Flagpole
August 14, 1991
Bard But Not Bored
by Hilary Monster
Robyn Hitchcock is an anomaly in Pop music. Critics are quick to place him in the category of insane/yet sane performer with the likes of Syd Barrett (though Syd lost it years ago). Robyn did once go on about his irresistable dog Buggo during an interview. Well, Buggo aside, Mr. Hitchcock is looking forward to tackling the new incarnation of the 40 Watt Saturday night.
His new album, Perspex Island, explores -- this time -- love in a more positive manner than his last endeavors. "Perspex" is what plexiglass is called in The States. Perspex is also a substance used in fighter cockpits during World War II, and what paperweights in England with little seahorse or other items lodged inside are made of. The album features The Egyptians -- Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor, who also shared with Hitchcock the creation of The Soft Boys in the late-'70s. Peter Buck had some producing duties on Perspex Island, and plays on eight of the eleven cuts. Michael Stipe adds vocals on "She Doesn't Exist". So, while the UPS man knocked on the front door with Robyn's new release on A&M records, the phone rang upstairs....
Are you any relation to Michael Monster?
No, and a lot of people ask me that. Maybe through some fifth, sixth cousin ten times removed.... I don't think so....
Oh, right. Well, so much for that. I'm not related to Alfred Hitchcock, either.
So, are you just coming down here to play for us lucky folks in Athens?
Well, my daughter and I are just coming down for the weekend. I thought it would be... [unreadable] ...been there for a while so we're staying with the Bucks. Mrs. Buck said I could play at the 40 Watt so I thought that would be a company affair. We're staying with my fiance's family up in Maryland right now.
How old is your daugher?
Fifteen.
Then she should enjoy it here.
I think so. She'll probably just want to go through Wuxtry and all that. You know, all those Skinny Puppy 12-inches.
That's what she likes?
That kind of thing.
It seems every generation has their own music, so it's interesting when somebody who plays Rock 'n' Roll or is into Pop music, to know what their kids are listening to.
Well, it may be the kind of thing I would listen to if I were alive today. Front 242, Ministry, that stuff.
I'd grab the earplugs.
She doesn't listen to it that loud. I guess some records sound loud even if you play them quietly. I guess.
Tell me about the new album.
It's really nice. It's a nice, easy-to-listen-to record. It's like the, sort of, anything you could lick the icing on...like a cake with self-regenerating sugar. It coats itself again.
Sounds pretty sweet.
No, it's not too sweet or anything. But it certainly isn't bitter. To actually listen to it, it's quite easy.
Easy Listening.
Hmmm...yeah, pretty much.
Eye was your last, though it was just you and your guitar.
Right. Well, this is pretty different. It's got me and it's not very orchestral. There's a bit of trumpet on it. Peter Buck is on a lot of it -- but you wouldn't know it. Michael Stipe is on one track.
Will we know it?
He doesn't glow in the dark or anything. You can sort of pick him up. Peter's on the single actually, as well. Peter, statistically, is on probably as much of it as anybody else. It's got Athens connections, but...come to think of it, we started in Athens. Yes we did. John Keane's, before Christmas. So it wasn't conceived in Athens, but we kind of went... [unreadable] ...in Athens, gave birth in California.
So it's got the whole country involved in it....
Well, no, it just kinda came oozing out over The Midwest in a great big sea of afterbirth all over southern California, last seen... [unreadable] ...the Pacific with a column of midwives choking on it. It was push and pull for the midwives. So, yeah, otherwise it's pretty easy.
Every time I walk into a record store there seems to be even more Robyn Hitchcock albums. Have you ever counted up how many you've done?
Yeah, this is the 15th. But it's 14 years.
Including the Soft Boys albums?
Including the Soft Boys albums. But what we tend to do is we record more than we release, and every few years we, sort of, scrape around for old stuff to release. There's always good stuff that doesn't come out.
I think you're definitely one of the most prolific writers.
Well, I'd like to...I should probably be more careful about what I write and work on it. But I really like starting new ones. It's the unwrapping a present: you never know what's in it. Like children unwrapping loads of gifts and they don't look closely at what they unwrapped. They just go, "Yeah, another gift." Then they unwrap it and discard it. I do the same with songs. I just forget to unwrap them.
You just write them all down and let them go at that without going back...
Yeah, yeah. I don't even water or feed them. They could probably be better-trained. A lot of them are a bit unkempt. They could probably do good with some spinal correction, if not major surgery.
Billy Bragg had a great... [unreadable] ...his new album and he said no matter how many albums I do I'll always be one behind Robyn Hitchcock.
Well, that's nice of him to say that. I'm sure I have put out more than him, but he's more careful about his songs. Mind you, R.E.M. are very prolific and they throw away a lot of stuff. They're always making stuff up, chucking it away (which I think is probably a good sign). They're actually about two albums ahead of themselves, and they've got loads of stuff lying around.
I like the cover songs they do as well. How about you? Have you done any obscure cover tunes recently?
Well sometimes I sing old Folk songs. Bryan Ferry songs. Always singing Bryan Ferry songs (just to myself, I mean).
Just to yourself? Nobody else hears them?
Yeah, I don't know. Onstage is different. I like them, they're okay. But they're really not what I've taken much trouble over.
You have a whole repertoire of music you sing in the shower?
Well, yeah. I've got my own show. And I don't know if people would think it's really worth coming to hear me singing Billy Bragg songs. It might be. Maybe if they didn't pay for it.
John Wesley Harding was running around the country singing Madonna songs on an acoustic guitar....
Was he? Well, he's really cute. He's a really cute boy, that John.
So, is the Athens show a special gig? Or are you going to tour the album at all?
Yes, but not until January or February. We're just doing the gig in Athens because we're just happening to be here.
We're so lucky.
I don't know if you are. It should be interesting! Hopefully Peter will come and play.
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