Fegmaniax Digest Volume 3 Number 14 Today's Topics: ------- ------ A Tale of Two Cynthias Beatles covers Cynthia rumors My Favorite Buildings My Favourite Buildings READ THIS BEFORE READING FEGMANIAX! Robyn UK show; Invisible Terrascope Hangman etc Rout of the Clones?!?! was Robyn UK show Soft Boys box Standing in the presence of giants beatle covers fun in the shower midnight fish (fwd) [][][][][][][][][][] From: daramsey@vaxsar.vassar.edu Date: 08 Feb 1995 15:55:11 -0300 Subject: Soft Boys box To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu I was just sitting here looking at my Soft Boys comp. from Ryko, and the cover painting has been perplexing me...first of all, I assume that the pumpkin-head people are supposed to be the band...however, why is one of them (actually a non-pumpkin head, more like a honeydew-melon-head) wearing a dress? And why is one of the people set far back from the four people in the foreground? The person in the background is sitting on a throne...why? Anybody got any thoughts? Do you think Robyn actually has a specific meaning for this painting, or do you think it's just something he thought was kind of cool (which it is). daveR. _______________________________________________________________________ | | | "I promised only that you would see some sign of Unicorns, and so | | you have...As for you and your heart and the things you | | said and didn't say, she will remember them all when | | men are fairy tales in books written by rabbits..." | | | | | | -The Last Unicorn | |______________________________________________________________________| *** Another 100% natural S.M.I.L.B.U. production *** [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 17:03:42 -0500 From: father bungholio To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: READ THIS BEFORE READING FEGMANIAX! hey fegs, forst, due to some level of stupidity on my part which i don't understand, i managed to delete all of today's fegmaniax mail. this is a problem since it makes it difficult to make up the digest. if anyone has not deleted or save today's (7 february) fegmaniax mail, please forward it to me. thanks! second, i am no longer going to spain tonight. i was stricken with the flu yesterday evening and am not up to international travel anymore. so, this means that the digest will remain timely, barring any further stupidity. the deadline for questions for the virtual interview remains this coming weekend. i'll probably also get to all the a&m covers dubs this week as well since i don't anticipate being in the office much the rest of the week. woj [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 07 Feb 1995 15:28:29 -0600 (CST) From: JAY LYALL Subject: fun in the shower To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Perhaps its "So I can Lufa myself in the shower" jay [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 07 Feb 1995 10:10:15 -0600 (CST) From: JAY LYALL Subject: beatle covers To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu But if ya had to do a George song I think _Piggies_ would be kinda cool...though I gotta tell ya despite the number of cover-compos, I think that Robyn doing Disney classics would be a hoot...one of my favs is the Replacements doing Cruella DeVille on the Stay Awake cd...or how aboout doing some sort of Swingle Singers scat? %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Jay Lyall "Capy Toad Blast" "I'd never belong to a club that hist1a@jetson.uh.edu would have me as a member." --Groucho Marx "Some things come in, Some things come out, "We'll inherit the Earth, And next time round But we don't want it." I'll be a trout." --Replacements --Robyn Hitchcock %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% [][][][][][][][][][] From: mikester@bix.com Date: Tue, 07 Feb 1995 18:48:11 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Beatles covers To: kenster@MIT.EDU Cc: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu >come on. "while my guitar gently weeps" is an oftplayed standard and >"taxman" is covered quite frequently as well. Um... it was a joke. I believe I did put a smily there. ---Mike ----------------------- "People ask me why I'm obsessed with fish, but it's not true. They're just there." ---Robyn Hitchcock, 3/25/88 ----------------------- [][][][][][][][][][] From: shmh@netcom.com (Marge Holland) Subject: midnight fish (fwd) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 