Dad Rock: Lost classic 'Modern Lovers' turns 40
Known mainly for his oddball, guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar persona (or more accurately, the oddball, guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar narrator in the 1998 flick Something About Mary), Jonathan Richman plays a vital role in the history of rock music. But mainly because of the songs he wrote and performed before he became that oddball, guy-with-an-acoustic guitar.
From late 1970 to early 1974, Richman fronted the Modern Lovers, a Boston-based band that is vital link in the punk rock history chain, serving as a bridge between the proto-punk of The Velvet Underground and the full-on explosions of 1976 set off by the Ramones and Sex Pistols. The Lovers played with a raw emotional verve, singing songs like Astral Plane, I'm Straight and Roadrunner, that dismissed the excess and hedonism of 1970s and celebrated simplicity, honesty and compassion.
That the group never released an album during their existence —the main document of their glorious creations is a posthumous LP compiled from demo recordings — only adds to their mystique. Two of its key members, drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Jerry Harrison, went on to greater acclaim with bands they joined after the Modern Lovers: The Cars and Talking Heads, respectively. Yet that album, The Modern Lovers, has routinely been cited by critics and musicians as one of the great records in rock history.
On the 40th anniversary of the release of The Modern Lovers, Paste BN's Dad Rock podcast explores the album's many delights and contemplates its impact.
Richman has continually dismissed The Modern Lovers as the work of an overzealous and confused teenager (he was 19 when he founded the group), but the group's music still sounds fresh and invigorating today. As Dad Rock guest Will Pfeifer says, "It sounds like such a pure, honest record."
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