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When I was in college and starving, I traded a Robyn
Hitchcock “Queen Elvis” CD for a cheeseburger. Safe was I in
the idea that I could always buy it again at a later time.
The release later went out of print, and I haven’t been able
to find it used since. It’s become one of those albums that
fans don’t part with easily.
Over the last 20 years, when he wasn’t being mistaken by
American audiences for Nick Lowe, Robyn Hitchcock was
hosting "MTV’s 120 Minutes," performing on the Letterman
show and steadily building up a cult following. Hitchcock
was a direct beneficiary of the early days of “college
radio,” which showcased smarter artists playing songs with
jangly guitars and clever lyrics which contested the stupid
crotch rock and Madonna pop of the late ‘80s. Hitchcock’s
songs have had a propensity for the surreal, showcasing
lyrics about lightbulb heads and exploding balloon men. But
his 2003 release “Luxor” is a collection of sweet, simple
acoustic love songs that mesh well with late dusk and a
bottle of wine. Speaking over the phone from London, he
chatted with me about his latest work, his bit part in “The
Manchurian Candidate” and Seattle as a second home.
He has a deep, almost guttural voice which sharply
contrasts with his tenor singing voice. He said he’s played
Bumbershoot many times and is anxious to visit Seattle
again. “It’s always been good. I’ve spent a lot of time in
Seattle on and off. It’s sort of like a second home. If you
go to an album I did about five years ago called ‘Jewels for
Sophia,’ there’s a song called ‘Viva! Sea-Tac’ on it.” His
bit part in the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate" is his
first acting endeavor, and was offered by director and
friend Jonathan Demme, who directed the live "Storefront
Hitchcock" concert film in 1998. “I play a small part as a
double-agent,” he described. “I had to mislead Denzel
Washington in the desert during the Gulf War. That’s my main
thing. I turn up right at the beginning of the movie in a
jeep and then whenever he has a kind of unpleasant
flashback, then later I appear.”
His long music career as a solo artist and fronting the
Soft Boys in the ‘80s has produced over two dozen titles.
Hitchcock's website at robynhitchcock.com, or “The Museum of
Robyn Hitchcock,” is just what the title infers. The layout
looks like a museum floor plan where one can go into
galleries and view his paintings, posters, sketches and
photos. When asked what drives this creative energy, his
answer was rather diplomatic. “Well, if you have an official
job, sooner or later they replace you with someone better.
But even then, the main thing is you have to like what you
do to carry on. And I must like it. But this applies to most
people. I don’t want to be doing this when I’m 90.”
Hitchcock sounded confused when it was suggested that his
most recent release, “Luxor,” seemed like a concept album
departure from past releases. He asked, “You mean the way
it’s played?” Without asking him to explain just what the
heck “The Man with the Lightbulb Head” or “Madonna of the
Wasps” are about, I simply stated that the latest release is
mostly simple, acoustic love songs. “Is that a good thing or
a bad thing?” he chuckled. Then Hitchcock continued, “Well,
they’re not all particularly happy, upbeat love songs.
There’s some morose stuff on there, I think. They’re just a
collection of songs that I had at the time and I put them
out. They’d all been written and recorded in the 1990s. But
I liked how they worked. I think the nice thing about
“Luxor” is it wasn’t really prepared as a record so much.
What you’ve got is the essential songs. They’re not
overdressed.”
The follow-up to “Luxor” is scheduled for October
release, and was produced by the Americana team of David
Rawlings and Gillian Welch, who were involved in the
production of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” “Gillian and her
partner David, their music doesn’t really come from a
specific time. All of the songs sound like ‘traditional
songs,’ but they’re not. They just do it in two voices and
it sounds like the Everly [Brothers]. But they’re actually a
generation younger than I am. They’ve just got a feel for
the oldness in America which I think is bulldozed too
often.” When asked to elaborate about this, he continued,
“Not so much pop trends, but ‘Americana,’ from the ‘20s to
the ‘50s. Even with buildings. America has a tendency to
erase its history and start anew, which I think is
unfortunate.”
The question then rose about whether or not he’s tried to
follow trends in pop music. “Oh no, it wouldn’t work. People
would smell it. If you go with a trend, you’ve got to be one
of the people who are making that trend. Like in the
beginning how the Beatles sort of reflected trends by
creating them. David Bowie also. You have to be right at the
front of that sort of thing or I think you’d better stick to
doing what you’re doing.” And then Hitchcock punctuated his
point on trends returning by adding, “Even a stopped clock
gives the right time twice a day.” When asked if he’s
concerned about aging gracefully, Hitchcock answered, “Well,
yes, exactly. You don’t want to be having all these ideas,
thinking ‘I’m too old for that.’”
The conversation turned to some small talk. He said his
musical guilty pleasure is “silly soul music” like Hues
Corporation’s “Rock the Boat” and “The Hustle” by Van McCoy.
When asked what makes him worry, Hitchcock laughed and said,
“Well, I have a propensity to worry anyway. So, if nothing’s
happening, I’ll probably find something.” So finally, I
asked him if he’s concerned about his pop music legacy. “I
don’t think anyone’s really going to be remembered for
that,” he chuckled some more. “Your legacy, really, is when
people know it’s from you or not. We all have a legacy of
how we’re remembered for our actions. I’d hopefully
influenced peoples’ attitudes.”
If he’s taking requests at Bumbershoot, be sure to scream
out for “Everyone Knows that W Sucks, But Rumsfeld’s the
Antichrist,” which he sings at the end of shows. Hitchcock
said, “It doesn’t have many more words than that.”
Robyn Hitchcock performs at Bumbershoot Saturday,
September 4 at McCaw Hall. The show begins at 8pm with
openers Pedro the Lion.
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