Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death ...and Insects profiles Robyn Hitchcock, one of the great eccentrics of rock 'n' roll. An original presentation of the Sundance Channel, this 53-minute documentary will be of interest to Hitchcock devotees, but the uninitiated might be left wondering what all the fuss is about.

Hitchcock's nasally vocals and bizarre lyrics aren't everyone's cup of Camomile. He is either charmingly eclectic or annoyingly obtuse, depending on your point of view, but his singular style is beyond dispute. From his beginnings in the 1970s with the Soft Boys to a string of college radio staples in the '80s and '90s, Hitchcock has wedded jangle-pop melodies with surreal imagery and a quirky sense of humor.

In Sex, Food, Death ...and Insects -- the title stems from Hitchcock's chief lyrical obsessions -- director John Edginton lets the British singer-songwriter pontificate on his art. Lengthy interviews with Hitchcock are interspersed with remarks from his current band, the Venus 3, an illustrious group of collaborators that includes R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, Young Fresh Fellows mastermind Scott McCaughey and ex-Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin. Other artists who drop by to offer their two cents are Nick Lowe, Gillian Welch, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, the Presidents of the United States of America's Chris Ballew and Hitchcock's ex-Soft Boys bandmate Morris Windsor.

The interviewees are excellent, especially Buck and Rieflin; these are introspective musicians who have given considerable thought to their craft. Best of all is Hitchcock himself, who rejects the notion that his music is whimsical. "At heart, I'm a frightened, angry person, and that's probably why my stuff is not totally insubstantial," he says. "I'm constantly, deep down inside, in a kind of rage, and I imagine a lot of people are."

Still, viewers with only a cursory knowledge of Hitchcock are probably better served elsewhere. Frustratingly, the doc skimps on Hitchcock's actual music. There are snippets of his catalog -- including "Uncorrected Personality Traits," "I Often Dream of Trains," "Queen Elvis," "My Wife and My Dead Wife" and others -- but nothing plays in its entirety.

The picture is solid quality, if unremarkable. Lines are sharp and images are reasonably detailed.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 provides a clean and crisp audio track.

The disc includes rough versions of "Evolve," "John in the Air," "Star of Venus" and "Afterlight." Viewers can check each version separately or play all for an aggregate length of 18 minutes, 42 seconds. This material is as interesting as anything in the feature, offering a glimpse into how Hitchcock works through his musical ideas.

In addition, there is a three-minute, 53-second acoustic rooftop performance of "Ole Tarantula" and a two-minute, 55-second music video of "Adventure Rocketship."

Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death ...and Insects has warmth and intimacy, but it's not edifying. Part of the problem might simply be its limited focus. Once you remove Hitchcock's songs from the equation and soft-peddle any biographical information, what compelling material is left? After all, it isn't as if Robyn Hitchcock's songwriting process hinges on communing with nature in the forest or feasting on peyote. He sits down and writes songs. Duh.