Fegmaniax Digest <==----------==> (Send posts to the list to fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu) (Send adminstrative requests to majordomo@nsmx.rutgers.edu) (Send comments, etc to the listowner at owner-fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu) <==----------==> Volume 3 Number 38 Today's Topics: ------- ------ The Young Ones "Mellow Together"/Young Ones CD Single revisited Covers, Sweet, "Higsons" Feg Digest Vol. 3 Num. 37 Live "Heaven" Live Death Sighting Live Death revisited Luther Paisley Poll so far Rhino Refer a Friend/Queen Elvis Rhino Robyn Sampler Robyn @ SXSW Robyn in the living room, my top ten Vyrna Knowl fast forward over easy sequel single [][][][][][][][][][] From: r.adams7@genie.geis.com Date: Sat, 18 Mar 95 04:35:00 UTC To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Feg Digest Vol. 3 Num. 37 Reply: Item #0272894 from fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu@INET#on 95/03/17 at 17:25 Well, I've got a copy of the MY WIFE AND MY DEAD WIFE CD single before me even as I type. It's a UK issue, on Sequel Records, catalog number CDSEQ2, and has a green-bordered cover with a nifty double-exposure shot of Robyn. It looks like his pupils are shining through his closed eyelids. The version of "My Wife and My Dead Wife" is taken from GOTTA LET THIS HEN OUT. The bonus tracks are "I Something You," "Zipper in My Spine," and "Man with a Woman's Shadow." "I Something You" lacks the studio talk intro from the K Records 7" version, but is otherwise identical. The other songs are exactly the same. The CD single appears to be a stock copy, until you look carefully at the inside of the insert, where it says "For Promotional Use Only -- Not For Sale." Supposedly Sequel _is_ issuing this as a stock item within a couple of weeks, according to my import distributor. Oh, yeah, there's a picture of Robyn on the inside of the insert which makes it painfully apparent that he's beginning to show his age. Sigh. . . . [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 00:25:33 -0500 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu From: wire@trystero.iii.net (Trystero...) Subject: Re: "Mellow Together"/Young Ones Richard E. Poole writes: >Actually, they were already rather old when MTV (i like eMpTyV, BTW) first ran >them. "The Young Ones" were made back in 1984 (or 1985?) and have been replay- >ed at various times in the States. I think they're more like 1982-3; I remember hearing about them when I was in the seventh grade (yeesh!) in the UK, which was 1983-84, and I have the distinct impression that I was one of the uncool people who'd missed them the first time 'round... > Anyway, as far as "Mellow >Together" goes, I have always thought of Neil (Nigel planer) as the inspiration >for that song as well. Even if we're wrong, it's pretty obvious that Robyn and >Nigel are both playing off an absurdly exaggerated hippie figure. Funnily enough, my first thought upon hearing this was "Billy Bragg." Just because that "I've-got-a-cold" sound is something I associate really strongly with him. Was BB even known in 1984? I don't recall... doug P.S. Just found the K single today... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Douglas .S. Bailey wire@trystero.iii.net 217 Park Avenue #111 Worcester MA 01609-2243 http://www.iii.net/users/wire/wire.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][] From: mikester@bix.com Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 08:20:49 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Covers, Sweet, "Higsons" To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu >It's probably the only possible song they >could have added to IH to make me upgrade from the old CD, >which I don't much care for. Oh well. Actually, I like the first half of it. But you're right about "Higsons" being complete motivation for buying the CD. ---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: mikester@bix.com Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 08:20:53 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Poll so far To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Are the songs on the K single qualified since it seems that many of us still haven't heard them? ---Mike ----------------------- "People ask me why I'm obsessed with fish, but it's not true. They're just there." ---Robyn Hitchcock, 3/25/88 ----------------------- [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 09:56:08 -0600 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu