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 56 Today's Topics: ------- ------ Perspex So You Think... Thanks More about Robyn compilations Alaska Articulatory phonetics, don't fail me now! Bob--Robyn. Robyn--Bob. FWD: Bob--Robyn. Robyn--Bob Here I am again, it's no surprise ... I Cheese You I thought i saw somebody else... More about Robyn compilations PI and Respect Perspex Perspex Island Perspex hoarse Polling Results RE: finally, 5 things to share RH in Mpls, MN 4.18.95 RH on Letterman Robyn compilation Show "Respect" some respect So You Think You're In Love? So You Think... Surgery The Salamander - new? hey! the old vs the new [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 95 07:12:32 EDT From: Chris Coates Subject: Thanks To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu I justI just wanted to say thanks to all you offered their Greatest Hits--I got some great suggestions. I especially liked the idea of sprinkling Robyn's storytelling throughout, but I don't have any live bootlegs. In fact, I've only seen him (at a real small club in Gainesville, FL called The Covered Dish) once. Thanks again, Chris Coates chrisco@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu http://www.ucet.ufl.edu/~ccoates/ [][][][][][][][][][] From: LJ Subject: Surgery To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 09:03:15 -0400 (EDT) Glad to see someone mentioning this song-- it has been haunting me ever since the Bottom Line shows, and I may have worn a groove in its spot on You & Oblivion. Did anyone else notice that the recorded version has omitted a chorus? I have heard him sing it in several different places where he sings a final chorus of: But in my mind the color black is all I'll see Until you're back ahhhh, it gives me chills even just writing it down...! Hey how about those JPEGs????? (am I too retarded to even deal with?) lj [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 08:06:18 -0500 (CDT) From: JAY LYALL Subject: Polling Results To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Sorry it didn't get out last night, but I couldn't get a dial up...damn freshman computer classes! The full list will be on a web page next Monday. I'll post the URL then. The Robyn Hitchcock Top 30 Song, Points, Votes, Score 1. Airscape 145,20,165 2. My Wife and My Dead Wife 74,20,86 3. Fifty Two Stations 65,11,76 4. She Doesn't Exist 58,11,69 5. Uncorrected Personality Traits 57,10,67 6. One Long Pair of Eyes 57,8,65 7. I Often Dream of Trains 51,9,60 8. Devils Coachman 48,8,56 9. Madonna of the Wasps 48,7,55 9. Glass 48,7,55 10. Glass Hotel 45,9,54 11. If You Were a Priest 45,7,52 12. Oceanside 44,7,51 13. Flesh #1 40,9,49 13. Wax Doll 43,6,49 14. Brenda's Iron Sledge 42,6,48 14-. I Used to Say I Love You 42,6,48 15. Chinese Bones 38,6,44 16. BALLOON MAN!!! 37,6,43 17. Swirling 34,6,40 18. Egyptian Cream 33,6,39 19. Serpent @ Gates of Wisdom 33,5,38 20. Raymond Chandler Evening 32,5,37 21. Unsettled 29,4,33 22. Arms of Love 26,6,32 22. Birds in Perspex 27,5,32 22. Queen Elvis 27,5,32 23. Listening to the Higsons 26,5,31 23. Ye Sleeping Knights of Jesus 26,5,31 23. So You Think You're in Love 26,5,31 24. Raining Twilight Coast 26,4,30 25. Luminous Rose 25,4,29 25. Sometimes I Wish I was a Pretty Girl 23,6,29 26. Ghost Ship 25,3,28 26. Yip Song 21,7,28 27. Another Bubble 22,4,26 28. Trash 21,4,25 29. Heaven 18,6,24 29. Insect Mother 20,4,24 29. Lady Waters and the Hooded One 21,3,24 29. Winchester 20,4,24 30. Railway Shoes 19,4,23 30. Ride 19,4,23 30. Veins of the Queen 18,5,23 31. Acid Bird 17,4,2 Ranking of Albumns by the total number of song votes on each: 1. Element of Light 40 2. IODOT 35 3. Fegmania 33 4. Queen Elvis 32 5. Perspex Island 30 6. Globe of Frogs, Respect 25 7. Eye 24 8. BSDR 16 9. GD 14 10. Invisible Hitchcock 10 11. You and Obilvion, Kershaw Sessions 5 (I'll post 31-40 later with the names of those who voted) 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: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 09:56:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Pamela A Lowy To: LJ Cc: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Surgery > (am I too retarded to even deal with?) > > lj > Um... I know you didn't mean anything by this, I have a mentally retarded brother, and I'd prefer it if people would only use this word to refer to people who actually are mentally retarded, since the word has come to have a meaning somewhere between "stupid" and "annoying", neither of which define my brother. Sorry to "waste" Robyn-space, i just felt the need to respond. -Pam * [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 09:22:22 -0500 From: "Chuck Tomlinson" To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: RH in Mpls, MN 4.18.95 Robyn Hitchcock, Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN 4.18.95 opening act: Jill Sobule Deni Bonet was *not* playing with RH Last night of the US tour RH joined Jill Sobule and her bassist for an encore of Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" First