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Monday, April 16th, 2007
So here are some of the albums that I have been listening to and am meaning to write about: - Olé! Tarantula (2006) -- this is the record that re-alerted me to the existence of Robyn Hitchcock. Bought a copy at the Knitting Factory show.
- Spooked (2004) -- I learned about this record when I was watching the documentary, the night before the show; and bought it at the show.
- Perspex Island (1991)
- Moss Elixir and Mossy Liquor (both 1996) -- when I was listening to this show I heard Deni Bonet playing fiddle on some of the songs -- immediately took a look at her web site and found that she is on one of his records; this be it. Also her two solo cd's, Acoustic, OK? and Bigger is Always Better are on my list.
- Robyn Sings (2002) -- a double album of Dylan covers by Hitchcock. And look at the track listing!
- I Often Dream of Trains (1984) -- classic Hitchcock. I bought the cd at the KF show.
posted evening of April 16th, 2007: Respond
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Sunday, April 15th, 2007
Boy oh boy, this is post #700 on my humble blog! Here is a link to the whole Perspex Island song by song series of posts, in the proper order.
posted evening of April 15th, 2007: Respond
➳ More posts about Perspex Island
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This song ends the record in a pretty unsettling way. The title is an obvious reference to the "portable Avalon" of Perspex Island, the state of loving and being loved -- the song is bidding farewell to Perspex Island -- "there's nowhere else that I could go, that means that much to me." The one-two punch of "If You Go Away" and "Earthly Paradise" serves to deflate the easy bliss that I had gotten built up by the narrative arc from "Oceanside" to "Ride". Leaves me totally uncertain about the attainability of Perspex Island. "The bastards that destroy our lives are sometimes just ourselves."
posted evening of April 15th, 2007: Respond
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The opening chords of this song strike fear into my heart. After the lush warmth of "Ride", the icy, alienating intro is shocking; and it lasts long enough for me to start developing paranoid fantasies about what's going on behind the music. When Hitchcock starts singing he sounds decades older than on any other song on the record. The lyrics to this one throw me a bit. I can't really relate "It's corporation time" which seems really central to the meaning of the song, to the rest of it, so I'm left wondering about it. The modulation at the end of the song is very pretty, and "I don't believe in anything, at all" continues the string of mind-blowingly lovely choruses.
posted evening of April 15th, 2007: Respond
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Saturday, April 14th, 2007
Wow -- this Grateful Dead performance from 1988 has them playing "Chinese Bones". I did not know they had ever covered Hitchcock.
posted afternoon of April 14th, 2007: Respond
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Friday, April 13th, 2007
Ride! This song, along with "Oceanside" and "Birds in Perspex", forms the spiritual core of the record -- movement across a warm, beautiful landscape, by turns inviting, undemanding, threatening. Movement towards elusive love. Movement in the instant, with stasis immediately behind you and before you. "By the end of which a billion creatures yet unborn will/ Die..." is almost the archetypal Robyn Hitchcock lyric -- the long, incantatory run of short syllables, the pause, the long-held syllable. That really rocks my boat. The chorus of this song is one of the most beautiful lyrics on the record. Like several other love-related lyrics on the record, it looks a bit trite written down but in the context of the song, really powerful. Here is a live performance of Ride at The Bottom Line (NYC), on Hallowe'en of 2003.
posted evening of April 13th, 2007: Respond
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This song does "bitter" pretty well, not as well as "Positively 4th Street". It is a stepping back from the manic energy in "Child of the Universe". Not really that much to say about it except that I think the arrangement of the background vocals is really stunningly good. I'm getting a pattern here of a high-energy, high-content song followed by an easier, less meaningful one. And the song which this one leads into is going to be one of the real highlights of the record. Here is a live performance of "She Doesn't Exist" at The Bottom Line (NYC) on Hallowe'en of 2003.
posted evening of April 13th, 2007: 1 response
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Awesome -- trippiest song on the record hands down -- a little bit like "The Lizard" with a beat. And I love "The Lizard", so... Sounds like a carnival at the beginning. Hitchcock comes in strong, he's close to screaming on the first verse -- "Everybody misses you but/ Nobody shoots..." -- I'm loving the way he pronounces "shoots". 2nd verse: "You're descended from someone but/ It sure ain't the apes..." an excellent line it must be said. This song is a party.
posted evening of April 13th, 2007: Respond
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This song speaks to me perhaps least of the songs on this record. I haven't been able to make much of a connection with the lyrics -- that said it is a sweet listen and serves a distinct purpose in separating the grim beauty of "Vegetation and Dimes" from the demonic wackiness of "Child of the Universe". Let's spin it. A melancholy song. Hitchcock's voice is working its magic in an especially plaintive manner. There's much in common musically with the rest of the record, and a very nice beat; but not a lot to make this song stand out on its own. Not until the end anyway, where the chorus of wailing voices catches my attention. Here is a live performance of Lysander, at Maxwell's (Hoboken, NJ) on March 26, 2005.
posted evening of April 13th, 2007: Respond
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Wednesday, April 11th, 2007
The chorus of "Ultra Unbelievable Love" fades out and is replaced by a steady, hypnotic rhythm. When Robyn's voice comes in it sounds like the locomotive whistle above the beat of the rails. Let's jump off the train... This song might feature the most compelling vocal work on the record. The lines starting with "What are we waiting for" are rivetting, with Robyn practically screaming -- outrage? fear? "In the city of Lies,/ Real life is a -- crime..." Check out that pause before "crime" and then the change in register -- this is one of the things I find utterly attractive about Hitchcock's singing, the tiny, unpredictable syncopations before the long notes. (This is some of what I was trying to get at the other day.)
posted evening of April 11th, 2007: Respond
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