Chicago Sun-Times
May 9, 1993
Rock Lobster: The Cult Of Robyn Hitchcock
by Jim DeRogatis
Robyn Hitchcock has always been a lobster-out-of-water.
When he made his debut with The Soft Boys in the late-'70s, his fanciful songs about shellfish were too weird for Punk. Now, his thoughtful, melodic tunes with The Egyptians are too straight for Grunge.
After almost two decades as a cult hero, Hitchcock is questioning whether he fits in at all.
"We don't play Rock music anymore," he says. "I'm middle-aged, and I want to go senile gracefully. I'm not interested in the Rock 'n' Roll attitude, and I'm not intertested in long hair and commercial Alternative.
"We've done it all. We had long hair when no one else had it. Now that everybody has long hair and is making noise, great: we did that back in 1978."
The tall Englishman with the intense gaze and single eyebrow is touring behind Respect, a collection of relaxed acoustic tunes. The band will perform at the Vic Theatre on Monday -- sans amplifiers -- in what may be Hitchcock's last Chicago gig for quite some time.
Considered a god among college-radio disc jockeys, fanzine writers, and Alternative music fans, Hitchcock is virtually unknown outside those circles. The singer-songwriter has worked hard to expand his audience -- with little success. Now he seems to be tired of trying.
"We consecutively made an album a year for the past six or seven years, and I feel like there's other things I can do," he says. "Before I cease to be Robyn Hitchcock, I want to be able to do some cartoons, paintings, short stories...maybe spoken word over background music.
"We've done 20 albums. And, quite frankly, I don't know what's next as regards making a record. I feel intuitively like there's nothing else to do."
In 1991, Hitchcock made a deliberate move to be radio-friendly on Perspex Island. On Respect, he has given up trying to please anyone besides himself and Egyptians Morris Windsor and Andy Metcalfe (both have been playing with Hitchcock since The Soft Boys).
Producer John Leckie parked a mobile recording studio outside Hitchcock's home on The Isle Of Wight and the trio recorded with acoustic guitar, standup bass, brushes, and found percussion such as coffee can and cheese grater.
"It was almost (but not quite) what I'd envisioned," Hitchcock says. "I'd really hoped the three of us would be sitting round the kitchen table doing harmonies with a microphone and a bowl of fruit and a bottle of wine (or a cup of tea) on the table. It wasn't quite that informal."
Despite the acoustic approach, Respect is no wimpy "unplugged" effort. "The Yip Song" and "Driving Aloud (Radio Storm)" are more accessible and uplifting than any of the would-be hits on Perspex Island. And "Arms Of Love", "Railway Shoes", and "The Moon Inside" are among Hitchcock's most touching ballads.
"I couldn't have written 'Railway Shoes' and 'Arms Of Love' a few years ago," Hitchcock says. "They're about as mature as I get. I feel like -- in my own excitable way -- I've grown up a bit."
But in typical fashion, he ended Respect with one of the silliest songs he has recorded: a Barry White-meets-Captain Beefheart throwaway called "Wafflehead".
"It was a very solemn album, and I wanted to leave everybody on a lighter note," he says. "The critics think it's a bad sign that underneath I'm still a joker and a faker and I haven't become a truly penitent man.
"Maybe all I've done is divide things so that when I write a serious song, I don't trip it up with a ludicrous line. And when I write a funny song, I make it funny all the way through."
For years, Hitchcock has been trapped in the acid-visionary persona he created with The Soft Boys and early solo albums.
Musically, these records drew on the timeless Psychedelic Pop sounds of John Lennon, The Byrds, Pink Floyd, and The Incredible String Band. But lyrically they were populated with an odd assortment of dwarves, lobsters, crabs, ghosts, and man-eating vegetables.
Hitchcock's worldview was equal parts Dada, Wind in the Willows, Captain Beefheart, and Monty Python. Fans loved his bizarre lyrics and between-song monologues -- but other listeners wondered what the hell he was talking about.
"I'm very conscious of the limitations of the Robyn Hitchcock song (although I think I've grown up a bit and I've steered it certain ways)," he says. "I almost want to think myself into somebody else to write songs."
As far back as 1981, Hitchcock was singing about "The Man Who Invented Himself". Whether he uses his upcoming sabbatical to disappear and reinvent himself or whether he simply takes some time off to recharge his batteries, it's unlikely that Respect is the last we'll hear from him.
"It's not like I'm incapable of linking chords together anymore to form songs," he says. "I can produce a parody of myself at the drop of a hat (and quite a few other people as well)."
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