singer in Foghat, and he passed but the band still tours, so I took my son recently to see them play, and we used to take him to see them play when he was a baby. Even though my dad is not in the band or on this planet anymore at least Logan gets to hear his grandads songs played live and see the audiences reaction to those songs. Anyway... You know what is crazy? I can't think anybody has tried to copy what The Cure did. Why do you think that is?
Lol: I want to say this without being pompous, it comes from a natural yearning. The things that we grew up in a time that had a lot of questions, but also the things that we all liked in arts and literature always tainted to the emotional contemplative really, that really all there is.
Me: Ummm.. okay... so, you have been doing book signing and boom readings, Lol. What kind of fans have been showing up at these events?
Lol: I had people show up from 16 to 60 which really freaks me out. I don't know where people who have teenagers now see the connection with some middle aged guys but they do, they still get it. I think to myself it has to be that, the connection.
Me: Okay, so, The Cure is one of the most famous bands to come out of the late 70s and is a legendary band. When you guys first started out did you think you were gonna be that successful?
Lol: No, that isn't what we thought about at all. All we thought about was when were we going too make the next record. When we would going to make he next thing. We were always moving forward. It wasn't until many years later when I stood still and looked back and realized what had happened. I like to think there was a masterplan but we probably thought we would only last the length of the year. We never thought this year we would do that, and the next year this... it was never planned like that. I think that's probably why it worked, if we had planned it it would have all gone horribly wrong.
Me: In the book you say something like The Cure creates great loyalty and committed to the Cure. Why do you think that is, Lol?
Lol: I know most of the long-term Cure super fans, I've met most of them over the years. One of the things that struck me really strongly was when we got together in 2011 and did that show in Sydney for "Reflections." We went down to Sydney because we thought we'll go far enough away if it goes horribly wring no one would know. We did this show and I looked down at the audience and I saw people that I have known for 30 years having seen them at many, many concerts. It's like that feedback and knowledgment of what they are as people but maybe can't express it quite like we can so we are there to express it for them. They know that's a safe place to be. Sometimes it could be a little bit scary, I worry about them when I meet them as they can be a little bit to intense. But most of the time it's absolutely fine.
Me: I have to talk about the look... in the book you said something like Robert put on make up before a concert. Was it really that simple? That look has been Robert Smith's trade mark, am I right?
Lol: Pretty much. It was his "uniform." Living in California I bump into a lot of Cure people and I usually bump into them at a supermarket. I seem to remember to put on my correct clothes and shave and brush my teeth for it, but I always meet them when none of those things happened. I don't know if it's a bad thing, because I have a definite image and uniform and its the same thing with Robert. It didn't come one day perfectly formed, it evolved. We had several threads where that came from. It started off with Siouxsie because she had that striking image and we met her very early in our career. Its like a slight adaptation from her so I give her kudos for that. The other part, the more important part, the hair and stuff comes from 19th century romantic poets which is what we inspired to be in our most pompous moments. It's really want we wanted to show the world so we out all that together and then made it into a little rock. That's really what happens with all images, all music, they take all parts of what came before. I was recently in Memphis at Sun Studios and saw where Elvis had sung, I was thinking all of that, everything that we are doing now, everything that we had done, one of the elements came from there. From that little room in the middle of Memphis, but that was a long time ago. It has all be distilled down, all been round and round again, but we had to find something in it that's different. What was different about us came from us, from our personalities, from the way we were as people. I'll go back to Joe Strummer, he said, "Don't mess with the chemistry." I think about the people I grew up with who were my teenage buddies... Robert, Simon, Dempsey, Porl Thompson... those people to me are the nucleus of The Cure. That's where it came from, our teenage life if you like, evolved, grown up a little bit but with added sound.
Me: When I first started to listen to The Cure and when the band first came out I don't know if the words goth or emotion were out. I have heard both words to describe The Cure over the years. I'm not sure the difference between them but my son said goth are more happy than emo people. What would you describe The Cure, Lol? Does either of them fit?
Lol: Absolutely, that's always been the thing with The Cure. Inside all the dark stuff, inside eveything there's always little connections to something with more spirit and more emotional topaz. That is why I never thought The Cure as dark and demonic, it's never who we were. yes, it's dark but it's hopeful and liberating. I lost count how many times I heard over the years "I was glad I had the Cure when I was growing up. I had all the dark times but you guys helped me through it." I would say, especially with Robet's red lipstick, we were a bit more glamour, which leads you to life rather then destruction. It's like creation... creation is expanding, destruction is just destroying and pulling it down in yourself, and we were always about creation really. Even at the darkest emotions it was about creation, and I think that's really where it all came from.