16:57:08 -0800 (PST) In response to: > > while i'm writing i might as well ask-- does anyone know what musicians, > authors etc. that robyn is fond of? > I know that RH is a fan of Nick Lowe. In one boot I have RH tells everyone to go out and buy the new Nick Lowe CD Party of One. He also often mentions classic celebs in his banter - Mick Jagger, David Bowie, David Byrne. In one version of Listening to the Higsons I have, the whole song is an ad lib comparing celelbs at the end. "Brian Ferry is soft and sensitive, you can use him to clean your bathroom. Mick Jagger is harsh and brutal, you can use him to clean your toilet. You can't use me for anything, cause I'm too god damn slippery. Thank God." Anyone have a version of Zip Zip, I've never heard of this one before... So long, Marge [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 20:15:44 -0500 From: dhouston@bio.ri.ccf.org (Dale Houston) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu, shmh@netcom.com Subject: Re: midnight fish (fwd) > I know that RH is a fan of Nick Lowe. In one boot I have RH tells > everyone to go out and buy the new Nick Lowe CD Party of One. Not to mention the "new Nick Lowe cassette" that Clean Steve has. Or had. Funny you should mention this, I'm going to see Nick Lowe in just a couple o' minutes. dale [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 17:22:55 -0800 From: camus@netcom.com (Julian Stewart) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: My Favourite Buildings > What is 'My Favorite Buildings' doing on ...Trains? Still is on "Invisible Hitchcock" (will be on the re-issue as well)....but it was put as a bonus track on the first CD re-issue of "Trains"....I believe it is a different version.... -julian- [][][][][][][][][][] From: JCWaits@aol.com Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 00:04:35 -0500 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Cynthia rumors >If it's any consolation, she's history now, from what I've heard >from this group. I got a sadistic chuckle imagining his last sentence to >her was "Snub MY fans, will you?" : ) So I'll add fuel to the rumors...I just re-discovered a Ray Gun story (sometime in 94) about cats...Robyn is quoted at length about his girlfriend Michelle's cat...Does anyone know who Michelle is? [][][][][][][][][][] From: mikester@BIX.com Date: Tue, 07 Feb 1995 21:49:24 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: My Favorite Buildings To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu >What is 'My Favorite Buildings' doing on ...Trains? It's a different version than the Invisable Hitchcock one. ---Mike ----------------------- "People ask me why I'm obsessed with fish, but it's not true. They're just there." ---Robyn Hitchcock, 3/25/88 ----------------------- [][][][][][][][][][] From: Anna Wilson Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 09:00:49 +0000 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Beatles covers Or maybe Blue Jay Way? [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 8 Feb 95 12:45:09 GMT From: jturner@rpms.ac.uk (Jonathan Turner) To: Fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Robyn UK show; Invisible Terrascope Hangman etc Cc: jturner@rpms.ac.uk Robyn plays a show in London England, on Thursday 2nd March, at Dingwalls in Camden. Special guest is Martin Carthy, who has a couple of Robyn links, apart from being wonderful in his own right. Carthy co-wrote one of the songs that the Soft Boys borrowed for 'Live At The Portland Arms' (Horns Large Horns, I think), and has also played and recorded many times since the mid-sixties with Dave Swarbrick, who co-wrote 'Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman' with Richard Thompson. Tenuous links, I know. If anyone is going to the London show, we could meet for a beer before/after/during etc etc. I think the 'Poor Will' question has already been answered, but in case anyone missed it: The song was recorded for the Fairport Convention album 'Full House' but left off it because Richard Thompson didn't think it fitted in. He then left the band, and the song appeared a few years later on the RT '(guitar, vocal)' compilation, possibly with rerecorded vocals. The Soft Boys version has just appeared as a studio track at the end of the 'Rout of the Clones' Live 1978 CD boot, though it doesn't list its recording date. My last message to the list seemed to have got lost, so here goes, with apologies if