Artists Condensed: Robyn Hitchcock (the solo work) Part One

By msarko on 4/14/09 7:09pm
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Art is the vocation of weird people. For thousands of years, society has permitted those touched with an inspired sense of oddness to exorcise whatever topsy-turvy thoughts and feelings they've had in ways that may bring pleasure to the decidedly square majority. In exchange, the weirdos agree to live on the fringes and announce themselves whenever they visit the vast cloister of normality. Since the late 1970's, the captain of the good ship Goofy Surreal has been a Brit named Robyn Rowan Hitchcock. From The Soft Boys and beyond, Hitchcock has gone between deceptively deep solo albums and fulfilling collaborations, to experimental film projects and even a little philanthropy. This week, we'll be taking a look at the solo stuff, then we'll return some other time (maybe next week, maybe not) to the myriad bands in Hitchcock's career.

Here's Robyn performing with his band The Egyptians, though it's one of the songs off his first solo album Black Snake Diamond Role. There's a marked difference between Hitchcock's early solo work and his later stuff. The first two albums were especially rock-centered, though they still carried his characteristically idiosyncratic lyrics and not-too-serious tone.

This is probably my favorite old-style Robyn Hitchcock song. Also off Black Snake it's a depressingly overlooked post-punk classic. In that regard, it indicates just what's so damn interesting about Hitchcock's style. No matter what genre he's playing, it always has that unique flavor that makes it so much more endearing than it would be without him.

It's fun to travel with Hitchcock through his influences. A troubadour of the highest order, this track could have appeared on the first Sun Records tours with Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, even though it actually comes from Hitchcock's most recent solo album, Eye, from 1990.

And maybe my favorite Hitchcock lyric: "Satellites and stags. I'm growing Betsy in a bag, but she don't mind, as long as things are round." Seriously, they ought to teach this guy in poetry classes all over the Anglophone world.

There's only one guy who could sing this song. It's just the right combination of weird, abrasive and funny. There are actually a few versions of this song, depending on what release you're listening to. Some have clearer lyrics, but I prefer the more tongue-in-cheek variety where Robyn garbles all the right parts.

Robyn Hitchcock is a fun performer but he's far from a novelty act. For more than three decades he's been avoiding cliche and sticking to what he loves. His lack of big-time commercial success is almost a given, as is the inevitability of his much-deserved cult. There are plenty of artists whose work I love, but Robyn Hitchcock is one of the few whose music makes me hope that his life makes him genuinely happy. I'll be back later this week to delve into the softer side of the original Soft Boy. Until then, listen well.