Robyn Hitchcock : NPR

Robyn Hitchcock's latest work is a party with a little melancholy

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World Cafe Words and Music Podcast

Robyn Hitchcock's latest work is a party with a little melancholy

WXPN

March 15, 2023 • Enjoy this mini-concert featuring songs from Shufflemania!, Hitchcock's latest album of surrealistic rock.

Robyn Hitchcock on World Cafe

15:02

Matthew Seligman, New Wave Bassist For The Soft Boys And David Bowie, Dies At 64

Matthew Seligman performs with Thomas Dolby and his band at a 2010 concert in London. Andy Sheppard/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Andy Sheppard/Redferns/Getty Images

Matthew Seligman, New Wave Bassist For The Soft Boys And David Bowie, Dies At 64

April 20, 2020 • Seligman played on The Soft Boys' influential 1980 album Underwater Moonlight and in Bowie's backing band at Live Aid. He died Friday of complications from COVID-19.

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Courtesy of the artist

WXPN

August 31, 2017 • The U.K. singer-songwriter performs songs from his slick, surrealist self-titled album.

Robyn Hitchcock On World Cafe

31:16

Robyn Hitchcock Returns With 'An Ecstatic Work Of Negativity'

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Courtesy of the artist

Robyn Hitchcock Returns With 'An Ecstatic Work Of Negativity'

February 1, 2017 • The U.K. singer-songwriter is set to return with his self-titled 21st album, his most rambunctious record in years. Hear "I Want To Tell You About What I Want."

Robyn Hitchcock Salutes Gillian Welch And David Rawlings

Robyn Hitchcock presented Gillian Welch and David Rawlings with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at the Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Show on Sept. 16, 2015. Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Americana Music hide caption

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The Record

Robyn Hitchcock Salutes Gillian Welch And David Rawlings

September 18, 2015 • Read the British troubadour's paean to his longtime collaborators while handing them a Lifetime Achievement plaque at the Americana Honors and Awards

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World Cafe

Robyn Hitchcock On World Cafe

WXPN

December 9, 2014 • The former member of The Soft Boys makes psychedelic folk rock with a tender, surreal bent.

Robyn Hitchcock On World Cafe

29:37

Robyn Hitchcock: 'Rock 'N' Roll Is An Old Man's Game Now'

Robyn Hitchcock's latest album is called Love from London. Michèle Noach/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Michèle Noach/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

Robyn Hitchcock: 'Rock 'N' Roll Is An Old Man's Game Now'

March 2, 2013 • The British singer and guitarist has generated hundreds of songs in a career that begins in the 1970s fronting The Soft Boys. His latest album is called Love from London.

Robyn Hitchcock: 'Rock 'N' Roll Is An Old Man's Game Now'

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Tiny Desk

Joe Boyd And Robyn Hitchcock: Tiny Desk Concert

July 18, 2011 • Boyd's name popped up on many records in the 1960s and '70s. Joined by Robyn Hitchcock, Boyd reads from his book, White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s, while Hitchcock performs songs of the era.

Joe Boyd And Robyn Hitchcock: Tiny Desk Concert

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George Wright

Favorite Sessions

Robyn Hitchcock: A Stranger In 'Oslo'

WFUV

August 6, 2009 • Hitchcock could be said to pick up where Syd Barrett left off: He's a master of slightly cracked, psychedelic pop whimsy. In a session from WFUV, he performs new material, including an as-yet-unreleased Peter Buck collaboration called "Propeller Time."

Session Spotlight: Robyn Hitchcock Performs 'Propeller Time'

Review

Song Of The Day

Robyn Hitchcock: Honesty And Hesitation

May 26, 2009 • In "I'm Falling," venerable British songwriter Robyn Hitchcock sings a remarkably tender and characteristically un-straightforward love song. Ostensibly written about Beatles manager Brian Epstein's feelings for John Lennon, the song captures the dizziness and confusion of all great romances.

'I'm Falling' by Robyn Hitchcock

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Music Interviews

Robyn Hitchcock: An Oddball In 'Oslo'

February 19, 2009 • He's best known for his bizarrely comic songcraft and most recently for his role as the white-haired troubadour of Rachel Getting Married. Still a prolific recording artist, Hitchcock plays from and discusses his new album, Goodnight Oslo.

Robyn Hitchcock: An Oddball In 'Oslo'

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Concerts

Robyn Hitchcock In Concert

WXPN

July 18, 2008 • English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock has cobbled together an unconventional and enduring career: With a discography that spans a stunning 36 albums, Hitchcock remains one of the most unpredictable and charismatic oddballs in popular music. Hear Hitchcock perform live in concert from WXPN and World Café Live in Philadelphia.

Robyn Hitchcock In Concert

Bryant Park Project Video

Legendary Robyn Hitchcock Plays for the 'BPP'

April 11, 2008 • The English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock plays two songs off albums he's re-releasing — on vinyl, no less — from his out-of-print catalog.

Legendary Robyn Hitchcock Plays for the 'BPP'

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New Music

Hobo, Interrupted, Still 'Dreams of Trains'

February 13, 2008 • Hopping a freight is so wonderful, says Laura Conaway, that if you do it even once you'll dream of it for the rest of your life. She dedicates Robyn Hitchcock's "I Often Dream of Trains" to William Vollmann, as the Bryant Park Project's Best Song in the World Today.

Hobo, Interrupted, Still 'Dreams of Trains'

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Review

Song Of The Day

A Whimsical Eccentric Gets Nakedly Emotional

May 17, 2007 • Writing "N.Y. Doll" from the perspective of a late New York Dolls bassist, Robyn Hitchcock opts not to copy the Dolls' pre-punk strut and roar. Instead, he sticks to what he knows, slowly stretching the guitar jangle until it ripples and pulses with the hum of psychedelia.

'N.Y. Doll' by Robyn Hitchcock

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SXSW Music Festival

SXSW Sessions: Robyn Hitchcock

KUT News

March 15, 2007 • Fearless in the face of pop music trends over the past 30 years, Robyn Hitchcock continues to carry psychedelic music's swirling torch. He also pursues a film and art career in addition to his eclectic and ever-expanding discography. Produced by KUT.

World Cafe

Robyn Hitchcock: Willfully Eclectic

WXPN

December 7, 2006 • Robyn Hitchcock's career has played out on his own terms: prolific, odd, uneven and frequently brilliant. Since his early years with The Soft Boys — a late-'70s college-radio staple that helped inspire bands like R.E.M. — Hitchcock has been ahead of his time.