Showing posts with label ROBYN HITCHCOCK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ROBYN HITCHCOCK. Show all posts
Thursday, September 6, 2007
CAPTAIN SENSIBLE - HERE IS THE GOOD POP - HAPPY TALK
"HAPPY TALK ---- One of The Great Unknown POP Songs You Never Heard"
This is one of the greatest songs that existed in its time period. It came out one Captains solo efforts when he wasn't acting like a revved up maniac with THE DAMNED. This album allowed Sensible to do some pretty off the cuff things you may not expect from the UK's First PUNK band. This is a great effort.
Around this time it was rumored that Sensible was paying for Robyn Hitchcock to write songs and to create music. Hitch's band THE SOFT BOYS had recently broken up and now he was solo. Sensible heard his music and thought it was important enough to support. I have only heard this rumor by club kids growing up in this time period but was never able to validate this curious fact.
This song HAPPY TALK was featured in a few comedies of late. Its whimsical like Sensible himself. The other notable songs on this effort include YANKS WITH GUNS. If you can locate this on disc its worth owning. Unfortunately ITUNES does not carry it.
Posted by Cantu on Aug. 6, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Sunday, July 29, 2007
ROBYN HITCHCOCK - QUEEN ELVIS - LIVE
"Taken During The High Period - at Tower Records, (When TR Was Valid!)"
1989 was a wondrous time. New Music was unclassified and YET it was making money and fans all around. This was the time to really follow music. The record companies were all on the phone clamoring for a definition waiting to classify EVERYTHING IN SITE. But it was too hard to do.....
While record PR people were at odds records, yes records, were selling. The entire CD revolution was in a slow turning groove and this was years before Itunes. Tower Records was THE place to get anything you wanted at the time. There seemed to be a lot more of them around back in those days.... And while all of this was happening there was a lot of great songs that were getting pumped out into the public.
Note: At this time nobody needed permission to do anything.
ROBYN HITCHCOCK GOES ACOUSTIC
Ironically I never got a chance to see the Egyptians... technically. I did, however, see the Soft Boys at an impromptu gig at the Bowery Ballroom and reformed once again for the Underwater Moonlight Tour a few years back. Seeing Hitch on the EYE Tour was amazing in its own right. I wanted to see him with a band and go electric. I did not want to see a tour or listen to an entire album that was done acoustically...... but his stuff was different.
The longer he toured and released albums of this nature the better the sound became. If you listen to him sing on the Jonathan Demme concert film he has elevated his acoustic sound to something pretty powerful. It wasn't until this sound was taken to its zenith did I see him play no less than 6 separate times.
*** The funny thing about the album EYE was that it was released on Twin Tone records. This label was home for the Replacements and other thrashy bands. Before the press could jump all over Hitchcock with petty criticisms the record was already recorded and released and distributed.
And there are some gems on this recording. There are several tracks on here that are worth owning. They defy stereotyping of any kind.
Ted Cantu posted this on July 29, 2007 at 8:38 PM
Monday, April 2, 2007
robyn hitchcock - YOU CRASH UPON A STAR
"..... ADVENTURE ROCKET SHIP !!!!"This is like taking all the choice bits that make the Hitchcock tapestry so intriguing and then throwing them into a giant Vitamix and setting it all on high. The song still works but you got to wonder why .... I suppose it is quite convenient to churn out time and tested formula rather than create something with a little more heart.....
Still I like this tune even though its contrived. There are a lot of familiar hooks in here ripped off from other released songs. Its childish and obvious and a little overstated but as a Hitchcock song it works. I know it works WELL when i tend to play the song over and over again. Like so many of Hitch's tunes I have literally worn them out on my player from listening to them over and over again.
Cantu - 2007
robyn hitchcock - INTO THE FEGMANIAX
".... i wonder if you dream about them too."
AH YES.. i remember the age of candles.. .. ahem....yes yes, quite quite....
This one slipped onto the frequencies quite late in the evening -- around 2 am in fact. I first glimpsed at this in the year 1986 and was transfixed to the television, (quite sure that I had discovered a secret pop sensation transmission from Planet Amazement).
This song seems to haunt ones sensibilities. I don't get the whole tribute thing to Syd Barrett. I think Barrett honestly sticks too many notes in his songs due to the fact that his heart was racing like a rabbit, (thanks to speed and LSD). I think Barrett was a creative dynamo who wasn't built to last. No doubt he was incredibly creative. Hitchcock on the other hand was just as creative but tended to draw out his inspirations through a long string of albums...... and I enjoyed his many transmissions.... even the more subdued ones.
But this song endured and penetrated itself into my inner subconscious.
Cantu 2007
AH YES.. i remember the age of candles.. .. ahem....yes yes, quite quite....
