Pitchfork

[Updated Friday, October 24th, 2003 02:05:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

When last we left him in 2001, Mark Robinson (Unrest, Air Miami) was touring Canada's green highways, and although with many artists two years might not seem that long, anyone acquainted with Robinson's usual release schedule might be a little surprised at the dearth of new product. Well, worry no more, cause he's on a mission to tie up your record buying budget for the foreseeable future. If, well, you're really poor. Hyperbole, people-- get on board!

First up is a new proper solo album to follow-up 2000's Tiger Banana, and 2001's Canada's Green Highways (and yes, sort of 1996's Olympic Death Squad, but this could get confusing pretty quick, so settle down-- we know the man's catalog). So that makes Origami and Urbanism, due November 10th on Teenbeat, Robinson's third (or fourth) solo LP since the demise of Air Miami. Pitchfork spoke to Robinson via the magic of e-mail, and he dished a bit on the sound of the new record: "Origami and Urbanism is close in sound to the two previous albums, but implements a big organ with a Leslie speaker." The album was produced by K Records founder/Halo Bender/deer avoider Calvin Johnson, and features onetime K Records staple Lois Maffeo on guest vocals (where ya been?). The tracklist, mon ami:

01 Origami
02 Bye-Bye Bunny Smith Sq.
03 Almond Dainties
04 Rewind, Welcome Back
05 Hospital Bruiser
06 Hair Messer-Upper
07 Telephone Diary Talker
08 Whippany Parsippany
09 Spoo-Kay
10 F.U.S.A.
11 Sashimi Sashay
12 Urbanism

Now, that tracklist came from the man himself. However, the official site of Tomlab Records, which is handling the European and Japanese release of Origami, as well as the vinyl, has an almost completely different tracklist-- in name, anyway. "The two albums share nine of the same tracks, " Robinson tells Pitchfork. "But the [song] titles are different." Tracklist for the Tomlab/Teenbeat vinyl version:

01 Lake District
02 Spray On The Fixative
03 Blinking Lights
04 Sashimi Sashay
05 Goodbye Bunny Smith Square
06 The Whippany Elks
07 Perks and Presents
08 Welcome Back, Eject
09 Shut My Mouth
10 She Was Precise
11 New York License Plate

So, what's better than two Mark Robinson solo albums? Why, three Mark Robinson solo albums. That's right, he's already writing songs for the next outing, to be produced by Trevor Holland (who also helmed Canada's Green Highways). Before that, though, Robinson will be putting out a seven-inch single on Tomlab Records, and releasing the long-delayed second release in his experimental series of EP's. Proposal features guest spots by Juliet Swango (Rondelles), Jeff Gramm (Aden), and Melissa Farris (Tuscadero). No official release date for that one, but we'll keep you posted.

Finally, Robinson's other project, Flin Flon, is still alive and kicking, and more specifically, writing songs for their next album, which Robinson says they hope to have out next year. Isn't that enough?