Queen Elvis for me. It's the only one of the a&m that totally coheres. The great songs on Globe of Frogs are greater than anything on QE but after all these years balloon man still annoys me so deeply that I can't give GoF the laurel. Plus the sound world of GoF lacks something where QE is mouthwatering. Would loooove for GoF to get a remastering some day.
― OU281 (Jon Lewis), Saturday, 27 September 2014 16:53 (nine years ago) link
Almost every tune from GoF has been amazing in live Venus 3 arrangements (esp when Morris available as a Beatle Dennis harmonies walk-on)
― OU281 (Jon Lewis), Saturday, 27 September 2014 16:55 (nine years ago) link
Hitchcock was living/hanging out in LA for a bit during the lead up to Perspex Island so I got a chance to see him with/without the Egyptians several times before the album came out. Was hugely disappointed when the album came out - thought that his strongest songs were completely undermined by Paul Fox's production choices. Not the first or last time Fox has done that.
― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 30 September 2014 02:48 (nine years ago) link
Ok then, any recommended boots from the A&M era?
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 30 September 2014 02:55 (nine years ago) link
Robyn does Neil with Emma Swift:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHojyetAoRo
― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 00:11 (nine years ago) link
Amazon sent me "I often dream" by mistake - was gonna send it back to get my initial order but curiosity got the best of me so I decided to play it. Some beautiful music mixed in with stuff which I guess can grow on you. "I used to say I love you" is a standout for now
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Saturday, 17 January 2015 19:10 (nine years ago) link
Eventually those tracks that seem like frivolous scraps will come to feel like totally essential pieces of its spell.
(This is not true of the novelty bits on all RH albums tho)
― a drug by the name of WORLD WITHOUT END (Jon Lewis), Saturday, 17 January 2015 19:25 (nine years ago) link
Hadn't listened to Underwater Moonlight in quite a few years and this time around "Old Pervert" really caught me as having a very Magic Band groove.
― earlnash, Friday, 24 April 2015 21:08 (nine years ago) link
It definitely does, this influence really stood out when they played it on the soft boys reunion tours a decade-n-change ago. Old pervert slaaaaaayed at those shows (rew is a monster)
― demonic mnevice (Jon Lewis), Friday, 24 April 2015 21:16 (nine years ago) link
God fucking dammit Robyn is performing all of Black Snake Diamond Role with Yo La Tengo on March 1 at Bowery Ballroom and it's already sold out :(
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 15 December 2016 20:58 (seven years ago) link
yow, that was fast. i would totally go to that, maybe there'll be some more tix made available. or they'll add another night? haven't listened yet, but this podcast is generally good: http://www.sodajerker.com/episode-96-robyn-hitchcock/
― tylerw, Thursday, 15 December 2016 21:00 (seven years ago) link
enjoying that podcast a lot.
― wishy washy hippy variety hour (Hunt3r), Thursday, 15 December 2016 21:24 (seven years ago) link
yeah i think they do a nice job with it
― tylerw, Thursday, 15 December 2016 21:25 (seven years ago) link
robyn should probably have his own podcast
― tylerw, Thursday, 15 December 2016 22:45 (seven years ago) link
hey hey jon -- http://ohmyrockness.com/shows/299096-robyn-hitchcock-yo-la-tengo-rough-trade
― tylerw, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 22:12 (seven years ago) link
Lucky ducks. But I'll see him on 3/3 in the Boston area.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 23:39 (seven years ago) link
Ha yessss
I'm leaving this bookmark open hopefully I won't forget to get one tmrw
Perfectly happy with rough trade as a venue tbh
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Tuesday, 20 December 2016 23:43 (seven years ago) link
From Brooklyn Vegan:
They’ve just added a second NYC show, happening at Rough Trade on February 28. Tickets for Rough Trade go on sale Wednesday, December 21 at noon.