From: kcongdon@siu.edu (Kurt Congdon) Subject: Live Death Sighting Howdy, sorry if this has been covered allready, I'm just now catching up on my backlog of unread mail. I just purchased a copy of Live Death about 2 weeks ago for $35 from a place called EarWax. I suspect they have more if anybody still is looking for a copy. Unfortunately I don't have their number handy (I'm moving and everything is boxed up). They specialize in promo items and usually you can find an ad in Goldmine for them, that's where I found out about them way back. I'll keep looking for my catalog but I can't guarantee I'll find it anytime soon. In the mean time if anyone has a goldmine, perhaps they can post the phone number. By the way, I'm not associated in any way with EarWax. I have ordered from them twice and they have given me great service each time. Hope this helps, Kurt /****** * Kurt Congdon * 1200 East Grand Ave Apt 14-3A * Carbondale, Illinois 62901 * (618) 549-4302 Home * (618) 453-6270 Faner Hall ******/ [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 13:14:31 -0500 From: something shakespeare never To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: sequel single r.adams7@genie.geis.com sez: >Well, I've got a copy of the MY WIFE AND MY DEAD WIFE CD single before me even >as I type. as do i - thanks to susan and jonathan for searching out a copy for me! >The bonus tracks are "I Something You," "Zipper in My Spine," and "Man with a >Woman's Shadow." i'd heard the first song live before. "zipper in my spine" is pretty nifty - sounds like the guitar amp is on the verge of exploding. i can see why people think this might be better with a band, but i like it well enough as is. "man with a woman's shadow" is nice and bluesy - it sounds like it was written during the downtime between the soft boys and the egyptians from which so many of the songs from _invisible hitchcock_ were drawn. >Oh, yeah, there's a picture of Robyn on the inside of the insert which makes >it painfully apparent that he's beginning to show his age. Sigh. . . . it's mr. puffy face! woj [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 19:17:26 -0600 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu From: kcongdon@siu.edu (Kurt Congdon) Subject: Live Death revisited Hello, I found the number for Earwax, a store in San Fran that last I knew, 2 weeks ago or so, had sealed copies of Live Death for $35. The number is 1-415-826-2765. Give them a call, they seem very very nice. I've ordered from them on two occasions with no problems. Kurt /****** * Kurt Congdon * 1200 East Grand Ave Apt 14-3A * Carbondale, Illinois 62901 * (618) 549-4302 Home * (618) 453-6270 Faner Hall ******/ [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 00:45:33 -0500 (EST) From: Peter Bebergal Subject: Re: Live Death revisited To: Kurt Congdon Cc: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Hello Fegs, I hate to sound "not-with-it," but what is Live Death, and is it something I want? By the way, for anyone interested, King Crimson June 2 at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. Fripp and Belew, as well as the others. It's amazing to think how much noise these guys can make. Also, The live version of "Heaven" on the re-release of Fegmania is one of the most exquisite songs I have ever heard. Peter On Sat, 18 Mar 1995, Kurt Congdon wrote: > Hello, I found the number for Earwax, a store in San Fran that last I knew, > 2 weeks ago or so, had sealed copies of Live Death for $35. The number is > 1-415-826-2765. Give them a call, they seem very very nice. I've ordered > from them on two occasions with no problems. > > Kurt > /****** > * Kurt Congdon > * 1200 East Grand Ave Apt 14-3A > * Carbondale, Illinois 62901 > * (618) 549-4302 Home > * (618) 453-6270 Faner Hall > ******/ > > [][][][][][][][][][] From: "David C. Olstein" Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 02:19:08 -0500 To: Subject: Rhino Refer a Friend/Queen Elvis If anybody wants to get a Robyn Hitchcock sampler tape, just send me your address. I've a few of the "Rhino Refer a Friend" form to send in. Also, does anybody know where I can find a Queen Elvis CD? [][][][][][][][][][] From: Pontneuf@aol.com Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 19:25:00 -0500 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Cc: bebergal@husc.harvard.edu Subject: Live "Heaven" On March 19, Peter Bebergal wrote: >Also, The live version of "Heaven" on the re-release of Fegmania is one of the most exquisite songs I have ever heard.