Me: The song's "The Walk," "Let's Go to Bed," and "The Lovecats," proved that the band could do poppier things. It sounds to me from the book those songs were written on a dare? Did someone challenge Robert and dared him to write pop songs?
Lol: Yeah, in a way. When we finished with "Pornography" and the tour ended the way that it did, it really wasn't The Cure anymore, it was just me and Robert and that was it. Our manager Chris at that point asked Robert what he was gonna do now, because he didn't have a band so maybe he could write a pop song or maybe he couldn't. That was kind of like a challenge to Robert. So that's when "Let's Go to Bed" came out, it was supposed to be an anti-pop song. Robert said, "All those songs, whatever they're trying to say, what they're really saying is I want to go to bed with you." For us it was just being little humorous. It was also a way forward, because to me there are two versions of The Cure: there is the three piece and the pinnacle of the three piece was "Pornography" for me, then there's the five piece which the band did "Kiss Me" which some fans call the "Imperial Cure" but I never understood why. It freaks me out a little bit but it's actually more melodic and tuneful type of band because we've got more people to play. Porl Thompsn came back with his wonderful guitars, to this day he's an underrated guitarist. He's so talented what he can play and do. Once we had that band those three singles were ethnically ladder to get where that band was.
Me: Okay, I hope you don't get offended by this, but to me and most people, Robert Smith is the only one in the band that people know. Was it an equal partnership or was it Robert leading all the way?
Lol: In the beginning I was definitely an equal partner creatively and every other way. It changed more mostly because the outside influences and everything else. A lot of the times the people we had to deal with preferred to deal with just one person, as opposed to having to deal with two or three. Having said that I think there's some accountability as things don't always happen in a vacuum. You have to remember most of the stuff that happened to us happened before we were thirty. I look at my son who is 25... he's a smart guy and a lovely guy and is good at that he does, and wants to do lots of things, but life experience is really not there. I see certain people that he mingles with and I already see what is going to happen with them, Some of the things I tell him because I don't want him to get hurt. Some of them are lovely people that I think he will know his whole life. When I started writing the book my agent Peter said to me, "It's really good you're writing this now because I have some clients that are in their 30s, most of the stuff happened to them a few years ago, and they have no perspective in what actually went on because they're too close to it. You've had 25 years tor think about this stuff so that's going to make your perspective much clearer." I think that's the truth that happened back then. When I look at it with the eye today there's things I would change a little bit. Not much, but back then my own fault was okay, I want to do something with myself and Robert and I want to go forward. He's going to be singing this stuff and has to be the front guy and that's good. Definitely at the beginning all the way up to the mid-80s I certainly felt like an equal partner and to his credit Robert would always include me in in everything. But as I say in the book things happen in the crazy world of rock and roll that spiral into that cliche. That's really what happened to us ore than anything else. It's like that old saying... youth is wasted on the young.
Me: Ahhh... okay, so, yo came back in 2011 for the Reflections tour and you played some shows and from what I read everybody is friends again. Why didn't you do more with the band after that? Is it like a divorce where you are two are friends but can't live together?
Lol: Ummm, to me, yes, I guess it's bit like a divorce. I always remember that "Fawlty Towers" episode where John Cleese is telling the old Colonel in the bar to not disturb the German guests "because we are all friends now." That's true, we are all friends but there's a whole bunch if stuff that went on. I think when we did Reflections it was a little tense at first, and maybe the old demons would surface but they didn't. There's a very good reason they didn't because all that other stuff that along that was actually the trigger of all of that went out of my life a quarter of a century, so it didn't happen that way. It was very nice, very lovely and it was a very good experience I think. I think we would all want to do it again but I don't think there's any rush completely. I would like it to happen and I think sooner and later it will.
Me: That's good to know because I want to see the band live again. So, apart from drumming and writing this book, what else do you do, Lol?
