Entertainment news and discussion on TalkFuse.
The 1996 Cure song inspired by bad sex and planetary destruction: “That was rubbish”
Robert Smith said The Cure’s 1996 song ‘Jupiter Crash’ drew on both the Shoemaker-Levy comet’s collision with Jupiter and a disappointing sexual encounter. The comparison links the song’s emotional build-up and anticlimax to public expectations that the comet would cause a spectacular explosion, though the impact was difficult to see.
The track appeared on *Wild Mood Swings*, an album Smith later said was two songs too long, naming ‘Gone’ and ‘Round and Round’ as songs that should have been left off. Despite a mixed response to the album, he considered it among his favourites, and singled out ‘Jupiter Crash’ as one of its strongest songs. He explained that the comet’s subtle impact was “incredible” even if it was not what people expected.
In short
- ‘Jupiter Crash’ pairs a comet collision with a failed sexual encounter.
- Robert Smith said the analogy was about build-up and unmet expectations.
- Smith thought *Wild Mood Swings* was two songs too long.
Explained simply
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978, with singer and guitarist Robert Smith as their best-known member. Their music has ranged from spare, gloomy songs to brighter pop, and Smith has often drawn on personal experiences and unusual images when writing.
In 1994, the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke apart and its fragments struck Jupiter, giving astronomers a rare chance to observe a large-scale collision in the Solar System. The impacts were scientifically significant, but many were hard to see directly, so the event did not produce the dramatic spectacle some people had expected.
“Jupiter Crash” appeared on The Cure’s 1996 album Wild Mood Swings, a record whose length and mix of styles drew mixed reactions. Knowing the comet’s story helps explain the song’s contrast between anticipation and an understated outcome, alongside the personal experience Smith said also informed it.