< Couldn't agree more. The inclusion of this version of the song, from the 1992 quasi-acoustic tour, was suggested by fans and Robyn honored the request! Note that there is no date given in the liner notes for the track's origin (as it would fall toward the end of his A&M contract). I was bummed when Live Death came out and "Heaven" wasn't included. But here it is! Request of east coast fegs: Set lists, set lists, set lists! Please post reviews, comments, etc. Enquiring minds and absent souls want to know. Robyn mentioned that he may return to the west coast again in the spring (but that was in October so who knows at this point?), so until then, you're our only hope. Enjoy the shows. it's all compulsion/there is no choice, - jonathan [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 15:13:48 +1200 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James) Subject: Robyn in the living room, my top ten From: "Richard E. Poole" Subject: The Young Ones >Too bad Robyn was never a "musical guest" in the YO living room. He would have >fit in so well with the manic absurdity of the show, and they had other bands >(Madness, The Damned, Motorhead etc) of the same general level of fame, so why >not? Nice thought, but according to my references, Madness had 15 top ten hits in Britain from 1979-1984, including one number one. Both Motorhead and The Damned have also had top 10 hits (though not nearly as many as Madness). Sadly, to the best of my knowledge, Robyn's never got on the charts in Britain... --- >I'd like to suggest putting this off until the next round of CDs (particularly >Oblivion) are released. one problem... here in NZ, we're STILL waiting for the first three! :((((( >From my alarmingly limited Robyn collection (and excluding the Soft Boys): 1st (10 pts) - Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom 2nd - She Doesn't Exist 3rd - I Often Dream of Trains 4th - Heaven 5th - Another Bubble 6th - Airscape 7th - Ride 8th - Oceanside 9th - When I was Dead 10th equal - Veins of the Queen, Flesh Number One Mind you, these change from day to day... James James Dignan, Department of Psychology, University of Otago. Ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk St., St. Clair, Dunedin, New Zealand pixelphone james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz / steam megaphone NZ 03-455-7807 * You talk to me as if from a distance * and I reply with impressions chosen from another time, time, time, * from another time (Brian Eno) [][][][][][][][][][] From: BLATZMAN@aol.com Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 22:45:31 -0500 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Rhino Robyn Sampler Hello everyone! I just picked up the new Robyn "Sampler" on Rhino cause I liked the artwork. I was wondering if anyone else picked this up. My copy came without a cover, and I was wondering if it was supposed to have one! Also, Jazz Butcher has a new single out, and a new album called Illuminate!!!! Things really are looking better! [][][][][][][][][][] From: seven@cs.utwente.nl (Susan Even) Subject: fast forward To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu (pleasure of the aching void) Date: Mon, 20 Mar 95 9:48:47 GMT Dag kantines! I've come across something to confirm what Sabastian inquired about several weeks ago: MTVText 458 Sat 18 Mar Festivals, pagina 9/12 FAST FORWARD IN NIJMEGEN Evenals vorig jaar organiseert Brinkman Records in Doornroosje te Nijmegen het tweedaagse Fast Forward Festival met zogenaamde lo-fi muziek. Vrijdag 21 april spelen Doo Rag, Robin Hitchcock, John S. Hall & Kramer, Two Dollar Guitar, Simon Joyner, Fur Tips, Electric Hannes, Gitbox! en Azalia Snail. Zaterdag 22 april zijn er optredens van Wreckless Eric, Chris Knox, Virginia Dare, Mountain Goats, John Davis, Cake Kitchen, Jad Fair, Bill Direen en Use Of Ashes. Tijdens het festival verschijnt ook de tweede Fast Forward compilatie-cd. ---------- Of course, it might not be a typo... Smiles, Susan [][][][][][][][][][] From: seven@cs.utwente.nl (Susan Even) Subject: Luther Paisley To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu (pleasure of the aching void) Date: Mon, 20 Mar 95 14:11:59 GMT ----------- MATTER January/February 1985 (courtesy of Aidan Merritt, the kind-hearted editor of Positive Vibrations) INSIDE THE PAISLEY MIND Angela Carlson and Jim Walsh pick Robyn Hitchcock's brain ``I've decided that the whole record business assumes that any record released must have a haircut, a pose, or