Robyn Hitchcock: From 'Self-Centred Horror' to Nashville Musician
Robyn Hitchcock, the esteemed 73-year-old musician, has released his latest album, "The Confuser," a collection inspired by "dead English blokes." Speaking with Stewart Lee, Hitchcock discusses his songwriting process, including writing "nasty songs" about his neighbors, and his eventual success in Nashville.
The opening track of "The Confuser," a vibrant, Lennon-esque power-pop song titled "I Am This Thing," begins with a provocative line: "I owe a lot to a dead man's cock." The album was recorded in Nashville by a skilled group of session musicians. Hitchcock, who now resides in Nashville with his wife, Australian singer-songwriter Emma Swift, runs a boutique record label there.
Unprompted, Hitchcock defends his presence in Nashville, stating, "I'm not just some sort of old public school dilettante floating around the South Bank or whatever." He emphasizes that succeeding in Nashville, a renowned hub for musicians, validates his status as a "real musician songwriter." He adds, "And I think, 'OK, I actually did do this!' I wanted to go to Nashville when I, as a 13-year-old boarding school boy, heard those Dylan records he made here. And a mere 60 years later, here I am!"
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