set, acoustic Second set, electric Encore, electric & acoustic RH set list (in very rough order, from memory): Surgery My Wife & My Dead Wife Chinese Bones I Something You DeChirico Street Man With a Woman's Shadow She Worships the Sun I Used to Say I Love You Listening to the Higsons Devil's Coachman Glass Hotel Queen Elvis ("about someone who exploits their sexual ambiguity even more than I do") I'm Not Me (electric) She Doesn't Exist (electric) I Often Dream of Trains (electric) (dedicated to Mpls journalist Jim Walsh) Only the Stones Remain (electric) I Cheese You Airscape (electric?) Other Mpls Fegs please feel free to correct any of this). A good show, and I didn't think it was like some of the descriptions I've read here of RH being tired/disinterested/detached/bored. He does seem very involved with the songs, but in a personal way. It's pretty early, so I'm going to avoid any futher analyzation. Chuck [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 95 11:48:50 EDT From: Chris Coates Subject: Perspex To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu As I've been listening, it seems like many of you are a lot more enamoured of "Perspex Island" than I am. While I am entirely willing to admit that this a defect of mine, I would like to talk about the problems I had with it. It seemed overproduced and cynically geared as a "crossover" album for RH. In fact, he said on 120 Minutes after its release that he wanted to hang around the public consciousness like Fleetwood Mac "Rumours"--his tongue, perhaps, was in his cheek, but none too firmly. There are great songs there (oceanside, child of the universe, she doesn't exist), but I was greatly disappointed and it put me off of RH for a while. And these anxieties weren't really relieved by "Respect" either. Any thoughts? I wasn't around for any previous discussions on this topic. Chris Coates [][][][][][][][][][] From: LJ Subject: Perspex To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 12:50:55 -0400 (EDT) Regarding Perspex Island: I'd say that this is one of my favorites. There are only 2 bad songs on the whole album: #1, the "hit" "So You Think You're In Love", and #2, "So Long My Earthly Paradise", which in my opinion is a throwaway, one-dimensional rant about the environment. This song GREATLY disappointed me around the time that _Perspex Island_ was released because the environment was the flavor of the day and it seemed like our normally genuine Mr. Hitchcock was jumping on the bandwagon. On the plus side, however, PI contains some of his best lyrics and some fabulous grooves. I could play "Vegetation and Dimes" over and over and over again, "Lysander" too. "Lysander" has some of my favorite lyrics: Who do you trust? a little spider or me? Which would you crush in a frame The one you knew or just the one that loves you? Actually, this would be a good time to even see if these are the CORRECT words, or just what my imagination has cooked up. Also, what does he say at the end? It sounds like "A bird or parasol"--? Or maybe "another parasol"??? See I am rambling on again. This is what happens when you have a mindless job wasting your time...! lj [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 11:41:55 -0500 (EST) From: tracy aileen copeland To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Here I am again, it's no surprise ... Hello, fegs- Thanks to all who offered their corrections of the "Goodnight I Say" lyrics. In my defense, I'll mention that I'm from Indiana and have been hearing "done an assist" seventy times a day since my conception. I throw myself on your mercy, and you can go get the ropes, chain, and fish now ... I'm hoping to get the _Invisible Hits_ lyrics up too. The major stumbling block here is the long spoken section on the alternate version of "Have A Heart, Betty (I'm Not Fireproof)". This is a bonus track on the Glass Fish CD of _IHits_ and also appears as "Have A Heart, Betty (I'm Not Fireproof) #2" on _Soft Boys 1976-81_. My transcript is too fragmentary to post; anything you can come up with would be greatly appreciated. Please E-mail to me, not to the list, and when I have something fairly complete I'll post it for final comments. Tracy, still the toast goddess (why do you think I picked _Invisible Hits_?) [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 13:17:12 -0400 (EDT) From: "Clinton W. Golden" To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Perspex >As I've been listening, it seems like many of you are a lot more >enamoured of "Perspex Island" than I am. While I am entirely willing >to admit that this a defect of mine, I would like to talk about the >problems I had with it. It seemed overproduced and cynically geared >as a "crossover" album for RH. In fact, he said on 120 Minutes after >its release that he wanted to hang around the public consciousness >like Fleetwood Mac "Rumours"--his tongue, perhaps, was in his cheek, but >none too firmly. Yep. You've got me on your side, at least. I personally think the album sucks ass. Badly. I