In his own words, some people expect Robyn Hitchcock to be �a kind of exotic species of plant� or a �wigged—out acid casualty� in the vein of Syd Barrett or Roky Erickson. He�s actually quite serene, pleasant, unpretentious and reasonable in every sense. He says �No, no, not at all� in reference to drugs. He is very funny (though he doesn�t always smile after his jokes, which can be confusing), considers himself a humorist (�I can quite honestly sing about Reagan and watermelons in the same line�), and says that he is often removed from his own material. If not a genius, he�s the most brilliant rock performer J. Kordosh and I have ever interviewed. He�s recorded at least eight albums and countless singles and EPs. He�s never released a bad song. He is possibly the best and most important songwriter making music today. He is very tall and has excellent taste in clothes. He is great, neat, fab and wonderful in every way.

Only two of his records have been released in America, both on small labels. Many people have never heard of him. He may be like Lou' Reed, in that his influence will really be appreciated 10 years down the road. Peter Buck has often said that R.E.M. were more influenced by the Soft Boys (Hitchcock�s original band) than they were by the Byrds. The Replacements asked him to produce their album, though he doesn�t think he�d �have been able to do much for them. I think we�d have all gotten uncontrollably drunk, and that would have been it.� He is sometimes called �the father of the psychedelic revival.