The Press-Enterprise
July 30, 1999
Without a Hitch
by Cathy Maestri, The Press-Enterprise
Part Syd Barrett and part Monty Python, too weird to be a folksinger and too existential to be a rocker, Robyn Hitchcock seems content with being Robyn Hitchcock. "I've never fitted in, that's my niche," he said from his home in London. "I'm a star for people who don't like stars. If I would become wildly popular, my fans would hate me."
A quirky cult figure ever since his Soft Boys days in the early-'80s, his new Jewels For Sophia ranges from lush, hushed Pop ("I Feel Beautiful") to Psychedelia ("Antwoman") and outright silliness ("The Cheese Alarm" and a hidden track about actor Gene Hackman).
"The plan was to have fun making the record," which wound up being recorded with different bands in different cities. Hitchcock used "the Largo gang" of Jon Brion and Grant-Lee Phillips, with Ethan Johns, recording in L.A.; former Soft Boy and Katrina And The Waves guitarist Kimberley Rew and members of The High Llamas in London; and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck with Young Fresh Fellows Scott McCaughey, Kurt Bloch, and Tad Hutchison in Seattle. "All the songs were first or second takes," Hitchcock said.
"The whole picture will only be revealed with the outtakes," a disc that will be available at shows and via the Internet.
"My solo records were fun, but quite subdued, in a way," he said.
After disbanding The Soft Boys, Hitchcock made inroads on American college radio in the mid-'80s with the moody, spare "Raymond Chandler Evening" and again with a goofy pop tidbit, "Balloon Man".
The official first single from the critically received Sophia is the reflective "I Feel Beautiful", but radio stations are already going for the jaunty electric-Dylan "Viva Sea-Tac", a catchy ode to the Pacific Northwest, from its musicians to the industrial complex. "Viva Seattle Tacoma, viva viva Sea-Tac/They've got the best computers and coffee and smack", he declares.
Hitchcock's heady references and absurdist lyrical collages can distract listeners from weightier numbers, or intimidate those who fear "he's a professor in drag -- he's trying to educate us or something," Hitchcock noted. Others read too much into his words.
"You're not really meant to sit there with a codebook," he said.
There is a certain profoundness to the opening line of "Antwoman" -- "Being just contaminates the void". But "The Cheese Alarm" deals with little more than varieties of the popular comestible.
"I like words and tunes. I'm a traditionalist, really," Hitchcock said.
"To me, music is emotional, and you should be able to evoke all the emotions."
He's touring with Sebadoh and The Flaming Lips (they'll equip the audience with headsets for FM-enhanced audio) on what's been dubbed "The 1999 International Music Against Brain Degeneration Revue".
"I expect that means none of us will be drinking," quipped Hitchcock, who will be joined by guitarist Tim Keegan for the West Coast dates.
Hitchcock performances are fascinating combinations of music and his eccentric observations, while fans may plead for him to do gems such as "My Wife And My Dead Wife" or "The Man With The Lightbulb Head".
Director Jonathan Demme, who chronicled a Talking Heads set in the landmark Stop Making Sense, went so far as to put Hitchcock into a shop window for Storefront Hitchcock. The film's American screenings have been few and far between, though a home-video release is in the works; Hitchcock is among the first to admit it isn't exactly a movie for the masses. "It might as well have subtitles," he said. "You know a lot of people aren't going to get it."
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