jonathan richman: is this guy a class fucking act or what?

yeah, that was a little disconcerting too. i was totally expecting the uber-geek to walk on stage, when out came this dapper fellow (if a little "intense" in the blank stare dept.) i'm sure he could have become the makeout king of montana with any girl in the place, and he certainly had the crowd eating out of his hand.

i had forgetten i wrote this little epic when i woke up from my 11pm nap.

As for my pal Andrew L's understandable interest in his chest, can I just mention that I HAVE TOUCHED JR'S BARE CHEST! Mmmm...

I've seen JR about five times, and was only disappointed once. He has nothing to do with punk, except that he occasionally sings a song called "Velvet Underground." He is a troubador. He sets down his guitar and dances, accompanied only by his own singing and clapping. He's charming, and cute like a bunny. But he tackles serious subjects (cf. "My Little Girl's Got a Full Time Daddy Now", "The Neighbors") that most songwriters wouldn't touch. And he's an extremely nice guy.

I've never seen him live but the rumour is he's playing Glastonbury so here's hoping.

By the way, love your prose, wish I could write like that when pissed.

Kris.

So, I guess my answer is "what". *smiles glassily, backs quickly but politely out of the room*

Yes, and you see that people who are great performers, or something else superlative, often blow away your conceptions of liking or disliking the domain in which they work. Your first paragraph indicates your reluctance to buy into received opinion about "greatness", "importance", etc., and it's true these opinions are often the result of stupid canon-happy past-never-experienced pseudo-worship, but sometimes people who are called great really (still) are when you get to see them. So yeah, Jonathan Richman is great, but what you're really writing about is how suprised you were that your contrary-ness was disarmed in spite of yourself. Hope it happens more often.

[sputtering]...he INVENTED punk rock on The Modern Lovers!

(i was referring to the post above yrs actually, m.)

This is something of which I am well aware. I was describing Jonathan circa now, as opposed to what may be fairly described as a bit of an anomaly in his career. He's never done anything like that record since. "Government Center" may be one of the happiest, most compassionate songs ever written, but it's probably the only thing on the record that wouldn't seem out of place if Jonathan busted it out today. I certainly don't see him playing "She Cracked," "Hospital" or "I'm Straight." Maybe "Girlfriend," but "Pablo Picasso"? I don't think he would curse onstage anymore!

I was at this gig too, Chris and I agree that it was brilliant (inc. Sex Machine cover). Was a tad disappointed that he didn't play "That Summer Feeling" which was the first song of his I heard, but with such a long career & large repertoire such things are inevitable I suppose.

(revive!)

In fact, his sheer un-rock n' roll attitude is what makes him so punk rawk.

Plus, he can write a fuckin mean song.

the morning of our lives such a wonderful song that only jonathan could deliver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbUYJfbZ-Qc

:')

That is a seriously underrated album.

The new one, Frozen Sky, is very good. The Pitchfork review makes it sound like more of a departure than it is. It’s very much in the same vein as his last couple of albums which is just fine. It’s great having Jerry onboard but I get the sense that Jonathan isn’t giving him a chance to get fussy with anything. Which is good.

Oh Moon was the last one that really stunned me. Everything since then on Blue Arrow records has been consistent and great if unsurprising.

I’ve been doing an Alex Chilton deep dive for a while and in some ways he and is like Jonathan’s evil twin. Both primarily known for influential early work but quickly veered towards a simpler approach in almost every way. Except JR has kept up as a songwriter while Alex was doing covers.

Really, the person Jonathan really reminds me of is Christine Lavin. His recent song “Cold Pizza” seems like a reference to her “Cold Pizza For Breakfast.” Both funny, unpretentious, and occasionally heartbreaking. Jonathan could totally do a cover of “Amoeba Hop.”

One of my favorite moments when I saw him at Bell House was when a boy (probably no more than ten years old) requested "Cold Pizza" and Jonathan actually got on his hands and knees and moved to the edge of the stage so he could hear him speak. (The boy was in the very front with his mother.)

For those who want even more Ice Cream Man, I stumbled on this 1986 performance from Spanish TV. Only 2 reprises of the chorus this time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06i6r-JHOh0

“My Little Kookenhagen” is a great one.

I’ve been doing an Alex Chilton deep dive for a while and in some ways he and is like Jonathan’s evil twin. Both primarily known for influential early work but quickly veered towards a simpler approach in almost every way. Except JR has kept up as a songwriter while Alex was doing covers.

