Certain Songs

Certain Songs #1973: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “The Arms of Love”

December 4, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Respect
Year: 1993

. . .

“Arms of Love” is on the short list of Prettiest Songs Ever Recorded, Robyn Hitchcock Division. It was also the first Robyn Hitchcock song I was looking forward to hearing, and it was the rare Robyn Hitchcock song that had been covered by another artist prior to Robyn putting our his own version.

That artist, of course, was R.E.M., who had been intertwined with Hitchcock since 1988 — Peter Buck was basically the fourth Egyptian and Michael Stipe had sung on two of the better of the Perspex Island-era songs, “She Doesn’t Exist” and “Dark Green Energy.”

Certain Songs #1972: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “So You Think You’re In Love”

December 3, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Perspex Island
Year: 1991

. . .

After the acousticy detour of Eye, Robyn Hitchcock came back in 1991 with Perspex Island, his fifth studio album with The Egyptians, which had a bigger and glossier sound as compared to his previous albums. I mean, as compared to: it still wasn’t a patch on some of the bigger productions of the year: your Guns ‘n’ Roses or or your U2s or even your R.E.M.s.

The R.E.M.s, of course, were once again helping Robyn out. Well, mostly Peter Buck, who is all over the album, including the the first single, the crazy-catchy “So You Think You’re In Love,” a song that went all the way back to the Soft Boys days.

Certain Songs #1971: Robyn Hitchcock – “Raining Twilight Coast”

December 2, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Eye
Year: 1990

. . .

My favorite song on Eye was the stark and desolate “Raining Twilight Coast,” a gorgeous elegy for a relationship that is clearly over, but is also on the short list of the Prettiest Song Ever Recorded, Robyn Hitchcock Divsion.

“Raining Twilight Coast” is one of those songs that takes its sweet time to get to where it wants to go — to the point where it’s normally the kind of song I would probably ignore — but the trip is incredibly worthwhile.

Certain Songs #1970: Robyn Hitchcock – “Beautiful Girl”

December 1, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Eye
Year: 1990

. . .

While Eye was mostly filled with longish and downbeat-sounding songs, there was at least one seemingly upbeat tune, “Beautiful Girl,” which is just basically a strummy acoustic guitar song, like you’d imagine a busker somewhere singing while wandering around a BART station.

Certain Songs #1969: Robyn Hitchcock – “Executioner”

November 30, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Eye
Year: 1990

. . .

In 1990, Robyn Hitchcock released his first purely solo album since 1984’s I Often Dream of Trains. The album was called Eye, and as befitting the bandless nature of the venture, it was released on Twin/Tone rather than A&M.

Not that the world necessarily needed to have that kind of distinction between Robyn Hitchcock with or without The Egyptians, but I think that A&M were still holding out the hope that his electric music would strike some kind of chord with the general public.

Certain Songs #1968: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Madonna of the Wasps”

November 27, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Queen Elvis
Year: 1989

. . .

“Madonna Of The Wasps” just might be my favorite Robyn Hitchcock song.

That said, by any objective standard, it’s his greatest song, right? I know that some of you might stan for “I Wanna Destroy You” — it’s certainly been covered by more people — and I can’t argue too hard with you. Except to say this: “Madonna of the Wasps” is an utterly perfect pop confection from the opening chant to the guitar solo at the fade. In the same universe that all of the great Replacements singles cracked the top 10, “Madonna of the Wasps” was an instant smash #1 all around the world.

Certain Songs #1967: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Chinese Bones”

November 25, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Globe of Frogs
Year: 1988

. . .

“Chinese Bones” might just be my favorite Robyn Hitchcock song. At the very least, it’s on the short list of the Prettiest Songs Ever Recorded, Robyn Hitchcock Division.

In a post on his Facebook page, he called it “a Halloween song, for those of use who dance internally”, and said it was influenced by Roxy Music’s Avalon.

Certain Songs #1966: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Unsettled”

November 24, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Globe of Frogs
Year: 1988

. . .

There were a lot of unlikely major-label signings in the second half of the 1980s — Sonic Youth, Husker Du, etc — but in retrospect, the signing of Robyn Hitchcock to A&M in 1988 was one of the most unlikely. That said, he remained a major label artist for over a decade, with Warner Brothers picking him up after A&M had given up, so the fact that he always made quality records definitely counted for something.

Certain Songs #1965: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Tell Me About Your Drugs”

November 23, 2020 by Jim Connelly

B-side, 1986

. . .

As much as I love Robyn Hitchcock, I learned pretty early on that buying his singles for the b-sides was a dodgy proposition. Often times, the b-sides were rife with weird experiments, either dissonant, ambient or spoken word.

That said, occasionally you hit paydirt, like the “If You Were A Priest” 12″ single, which I’m sure I bought at Rasputin’s in Berkeley, and ended up containing a song I love as much as anything on Element of Light, the glamstomping “Tell Me About Your Drugs.”

Certain Songs #1964: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Lady Waters & The Hooded One”

November 22, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Element of Light
Year: 1986

. . .

I somehow doubt that when Robyn Hitchock wrote “Lady Waters & The Hooded One” — a story song about a woman facing death via the Plague — he knew that it would ever have any kind of contemporary resonance. But here in the waning days of 2020, it kinda does.