Pitchfork

Plasticine-faced pop auteur and slept-on sibling Ashlee Simpson deserves a little credit; most prefab sprouts would've given up the ghost-vocals after an ill-timed late-night hoedown like hers. But Ash (or, more likely, Papa Joe) don't take no mess, and she's soldiered on, issuing the tough-as-nails I Am Me, taking a role in a London stage-production of Chicago, and, now, as EW.com reports, announcing a truly-bizarre but potentially cred-boosting list of contributors for her upcoming third album.

John Legend, Timbaland, the unfamous guy from the Neptunes, the dude from Keane that didn't go to rehab, perpetual should've been Kenna: the only eyebrow Ashlee's amassed agenda of collaborators raises is the absence of total whore Scott Storch (maybe Timmy shooed him off).

But when you add Robert Smith-- yes, that Robert Smith, the one from the Cure/that poster in your bedroom from when you were 15-- into the fray, you've tipped the scales of incredulousness. Is this an April Fool's joke, Entertainment Weekly?!

Maybe it's not so surprising after all; you may recall that Blink-182's self-titled 2003 effort featured a guest vocal from Mr. Smith (supposedly a longtime fan), or that the gents from South Park managed to coerce the seemingly-humorless Smith into slaying Mecha-Streisand in an early episode. But Ashlee Simpson-- more talented than she's often portrayed for sure, but still the co-author of "you make me wanna la-la"-- pairing with scene hero Robert Smith is perplexing at best, disheartening at worst. What results from the link-up remains to be seen, but something tells us we're still better off placing our wagers on Mike Watt and Kelly Clarkson.

In more pedestrian Smith news, the Cure will headline Japan's Fuji Rock Festival, going down July 27-29. And a note on their website hints at a few tentatively-scheduled spots: Hong Kong July 30, Singapore August 1, and a stop in Australia without a date attached.