Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

[Mobbs]

Another artist that I had never heard of but should have ... wife brought my attention to he and his Modern Lovers band recently, and I think I have a new favourite song ("That Summer Feeling"). Wondering if there are any other fans. Apparently it was mentioned that the Violent Femmes revered him, and there are similarities of a sort.

Some other of his songs I have found myself replaying include :

• I Eat With Gusto. Damn! You Bet
• Reno
• J.E.R.K.
• I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar
• New Teller

... well, there's heaps, but I'm not one to go on *cough*

 

[Leaping Lindner]

Another artist that I had never heard of but should have ... wife brought my attention to he and his Modern Lovers band recently, and I think I have a new favourite song ("That Summer Feeling"). Wondering if there are any other fans. Apparently it was mentioned that the Violent Femmes revered him, and there are similarities of a sort.

Some other of his songs I have found myself replaying include :

• I Eat With Gusto. Damn! You Bet
• Reno
• J.E.R.K.
• I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar
• New Teller

... well, there's heaps, but I'm not one to go on *cough*

ROADRUNNER!!!!!!!!!!

The first song I ever learnt to play on the bass. Play it loud and play it often.

Other songs of note are

Pablo Picasso
I'm a little airplane
Ice Cream Man

 

[Mobbs]

ROADRUNNER!!!!!!!!!!

The first song I ever learnt to play on the bass. Play it loud and play it often.

Other songs of note are

Pablo Picasso
I'm a little airplane
Ice Cream Man

Roadrunner actually made that Rolling Stone top 500, pretty decent achievement! Am I right in remembering that his was a cover/redo of that song?

 

[Captain Sensible]

He was the guy up the tree singing the title song to Something About Mary.

 

[Mobbs]

He was the guy up the tree singing the title song to Something About Mary.

That's correct. When we saw Something About Mary a while back, the missus was pointing him out telling me "Hey that's whatsisname, *explain* *describe* etc ...", and I was responding with Homer Simpson shrugs ...

I should have listened at the time.

 

[Shinboners]

New England

 

[Leaping Lindner]

Roadrunner actually made that Rolling Stone top 500, pretty decent achievement! Am I right in remembering that his was a cover/redo of that song?

No. His song "Roadrunner" is an original.
You might be thinking of the Gene McDaniels..."I'm a roadrunner honey and you can't keep up with me" done by The Pretty Things (amongst others).

Richman's "Roadrunner" goes

One two three four five six
Roadrunner roadrunner
Going faster miles an hour
Gonna ride by the Stop-n-Shop
With the radio on
I'm in love with the modern world
I'm in touch I'm a modern girl
New York City when it's late at night
I got the radio on
I'm like a roadrunner yeah

The Pistols did an (aborted) cover of it on "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle"

 

[Mobbs]

No. His song "Roadrunner" is an original.
You might be thinking of the Gene McDaniels..."I'm a roadrunner honey and you can't keep up with me" done by The Pretty Things (amongst others).

Richman's "Roadrunner" goes

One two three four five six
Roadrunner roadrunner
Going faster miles an hour
Gonna ride by the Stop-n-Shop
With the radio on
I'm in love with the modern world
I'm in touch I'm a modern girl
New York City when it's late at night
I got the radio on
I'm like a roadrunner yeah

The Pistols did an (aborted) cover of it on "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle"

Ahhh yeah what I had confused was the Sex Pistols reference ... I think I read it the wrong way around oopsy.

Wow, you just mentioned Gene McDaniels, I love you and I want to have your baby! ( even though I don't want you I don't need you and I don't love you anymore - and I laugh at your tears )

Oh yeah Shinners I forgot New England, but it didn't really do as much for me as the others. Lonely Little Thrift Store was great, too

 

[cats56]

Yes, the first Modern Lover's album. Rate it very highly. Have to add "She Cracked" to the list of songs already mentioned.

 

[cats56]

No. His song "Roadrunner" is an original.
You might be thinking of the Gene McDaniels..."I'm a roadrunner honey and you can't keep up with me" done by The Pretty Things (amongst others).