an image to go with it to be successful. And then lyrically you're often preaching to the converted. I can't see any point in continuing. I can't be bothered. Now any music that I do I just want to keep to myself. `Eaten By Her Own Lunch' is my way of saying goodbye. But watch out for Luther Paisley.'' ---Robyn Hitchcock on his retirement from the music business, Melody Maker, 1982. Robyn Hitchcock (a.k.a. Luther Paisley) is back. Hitchcock recently broke out of his self-imposed retirement with the hauntingly personal acoustic album, _I Often Dream Of Trains_, featuring his most mature vocal work to date. It was two years ago last month that Hitchcock released what was to have been his swan song, ``Eaten By Her Own Lunch,'' after which he quietly slipped under the waves without so much as a ripple. Keeping a low profile, he's been working on his cartoons and the acoustic ditties that have since turned up on _Trains_. Hitchcock ignores trends: just a guitar manned by a mind that rapidly builds and sidetracks on what the uninitiated assume to be drug-inspired ramblings, only to implode on odd, microscopic details. His clever pop melodies coupled with dark eccentric lyrics side-stepped so-called movements such as ``the new psychedelia'' in Britain, and preceded the guitar band ``paisley revolution'' here. Hitchcock and his band, the criminally under-rated Soft Boys, were more or less ignored by the press. It was this lack of public recognition as well as the gap between his original conceptions of songs and how they actually sounded on vinyl that caused Hitchcock to hang up his guitar. Until now. During a near-midnight phone call (London-time) with MATTER, Hitchcock sipped tea, lager or scotch and offered his insights into everything from malicious dwarves to the internal workings of his own mind, ``inasmuch as a mind can discuss itself.'' MATTER: When you were quoted in Melody Maker as saying you'd given up music, were you disappointed with music at the time or with your reception? Hitchcock: I'm surprised you saw that over there, actually; that's about two years back, now. I was just very tired basically, sort of _physically_ tired and mentally tired... every so often you just wear out for a bit, don't you? So it was quite good to stop for a bit. MATTER: Did you stop playing completely or were you still working on the acoustic material? Hitchcock: Yeah, I was playing at home. I was still doing stuff a lot--- I was playing guitar when you rung up. I was tired then, as you probably read my comments about, I can't stand by them all, but there's this point where you haven't really got enough energy to keep going with things, uh, and I wanted to get a certain number of people off my back as well. MATTER: Record company people? Business types? Hitchcock: All sorts of people... window cleaners and Sub-Mariners and people like that. MATTER: Especially the Sub-Mariners... Hitchcock: Well, just a _few_. I was being plagued by Sub-Mariners, so I figured the only thing to do was to feign a certain amount of invisibility. MATTER: Did you lay low for a while? Hitchcock: Welllll, I went outside and I took the flag down, and then I put the shutters up, and I sat inside with a blunderbuss for six months. Every time somebody sort of came to the mailbox, I'd fire a warning shot... I didn't _get_ anyone, 'cause one night I was asleep and the Sub-Mariners came down the chimney. I was dozing off in my chair (exhales apologetically), and when I woke up, the Sub-Mariners had surrounded me. So they tied me up, and they ran away and thought they were very smart, y'know, leaving me. MATTER: How'd you get loose? Hitchcock: How did _I_ get loose? Well, they tied me up with newspaper... it was very feeble, newspapers and strings. I wasn't tied up; I was _wrapped_ up in a parcel---I was asleep. So I just had to kick myself out and take the address off, and when I woke up, I found I'd been mailed somewhere else. MATTER: Somewhere awful? Hitchcock: No, it wasn't too bad. I was in a new house and I had another guitar, not really a better guitar, it just had different strings on it. There was a dwarf by what we call the fridge in England, and the dwarf says (nasally dwarfish voice), ``Oh, I know all about you. When's your next record coming out?'' And I said, ``Leave me alone, dwarf, I'm tired.'' He says, ``Oh no, I'll never leave you alone.'' So I said, ``Get thee behind me dwarf.'' He stood behind me for a while, and he said, ``I'll only stay behind you if you make another record.'' So, I made another record to keep the dwarf behind me. MATTER: Does ``Furry Green Atom Bowl'' have to do with the dwarf? Hitchcock: ``Furry Green Atom Bowl'' is to do with eggs, really, to do with the cycle of life. You know, all this theory of sub-atomic worlds and how this world, if you shrink down to the smallest thing you can ever do--- did you used to read ``The Atom,'' an American comic?