The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst on the Origins of ‘Goth’

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KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 9 November 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You might know The Cure’s song “A Strange Day,” defined by its spooky guitar licks, eerie drone loops and funeral march drum beats. But Lol Tolhurst, the band’s co-founder, former drummer and keyboardist, says the song is not all doom and death. Rather, it’s a shining example of Goth, which Tolhurst calls the “last true alternative outsider subculture.” Goth music inherited the anarchy of punk but substituted nihilism with a desire to fully feel, talk about and confess our emotions. And Tolhurst argues that the Cure — along with Bauhaus, the Doors and Siouxsie and the Banshees — helped pioneer its sound. We talk to Tolhurst about his new book “Goth” and the subculture’s music and aesthetics, and we’ll hear from you: Are — or were — you Goth? What does Goth mean to you? Guests: Lol Tolhurst, musician and writer; one of the co-founders of English rock band the Cure; author "Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys" and the new book "Goth: A History" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport.
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0:57.0	From KQED.
1:00.0	From KQED in San Francisco. I'm Mina Kim.
1:09.0	Coming up on forum, were you a goth kid?
1:12.1	Or would you recognize Goth's hallmarks? Black clothing, thick black eyeliner, teased hair,
1:17.1	listening to bands like Susie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, or of course, The Cure, as I did.
1:23.0	Lowell-Tolhurst, drummer for The Cure, who founded the band with Robert Smith,
1:26.4	has written a book called Goth a History about how the subculture has often been misunderstood.
1:31.3	But for those who understand its search for beauty in the dark and melancholy of life, its
1:36.3	counterculture impulses, goth is just as relevant today as it was when it began to take
1:41.3	hold 40 years ago. A journey through the sounds of goth
1:44.6	with the co-founder of the band, Lull Tollhurst. The Cure is best we're joined this hour by former drummer, keyboardist, and co-founder of the band,
2:18.3	Lull Tollhurst. The Cure is best known for 80s hits like Boys Don't Cry, Pictures of You, and Just
	...

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