mean, before that album, I thought he could do no wrong. I liked Oceanside a bit. And I liked Respect just fine - but c'mon guys, 5th BEST ALBUM???? Over EYE and Invisible Hitchcock and BSDR??? The only RH album I could see below Perspex is Groovy Deco/ay, being the depressing new wave nightmare that it is. Maybe I'm being a little harsh, but I cringe when I see that damn Perspex Island cover (I like the painting just fine, it's just that it brings back horrible memories of disappointment and embarrasment on my part when friends of mine that I had been singing the praises of Robyn to previously bought it and then see me and say "uh, yeah...um...really good stuff." with that embarassed-for-me tone). That is one album that I am not a bit surprised to find in the $4.99 bin at Camelot. So there. I'm sorry I'm being so negative, but I was knocked on my ass by those poll results. I guess my sphere of understanding is just a little too limited these days when it comes to aesthetics. clint [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 13:25:06 -0400 (EDT) From: "Clinton W. Golden" To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: The Salamander - new? I just got a tape of radio shows (thanks Andy!) and was curious about one bit of information that Robyn and the boys discussed. One of the interviewers brought up the Soft Boys double CD thang and they talked about whether or not Robyn liked the old stuff still. Contrary to other statements, he said "yes" and "that old stuff is great" and went on to discuss Maureen and the Meatpackers and the like. Then they made mention of having an old Soft Boys track on the compilation that the tape of was disintegrating, and how they had to bake it to fill in the gaps and lay in new vocal and instrument tracks on this 18 or so year old song. Now my question is, is "the Salamander" the song they are talking about (they never mention it by name)? And if so, why wasn't the reconstruction mentioned anywhere else? I think it's the only true gem on the set - really a great song - and was wondering why they don't do this with some of the other old tracks (especially in light of the recent Soft Boys reformation and tour) ? Any thoughts? clint [][][][][][][][][][] Date: 19 Apr 1995 10:47:57 -0800 From: "Mark Gloster" Subject: Re: Perspex To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Reply to: RE>Perspex I used to grade this one a little hard too. I thought that it seemed more contrived and directed at the generic pop channel. I thought that it was leaning into the McCartney goo in its sugar content, and did not stir my insides or turn on my internal poetic mental image machine as his others did. I did not listen to the CD for about a year, during which time my sweetheart listened to it quite frequently. She told me that I was being unfair to the album, and that I needed to sit down and listen to it again. I drove a hard bargain. I told her "yes, dear", and I did what she recommended. Strangely, I have liked the album ever since. I find that his wacky schtick on the disc is less apparent, and that is not entirely bad. For one album, he decided to huddle himself in a room and be a songwriter for a whole album without thinking he was on stage. Still, I like most of his other albums better though. Also, I think he was just quoting Rolling Stones cynically when he compared PI to Rumours. That is what they had written in their review of it. CG, As far as shock, horror, and dismay about poll results, be thankful that Robyn Hitchcock's worst song doesn't sound anything like Stryper. -Mark Gloster mark_gloster@quickmail.apple.com [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 18:45:50 GMT From: Rob@nimbus.demon.co.uk (Rob Collingwood) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Articulatory phonetics, don't fail me now! On Tue, 18 Apr 1995, tracy aileen copeland wrote: > > > Hello, all. I've been proofreading the _Fegmania!_ lyrics in > hopes of getting them on the Web by this weekend, but I've hit one snag. > > "Cycling madly through ????? > Where my dear friend Bradley has done an assist." > > This one has me stumped; I'm guessing it's a place name I'm unfamiliar > with. If you know the words or even have a reasonable guess, please drop > me a line. > In Devon there's a village called Clyst Honiton, Clyst being the river nearby. I guess it wouldn't take too much imagination to reverse the name for the rhyme. -- Rob Collingwood Warrington, Cheshire, England E-mail: rob@nimbus.demon.co.uk or: rac2@student.open.ac.uk [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 12:45:32 -0500 (CDT) From: JAY LYALL Subject: Perspex hoarse To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu I'd just like to say that there was no poll to rank the albums which should be judged on a differnt basis than the songs. The Album ranking was just a tally of all the votes for all the songs on a particular album. Unlike what we've had hammered in our heads since childhood, the sum of the parts doesn't equal the whole...ask OJ's lawyers. jay (thinking of changing list id to avoid confussion with the other jays) %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 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: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 14:11:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Bayard Subject: the old vs the new To: dark birds a lot has been said about this but you shouldn't feel reluctant to bring up the subject, especially as you couched your opinions so graciously. I'm an old school robyn fan, not to be closed-minded or anything; but as someone has said before (Mike?) he hasn't seemed really comfortable in the studio since Alaska shut down (sometime after the release of _element of light_). Though the songs he recorded from 1981-86 are sometimes tense, they are very direct, I guess one has to be comfortable to concentrate enough to write a good song. I never have, so I don't know. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't think he "$old out" or let himself be pushed around by the label, I just think he lost touch with himself for a bit now and then. He doesn't seem to think he has the talent or patience to be his own producer, and perhaps producing would distract from the making of the music-- I don't have a solution, just more questions. Anyway, I'm not about to throw PI or R into the dumpster. RH has got a lot of songs left in him and I think he's re-discovered the lesson he learned by overrehearsing _a can of bees_: "with every (retake, overdub, production value) a song gains polish but loses freshness." I can't remember all of his exact words. Anyway, the new stuff is great, (I love DC st. and ZimS) Y&O is damn neato, his prolific writing is our windfall. [][][][][][][][][][] From: mad5c@server.cs.virginia.edu Subject: Alaska To: Hitchcock Fan-List Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 14:40:59 -0400 (EDT) Alaska is listed as 'Alaska RIP' in the Globe of Frogs liner. My impression is that some of the tracks were recorded at Alaska, and whatever happened to it happened before the record was released. Not everything before GoF was recorded at Alaska, of course. Mike. --- Michael DeLong - UVa Department of Computer Science - mike@virginia.edu --- "Join the 10% with the lead pipes." -- Dan Johnson (The Elder Dan) [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 11:33:17 -0700 From: librik@netcom.com (David Librik) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Perspex Chris Coates writes about Perspex Island: >There are great songs there (oceanside, child of the universe, she >doesn't exist), but I was greatly disappointed and it put me off of >RH for a while. And these anxieties weren't really relieved by >"Respect" either. > >Any thoughts? I wasn't around for any previous discussions on this >topic. I don't think you're alone in that belief. I find Perspex Island my least favorite Hitchcock album. I can't quite pin down why, but I've finally laid a lot of the blame on the PRODUCTION. When I heard the Mountain Stage recordings of "Oceanside" and "So You Think," I was stunned -- these were wonderful songs! Why didn't they sound great on the CD? The songs on Perspex sound -- hm... "impersonal" is the only word that springs to mind. There's not much that's really distinctive, that grabs you and makes you notice that song. None of the quirkiness that makes my favorite album, _Invisible Hitchcock_, or even _Globe of Frogs_ or _Black Snake_. Formerly, too, Robyn's production had gone in for multiple layering of instruments, but you could still pick out all the different parts ... think of the original "Acid Bird" (and why it's never sounded as good, until the Soft Boys did it on the Mark Radcliffe BBC show, complete with three guitars, two basses, four vocalists...) On Perspex, the complexity just comes out as a "wall of sound." The guitars are not sharp and pushed up front! This can't be entirely inadvertant. Perspex Island produced one of my favorite Hitchcock tracks -- the B-side "Watch Your Intelligence." It is an immediately appealing rock song, not at all sonically "impersonal." Why wasn't it on the album? I don't know, but I think the change happened with the death of Alaska. The last R.H. album that I really liked the sound of was _Globe of Frogs_. - David Librik librik@cs.Berkeley.edu p.s. One notable exception to the uninterestingness of the P.I. sound was the great bullfrog-bass "doc-you doc-you doc-you-like you" backing vocal bit in "Child Of The Universe." I was sure glad to see Q Magazine's review of _Perspex_ which said "Hitchcock's finally releasing some unembarrasing albums, though he does slip up with those stupid backing vocals in 'Child of the Universe.'" [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 95 11:58:17 From: Russ Reynolds To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: RH on Letterman John [sorry to post this to the list, but my direct e-mail to you bounced] Unfortunately I don't have VHS to VHS capabilities. The SYTYIL performance is pretty painful to watch anyway. I