Jonathan’s evil twin

Ode to a little black bat on the new album and "But We Might Try Weird Stuff."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccsASP0aofY

#onethread

I didn't realize David Johansen painted the cover of Jonathan's latest album.

I mentioned earlier, when I saw him a few years ago at Bell House, Johansen actually was in the audience with his wife. Afterwards, the three of them (and Tommy!) were basically hanging out long after everyone cleared out save for a few people at the bar. Kind of a nice memory that's grown sad now that it's come out that he was being treated for cancer for quite some time.

The Mercer Arts Center may have collapsed, but everyone who played there etc. etc. etc.

Time for a repost of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_1sA0PVArw

I saw Jonathan Richman when he did his residency at Baby's All Right, and at the last minute my partner (who had no idea who he was) asked to go just to do something different and to get away from a whole lot of stress we were dealing with from the landlord. I said Richman might've been a good choice because he was a big burst of positive energy, which is true and the kind of thing I knew my partner wanted to hear. He did not disappoint (not that there was any doubt), he was awesome and afterwards we even got to say hello. I wanted to say something nice to him, something very brief but also something that would get across everything I could possibly want to convey, so at the risk of sounding too mushy, I just said "you make life better" and he immediately said, "oh, that's a lot better than making life worse!" Love this guy, and my partner spent the next day streaming all his stuff off YouTube. ("I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar" is the favorite.)

Haha, that's a perfect response from him. Glad he's still got it.

yeah that is “comment so very much in character” (and great at it).

yeah that is “comment so very much in character” (and great at it).

Now I finally know what to say to him so as not to annoy, if and when I get to see him again.

Has there been any mention about the ~mysterious~ new photo book of the new VU at the Boston Tea Party in 68/69 sourced from 325 original 35mm negatives taken by a 16yo obsessed fan/fledgling musician going by "The Modern Printer" from suburban Mass?

Some of the last shows with Cale and some of the first shows with Yule.

The foreword is by former VU manager Steve Nelson, quite a few of these were used for the Todd Haynes doc.

$100 (PPF+F), limited to 500 copies, ships from Spain (not Chico). Private pressed (no UPC/barcode/ISBN).

place order:
themodernprinter (at) gmail.com

PPF&F:
inevitablevucatalogue (at) gmail.com

https://i.imgur.com/wLilWoX.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/BVLisTw.jpeg

yes, I think this was mentioned in the "VU trainspotting" thread

I want it of course, but I'm downsizing

i hear ya!

I tried emailing and the address didn’t work. Maybe they’re all gone?

Try the other address!

74 years old today!

A goddamn gorgeous beautiful national treasure of a man.

he built a stone wood-fired bread oven in my buddy's backyard

Elite level JR story there

yeah he's apparently a master of some kind of pre-Civil War American dry stone masonry.. I don't know what it cost but it sure wasn't free

if my math is right, he's 75 today!
whatever age he is, he's a class fucking act

@Andy are your buddy's initials BD?

no but close

I feel like Jerry Harrison might also live somewhere in the Bay Area? I've seen him at a couple shows

yeah 75 today! Happy Birthday

xp Jerry Lives in Mill Valley

and Richman is in Chico

Richman also runs a business, Arcane Masonry, in Chico, making bread ovens as well as other projects.

I ~believe~ he still has his house in the Mission, like when he does those 2 week residencies at the MakeOut Room.

and when i say the Mission, I mean Eureka Valley

Jonathan Richman and Bob Mould are two of my favorites, but I also strongly associate them with cities known for painfully freezing winters (Boston and Minneapolis), so I guess it's no surprise they'd end up in one of the nicest places weather-wise in their later years. (Mould has lived in a lot of cities though.)

The whole pizza oven thing has become an official ILX meme over the years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8-icalTkCc

I’ve never seen Jonathan do this song about Keith Richards

genuine loss for words. there are the day-to-day tributes and then the ones where i have to show my completely disinterested children that this is a gold standard.

<3

FWIW Omnivore Recordings is having a 60% off spring cleaning sale on select CD's and the three Beserkley albums in their inventory are included.

Well, there are four Beserkley albums there, but the first "Modern Lovers" album is not.

Ah, didn't realize they reissued the live album too, so there are indeed four. Do you mean the one with the original line-up? Omnivore didn't license that one. (When I said "their inventory" I mean Omnivore's.)

(Live one isn't on sale though.)

Ah.

the only artist left on my bucket list, I hope to travel to Canada next time he plays there (seems there will never be another Europe tour)