Why The Cure Deserves to Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

PopMatters’ AJ Ramirez makes the case:

Why is the fact that the Cure only made the ballot this year after years of eligibility an egregious snub to be filed among the baffling ranks of current Hall non-inductees that range from Kiss to Donna Summer to the Smiths? Ok, the long-running British group (led by Robert Smith, its only consistent member) was by no means the first post-punk band or even the most influential, and Bauhaus created and defined goth, the genre the Cure is most associated with. What makes the Cure worthy enough to belong to alongside the ranks of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, and U2 is a combination of trailblazing inroads into the musical mainstream, an extensive influence over later musicians, and a diverse body of songs that could’ve formed the basis of the careers of four or five lesser groups.

I’d love to see The Cure get inducted, but I also kind of agree with Joseph P. Fisher’s comment:

The Cure should continue to be snubbed, because if they are, Smith might get miserable again. And if he does, there might be good Cure music again. I’m not holding my breath, though.

4:13 Dream and The Cure had their moments, but let’s be honest: it’s been nearly two decades since the Cure’s last consistently solid album (1992’s Wish).