This one slipped onto the frequencies quite late in the evening -- around 2 am in fact. I first glimpsed at this in the year 1986 and was transfixed to the television, (quite sure that I had discovered a secret pop sensation transmission from Planet Amazement).
This song seems to haunt ones sensibilities. I don't get the whole tribute thing to Syd Barrett. I think Barrett honestly sticks too many notes in his songs due to the fact that his heart was racing like a rabbit, (thanks to speed and LSD). I think Barrett was a creative dynamo who wasn't built to last. No doubt he was incredibly creative. Hitchcock on the other hand was just as creative but tended to draw out his inspirations through a long string of albums...... and I enjoyed his many transmissions.... even the more subdued ones.
But this song endured and penetrated itself into my inner subconscious.
Cantu 2007
Sunday, April 1, 2007
ROBYN HITCHCOCK - "look ma, no class !!!"
"I GOT INTO A FIGHT WITH A GUY OVER THESE LYRICS ONCE.... NO KIDDING, IT WAS AT THREE IN THE MORNING BACK IN THE 90'S... WHEN I THINK IT OVER I STILL GET ENRAGED ABOUT IT......"We almost starting trading blows at eachother under a blood red moon about who had the right lyrics. I apologize for "Ben"... I wont use his real name.. actualy that is his real name but I won't use his real last name..... but this guy was a ... ( is probably...) a real asshole. Either way, this fight escalated to the point where someone was probably going to get seriously hurt out of the deal. WHEW... anyways.. this is the song.... and its a real beaut.
This came off the album.....I Often Dream of Trains... and that entire album has a dreamlike quality to it. Years after I first heard this song the entire thing is somewhat alarming. "Pretty Girls" tries to be a song..... somewhat apologetically in the middle and then it goes straight away back into the rough bit.
The ending is always alarming too because its so abrupt. Years later I ask myself what it is that I am supposed to feel. I like this song but I am not sure why. I like a lot of things that arent necessarily good for me either.
Cantu 2007
THE SOFT BOYS - "And. then I left Myself and Now your the Lonely One "
"WHAT A MAD RUMBLE OF UTTER IRRESPONSIBILITY !!!"
The lines in this song somewhat slay me. It is a loveable romp into the absurd. It has hardly blues but it does have a bluesy feel to it. It certainly isn't jazz. But that was how it was presented to me when I was first introduced to it. Its none of the above really.... but the lyrics are interesting........
"I left myself and now you're the lonely one....." YIKES. But this is true. If you are in a position where you are completely bombarded with lights, images and sounds and new experiences there is a good chance that you will not remain the same, (un) loveable person that someone saw in you.... in fact, there is a strong likelihood that you will emerge a completely different animal in roughly as a months time.... if left unattended and allowed to go through these multiple changes as Mother Nature intended.....
Hitchcock certainly did that with his band in the Soft Boys and as a solo artist. But is part of the inner wunderkind that embodies his music. That metamorphasis is encouraging at the least.
Cantu 2007
The lines in this song somewhat slay me. It is a loveable romp into the absurd. It has hardly blues but it does have a bluesy feel to it. It certainly isn't jazz. But that was how it was presented to me when I was first introduced to it. Its none of the above really.... but the lyrics are interesting........
"I left myself and now you're the lonely one....." YIKES. But this is true. If you are in a position where you are completely bombarded with lights, images and sounds and new experiences there is a good chance that you will not remain the same, (un) loveable person that someone saw in you.... in fact, there is a strong likelihood that you will emerge a completely different animal in roughly as a months time.... if left unattended and allowed to go through these multiple changes as Mother Nature intended.....
Hitchcock certainly did that with his band in the Soft Boys and as a solo artist. But is part of the inner wunderkind that embodies his music. That metamorphasis is encouraging at the least.
Cantu 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
ROBYN HITCHCOCK - NICELY DONE
"Loosen your spine... bury your television.... and welcome to a
GLOBE OF FROGS......"
This is a double dose of Hitchcock. NOT SILLY ALFRED... but hypnotic ROBYN.... Mr. Hitchcock if you please.... or more fashionably... HITCH as he's favorably known.
What would a pre-Spring advance waiting be without a bit of the ol Soft Boys and Hitchcock tunes. These tracks are a deliberate throw back to the sounds of Syd Barrett. Maybe thats what is where the rooftop shots came in from.....
These songs are beautifully executed and stand up to challenge listeners everywhere. Still, they can really only compete with themselves. They are in a class all their own. This is where they belong... in the hands of the surreal.
GLOBE OF FROGS......"
This is a double dose of Hitchcock. NOT SILLY ALFRED... but hypnotic ROBYN.... Mr. Hitchcock if you please.... or more fashionably... HITCH as he's favorably known.