Richman's "Roadrunner" goes

One two three four five six
Roadrunner roadrunner
Going faster miles an hour
Gonna ride by the Stop-n-Shop
With the radio on
I'm in love with the modern world
I'm in touch I'm a modern girl
New York City when it's late at night
I got the radio on
I'm like a roadrunner yeah

The Pistols did an (aborted) cover of it on "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle"

Sorry LL you've got your McDaniel's mixed up. It's Ellas Mcdaniel (Otha Ellas Bates) better known as the great Bo Didley.

 

[cats56]

Ahhh yeah what I had confused was the Sex Pistols reference ... I think I read it the wrong way around oopsy.

Wow, you just mentioned Gene McDaniels, I love you and I want to have your baby! ( even though I don't want you I don't need you and I don't love you anymore - and I laugh at your tears )

Oh yeah Shinners I forgot New England, but it didn't really do as much for me as the others. Lonely Little Thrift Store was great, too

"Tower of Strength" by Gene McDaniels. Brings back some of the (more ordinary) childhood music memories.

 

[Contra Mundum]

Another artist that I had never heard of but should have ... wife brought my attention to he and his Modern Lovers band recently, and I think I have a new favourite song ("That Summer Feeling"). Wondering if there are any other fans. Apparently it was mentioned that the Violent Femmes revered him, and there are similarities of a sort.

Some other of his songs I have found myself replaying include :

• I Eat With Gusto. Damn! You Bet
• Reno
• J.E.R.K.
• I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar
• New Teller

... well, there's heaps, but I'm not one to go on *cough*

Everytime I enter an art gallery I hum either Pablo Picasso or Girlfriend - the guy is a bloody genius!!!!

 

[Mobbs]

"Tower of Strength" by Gene McDaniels. Brings back some of the (more ordinary) childhood music memories.

Reminds me of "The Year My Voice Broke".

Anyways, Johnathan Richman, yay!

"But wait. I haven't finished eating up stuff yet."

 

[Contra Mundum]

Reminds me of "The Year My Voice Broke".

Anyways, Johnathan Richman, yay!

"But wait. I haven't finished eating up stuff yet."

Mobben he made an appearance on Sesame Street singing "I'am a little airplane" standing with his guitar in the middle of the muppets - the smile on his face was like he was in heaven. I have been indoctrinating my children with Jonathon Richman through their i-pods.

 

[stax on the mull]

He also custom builds pizza ovens now. There was a CD single with a pizza picture on the cover called "Cold Pizza & Other Hot Stuff". He's a seriously good painter too and does the artwork for most of his recent album covers.

His last few albums over the last decade have been quite interesting, extending his range of guitar influences from various styles of music from other cultures, and anyone who is still a fan knows that there's always a couple of great songs on a Jonathan Richman album, and a few lyrics that make you feel embarrassed you're listening, but you go with it anyway, in private.

"SA!" sees him go off into an Indian raga music style and some of the original Modern Lovers turn up to play with him on "Want To Visit My Inner House?". "Ishkode! Ishkode!" and the Arabic influenced "Yatasamaroun" EP are worth checking out too with the latter also including a cover of Delroy Wilson's "I'm In A Dancing Mood" - a nod to his reggae influence, although there's also a kind of Colombian disco style there too.

I've picked up a bunch of his CD's from the last 25 years that were going cheap to catch up with his discography but they're getting more expensive now, though there's still a few you can sometimes find online for under $10.

Back in the early '90's, pre-internet, I used to write letters to a now fairly well known guitarist from a US indie band (via the write to us on the LP cover) mentioning I liked Jonathan's stuff, and he suggested his guitar playing at that time was somewhat "complacent". Basically he said about the song I liked which was off JR's self-titled album (the one with "I Eat With Gusto..." mentioned in an above post) that it was nice, but it was no "She Cracked". Then he pointed me to the version of "A Plea For Tenderness" recorded from a John Cale demo session that was never released at the time.



A different version, shorter, a bit more of a structured song than the rambling version.

 

[stax on the mull]

Older man looking back at younger version of himself. This could be a bookend to the "Plea for Tenderness" song. Some great acoustic guitar bits in this. Just Jonathan Richman and his drummer Tommy Larkins. This is a 2018 revisited version of an earlier song that was the title track to a 2004 album (one that I don't have).