---well, _right down there_. If you shrink right down you can fall between worlds. It's quite possible that we make up---this solar system makes up---one atom. The whole thing might be part of someone's kitchen table, and the reason people can't see beyond the end of the universe is 'cause that's where the table stops. MATTER: Are you quite a perfectionist in the studio? On ``Uncorrected Personality Traits,'' from the latest album, the harmonies are perfect. How long did it take you to do that? Hitchcock: It's nice of you to say so. I did that record in three days, I recorded in three days---there's quite a few out-takes---and we mixed it in another two days. I wanted to keep the budget really low, and I did. We did it for something like twelve hundred pounds. When you think that Thomas Dolby spends forty, fifty, sixty thousand... we kept it down, and I was pleased with it. I'm not at all a perfectionist, but I've got a little machine at home, a little portable studio, you know, a four-track. It's actually called a Fostex, which is about the size of... MATTER: A table top? Hitchcock: You can fit it on a television. It's the same size as the Empire State Building if the Empire State Building were shrunk down to the size of a Fostex. And it's easier than having a portable Empire State Building, 'cause you can mix on it. I arranged that ``Personality Traits'' stuff at home, sort of worked them out, 'cause it was only me. You see, there was no band; I wasn't with anyone at the time. I used to go and play on (Captain) Sensible's records if he asked me, otherwise I was completely by myself for the last couple of years, so I got used to multi-tracking myself or whatever. So I _had_ practiced the record, but not much. MATTER: Your lyrics are so unique that people can't help wondering, ``What is Robyn Hitchcock like?'' Do you have this alter-ego that writes songs, and do you have a ``traditional'' life... kids or anything? Hitchcock: Oh yeah, I've got kids. You know, we're just a nice happy, quiet pair of people, and we've got nice, happy, quiet kids... there's something _howling_ outside. (pauses) Oh, it's stopped. Good. Ah... you know, I've got two cars, neither of which starts. MATTER: Two cars? Hitchcock: Yeah. Well, they're old cars; they're not expensive cars. And I've got some old guitars; I live in an old house... I lead what you call a very normal life, and I'm a very normal person. I can't think of any other way to describe it. I think I've just got a kind of... MATTER: Vivid imagination? Hitchcock: Possibly. No, I've just got a lot of tendrils in my mind. My mind crystalized very rapidly; it forms branches very quickly. It's like a little railway system which is always looking for somewhere else to colonize. It branches very restlessly from one thing to another, and then it all collapses and it comes back to where it was. I don't know, it's like a little composite in my head; that's a better way of describing it... sort of rapid fertilization, like a jungle. Things grow very fast, and then they die quickly and they rot down and new things grow very quickly and they come bursting out like a speeded up film of a tropical forest. Inasmuch as a mind can discuss itself---it's a bit like a mirror looking at _itself_, only I don't know how much truth there is in that. You can put two mirrors up against each other, and there's infinity, but you can never _see_ it, 'cause your head blocks it off. But if you could put a tiny eye inside one of the mirrors, you could see infinity, because you could see the bounce back. Unfortunately, if gets darker, so you need a very strong torch. So I mean, that describes it perfectly. MATTER: Many of the songs, like ``Flavour of Night,'' seem a little John Lennon-influenced. Are you a Lennon fan? Hitchcock: Oh _yeah_. Always have been. That song is a bit like ``One Day At A Time,'' on _Mind Games_. It goes (crooning), ``Youuuu,'' and that's very similar to ``Flavour of Night.'' You only have to double track yourself and put play echo on and you sound like... well, we used to do ``Cold Turkey,'' which was obviously a