Read More: Robyn Hitchcock & Yo La Tengo playing ‘Black Snake Diamond Role’ at Rough Trade before Bowery Ballroom | http://www.brooklynvegan.com/robyn-hitchcock-yo-la-tengo-playing-black-snake-diamond-role-at-rough-trade-before-bowery-ballroom/?trackback=tsmclip
Sorry now that I am going to the March 1st show at Bowery Ballroom. Rough Trade is a great place to see a show.
― kwhitehead, Wednesday, 21 December 2016 13:47 (seven years ago) link
Yeah I saw television there twice and totally agree. Bowery ballroom is not terrible though.
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, 21 December 2016 13:56 (seven years ago) link
I finally got around to putting together an anthology of Robyn's 1995-2015 work. It was hard! Some albums are a real slog and other times I had to cut some good stuff. I limited it to 20 tracks each from three periods: 1995-2000, 2001-2015 and The Venus 3 albums. My overall feelings on this period:
I'm a big fan of the Warner's era, the Mossy Liquor/Elixir and the Jewels/Bram sessions produced a glut of great material. Overall, I think these are consistently excellent albums.
The Venus 3 albums are mostly great as well though I find some rough/dull patches on "Goodnight Oslo" (particularly "Saturday Groovers") and "Propellor Time" (first 3 tracks). I'm especially excited to have cherry-picked all the best stuff to listen to in one go.
His 21st century work aside from the Venus 3 has been prolific and a decidedly mixed bag:Robyn Sings - disc 1 is damn good, disc 2 is fun despite bootleg quality, I like these songs more with Robyn's voice than Bob'sNextdoorland / Side Three - half great, half forgettableLuxor - unredeemable due to it's boringness, it was a struggle to pick even one worthy trackSpooked - also half-great and overall better than I remembered, but it gets a bit dull towards the endObliteration Pie - an interesting curiosity with one of his best tracks from this period ("City Of Women") but not a critical entry into his catalogShadow Cat - not even close to the quality of "Invisible Hitchcock" and "You & Oblivion" in terms of barrel scraping, mostly forgettable aside from the title trackI Often Dream Of Trains In New York - another fun record with some fascinating new interpretations, of course the source material is one of his best everTromso Kaptein - mostly badLove From London - mostly badThere Goes The Ice - full of good-but-not-great material, this was also hard to pick from simply because nothing truly stands out so I chose a couple of uptempo tracksThe Man Upstairs - very nice, I dig the covers and the originals are mostly solid
Aside from the Venus 3 albums, I'd take "Nextdoorland" and "Spooked" as far as original material and "Robyn Sings" and "The Man Upstairs" for covers and that's about it since 2001. Even with those, it's really just the Venus 3 stuff that's keeping my esteem for him so high.
1995-2000:Sinister But She Was Happy (Moss Elixir)Heliotrope (Moss Elixir)You And Oblivion (Moss Elixir)Beautiful Queen (alt) (Mossy Liquor)Cool Bug Rumble (Mossy Liquor)Wide Open Star (Mossy Liquor)Each Of Her Silver Wands (Mossy Liquor)Trilobite (Mossy Liquor)Where Do You Go When You Die (live) (Storefront Hitchcock)Mexican God (Jewels For Sophia)Viva Sea-Tac (Jewels For Sophia)I Feel Beautiful (Jewels For Sophia)Dark Princess (Jewels For Sophia)Jewels For Sophia (Jewels For Sophia)Daisy Bomb (A Star For Bram)The Philosophers Stone (A Star For Bram)The Green Boy (A Star For Bram)The Underneath (A Star For Bram)Take This In Remembrance (non-lp)Eerie Green Storm Lantern (non-lp)
2001-2015:Not Dark Yet (Robyn Sings)Pulse Of My Heart (Nextdoorland)Mr. Kennedy (Nextdoorland)Sudden Town (Nextdoorland)Evil Guy (Side Three)Keep Finding Me (Luxor)Television (Spooked)If You Know Time (Spooked)Everybody Needs Love (Spooked)Creeped Out (Spooked)City Of Women (Obliteration Pie)Shadow Cat (Shadow Cat)Winter Love (live) (I Often Dream Of Trains In New York)Old Man Weather (Tromso Kaptein)Be Still (Love From London)Fix You (Love From London)Halo Mary (There Goes The Ice)Belly Full Of Arms And Legs (There Goes The Ice)San Francisco Patrol (The Man Upstairs)Follow Your Money (non-lp)
