Iggy Pop, who turned 60 in April, was the most anticipated act at FRF '07. At four years Iggy's junior, Jonathan Richman had enough steam to play three sets on three stages. Both men are cited as punk progenitors, but their careers couldn't have diverged more. Iggy still works the self-destructive rocker thing, while former Modern Lover Richman renounced electricity in the mid-'70s, opting for what sounded like children's music.
Richman's show at the Field of Heaven was steeped in nostalgia — for his native New England, for public plazas, for a certain European model of sophistication (songs sung in flawless French and Italian). But it was also there in his irrepressible style, the one performance-related constant of his career. In the middle of a verse, he'd drop his acoustic guitar and execute some curious dance moves or shake his jingle bells (literally). Richman has always been nostalgic, but it was startling to hear him play three songs — "Old World," "Girlfriend" and "Pablo Picasso" — from that formative phase he once so vehemently rejected. The audience didn't care. Richman's past isn't important. They love him for what he is right now, and they heartily requested an encore.
They got two.
-- Philip Brasor, in "Fuji Rock 07: We came, we saw, we survived" The Japan Times Online
Saturday, August 4
reports (and pictures) at Fujirock Express '07
He doesn’t really worry too much about hitting all his notes, and would be as content to clap along to the drummer for two minutes as to play another song. Further, at the two shows I saw of his here at least, he didn’t talk much, but he communicates everything he needs to with his face. I got the feeling the party in his head was much better than party the rest of us were experiencing. (read the rest here)
-- kern, in "Jonathan Richman Rapscalion"
But the most revealing song was one I never heard. "And then soon came 50," he sang, "just like 1-2-3." Jonathan must be sick of being always described as boyish, innocent, naive, but he still wants to remain young at heart. "Why did we come down to earth if not to make mistakes?" he said. And it was his sincerity that communicated to the audience, which had become quite huge (and quiet) by the time he got to the song that elicited the biggest reaction, "Dancing in the Lesbian Bar." Standing up front, noticed a bunch of youngish, partly bearded faces suddenly appear stage left. It was the Shins, who had just finished their set at the White Stage and apparently rushed over to catch the end of Jonathan's set. They got a special treat: an encore. The audience just wouldn't let him go and he returned to do a heartbreaking version of "Not So Much to Be Loved As to Love." He obviously didn't want to go away. Every concert adds to his nostalgia. (read the rest here)
-- phil, in "Surrender to Jonathan - To be loved"
"Soon came 50, then 54 ... I'm not 19 anymore"
Jonathan Richman may admit his age, but that don't stop him singing about Girlfriends. It's innocence. (read the rest here)
-- donald, in "Jonathan Richman Perennially young"
Still, it was a gem of a performance. Jonathan played few complete songs, and the snippets of his hits, which included "Dancing at the Lesbian Bar" and "Egyptian Reggae," were often interrupted by sudden bursts of dancing and percussion playing, not to mention Jojo's bursts of physical sincerity, which is embodied by him dropping his guitar, opening his arms wide and raising his voice in a cappella ecstasy. He even did a bit of "Pablo Picasso," which was weird and special because he's famous for refusing to do anything from his electric Modern Lovers era. Maybe he'll do a longer version at his Heaven performance tomorrow. Despite the sound problems, the audience almost refused to let him go, and he tried to placate them with a few more shakes of the jingle bells and some Jonathan gestures. It wasn't enough, and never is. (read the rest here)
-- phil, in "Jonathan Sings! ...but is difficult to hear"
Fujirock Express '07 website
-- kern, in "Jonathan Richman Rapscalion"
But the most revealing song was one I never heard. "And then soon came 50," he sang, "just like 1-2-3." Jonathan must be sick of being always described as boyish, innocent, naive, but he still wants to remain young at heart. "Why did we come down to earth if not to make mistakes?" he said. And it was his sincerity that communicated to the audience, which had become quite huge (and quiet) by the time he got to the song that elicited the biggest reaction, "Dancing in the Lesbian Bar." Standing up front, noticed a bunch of youngish, partly bearded faces suddenly appear stage left. It was the Shins, who had just finished their set at the White Stage and apparently rushed over to catch the end of Jonathan's set. They got a special treat: an encore. The audience just wouldn't let him go and he returned to do a heartbreaking version of "Not So Much to Be Loved As to Love." He obviously didn't want to go away. Every concert adds to his nostalgia. (read the rest here)
-- phil, in "Surrender to Jonathan - To be loved"
"Soon came 50, then 54 ... I'm not 19 anymore"
Jonathan Richman may admit his age, but that don't stop him singing about Girlfriends. It's innocence. (read the rest here)
-- donald, in "Jonathan Richman Perennially young"
Still, it was a gem of a performance. Jonathan played few complete songs, and the snippets of his hits, which included "Dancing at the Lesbian Bar" and "Egyptian Reggae," were often interrupted by sudden bursts of dancing and percussion playing, not to mention Jojo's bursts of physical sincerity, which is embodied by him dropping his guitar, opening his arms wide and raising his voice in a cappella ecstasy. He even did a bit of "Pablo Picasso," which was weird and special because he's famous for refusing to do anything from his electric Modern Lovers era. Maybe he'll do a longer version at his Heaven performance tomorrow. Despite the sound problems, the audience almost refused to let him go, and he tried to placate them with a few more shakes of the jingle bells and some Jonathan gestures. It wasn't enough, and never is. (read the rest here)
-- phil, in "Jonathan Sings! ...but is difficult to hear"
Fujirock Express '07 website
Labels:
japan,
rb,
show reviews
Jonathan Rocks Fuji Rock
The former Modern Lover is scheduled to make three official appearances at this year's fest, which is notable considering Jojo's famous reluctance to outstay his welcome.