Lennon song. But I could never put things as simply as John Lennon, nor have I been shot yet. MATTER: Where were you when he was shot? Do you remember that day? Hitchcock: I was recording a song called ``The Lizard,'' or it might have been ``I Watch the Cars.'' I think it was. The studio was locked for hours, so we stayed in the cafe. I'd heard the news just before I came out, and I couldn't believe it. I was there with a couple of guys, Kimberley, Matthew, and Vince from the Psychedelic Furs. And Vince said, ``Why couldn't they have shot Richard Butler instead?'' And then Pat Collier turned up at the studio, and he didn't say anything at all... it was a very odd day. We all just got drunk in the evening. I still can't believe it, of all the guys to get shot it was him. Anyway, if some of the songs sound like him that's why. MATTER: Other than John Lennon, and Syd Barrett, who has had the biggest musical influence on you? Hitchcock: There was this guy called George Formby, who used to sing in a high-pitched Lancastrian accent (adopts a nasal, shrill voice): ``When I'm cleaning windows---'' like that. Apart from that, just the old guys, Bob Dylan... probably Bob Dylan---I only picked up the guitar because of Dylan, like so many other people. It was a good idea. I don't know, it's basically Bob Dylan's fault. MATTER: Is _Trains_ the record you always wanted to make all along, and was _Groovy Decay_ the record Albion wanted you to make? Hitchcock: It wasn't Albion, really, it was the guy who was managing me; he sold it to Albion. The pressure was on to be an international star, and to straighten out, you know, get a big, _modern_ drum sound. It didn't work with me at all. It was another one of those things that compelled me to retire. Everything started to drift out of my control, and I fell asleep, and then I sort of woke up, and then I fell asleep again. This was an attempt---you know, _not_ to sound like anybody else. It's got nothing to do with rock 'n' roll; it's got nothing to do with pop music. To me it's a folk record. I mean, I'm quite surprised that anybody likes it really, 'cause it's very much my own. It's a bit sad, I suppose... MATTER: I really like _Black Snake Diamond Role_. Hitchcock: Well, who doesn't? It's my all-time party favorite, that. I'm really pleased with that; I listened to it the other day. That was another reason I'd stopped. I didn't really think I could do anything _better_ than what I'd done. _Groovy Decay_ had some good songs, but it was a bad session. I don't think I know anyone who likes it. I know _one_ guy that likes it... he's quite tall. _Groovy Decay_ was done in the middle of the night and we were all falling asleep. It was all part of a sleepy period which culminated, like I said, in being shut in with the blunderbuss, waiting for the dwarf to come. We were waiting for the dwarf then because we knew it was going to come. But on _Black Snake Diamond Role_, we didn't even _think_ there was a dwarf. It was a very innocent time. MATTER: What are the other former Soft Boys doing these days? Hitchcock: Well, Kimberley is in America, I think now, or has just been. He's got a band called Katrina and the Waves. His band was originally the Waves, anyway, from Cambridge. The Waves fell apart and he joined the Soft Boys and the Soft Boys stopped and he reformed the Waves. Two of the people in the Waves are American, the lead singer and the bass player. We always thought Kimberley would go down big in mid-America 'cause it's just this thing about Americans liking their sort of no-nonsense rock. I mean, the big stadiums and stuff, although they've got to project a bit more to get out, 'cause they've got that feeling of a little band, but they're very _good_. Personally, I prefer Kimberley in _his_ band to Kimberley in _my_ band. I got him in rather greedily, but I'm not sure he worked out. Anyway, that was that. He'll keep going; Kimberley would play every night of the year, you know, he'd play to three deaf people and a mouse, it wouldn't make any difference, and the mouse would be deaf in the end, too. Kimberley's the kind of guy who'd actually go to audiences' houses and drive them to a gig. He's got an enthusiasm for live work which I don't really share, which is why I haven't done many gigs lately. MATTER: Are you thinking of coming over to the States or touring? Hitchcock: We'd love to come over there. I've got a band that includes a couple of Soft Boys---Morris Windsor is playing drums, and a guy named Andy Cobb