http://www.robynhitchcock.com/full/invisiblehitchcock.jpeg
Julian Cope? Ian McCulloch? Captain Sensible? Dave Vanian? Wayne Hussey?
Any ideas?
So you're photographed with Charlie Watts It doesn't mean to say you're not Just a loser
And you wish you could be Brian Jones But now he's just a heap of bones That's one better than you, you're a loser
And you photograph with Iggy, too Cause you think it might rub off on you Forget it, you're a loser
You're just trash You're just trash You're just trash And you're a loser
And last time you were down the Hope I saw you hustling for a piece of dope God you're embarrassing sometimes
So if we should meet up some time Don't act like you're a friend of mine Put your arm round me I don't want to be A loser
So you're photographed with Charlie Watts..
― Alex in NYC, Monday, 3 September 2007 19:36 (eighteen years ago)
http://www.lpcd.de/1/E5678_01.jpg
― scott seward, Monday, 3 September 2007 19:59 (eighteen years ago)
No, definitely not Kimberly. They had some bad blood at that time but not THAT bad.
I think he's addressing a "type" here. A rhyme or two probably begat the song and he went with it.
― Jon Lewis, Monday, 3 September 2007 20:10 (eighteen years ago)
just kidding...
probably the same person or persons who inspired tell me about your drugs.
― scott seward, Monday, 3 September 2007 20:27 (eighteen years ago)
^ arrrgh I love that song so much!
He does these diss songs every so often and they always seem generalized. But I could be wrong, maybe Robyn has a Bill Drummond/Stevo type figure who he carries an axe for.
― Jon Lewis, Monday, 3 September 2007 20:31 (eighteen years ago)
The story I've heard is that it is non-specific; he saw some random twat in the front section of photos & captions in Rolling Stone and he just imagined what kind of person would place value on that sort of thing. Needless to say, he doesn't care much for the celebrity BS side of rock 'n' roll.
I've always felt that this "story" was somewhat disingenuous, especially with the Hope line (a reference to the Hope & Anchor club that was his performing homebase going back to the Soft Boys days).
I would probably discount Captain Sensible though, if only for the fact that in the timeframe this was recorded (somewhere between 81-85) he was writing stuff for Sensible to help pay his bills.
― EZ Snappin, Monday, 3 September 2007 20:57 (eighteen years ago)
Yeah, but the Hope & Anchor was a pretty established venue (witness its placement in videos by Madness & the Stranglers).
― Alex in NYC, Tuesday, 4 September 2007 11:29 (eighteen years ago)
I know the Hope was one of the clubs that supported that era of British artists, but Hitchcock was an habitué, recording there multiple times, doing fundraisers to keep it open, etc.
It may just be a touch of color or could mean more. It seems somewhat strange to me to put specifics that can be related to him personally in a general dis; why not use a non-specific "I" (like he does in "The President") instead of linking "the singer" to himself in this way?
Of course, it could just be a case of overanalyzing a songwriter who is rarely as straightforward as he is here. No fish, frogs, cones, wands or fluids to be found.
― EZ Snappin, Tuesday, 4 September 2007 13:08 (eighteen years ago)
Between the Stones and heroin references, I'm thinking Nikki Sudden.
― mike a, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 03:11 (eighteen years ago)
i love love love this song.
― toby, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 03:29 (eighteen years ago)