mmmender
Dec-4-02, 4:46 PM
doing my book research i was reading this old issue of Reflex Magazine from 1988. in the interview robin talked about the name cocteau twins and i just thought i'd post what he said here in case some of you are still in the dark about it or are new to the band:
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Softspoken yet unyielding, Robin Guthrie speaks the most and says the least. For example, try probing him about the origin of the group's name, and Robin begins an explanation reluctantly. "It's a long story. There were these two gay blokes who were into Jean Cocteau and they were known and the Cocteau Twins..." His voice fades off, and he does not want to continue.
Robin will divulge only so much information. However, he readily states "if there was one thing I could change it would be that name...when we picked it, it was just the name of the band, and people started reading all these things into it." Robin projects the feeling their name is a sort of kink in the machinery, yet he invites just the sort of probing reflections the Twins appear to constantly shirk. As with almost all else, the relevance of the namesake is minimized. "It's just one of those inconsequential little things," sighs Elizabeth. Or is it?
The late Jean Cocteau was the author of the classic Les Enfants Terribles, a story of two brothers and a sister - ironically named Elizabeth - creating an alternate reality. Cocteau's films and writings offer an ideal component to their musical interpretation. The connection is obvious once one sees a film like Beauty and The Beast or Orpheus - with their surreal imagery and off-beat moodiness - it's difficult to term the association irrelevant.
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Softspoken yet unyielding, Robin Guthrie speaks the most and says the least. For example, try probing him about the origin of the group's name, and Robin begins an explanation reluctantly. "It's a long story. There were these two gay blokes who were into Jean Cocteau and they were known and the Cocteau Twins..." His voice fades off, and he does not want to continue.
Robin will divulge only so much information. However, he readily states "if there was one thing I could change it would be that name...when we picked it, it was just the name of the band, and people started reading all these things into it." Robin projects the feeling their name is a sort of kink in the machinery, yet he invites just the sort of probing reflections the Twins appear to constantly shirk. As with almost all else, the relevance of the namesake is minimized. "It's just one of those inconsequential little things," sighs Elizabeth. Or is it?
The late Jean Cocteau was the author of the classic Les Enfants Terribles, a story of two brothers and a sister - ironically named Elizabeth - creating an alternate reality. Cocteau's films and writings offer an ideal component to their musical interpretation. The connection is obvious once one sees a film like Beauty and The Beast or Orpheus - with their surreal imagery and off-beat moodiness - it's difficult to term the association irrelevant.