who was in the _very_ original Soft Boys. And I've got a sax player and keyboard player as well. We did a gig---the first one in two or three years--- the other day, which was quite good. It was just at the Hope, London's legendary Hope and Anchor. In fact, a lot of people turned up, and the band was good, so we thought we'd do another one next month. But the problem with getting to the States, you appreciate, is that it's a very big place. We played New York once, and the town didn't _explode_... there's not enough people in lots of different places where we could do a decent little tour. There's no point in doing things if you can't afford to do it properly---if your van breaks down, or when you get to the gig, you find that the band are all dead because there's been no air in the van. You have to be aware of all these problems... or that you find that the band has all been _eaten_ going through customs, and there's nothing left but a load of bones. I just have to (laughs) _try_ and get it right. MATTER: How do you keep it all straight in your head? Hitchcock: You mean... how do I keep it from _falling out_? I tie up my head with this stuff called gaffer tape, and I bind my head up at night, and I unbind it in the morning, and it stops my brain from leaking out onto the pillow. So I'm alright. MATTER: Can you say anything about your next album? Hitchcock: It might be called _Egyptian Cream_; it's about a hair restorer with a difference. It kind of affects people's hair in drastic ways. It's coming out the beginning of January or February, and that's got a band on it. You know, bass, guitar, and drums and organs and stuff. It's not a bit like the acoustic album. MATTER: Back to the days of, like, _Black Snake Diamond Role_? Hitchcock: Well, more like that, slightly better recorded. It's like that, although I don't know if the songs are as good. I was really pleased with that album. I was really lucky to get a good bunch of songs, and I threw lots of songs off, as well. I had about 18, and I threw eight out. This one, I'm just trying to get enough finished to make it good. _Egyptian Cream_ is going to have songs on it like ``Insect Mother,'' which is about an... uh... insect mother. And it's got ``The Man With the Light Bulb Head,'' which is also my first film. It's only an eight-millimeter film, nothing swish. MATTER: What's the plot? Hitchcock: It's only a little video---two and a half minutes. It's got this guy, his head is a light bulb, and he sort of turns himself off and on. It's very simple (laughs). You just see him wandering around in the film with his head flashing, bits of stuff come out of the wall... MATTER: Is it nightmarish? Hitchcock: No, it's meant to be funny, really. It's not meant to be horrible. I've finished that, and I'm also doing another one, ``I Often Dream of Trains.'' We're doing a film for that which will be much simpler. It's going to be me singing into a disconnected telephone, wandering around the old railways of Great Britain as the leaves fall. If that works out, I'll maybe do a third one. (pauses) It's not stuff that you can expect millions of people to _leap_ into the air about. A lot of people aren't going to understand it. And there's nothing I can do. You can't deny the people who like it the right to have it, so you've got to go on churning the stuff out. But you can't get upset because millions of people don't buy it. ----------- [][][][][][][][][][] From: mad5c@server.cs.virginia.edu Subject: Vyrna Knowl To: Hitchcock Fan-List Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 10:20:35 -0500 (EST) Does anybody know who Vyrna Knowl is/was? And what exactly was a 'headbanger' in 1980? Has 'Vyrna Knowl Is A Headbanger' ever surfaced on a legitimate release? It seems to be just another version of 'Wading Through A Ventilator' with alternate lyrics. Mike. --- Michael DeLong - UVa Department of Computer Science - mike@virginia.edu --- "It's a very long train, and you can't see the beginning or end of it." --RH URL du jour: http://www.reed.edu/~karl/vacuum/vacuum.html [][][][][][][][][][] From: MJK.APA@email.apa.org (Knox, Joseph) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu (-) Subject: CD Single revisited Date: Mon, 20 Mar 95 11:08 CDNOW! (cdnow.com) is offering the single My Wife and My Dead Wife with the K records tracks on CD for $12.47. I don't know if this would help answer the question about R.H. getting any royalties from it or not but they have it listed as ABCD7322. Anybody know if ABCD