The Venus 3 (2006-2010):Adventure Rocket Ship (Ole Tarantula)Underground Sun (Ole Tarantula)Ole Tarantula (Ole Tarantula)Cause It's Love (Ole Tarantula)The Authority Box (Ole Tarantula)NY Doll (Ole Tarantula)Embryo Twirl (Ole Tarantula bonus disc)What You Is (Goodnight Oslo)Your Head Here (Goodnight Oslo)I’m Falling (Goodnight Oslo)Hurry For The Sky (Goodnight Oslo)Up To Our Nex (Goodnight Oslo)Goodnight Oslo (Goodnight Oslo)I Just Wanna Be Loved (Goodnight Oslo bonus disc)Ordinary Millionaire (Propellor Time)John In The Air (Propellor Time)Propeller Time (Propellor Time)Primitive (Propellor Time)Sickie Boy (single version) (non-lp)Evolove (Propellor Time)
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 2 February 2017 22:30 (seven years ago) link
that looks great! don't even think i ever heard Obliteration Pie. agree that Love From London might be his weakest record. Might have a handful of decent songs, but something about the production is just so dull.
― tylerw, Thursday, 2 February 2017 22:42 (seven years ago) link
and hey, new album coming out soonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHlR_yeXz9M
― tylerw, Thursday, 2 February 2017 22:43 (seven years ago) link
Different strokes for different fegs... I can't CONCIEVE of how you could not pick "narcissus", "no i don't remember guildford", "sometimes a blonde" or "star of Venus", each the strongest song from their respective sessions imo
And "trilobite" instead of "as lemons chop"? For shame!!!
Also "sound of sound" off Luxor is all time
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 3 February 2017 00:27 (seven years ago) link
Those were all the on the list but cut in favor of something else:
We'll have to agree to disagree regarding "Star Of Venus", that one never grabbed me.
And I adore "Trilobite"; "Lemons Chopped" was the last track cut.
I'll revisit "Sound Of Sound", it's just so hard to bother with "Luxor" at all.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 3 February 2017 02:49 (seven years ago) link
I like the sound of that new song though I don't think I like the song itself very much. But I'm excited to have a new album of electric RH!
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 3 February 2017 04:42 (seven years ago) link
think I'll go see him on this tour, I haven't seen Robyn Hitchcock in almost 30 years.
― akm, Friday, 3 February 2017 14:17 (seven years ago) link
yeah, kind of agree -- the song itself doesn't seem amazing, but I like the overall sound. weirdly it's grunge-man brendan o'brien producing
― tylerw, Friday, 3 February 2017 15:03 (seven years ago) link
this is odd to say but it sounds like one of the lame songs from an otherwise good Robyn album? Hence I am psyched
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 3 February 2017 15:12 (seven years ago) link
haha, that sounds about right. i like the line about the cat dynasty.
― tylerw, Friday, 3 February 2017 15:18 (seven years ago) link
there's definitely bits i like but i had to take a break when he exclaimed 'if ya got no heart!'
chorus seemed to scan so awkwardly at first but by its third appearance i kind of liked it
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 3 February 2017 16:23 (seven years ago) link
I'd add:
1974I saw Nick DrakeSometimes a BlondeWe're Gonna Live in the TreesSolpadeine
Brendan Benson producing right?
― JoeStork, Friday, 3 February 2017 17:14 (seven years ago) link
oh ha, you're right! brendans!
― tylerw, Friday, 3 February 2017 17:16 (seven years ago) link
1974 is my favorite Star for Bram song. Star for Bram is really strong though, I consider it the equal of Jewels for Sophia barring a couple of throwaways
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 3 February 2017 17:59 (seven years ago) link
Daisy Bomb is my Star For Bram tune. The studio version of 1974 irks me.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 3 February 2017 20:01 (seven years ago) link
nietzsche's way is great, too ... was always a little let down by the studio "nick drake" -- i saw him do it at one point w/ Jon Brion on keys and it was incredible.
