It’s no secret that ex-Cure keyboardist Roger O’Donnell has mixed feelings about his former band. After all, he did abruptly leave the group in the height of their Disintegration-era fame, only to return again for a 3-album run and then get fired by frontman Robert Smith after their 2005 eponymous album. In a recent interview with Side-Line, however, O’Donnell took an interesting shot at Smith’s ego.
“It was the exact opposite of a creative, nurturing ambiance,” O’Donnell said of his final days with the band. “It was driven by ego and stupidity.” When asked about Trent Reznor’s rejection of traditional record labels in favor of self-distributed album releases, O’Donnell got more specific about one “ego” in the band. “It’s easy for Trent to do what he does he has money and an audience,” he said. “The Cure could do the same but Robert Smith doesn’t have the confidence and likes to be treated as a star by his label.”
The irony of that Robert Smith dis is that O’Donnell’s first statement on Reznor actually mirrors Smith’s recent rant on Radiohead’s pay-what-you-want scheme. Check out this Kanye-esque excerpt from Smith to confirm:
ANY FAMOUS ARTIST WITH A HUGE AND DEVOTED FAN BASE(OFTEN ARRIVED AT WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM A WEALTHY AND POWERFUL ‘PATRON’ ORTWO?) CAN AFFORD TO DO WHAT HE, SHE OR IT WANTS…
It sounds like you boys don’t disagree after all. Now how about writing another “Lovesong.”