faster miles an hour

Image: Rhythm & Pencil Vol.00000000000001

The Daily Guru rhapsodizes and expounds upon teenage Jonathan Richman's classic Modern Lovers song: The simple chord progression found on "Roadrunner" bears an uncanny resemblance to that of "Sister Ray" by The Velvet Underground, and yet Richman manages to give this arrangement a fresh kick, stripping it down to a more basic and powerful sound.  As the chords ring across the track, one can almost hear him "creating" the punk rock style that would explode a few years later, and in many ways, punk rock was never better or more pure than this single performance.

Read more on The Daily Guru

• Roadrunner on Ramon's web site (note the updated URL- Ramon recently moved the entire (Unofficial) Jonathan Richman Chords page)

Fast-forward a few decades (oh my, where does the time go?) –

Of the more recent September 25, 2011 show in Portland, Oregon, Holly Homan writes: The final song, Sa Voix M’Atisse, also from his latest album, was sung entirely in French. But he didn’t leave the stage for long. He returned for an encore and began pointing out people in the audience and singing lines about them. “See that girl with the digital camera. I bet she knows how to go on the computer. All right. See the girl with the tattoos. I bet she knows how to grow organic corn. See the guy with the pork pie hat on. He left his camera out on the lawn. But it’s all right". This elicited enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.

Read more on East Portland Blog, great videos and pictures too

December 2011 Tour Dates

USA, West Coast

Fri 2 Dec Olympia WA Olympia Film Society (tix)
Sat 3 Dec Eugene OR Sam Bonds Garage (tix- no info)
Mon 5 Dec San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall (tix) with The Sea and Cake and Lia Ices
Tue 6 Dec Sacramento CA Blue Lamp (tix- no info)
Wed 7 Dec San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall (tix)
Thu 8 Dec Santa Ana CA Galaxy Theatre: The Constellation Room (tix)
Fri 9 Dec Los Angeles CA The Smell (tix only available at door on night of show)
Sat 10 Dec Visalla CA Cellar Door (tix)
Sun 11 Dec Santa Cruz CA The Catalyst Atrium (tix)

Confirm with venue before making travel plans