Thursday, May 16

Happy Birthday Jonathan Richman! (USA Tour dates too!)

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1990 image rb

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Walk up the Boston streets with warren loft and the Modern Lovers from 1972!

the MODERN LOVERS "Walk Up The Street" 1972 via warren loft

"Walk Up the Street"

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A wonderful 1984 video by Manuel Huerga! Did you catch it last year on Jojoblog? Watch it again! Full screen!


Jonathan Richman TV3 (84) from Icosahedron on Vimeo.

Directed by Manuel Huerga for Televisió de Catalunya TV3.

Jonathan Richman performs in a rousing show with Modern Lovers Brennan Totten and Andy Paley.

1 - Ice Cream Man
2 - This Kind of Music
3 - Wipe Out
4 - I'm a Little Dinosaur

5 - La Bamba
6 - Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns

7 - The Beach
8 - The UFO Man
9 - Let's Take a Trip
10 - Vincent Van Gogh
11 - Give Paris One More Chance

12 - Chewing Gum Wrapper
13 - That Summer Feeling

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USA and Canada tour dates coming up for May and June 2013 courtesy of Les Gripkey!

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Also see High Road Touring for these and July/August dates in California!

High Road Touring

Sunday, March 3

Jojo and Lil Bub

Check out our hero's new buddy "Lil Bub":


Article

Saturday, February 23

timeless


image: Roger Catlin

2013

Roger Catlin
reviews last night's show at 9:30 Club in Washington DC and provides a set list:

“Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild”
“No One Was Like Vermeer”
“Let Her Go into the Darkness”
“The World is Showing Its Hand”
“Old World”
“I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar”
“Egyptian Reggae”
“Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow”
“Parents Pushing the Stroller While Talking on the Cell Phone”
“Le Printeps Des Amoreux Est Venue”
“Stultify”
“These Bodies That Came to Cavort”
“La Festa Magnifica”
“La Fiesta Es Para Todos”
“Everybody Come to the Party” (Hebrew)
“Bohemia”
“We Had a Fight”



With a timeless boyishness and a disarming humor in his delivery he had the crowd rapt, allowing him to step away from the microphone and fill the room only with his guitar or naked voice if he wanted to. (more)

Thanks Roger!

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Friday, February 22

kis-met and chance

Ryan Little at the Washington Post sent Jonathan Richman some questions in advance of his performance tonight at 9:30 Club in Washington DC. He received this handwritten response in rhyming verse addressing Jonathan's thoughts on early songs, and Icelandic musician Ólöf Arnalds:


(click to view larger)

more: Washington Post

Thanks Ryan!

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Monday, February 18

people all over the world

jr78_avrotv

1978 show in Netherlands with Leroy, Asa and D Sharpe!

jrml78_avrotv


Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers - Egyptian reggae & More ( Original Live Special 1978 ) via exclusivevids100

Saturday, February 16

in love with modern moonlight

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Jonathan Richman, The Goat Farm, Atlanta, 9 Feb 13, image rb

We didn't get a set list at The Goat Farm in Atlanta but here's one provided by Emmett McAuliffe from the 6 February show at Off Broadway in St. Louis (thanks Emmett!):

Stultified
Jan Vermeer
Let Her Go into the Darkness
Dancing in the Moonlight (Sanford-Townsend Band)
Higher (Sly Stone)
La Festa Magnifica
La Fiesta Es Para Todos
Everybody Come to the Party (Hebrew)
Because Her Beauty
Egyptian Reggae
Old World (greatly modified from album versions)

We Had a Fight
Sa Voix M'Attise
Keith Richards
Her Mystery Not of High Heels
O Moon Queen of Night on Earth
These Bodies That Came to Cavort
When We Refuse
Unknown encore a capella verse



Jonathan Richman at The Goat Farm (O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth) via Gary Hasty

In The Rodriguez Room at The Goat Farm we noticed the conspicuous lack of I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar and the welcome addition of Van Morrison's Crazy Love. The songs were all sung in English for the first time ever that I can remember. O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth (as in the video above by Gary Hasty), and When We Refuse to Suffer had prolonged poetic introductions with the former a beautiful heartfelt invocation and the latter a haunted evocation of setting, making some people uncomfortable (but not in a bad way).


Little more Jonathan Richman at The Goat Farm (Egyptian Reggae) via Gary Hasty

As usual, gender demographics favored men. Everyone had a good time. To the nice people at The Goat Farm: You have a great facility with a lot of character but it's not accessible to the mobility challenged. However for such a labyrinthine rustic compound, everything was smooth, polished and mellow, and filled with lovely good vibes. I was unable to attend the second night, when it rained, so I don't know how that one went.

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Jonathan Richman, The Goat Farm, Atlanta, 9 Feb 13, image rb

In other news, there's a movement afoot to make Roadrunner the official state rock song of Massachusetts. Joyce Linehan petitioned the state legislature via Representative Marty Walsh, who filed HD3506 "An Act designating the song 'Roadrunner' as the official rock song of the Commonwealth." You can read more about it here:

15 reasons why Roadrunner by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers will become the official rock song of Massachusetts in 2013

and also here:

Wicked Pissah: The Bid to Make the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner" the Rock Song of Massachusetts is Official