I know the Robert Smith that made Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me or Disintegration would curl up and die at the thought of preening around with a vapid, talentless twat like Ashley Simpson. At least, that’s what I tell myself. Surely to God, though, the man has to realize his fanbase would not take kindly to such a pairing, even in his current-day musical twilight. I know Smith has always relished deconstructing his image as a pancake-faced doomsayer, but there’s a difference between being wacky and throwing your credibility down the shitter, the latter of which seems to be his MO as of late. I guess when you hermetically seal yourself inside a delusional bubble of sycophants and fawning fans it’s difficult to know the difference between ideas, good or bad. Either way, with regards to the Simpson collaboration, Smith “won’t deny anything”:

“I would be hugely surprised if I end up working with Ashlee this year, but I haven’t ruled it out. I went to see her in Chicago. We have people we both know, and I have some nephews and nieces who think she’s really good. I was impressed. The fact is, when she got on stage and sang, she was really good.”

This just sends me into orbit.