Maybe it's all the birds and the insects and the general nature thing. (Still, one of the gigs is a midnight set in the Palace tent, a place one could hardly call pastoral.) In any case, as eternally boyish as he is, Jonathan is 56 this year, which means there may not be that many more opportunities to see him do his unique thing, at least not in Japan (to paraphrase a line from "Pablo Picasso"). As everyone knows, he doesn't do his electric Modern Lovers stuff any more--hasn't, in fact, since 1974--but the spirit of rock'n roll is still there in his jaunty outlook, his very underrated guitar work, his amazingly heartfelt delivery, and his wicked dance steps. (read the rest)
-- from Blogging with Fuji Rock: Jonathan Richman
Blogging with Fuji Rock
Maybe it's all the birds and the insects and the general nature thing. (Still, one of the gigs is a midnight set in the Palace tent, a place one could hardly call pastoral.) In any case, as eternally boyish as he is, Jonathan is 56 this year, which means there may not be that many more opportunities to see him do his unique thing, at least not in Japan (to paraphrase a line from "Pablo Picasso"). As everyone knows, he doesn't do his electric Modern Lovers stuff any more--hasn't, in fact, since 1974--but the spirit of rock'n roll is still there in his jaunty outlook, his very underrated guitar work, his amazingly heartfelt delivery, and his wicked dance steps. (read the rest)
-- from Blogging with Fuji Rock: Jonathan Richman
Blogging with Fuji Rock
Labels:
japan,
rb,
show reviews
Wednesday, August 1
How to buy Jonathan Richman
Alexis Petridis on the best Jonathan Richman tracks
Friday July 20, 2007
The Guardian (http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2130109,00.html)
In 1991, Jonathan Richman was prevailed upon to provide a sleevenote for his new album, Having a Party With Jonathan Richman. "Once in a while a record comes along that is such a departure from the normal style of a singer that some explanation is in order," he grandly began. "This record is not one of those. As far as I can tell, the style of singing, the melodies and the lyrics are a lot like what I've been doing for the last 10 years."
You couldn't fault him for honesty, even if his timekeeping was a little out: it was a lot like every other album Jonathan Richman had made since 1976 and it's not vastly different to those he's released in the subsequent 15 years. Devotees can spend hours discussing the more pensive tone of 1995's You Must Ask the Heart compared to the more straightforward exuberance of the preceding I, Jonathan, but to the untrained ear, they all sound much the same: simple three-chord songs, sparsely arranged, with lyrics that are either whimsical or touching, sung with utter sincerity in Richman's distinctively adenoidal voice. Even when he sings in Spanish (1994's Jonathan, Te Vas A Emocionar!) or employs a crack team of Nashville musicians to back him (1990's Jonathan Goes Country), it all just sounds like Jonathan Richman. With his latterday career, you either get it or you don't.
The same is not true of his earliest recordings. Cobbled together in 1976 from various early 70s demos, The Modern Lovers is one of the all-time great debut albums: a ferocious, unimpeachable collection of nakedly emotional Velvet Underground-inspired rock. To understand how bravely out of step the original Modern Lovers were, hear Live at the Longbranch and More, or Precise Modern Lovers Order, both recorded before audibly bewildered audiences between 1971 and 1973: Richman's a cappella set-closer, Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste remains almost unbearably moving.
By the time their demos were released, the original Modern Lovers had broken up: the band that now bore their name had largely ditched the angst of old in favour of rough, acoustic rock'n'roll and childlike songs about abominable snowmen and Martians. 1977's Rock and Roll With the Modern Lovers is notable both for Richman's biggest hit, the instrumental Egyptian Reggae, and for its bizarre sound quality, the result of recording in the studio toilets. A budget compilation, Roadrunner, mops up B-sides and compilation tracks, among them the eight-minute acoustic version of Roadrunner.