don't recall the date of the "WASPS" appearance, but it was shortly after QE came out, and I'm sure fairly near Robyn's New York dates on that tour. The tour info may be on a fegs Web site if you have access to that (I don't), or perhaps somebody on the list has the date. -Russ [][][][][][][][][][] To: fegmaniax From: Gabe Zashin Date: 19 Apr 95 15:50:03 EDT Subject: PI and Respect PI i think is okay--bur I hated Respect--what's that one song that sounds almost like a Bruce Hornsby song? (piano, cliched melody,etc. . .) gabe [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 95 16:34:11 EDT From: Daniel Ginsberg To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Ouch! (Said rather loudly as he sees Perspex Island get reamed). Dunno that recommending any of the albums should be cause for discomfort or (sheesh) embarrasment. It took me a while to give PI a chance 'cause I had been worshiping at the shrine of Eye for way too long, but once I really listened to it PI got the same obsessive listening as every other release. I was too lazy to vote--actually I was unable to break a 15-way tie for 1st place on the top 10 and just bagged the whole damn thing at that point--but PI woulda gotten its votes from me. Then again I kinda like somma the Groovy Decay mixes better than the Groovy Decoy versions. Dan dginsber@uconnvm.uconn.edu zeno@neato.org ps-My pal Carrie worked the Clevland show and y'all were a buncha sweeties. Does my heart proud it does..... [][][][][][][][][][] From: "Balloon Man" Date: Wed, 19 Apr 95 18:00:26 EDT To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: FWD: Bob--Robyn. Robyn--Bob This message was posted on the Sugar/Bob Mould mailing listand though since it concerns Robyn and many of you may have not seen it, I would re-post for your benefit. But please keep in mind that I did not write it! ;-) --------------------- cut here --------------------- From: Keith Lee 883-5228 Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 10:18:00 -0600 (CST) Subject: Bob--Robyn. Robyn--Bob. This may not have much Sugar content, but y'all might find this funny. I saw Robyn Hitchcock last night (Cedar Cultural Center, Mpls), and he did a killer acoustic set, but did the Strat electric encore. Mind you, he used chorus and mild overdrive distortion instead of the take-no-prisoner distortion of Mr. Mould. He also said (at an instore performance @ Let It Be records) that he was off again with his band the Egyptians. I get this funny feeling that, perhaps, Bob and Robyn were separated at birth. Except Robyn did acid instead of speed. ;) Seriously, IMHO I think the solo gig thing has taken on a new importance. Just as playing the current craze of acoustic music was a backlash against corporate 80s music (until MTV Unplugged played majors instead of real musicians), the more of the vanguard of the underground might turn to rental car/Motel 6/2 guitars mode of touring. No corporate promotion of bands, no major venue prep, etc. Yeah, this might be a pendalum swing back to Beatnik/coffeehouse playing. Except, this time performers are bringing their Strats and fuzz boxes too. Maybe Dylan had it figured out at the Newport Folk Festival. :) Slainte!, Jeff --- "But, you know "reality" is the consensus of perception; and therefore, the consensus of action: we all agree to see things in a certain way, so we all drive on the righthand side of the road. A deviant is someone who... who doesn't quite fit in... at least that's what I like to think." - Robyn Hitchcock, 1992 ** JEFF LAWRENCE (jlaw@irus.rri.uwo.ca) ** Grad Student, Imaging Research Labs, Robarts Research Institute University Of Western Ontario, P.O. Box 5015, 100 Perth Drive London, Ont., CANADA, N6A 5K8 Ph:(519)663-5777 ext. 4028 URL : http://www.irus.rri.uwo.ca/~jlaw/home.html [][][][][][][][][][] From: richard hecht Subject: Show "Respect" some respect To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 18:19:07 -0400 (EDT) I can't really understand why "Respect" irritates so many people. I'm relatively new to Robyn, and the albums that really turned me on to him were "Respect" and "Eye." I feel that on both albums RH deals with issues of pain and grief in a really beautiful way. My favorite Robyn (right now, at least) is a toss-up between "The Yip Song" and "Raining Twilight Coast." Respect IS uneven, but it has some really strong stuff, especially (IMHO) Yip, When I was Dead, Driving Aloud. I go back and forth on Serpent at the Gate and Wreck of the Arthur Lee. Anyway, just my $ .02 -rick rihecht@lynx.dac.neu.edu [][][][][][][][][][] From: sfoskett@mailhost.viewlogic.com (Stephen Foskett) Subject: hey! To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu (fegmaniax) Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 18:24:00 -0400 (EDT) Has anyone noticed that there is a woman with a cat's head in the upper left background of "Death Takes a Snack Break"? Could she be the same woman from "Heliotrope"? Cool! I WISH there were some way to see all Robyn's work... The online gallery is great! Any