you've seen it before: Ptolemaic Terrascope: I need to renew my subscription, so when I get around to it, I'll ask for permission to type in the Soft Boys article for the list. Maybe they'll have a soft-copy I can have. I believe the article also notes that the Soft Boys used to cover Fairport Convention's 'Mr Lacey', as well as the other Fairport/Thompson songs already noted. Invisible History: someone asked for a track-list, so here it is. Most of the stuff has been out on b-sides, promos, flexis etc. ROBYN HITCHCOCK: "Invisible History" A Bizarre Collection of Antiques and Curios SPQR01CD, 1994 Astronomy Domine (Syd Barrett) Outlaw Blues (Bob Dylan) Postman's Knock (Trad., arr. Hitchcock) Look Into Your Mirror Smoothie Innocent Boy (Hitchcock/Mayers) The Man Who Invented Himself Nightride To Trinidad Kingdom Of Love Listening To The Higsons Dr Sticky Surgery Calvary Cross (Richard Thompson) Legalized Murder Ruling Class More Than This (Bryan Ferry) The Ghost In You (Butler/Butler) Birdshead Fairplay (Van Morrison) Linden Arden Stole The Highlights (Van Morrison) Jonathan. With apologies for a lengthy ramble. [][][][][][][][][][] From: mad5c@server.cs.virginia.edu Subject: A Tale of Two Cynthias To: Hitchcock Fan-List Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 08:55:21 -0500 (EST) I think everybody knows that there were two Cynthias, and that one of them served as muse for Eye. Also, one of them was a student here at UVa. Not sure if it was the same one. And that's really all I know about the Cynthias. On a similar note, does anyone know if the Rosalind who was the girlfriend of note during BSDR is the same as the one who's credited with the cover photo on ...Trains? And does anyone know anything about Robyn's Georgetown brownstone? Mike. --- Michael DeLong - UVa Department of Computer Science - mike@virginia.edu --- Are you sure you really want to do this? [ny] [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 10:21:44 -0500 (EST) From: "Clinton W. Golden" To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Rout of the Clones?!?! was Re: Robyn UK show Cc: jturner@rpms.ac.uk >Soft Boys version has just appeared as a studio track at the end of the >'Rout of the Clones' Live 1978 CD boot, though it doesn't list its >recording date. Does anyone have any info on this little CD treasure? A track listing? Or - if anyone has access to copies (in the U.S.)- PLEASE let me know! thanks clint [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 10:50:36 -0500 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu From: jojones@mailbox.syr.edu (John B. Jones) Subject: Standing in the presence of giants I really feel for all you people who have told stories of being snubbed after waiting hours at a show, or being too nervous to say anything substantial (or even coherent). NOW I understand it, but back then I did not. My first tangle with Robyn (via the music) was summer of 1989, when a friend dubbed a copy of Queen Elvis for me. I must admit, I was really impressed. The album had a nice mixture of absurdity and emotion (and some songs, Autumn Sea, had both!). I had no idea of their (Robyn & Egyptians) background or backcatalogue and neither did my friend--he had been given the tape by another friend. The next year, my friend purchased EYE and raved about it, told me I had to buy it. My local record store had a copy used for about 6 bucks, but I wasn't interested. I had bad previous experiences with buying solo albums from artists who were in bands that I liked, so I passed. (in retrospect: WHAT WAS I THINKING?) Now on to the BIG screwup: It is now the summer of 1990, and this same friend hears that Robyn Hitchcock is coming to our town (Salt Lake City)-to the Bar & Grill. The Bar & Grill is a TINY bar (capacity-100 or so) that showcases up and coming bands and artists. People who are TRYING to make it happen in the music world. He calls me up and tells me about it and we decide to go. Tickets were 5 dollars. Night of the show: I debate whether or not to bring my cheapie handheld tape recorder to document the show. This was the year I had started to feel bad about going to gigs and bringing home nothing afterwards but memories (which faded soon after) and so I started bringing this handheld to shows. In the end, I decided not to. At the show: We get there in time for the opening act, which sucked, so we went onto the back patio, where they have tables and chairs etc set