Lol: Funny you should ask that. I had lunch with some of the guys from Modest Mouse recently and I was talking to Jeremiah who is a very nice guy and and he said when he wasn't on the road he started this little business which is a store that his wife runs when he is not around. I thought one of the things I'd really like to do is a mile from where I live there is a very old book store which is fascinated to me because I go in there and I find it books on so many subjects. I asked the old guy that runs it how he could afford to keep it running because surely he doesn't sell more than fifty books a day. He owns the building and it's really his hobby. I'm trying to sell to him that when he decides to retire he'll sell me his business. I'd love to run my own book store. That would be a hobby for me. The writing was not hobby, it was something where I said I'd take year and sit down and write a book. Obviously the money from The Cure enabled me to have that time to do it. My wife is a great surfer and stuff and wins prizes and I'm never going to go and be a surfer. All my hobbies are writing and staying alive.
Me: You mentioned the reunion in 2011, Lol. How did that happen? Did Robert send you an email and call you or did his people contact your people? How did that tour happen?
Lol: I'm usually the conduit between Robert and other people. It's been the same since we were kids, I'd get a call from Robert who ask if Michael would like to do this and I'd say maybe I think he would. Should I ask him? I'd ask Michael who would say, "Yeah, tell Robert I would" and I'd tell Robert and eventually they'll end up talking to each other. It's funny, what we did as teenagers we are still doing as middle aged men. With Reflections I had been on the road with my other band Levinhurst and we played old early Cure stuff and I wrote to Robert and said we are having great fun playing "Faith" and some other songs on the last tour and the 30th anniversary of "Faith" is coming up very soon and it'll be a good idea to do something with it. I don't know what we should do. The truth with Robert is to make him think that he thought of the idea. He forgot about it then wrote back and asked why don't we do the first three albums. I answered, "yeah, what a great idea."
Me: I have to mention "Disintegration," which I have to admit I lost my virginity to. Anyway, reading the book, your relation with the band and Robert disintegrated at that time. Anyway, I love that album and the song "Lovesong," as it has very good memories for me and that was when I really first heard of the band. What was it like at that time? Do you have fond memories of that album. Lol?
Lol: Haha. Congrats on losing your virginity to that album. The music for "Lovesong" what I seem to remember was Simon. At that time I said in the book I couldn't get my mind through the studio door, let alone my body. There's the song "Homesick" that was really like pulling teeth for me trying to get something out that I could present to everybody. Alcoholism isn't really about drinking but your mental state and my mental state was so bad it was like you say disintegrating at the time. For me listening to "Disintegration" now is bittersweet because I love it as music and I love it as an album but I remember how it came about and what it took to get there it's sometimes a bridge too far for me to think about.
Me: I always wonder with bands, and I wish I could ask my dad this question more deeply now, what was it like to be a struggling musician earning twenty-five pounds a week like you said you were making in the book to being in one of the most successful bands to come out of the 80s?
Lol: That's amazing to me. For the last forty years the dream that we had as teenagers has supported me. When I went on the book tour in the last year, I got to go to all of these places and say thank you to people. People that buy the books are the fans and supported me my whole life. I'm very grateful for that. Sometimes when I'm walking L.A. in the afternoon I walk down a certain street and it's all quiet because everybody is out at work, and I think that was the same feeling that I got. We've read all these books how people do things, how we could go, and we were able to go and do something with that.
Me: Can you give any advice to my readers that might be in their twenties who are starting out in a band? I interview a lot of young bands and I'm sure they'd love to hear some advice.
Lol: Keep a level head about you and trying stay sober some of the time otherwise it'll get horribly wrong. Also make sure you have your own hotel room. Most bands break up because of stupid shit. They always say musical differences but that they really mean is the keyboard never changed his socks or something.
Me: Haha. So, I think "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" was the bands biggest album, and my favorite. What do you remember about that album?
Lol: I think I was like 75% there for that. Its a downward spiral as Trent said.
Me: Okay. Lol, thanks so much for being on the Phile, sir. Your music got me laid for the first time in a way. Well, it didn't get me laid, but you know what I mean. Mention your website and I hope The Cure make more music soon.
Lol: Thank you, it has been a lot of fun. Loltolhurst.com.
Me: Great job. Tell Robert he needs to come on the Phile.
That about does it does it foe this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Lol for a great interview. The Phile will be back on Wednesday with the great Marshall Crenshaw. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.
Not if it pleases me. No, you can't stop me, not if it pleases me. - Graham Parker
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