The Atlanta Journal And Constitution
November 12, 1996
Bragg, Hitchcock Make Unlikely, Inspired Pair
by Steve Dollar
One's a fervent Socialist. The other's an unhinged surrealist. Both, indelibly, are as English as tea, crumpets, and cricket -- and thoroughly subversive when it comes to crafting a Pop song.
That's what makes the unlikely pairing of songwriters Billy Bragg and Robyn Hitchcock an inspired notion. The musicians -- whose solo careers run roughly parallel to that of mutual pals R.E.M. -- enjoy comfortable cult followings and major-label record deals. But at Variety Playhouse tonight, listeners can hear them pared down to basics. And maybe rubbing off on each other.
"He's been doing more political raps," Bragg says of his touring partner, whose melodically-lovely-yet-lyrically-bent songs evoke Byrdsian Folk Rock and the Psychedelia of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. "He has, he has! Not in the straight sense."
And Bragg, whose issue-driven songs and clanging electric guitar mark him as a cross between Woody Guthrie and The Clash, still tangles with the political as well. But his new album, William Bloke (Elektra), reflects changing times. Margaret Thatcher is no more. First-time fatherhood has become a major influence. So now Bragg sings about a "Socialism of the heart".
Longtime fans may wonder if Bragg's gone soft. The tour, he admits, is a challenge after a long layoff from performing.
"After Robyn's played I have to come out and raise my game a little bit," he says during a brief conversation that also includes asides on the since-decided U.S. presidential race ("I got more material taking the [stuffing] out of the World Series"), and a detailed deconstruction of the British beef crisis. "After three years of not touring, I can't lazily slip into being Billy Bragg. A sizable percentage of the audience is there to see Robyn as to see me."
Though Bragg's stance can seem quixotic -- at least in The United States -- he's encouraged by new bands such as Rage Against The Machine. "Punk and Folk always had a political dimension," he says. "But they're trying to do it in a cross between Hip-Hop and Speed Metal."
Back home, he observes, even dance music has become charged with the spirit of resistance -- often becoming a source for confrontation between revelers and authority. "No one gives a [bleep] if Oasis gives a huge gig, 'cause they ain't singing about nothing."
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