up for lounging. There on the patio were Robyn and Cynthia, selling T-shirts and talking to a small group of people. Alot of these people were in the same boat I was: not knowing that this gentleman standing before us was deity, thinking he was just some other songwriter from the UK trying to get American exposure. Example: Robyn says to everyone--"I'm gonna make up the setlist right now. Does anyone have any requests?" and a guy responded "Yeah...can you play anything by Morrissey?" Ooooooh, you should've seen the look on Robyn's face. I didn't know what it meant then, but months later I knew very well. He grimaced, and said something about knowing how to play (and liking) "Late Night, Maudlin Street", but that he was going to play only originals tonight. A third friend had come with us that night and for some reason had brought something called "PUFF PAINTS"--paint for fabric that sticks out a bit. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, he bought a shirt, and asked Robyn if he would sign his name on it with the puff paints. "Puff paints?" Robyn asked, curiously. My friend took them out and showed them to Robyn, whose face got this "WOW, that's pretty neat." look on it and proceeded to draw a picture on the back of the T-shirt with them. Butch (my pal) and I just looked at each other, thinking "hey, this guy is pretty cool! He can sing AND draw!" We talked quite a bit to Cynthia, who was very nice. There were some suitcases on the bench where we were sitting, and the baggage ID tag had Robyn's name on it, and an address. We were sneakily copying down the address so we could write to Robyn or something later, when Cynthia saw what we were doing and said, "He'll get mad if you write to him there--here, I'll give you another address where you can write to him at." (And two years later, when I was getting married, I sent an invitation to that address, though as you can guess I never got an RSVP or even a response.) None of this was a huge deal to me. I thought the guy was cool, I liked Queen Elvis, and that was it. I wasn't too nervous when we talked to Robyn (Butch had to ask him about Napoleon and chicken and the correlation to the two). Then the show started. I remember some songs: Madonna of the Wasps, Raining Twilight Coast, Linctus House, Wey Wey Hep Uh Hole, My Wife & My Dead Wife. I remember a story about a flying pickle that runs out of fuel in the desert. After about an hour I started to get bored--it was just a guy and a guitar and all the songs started to sound the same. I had brought my own car and so I ended up saying goodbye to my friends and LEAVING EARLY. I can see you shaking your heads, and I understand. I was so young, so new, so naive. I had no idea. No clue. A week later, things changed. I bought that used copy of EYE from the local CD shop, and played it into the ground. It had a big impact on me. One of those life-affecting albums. Within 2 weeks I had purchased Queen Elvis and Globe of Frogs on CD. Then one night with nothing to do, I got out the MUSIC BIBLE (translation: Trouser Press Record Guide) and looked up Robyn. I was amazed as I read Robyn's history. He had fronted an important influential band called the Soft Boys? One of their albums (Underwater Moonlight) was praised as one of the essential albums of the 80's? He had released 7 albums after the Soft Boys? So much I never knew! I began to feel stupid and embarrassed for my naivete. Butch and I made a road trip to San Fran that summer to go to a wedding and while there, we found I Often Dream of Trains on CD at Reckless Records on Haight St. Only one copy, so we agreed to each put in half the money and trade it back and forth. We taped it and listened to it for the whole rest of the trip. It had as much of an impact for me (if not more) than EYE. I felt like they were meant to be similiar anyway, with the covers both being green and all. There is a bit more to the story, and then an offer, but I've written enough (too much) so I will continue later this week. John B. Jones jojones@mailbox.syr.edu "The air from bottles forms into The skeletons of all the crew...." -Robyn [][][][][][][][] End of this Fegmaniax Digest. Archives can be found on fegmania.wustl.edu:/fegmaniax and ftp.uwp.edu:/pub/music/lists/fegmaniax. For administrative questions, subscription requests, and all that boring crud, send mail to fegmaniax-digest-request@nsmx.rutgers.edu. Slipping you the midnight fish...