“Chronolology is one of many possible orbits through my world, see where it takes you…” – Robyn Hitchcock
For a man who included a working phenakistoscope – an early 19th-century animation device – in a recent live reworking of his legendary album I Often Dream of Trains, Robyn Hitchcock lives and creates very much in the present.
While during the past several years musical completism and deluxe physical CD and vinyl offerings – the I Wanna Go Backwards & Luminous Groove collections and I Often Dream of Trains for example – have been Robyn’s philosophy regarding the content comprising his legendary career, the artist feels 2011 calls for a bit of brevity.
As a result, he has released Chronolology, a digital format-only Best-of collection; both firsts in his forty-plus year creative journey. Remarks Hitchcock, “There’s never been a ‘best of me’ before; this is specifically corralled together for the internet, which is currently the dominant medium, just as vinyl was 40 years ago.“
Chronolology was carefully curated by Hitchcock himself and as its title suggests, it is a temporal journey through his forty-plus year career as a solo artist, member of The Soft Boys and leader of The Egyptians and Venus 3. “The songs are a series of dots which, if you join them together, make a continuous line: like stations on the London Underground. So Piccadilly Circus is ‘Madonna Of The Wasps’ and Hammersmith is ‘I Feel Beautiful.’ Which means King’s Cross is ‘I Wanna Destroy You.’”
Continues Robyn, “Chronolology is an attempt to collect my work so far, in its most straightforward form, and make it available in one place.” Easily accessible, straightforward Hitchock. Hell is surely an icy wonderland.