POV: Robyn Hitchcock

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Your favourite five Hitchcock albums.

Mine are:

1. I Often Dream of Trains (ha! almost typed 'grains')
2. You & Oblivion (I'm probably the only one in the world who will pick this one, but too bad...it came out right when my best friend died, and he was a Hitchcock fan, to boot...I found it the perfect thing to mourn to)
3. Invisible Hitchcock
4. Queen Elvis
5. Eye

I feel a real urge to go back to listening to Hitchcock on a scale I haven't in quite some time. It's been many years since I've listened to things like Globe of Frogs, Black Snake Diamond Role or Respect in their entirety. Something gnawing in my soul tells me to get going on this. I avoided the most recent release Spooked because it's supposed to have country influences and I can't deal with that. Luxor was okay, but ultimately I don't think it was of the same quality I would have expected from him. What's Storefront Hitchcock like?

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Sunday, 9 January 2005 07:21 (twenty years ago)

But Spooked is so incredible. Welch and Rawlings are the perfect soft-spoken, background collaboraters for someone like Hitchcock. Oh, man, that was one of my favorite records of last year.

― rob mackey (mackey), Sunday, 9 January 2005 09:12 (twenty years ago)

1. I often dream of trains
2. Element of Light
3. Eye
4. Invisible Hitchcock
5. Black Snake Diamond Role

I checked out a long time ago, but what I've heard of Spooked makes me want to pick that up...

― Garibaldianne (Garibaldianne), Sunday, 9 January 2005 09:31 (twenty years ago)

I second "Spooked" for being vintage Robyn. I can't really hear much country on there. If anything it's got a bit of a folky twist because of mostly acoustic guitars. A couple of songs have a (old-skool) Leonard Cohen vibe. A couple are more like (new-skool) Jonathan Richman (the stripped back sound and distinctive acoustic guitar sound). The lyrics are the usual stuff about kingdoms of eyes etc. Vintage Hitchcock. That's my opinion anyway. Get it if you like him. You'll like it.

― everything, Monday, 10 January 2005 05:41 (twenty years ago)

Okay, I guess I'll give it a go, then. Any luck with those Peel tapes, everything?

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Monday, 10 January 2005 05:48 (twenty years ago)

Sorry about that Bimb. This was just before ILX went down and I haven't got around to doing anything about it yet. Gimmee a few days, okay?

― everything, Monday, 10 January 2005 16:39 (twenty years ago)

My faves I guess are:

1. Black Snake Diamond Role
2. Globe of Frogs
3. Jewels for Sophia
4. Spooked
5. I Often Dream of Trains

― mcd (mcd), Monday, 10 January 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

No one likes Fegmania? hrmph.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 10 January 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)

1. i often dream of trains
2. element of light
3. moss elixir
4. black snake diamond role
5. you & oblivion

i'm a huge hitchcock fan--i think he's a lot better than most people give him credit for. he has very few albums that are "perfect" but there's good stuff on each and every one. and I'll second you & oblivion being great--some of his most haunting songs are on there--check out ghost ship, september cones, birdshead, etc. Robyn is actually sometimes at his best when he's at his most tossed off.

― tylerw, Monday, 10 January 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

1. I Often Dream of Trains
2. Element of Light
3. Globe of Frogs
4. Gotta Let This Hen Out
5. Invisible Hitchcock

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 10 January 2005 18:07 (twenty years ago)

just rented the new Manchurian Candidate...it was wierd seeing Robyn in that.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 10 January 2005 18:08 (twenty years ago)

Wha the fu??? ROBYN'S IN IT???

Context, please.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 10 January 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

No one likes Fegmania? hrmph

I very nearly gave it my number five spot, over Black Snake, but I think it just tapers off too much towards the 2nd side...

― Garibaldianne (Garibaldianne), Monday, 10 January 2005 20:23 (twenty years ago)

I'll third You & Oblivion. The changes in the chorus of "Nothing" are fantastic. I can second the Queen Elvis love too.

Rent the movie, Alex. The director cast a bunch of recognizable faces. Robyn is deliciously sinister as well as creepily unexpected.

― Paul Eater (eater), Monday, 10 January 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

clearly the correct answer is:

1. respect
2. eye
3. invisible hitchcock
4. black snake diamond role
5. cheating and inserting a soft boys album. probably underwater moonlight. which in fact should be at number 2.

― bengo, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 01:51 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, in my UK mag Word here with Peel on the cover, there's a Hitchcock interview where they mention Manchurian Candidate. I'll have to rent that as well when I get the chance.

Word: So you've done virtually no acting in your entire life and suddenly you're starring opposite Denzel Washington - quite a baptism of fire, no?

Robyn: It was fine, actually. It's a lot like recording, actually. You do multiple takes, and the director is a bit like the producer on a record - getting you to find different ways around a line, until you've nailed it. There's also a lot of waiting around. One thing I've learned is that if you're in a Jeep with Denzel Washington and he's acting in character, then you tend to as well. There's no point in going 'I'm Robyn Hitchcock, actually! I'm a bit of a cult figure!'

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 05:51 (twenty years ago)

haha that's great

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 06:07 (twenty years ago)

1. eye
2. black snake diamond role
3. gotta let this hen out!
4. i often dream of trains
5. queen elvis

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 06:11 (twenty years ago)

I like Fegmania! Hell, his '80s/90s shows were worth it just for the patter.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:35 (twenty years ago)

Wha the fu??? ROBYN'S IN IT???

Context, please.

He's got a small role as some kind of operative from the Manchurian corporation that was imbedded I guess in Denzel's platoon in the first gulf war....it's a small role, but sort of important to the plot....It took me a minute to realize it was him, just because he was the last person I was expecting to see in a big budget thriller....at first I was like, "Hey, what movie do I know that actor from?"

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

he was on radio2 with mark lamarr and mark steele, unfortunately i didn't get to hear it all - though he did make me chuckle from time to time, and he played a few tracks live. probably streamed on radio2's website if interested ..
as he did n 86 when i saw him live. as for records .. i only ever got one .. a live album. that featured a song about an iron sledge ..
but as so many others .. the album is now in a long lots forgotten pile ..

― mark e (mark e), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:38 (twenty years ago)

Hitchcock was great in the Manchurian Candidate...I was all "HOLY CRAP THAT'S ROBYN!" and everyone else was all "SHHHHH".

Anyhow:
1. Globe of Frogs
2. Gotta Let This Hen Out!
3. I Often Dream of Trains
4. Fegmania!
5. either Element of Light or Queen Elvis depending on my mood

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:41 (twenty years ago)

Mind officially blown. Must rent it now.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:41 (twenty years ago)

Hitchcock was great in the Manchurian Candidate...I was all "HOLY CRAP THAT'S ROBYN!" and everyone else was all "SHHHHH".

This reminds me of what happened when I was watching Silence of the Lambs in the theater with a friend and at the scariest part of the whole movie they put on The Fall's Hip Priest and I burst out "They're playing the Fall!" and my friend was like "SHUT UP!"

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 05:58 (twenty years ago)

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