― tylerw, Friday, 3 February 2017 20:03 (seven years ago) link
Yes I liked I saw nick drake better live, especially a very slow solo acoustic one
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 3 February 2017 21:37 (seven years ago) link
Not my favorite era for Hitch but where's "Cheese Alarm"?
― kwhitehead, Saturday, 4 February 2017 01:54 (seven years ago) link
Part of the challenge and fun of making best of's is setting a limit. I mean, I usually listen to full albums but artists with huge catalogs often benefit from a less-is-more approach. So 20 tracks or 80 minutes works well and forces me to really pick the cream of the crop. I've really enjoyed listening to Robyn's best work and bypassing the bad, merely good and failed experiments.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 4 February 2017 17:33 (seven years ago) link
at one point I made a hitchcock playlist and it had like hundreds of songs on it and was 4 hours long at least. his catalogue is just so vast at this point.
― akm, Sunday, 5 February 2017 16:53 (seven years ago) link
I have two Robyn best of playlists on Spotify, one super concise one where each album gets only one or two tracks, and one big baggy one where you get several tracks per album (both are titled Verities & Verdigris). The shitty thing there was that the A&M era is not on Spotify except for the Greatest Hits cd, so a bunch of my favorite globe/queen/Perspex/respect tracks couldn't be included.
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Sunday, 5 February 2017 18:43 (seven years ago) link
second single from this new record is a damp squib, too. Kinda bummed.
― EZ Snappin, Monday, 27 February 2017 21:34 (seven years ago) link
oh nooooo really?
seeing the Black Snake show with Yo La Tengo tomorrow night
― Cognition (Remix) (Jon not Jon), Monday, 27 February 2017 21:46 (seven years ago) link
i dunno, gotta listen to it a bit more, but it sounded good
― tylerw, Monday, 27 February 2017 21:49 (seven years ago) link
I'm jealous Jon! Couldn't justify the trip, no matter how much I wanted it. If there's some goofy march thing you could pick one up for me. :)
Here's the new tune. The nicest thing I can say is it's overly familiar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW6scypUj1M
― EZ Snappin, Monday, 27 February 2017 21:50 (seven years ago) link
dang yeah that Black Snake show is going to be funnnnnnn
― tylerw, Monday, 27 February 2017 21:52 (seven years ago) link
i actually blew it when they announced the second show because i was in minnesota at my mom's and by the time i got home and remembered to buy a ticket it'd sold out too. But I asked my buddy if he had any juice at rough trade store and to my relief he had juice at rough trade store and got our names on the list.
i hope this isn't the last time seeing him in front of an electric band.
ROCK ARMADA '99 FOREVAH
― Cognition (Remix) (Jon not Jon), Monday, 27 February 2017 21:54 (seven years ago) link
Those Rock Armada shows were the best.
― EZ Snappin, Monday, 27 February 2017 21:59 (seven years ago) link
So EZ they just have cd and 7" versions of the Robyn & Emma single and some black snake diamond role shirts and posters Not the esoterica you would want I assume(Show has not started yet)
― Cognition (Remix) (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 01:26 (seven years ago) link
Wow that second set!Can I just--Wey wey hep uh holeIt's a mystic trip (w pedal-enabled backward guitar from ira)All I want to do is fall in love I got a message for youA skull a suitcase and a long red bottle of wineGoing down to Liverpool (!)Run run run (ira ostrich solo)Sleeping knights of Jesus (4 part harmonies!)Kingdom of loveHe's a reptile (hard and tight as fuck)Rock n roll toilet (w YLT playing the wrong instruments)Lucifer SamAirscape (w backward ira guitar and Georgia singing the harmonies -- omg)
I may have gotten the exact sequence wrong and or left something out
― Cognition (Remix) (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 14:23 (seven years ago) link
Yow that looks amazing -- hoping someone was on hand to tape it all...
― tylerw, Wednesday, 1 March 2017 14:25 (seven years ago) link