What would a pre-Spring advance waiting be without a bit of the ol Soft Boys and Hitchcock tunes. These tracks are a deliberate throw back to the sounds of Syd Barrett. Maybe thats what is where the rooftop shots came in from.....
These songs are beautifully executed and stand up to challenge listeners everywhere. Still, they can really only compete with themselves. They are in a class all their own. This is where they belong... in the hands of the surreal.
It is where they are best appreciated.
They have surfaced on NPR from time to time and Hitchcock is a favored guest on KCRW. I have to give this man a lot of credit over the past several years. He went on this feverish touring mode and never stopped creating. I was there for the Soft Boys reunion with Kimberly Row in New York City -- and was lucky enough to attend 7 shows in all.
This has only solidified his artistry and cemented his place as a major contributor to eclectic sounds. I've grown to like his artwork over the years. Not because I understand it but because I find whimsy in it. I actually like his illustrated traffic cones. I liked his sense of placement with lyrics, shapes and forms and his use of them. These elements come into a delicate sense of arrangement. Whether itis words, 3d forms, or sounds these are all used inter changeably.
Cantu writes for the fascube network, this entry was written on Feb . 23, 2007 at 7:51 pm.
This has only solidified his artistry and cemented his place as a major contributor to eclectic sounds. I've grown to like his artwork over the years. Not because I understand it but because I find whimsy in it. I actually like his illustrated traffic cones. I liked his sense of placement with lyrics, shapes and forms and his use of them. These elements come into a delicate sense of arrangement. Whether itis words, 3d forms, or sounds these are all used inter changeably.
Cantu writes for the fascube network, this entry was written on Feb . 23, 2007 at 7:51 pm.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
ROBYN HITCHCOCK - LIVE IN 80
UNDERWATER MOONLIGHT is a near sided classic.
That is -- when it was first released it slipped under the radar. Americans were taken up with MTV, Tony Basil, The Clash.... and classic rock. The classic rock part has never changed - that remained consistent. So when Robyn Hitchcock and the Soft Boys were making a racket nobody was paying attention in America.
Captain Sensible supported Hitchcock during bad times so he could keep on creating music. This clip was taken from Underwater Moonlight. The Soft Boys reunited in NYC at the Roseland for a concert a few years back celbrating the 20th anniversary. This live track captures the enthusiasm found on the Soft Boys Anthology.
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cantu fascube 2006
That is -- when it was first released it slipped under the radar. Americans were taken up with MTV, Tony Basil, The Clash.... and classic rock. The classic rock part has never changed - that remained consistent. So when Robyn Hitchcock and the Soft Boys were making a racket nobody was paying attention in America.
Captain Sensible supported Hitchcock during bad times so he could keep on creating music. This clip was taken from Underwater Moonlight. The Soft Boys reunited in NYC at the Roseland for a concert a few years back celbrating the 20th anniversary. This live track captures the enthusiasm found on the Soft Boys Anthology.
---------------
cantu fascube 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
ROBYN HITCHCOCK - IS THIS LOVE?
This video leaves a thumbprint on your brain and it stays there... mostly likely for eternity. It did in my case --- I found this particular one to be unforgettable. At least the intro... and the outro. The scene opens with HITCH, as he's known, on the phone with some sort of atmospheric dream -like sounds in the background.
Then it breaks off into the song.... which is very artfully done. The video then tops the audio with its very clean delivery. The scenes are very steady and evenly cut and its very entertaining. Hitchcock looks a lot like Peter Buck in this clip and that is most likely due to the fact that they are very good friends. In fact the middle part of this video looks like an REM video.
This had a much bigger impact on me that I anticipated. I always have the tendency to see things that aren't there. I actually believed that the last shot was of a wasp madonna pinned to a wall... like a science display, in some mad biology exibit. My ideas and the way I remember certain videos are always a little more fantastic than what they usually are.
All and in all, this is an amazing work.
=================================================
Ted Cantu is the contributor to the FASCUBE network, and also works as a direct marketing consutant through 911copywriters.com
Then it breaks off into the song.... which is very artfully done. The video then tops the audio with its very clean delivery. The scenes are very steady and evenly cut and its very entertaining. Hitchcock looks a lot like Peter Buck in this clip and that is most likely due to the fact that they are very good friends. In fact the middle part of this video looks like an REM video.
This had a much bigger impact on me that I anticipated. I always have the tendency to see things that aren't there. I actually believed that the last shot was of a wasp madonna pinned to a wall... like a science display, in some mad biology exibit. My ideas and the way I remember certain videos are always a little more fantastic than what they usually are.
All and in all, this is an amazing work.
=================================================
Ted Cantu is the contributor to the FASCUBE network, and also works as a direct marketing consutant through 911copywriters.com
Sunday, December 10, 2006
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