records is legit or is this just promo copies being sold w/o any money going to the artist? They also have the Kershaw sessions for $17.97. Again, standard disclaimers -- I'm not associated with CDNOW... but I kinda wish I was. It would be more interesting than interviewing administrative assistant applicants for the American Psychological Association. On another note, anybody know if Robyn is making any plans to appear on MTV's 120 Minutes in the near future. It seems like the last couple of times he's toured off of a new album he's managed to stop in, play a few tunes, and be the guest VJ. While, You and Oblivion isn't exactly a "new" album, he is going to be around New York at right about the time it comes out. Joe [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 10:24:23 -0600 (CST) From: JAY LYALL Subject: Robyn @ SXSW To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu It was well worth the three hour drive! The Bill was DavidLewis, John Wesley Harding, Robyn, Marshal Crenshaw, and Graham Parker. It was a fully accoustic set! After the first two acts I never want to hear an accordian again. Robyn started with Satalite and finished with You and Oblivion. He flub the lines to Balloon Man and introduced Queen Elvis then started playing I'm Only You then played QE. He played two electric songs as his encore after a five minute battle with technology...noone checked to see if the guitar was plugged in and working..... On the radio show he did Friday (I heard parts on the way up in the car (with lots of static!) he said that the Egyptians were going to start working on separate projects, that being in a band with three strong members was like being in a three-legged race....so it looks like they may not being doing much for wahile after this tour (if he's touring with them...they weren't at the sxsw show)...he did say that he'd be back in texas around the end of this year so that was good, I suppose (since he didn't come to Houston, but went to Dallas ;( jay %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Jay Lyall "Capy Toad Blast" "You might remember me from other self-help hist1a@jetson.uh.edu videos like "Smoke Yourself Thin." --Simpsons "And others might be magicians, "We'll inherit the Earth, but he was special too, But we don't want it." he had antlers." --Replacements --Robyn Hitchcock %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 20:25:47 -0500 From: something shakespeare never To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: over easy hey fegs, digest subscribers will be happy to know that, despite my current presence in halifax, nova scotia, i will be still online while i'm out of town, and that the digests will be rolling. incidentially, if there are any fegmaniax folks up here in the maritimes, i'll be around for three weeks and would be happy to meet any and all who are within driving distance. BLATZMAN@aol.com sez: >I just picked up the new Robyn "Sampler" on Rhino cause I liked the artwork. is this a compact disc or a cassette? i'm pretty sure it's a promo item, since it would be silly for rhino to release a collection when it is in the middle of a re-issue schedule. mad5c@server.cs.virginia.edu sez: >Does anybody know who Vyrna Knowl is/was? i *think* she was an unamused-by-loud-music neighbor, but i do not recall for sure. there may be a bit about this in the booklet for the _raw cuts_ cd. >And what exactly was a 'headbanger' in 1980? well, iron maiden was around then... >Has 'Vyrna Knowl Is A Headbanger' ever surfaced on a legitimate release? isn't it on _raw cuts_? it may be on the delorean 12" as well - i can't remember for sure. >It seems to be just another version of 'Wading Through A Ventilator' with >alternate lyrics. correct. i tried to transcribe the lyrics once - i still have that attempt somewhere (susan and i both tried back before fegmaniax existed, each without much sucess). i'll post 'em when i get back home (unless someone else beats me to it). MJK.APA@email.apa.org (Knox, Joseph) sez: >Anybody know if ABCD records is legit >or is this just promo copies being sold w/o any money going to the >artist? there used to be a bootleg outfit who pressed interview discs called abcd records. however, in this case, i believe that sequel records uses abcd as their catalog notation (though i can't check this as my copy of the sequel single is 1000 miles away). woj [][][][][][][][] 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-request@nsmx.rutgers.edu. Slipping you the midnight fish...