publishers want to make a great art book? *grin* Stephen [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 19:23:22 -0400 (EDT) From: Jordan M Anderson To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Perspex >This can't be entirely inadvertant. Perspex Island produced one of my >favorite Hitchcock tracks -- the B-side "Watch Your Intelligence." It >is an immediately appealing rock song, not at all sonically "impersonal." >Why wasn't it on the album? I feel the same way about "Dark Green Energy". Its A-side, "Ultra Unbelievable Love" is definitely one of my least favorite RH tunes. That silly cowbell drives me crazy. There are three catagories into which I could place the rest of the songs: 1) Songs that I like directly from the album--"She Doesn't Exist" 2) Songs that aren't so great on the album, but are good in other locations-- "Oceanside", "Birds In Perspex" 3) I could pretty much ignore the rest (maybe I could take "Ride" every now and again) Just my opinions, Jordan [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 01:25:32 +0200 (MET DST) From: Sebastian Hagedorn To: Chris Coates Cc: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Perspex On Wed, 19 Apr 1995, Chris Coates wrote: > As I've been listening, it seems like many of you are a lot more > enamoured of "Perspex Island" than I am. While I am entirely willing > to admit that this a defect of mine, I would like to talk about the > problems I had with it. It seemed overproduced and cynically geared > as a "crossover" album for RH. Yup, I know what you mean. That's exactly the thought that crossed my mind when I listened to the album for the first time. "So You Think..." was definitely geared towards airplay, but still it's a good song, isn't it? The same goes for the rest of the songs: the more I got used to the "big" sound, the more I liked it. Kind of like the first R.E.M. albums with "big" sound, such as Lifes Rich Pageant. I think the production suits the songs just like IODOT has the (non-existent) production that suits its songs. > RH for a while. And these anxieties weren't really relieved by > "Respect" either. I think "respect" is different. I don't like it very much because it's got a cold feel to it. Sorry, but I can't really explain what I mean there, it's just what I feel when I listen to it. Cheers, Sebastian -- Sebastian Hagedorn "I am unable, yonder beggar cries, To stand or move. If it be true, he lies!" Cologne University, Germany E-Mail: Hagedorn@spinfo.uni-koeln.de WWW: http://www.spinfo.uni-koeln.de/~hgd/ [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 21:36:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Bayard Subject: I thought i saw somebody else... To: dark birds Anybody have a space for lyrics not found on any album? I was just dubbing this 10-2-90 show from NY and this song comes along towards the end. I've heard of people attributing both the first and fourth lines listed below as the title. What do you think? i thought i saw somebody else but it was me and I was dead (repeat) Chain Mary to the bed (repeat) All of your sins look bigger in the darkness Don't turn out the light And have me wait forever, stone It's your idea of love (repeat) Why do your friends get thicker in the darkness The Marquis de Sade Was just a lonely pervert ...Anyway (repeat x2) I thought I saw somebody else But it was me instead I thought I saw somebody else But it was me And I was dead [][][][][][][][][][] From: sprano@cvax.ipfw.indiana.edu Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 20:56:59 EST To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Perspex Island RE: The one that calls himself "Clint" reviewing Perspex Island. COMMENT: "She Doesn't Exist" is a good song. "Ride" is great. And from those sessions and included as an extra track on the "So You Think You're In Love" CD single..."Watch Your Intelligence" is FUCKING ART. The amount of missteps in Robyn's entire body of work is minimal. I would agree that PI and GROOVY are my last choices to play when I think of Robyn, but they are not worthless. My $.02 ! HAL. [][][][][][][][][][] From: daramsey@vaxsar.vassar.edu Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 22:03:54 -0300 Subject: I Cheese You To: Fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Just out of curiousity, what is this song??? What are the lyrics? >From the title it sounds kind of silly. Is it actually a new song, or is it something we know and love with the wrong name given to it? Secondly...any luck with those tapes yet, Clint? Thirdly...Tracey, your tapes went out today. Fourthly, I just have to say that I am really DAMN EXCITED that the STONE ROSES are going to be playing in New York City on May 20th. daveR. "And when there's no more tears to cry, there's nothing left to do but laugh..." -Robyn Hitchcock ***another 100% natural S.M.I.L.B.U. production*** [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 09:59:04 -0500 (CDT) From: MILES GOOSENS Subject: Robyn compilation To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu My compilation has stabilized over the years; it's had about a 90% success rate in its various guises, and I've been introducing people to Robyn since 1986, a year after I discovered him and bought every SB/Hitchcock item known to man. The 1986 version included more _Can of Bees_ stuff, but everything except "Give It To the Soft Boys" (IMO the ideal way to open the comp) has been dropped to make room for later stuff, especially since one of my would- be converts was nearly eviscerated by his obese wife when he played "Ugly Nora." My comp goes through _Eye_, not because I don't love _Perspex Island_ and _Respect_, but simply because I can't bear to drop any more songs from this line-up. I also organize most of my single-artist compil- ations chronologically. This could be because I'm a historian by trade, but I do like to give the listener a sense of development and growth throughout the artist's career. The only exception on this tape is "Flesh #1 (Beatle Dennis)," which just has to close the tape out. Without further ado, the line-up: SIDE A Give It to the Soft Boys I Wanna Destroy You Kingdom of Love Insanely Jealous Queen of Eyes Underwater Moonlight The Man Who Invented Himself Brenda's Iron Sledge Acid Bird Love Fifty-Two Stations Grooving on an Inner Plane St. Petersburg Nocturne (Prelude) Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl SIDE B This Could Be the Day Uncorrected Personality Traits Flavour of Night My Wife and My Dead Wife The Man With the Lightbulb Head Raymond Chandler Evening Airscape Vibrating Globe of Frogs The Devil's Coachman Queen Elvis Beautiful Girl Clean Steve Flesh #1 (Beatle Dennis) Many painful omissions, to be sure--"Old Pervert," "Do Policeman Sing?," "Autumn Is Your Last Chance," IODOT, "I'm Only You," "Heaven," "Chinese Bones," just to name a few. But I'm a firm believer that 1) this tape shows everything Robyn can do, and shows it off very well, and 2) it's always good in introducing an artist to friends to leave some of the great stuff for THEM to discover once they're hooked. After all, it's not like Robyn has only 5 or 10 or even 30 good songs. Some folks will be attracted to the IODOT stuff, some to the more dance-y if less substantial "Grooving on an Inner Plane," some to the more finished later stuff, some to the rawer Soft Boys sounds. AND you've gotta make a good TAPE first and foremost, and some songs, however great, would break up the flow that I think this tape achieves. Soooo--that's it. Later, Miles [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 95 23:15:44 EDT From: Chris Coates Subject: So You Think... To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Wow! Great response to the PI question. I was noticing the other day when I was reading through the _Can of Bees_ liner notes that RH mentions a song--"So You Think You're In Love"--that he lost and says "One of the best things I wrote. It was a bit personal at the time, so I over-dubbed it all myself and didn't play it to anybody. It was erased by a horde of bass drum tracks in early '79." Could this be the same??? Chris [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 04:00:18 GMT To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu From: lgray@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net (Lee Gray) Subject: More about Robyn compilations I found it interesting that a lot of folks here like to do chronological compilations. Not that I've come up with the definitive Hitchcock comp, but I've never really liked to do any compilation in order of release dates. The simple reason is that more often than not, my target listeners are convinced ahead of time they will *not* like my music! Therefore, I mix a lot of the more palatable (not necessarily commercial) tunes in with the stranger stuff. For instance, I *love* "Give It to the Soft Boys," but if I had heard it 10 years ago as the first song on a comp tape, I probably wouldn't have made it very much farther! Mind you, I'm much more open-minded now (and I've built quite an eclectic collection over the past six or seven years), but as others here have said, you have to pay attention to your target victim's tastes and sneak Robyn (or whoever) up on him/her! I find it rather pleasing when someone unwillingly becomes hooked! Just another $.02, Lee lgray@ibm.net [][][][][][][][][][] From: Sherrett@aol.com Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 00:03:44 -0400 To: V4vendetta@aol.com Cc: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: RE: finally, 5 things to share V4vendetta wrote: >i found a book in SeeHear on E 7th St. called "Robyn Hitchcock, The Golden Prince"... Is this book put together by Carl Arnheiter? I met this fellow a year or so ago and he declared himself one of the biggest Robyn fans around and said he was putting together a book about Robyn, composed of mostly press clippings, I think. I lost touch with him and I've never seen a book with his name on it. Has anyone heard of this book or know of this fellow? [][][][][][][][][][] From: liddy@rci.ripco.com (Joe Beaulieu) Subject: So You Think You're In Love? To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 00:06:40 -0500 (CDT) Once, when Robyn was hosting 120 Minutes, they showed a part of the video for "So You Think..." and as they came out of the video, Robyn says something like "Thats a video about what people will do for money". But I think its a good song. How much of the antipathy directed at that song is based on the production, and maybe not the song itself? On a different note, did you all know that Robyn and Peter Buck did a song on a Byrds tribute album several years ago as "Nigel and the Crosses"? Its a really great song - the highlight of the album IMO. -- Joseph Beaulieu liddy@ripco.com [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 00:08:31 -0500 (CDT) From: MILES GOOSENS Subject: Re: More about Robyn compilations To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Lee sez: > I found it interesting that a lot of folks here like to do chronological > compilations. Not that I've come up with the definitive Hitchcock comp, but > I've never really liked to do any compilation in order of release dates. > The simple reason is that more often than not, my target listeners are > convinced ahead of time they will *not* like my music! Therefore, I mix a > lot of the more palatable (not necessarily commercial) tunes in with the > stranger stuff. For instance, I *love* "Give It to the Soft Boys," but if I > had heard it 10 years ago as the first song on a comp tape, I probably > wouldn't have made it very much farther! Which strikes me as funny, since more than one person who's received my tape has said "I was hooked by `Give It To the Soft Boys'"! One guy in particular said "that line about `asking a tree for an autograph' and the one about `photographs don't smell,' those did it." Hmm, maybe I just have cooler friends than the rest of y'all... ;-) Later, Miles [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 22:12:30 -0700 From: librik@netcom.com (David Librik) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: So You Think... >Wow! Great response to the PI question. I was noticing the other day >when I was reading through the _Can of Bees_ liner notes that RH >mentions a song--"So You Think You're In Love"--that he lost and >says "One of the best things I wrote. It was a bit personal at the time, >so I over-dubbed it all myself and didn't play it to anybody. It was >erased by a horde of bass drum tracks in early '79." > >Could this be the same??? Those tracks mentioned in the Can of Bees album are obviously jokes -- parodies of typical Soft Boys musical styles. But the titles are often the same as Hitchcock songs which he was working on. (Most of the other titles are clearly references to old SB's songs, like "I Wanna Go Backwards.") I don't know whether he already had written "So You Think" and "Lobsterman" when he made up those funny liner notes, or whether the titles he was making up gave him an idea for a real song. I will say that when I saw a mention of a "lost Soft Boys song" called "So You Think You're In Love," I laughed -- it sounds exactly like the sneering cynical attitude Robyn had around the time of Underwater Moonlight. If he really had written a song with that title back in the '70s, he certainly wouldn't have sung "...well, you probably are." - David Librik librik@cs.Berkeley.edu [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 22:19:34 -0700 From: librik@netcom.com (David Librik) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: More about Robyn compilations Lee wrote: >The simple reason is that more often than not, my target listeners are >convinced ahead of time they will *not* like my music! Therefore, I mix a >lot of the more palatable (not necessarily commercial) tunes in with the >stranger stuff. For instance, I *love* "Give It to the Soft Boys," but if I >had heard it 10 years ago as the first song on a comp tape, I probably >wouldn't have made it very much farther! A friend of mine, a guitarist with a love of quirky, Beatlesque songs, was often urged to listen to Robyn Hitchcock. Someone loaned him "I Often Dream Of Trains," thinking (no doubt) of all the funny tunes and beautiful guitar work on that disc. "Nocturne" began and ended, and then on came "Sometimes I Wish I Was A Pretty Girl." He pulled the CD out of the player and flung it across the room. It took two years to persuade him that he really must keep listening, that Robyn wasn't as bad as he thought, that all his friends loved this music, please please please give it another chance. We told him to skip "Pretty Girl" and "Cathedral" and go directly to the next song, "Uncorrected Personality Traits." Within a year, he had collected most of Robyn Hitchcock's recorded output. Sequencing is *everything*. - David Librik librik@cs.Berkeley.edu [][][][][][][][] End of this Fegmaniax Digest. Archives can be found on fegmania.wustl.edu:/fegmaniax and ftp.uwp.edu:/pub/music/lists/fegmaniax. 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