From then on, you can pretty much take your pick. The albums he recorded after signing to Neil Young's Vapour label in 1996 have a slightly fuller sound, while frustratingly, all the albums from his 80s purple patch - Jonathan Sings!, Rockin' and Romance, It's Time for Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers and Modern Lovers '88 - are long out of print. Richman's curious habit of blithely rerecording songs he has already released means you don't have to resort to eBay to hear the magical When I Dance (it turned up again on 1998's I'm So Confused), or his exuberant tribute to Vincent van Gogh - "the baddest painter since Jan Vermeer!" - which reappeared on his most recent album, 2004's Not So Much to Be Loved As to Love. That said, a lot of great tracks are still missing in action.
Friday July 20, 2007
The Guardian (http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2130109,00.html)
In 1991, Jonathan Richman was prevailed upon to provide a sleevenote for his new album, Having a Party With Jonathan Richman. "Once in a while a record comes along that is such a departure from the normal style of a singer that some explanation is in order," he grandly began. "This record is not one of those. As far as I can tell, the style of singing, the melodies and the lyrics are a lot like what I've been doing for the last 10 years."
You couldn't fault him for honesty, even if his timekeeping was a little out: it was a lot like every other album Jonathan Richman had made since 1976 and it's not vastly different to those he's released in the subsequent 15 years. Devotees can spend hours discussing the more pensive tone of 1995's You Must Ask the Heart compared to the more straightforward exuberance of the preceding I, Jonathan, but to the untrained ear, they all sound much the same: simple three-chord songs, sparsely arranged, with lyrics that are either whimsical or touching, sung with utter sincerity in Richman's distinctively adenoidal voice. Even when he sings in Spanish (1994's Jonathan, Te Vas A Emocionar!) or employs a crack team of Nashville musicians to back him (1990's Jonathan Goes Country), it all just sounds like Jonathan Richman. With his latterday career, you either get it or you don't.
The same is not true of his earliest recordings. Cobbled together in 1976 from various early 70s demos, The Modern Lovers is one of the all-time great debut albums: a ferocious, unimpeachable collection of nakedly emotional Velvet Underground-inspired rock. To understand how bravely out of step the original Modern Lovers were, hear Live at the Longbranch and More, or Precise Modern Lovers Order, both recorded before audibly bewildered audiences between 1971 and 1973: Richman's a cappella set-closer, Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste remains almost unbearably moving.
By the time their demos were released, the original Modern Lovers had broken up: the band that now bore their name had largely ditched the angst of old in favour of rough, acoustic rock'n'roll and childlike songs about abominable snowmen and Martians. 1977's Rock and Roll With the Modern Lovers is notable both for Richman's biggest hit, the instrumental Egyptian Reggae, and for its bizarre sound quality, the result of recording in the studio toilets. A budget compilation, Roadrunner, mops up B-sides and compilation tracks, among them the eight-minute acoustic version of Roadrunner.
From then on, you can pretty much take your pick. The albums he recorded after signing to Neil Young's Vapour label in 1996 have a slightly fuller sound, while frustratingly, all the albums from his 80s purple patch - Jonathan Sings!, Rockin' and Romance, It's Time for Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers and Modern Lovers '88 - are long out of print. Richman's curious habit of blithely rerecording songs he has already released means you don't have to resort to eBay to hear the magical When I Dance (it turned up again on 1998's I'm So Confused), or his exuberant tribute to Vincent van Gogh - "the baddest painter since Jan Vermeer!" - which reappeared on his most recent album, 2004's Not So Much to Be Loved As to Love. That said, a lot of great tracks are still missing in action.
Labels:
dom
Friday, July 20
one two three four five six
Well you might say I feel lonely
But I wouldn't say I feel lonely
I would say that I feel alive
All alone
'Cause I like this feeling
Of roaming around in the dark
And even though I'm alone out there
I don't mind
'Cause I'm in love with the world.
Roadrunner
The car, the radio, the night - and rock's most thrilling song
(Thanks Gary!)
But I wouldn't say I feel lonely
I would say that I feel alive
All alone
'Cause I like this feeling
Of roaming around in the dark
And even though I'm alone out there
I don't mind
'Cause I'm in love with the world.
Roadrunner
The car, the radio, the night - and rock's most thrilling song
(Thanks Gary!)
Thursday, June 28
Silent man for a silent movie
There is a very sensitive interview with Jonathan in Crawdaddy magazine by Tony Dushane (Antoine Duchene sounds French enough to me) called "Oh you are so silent Jonathan Richman" which is a jewel of writing of its own. It can be found at : http://crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com/Article.aspx?id=1185 illustration by Tanith Connolly
Thursday, June 7
The Bostonians # 16 : Cheryl Eagan-Donovan
Cheryl Eagan-Donovan is a writer she is also a film director. "All kindsa girls", a documentary about the Real Kids is a project she started in 2001, shown in different film festivals and due to be released soon as a DVD. The film has lots of interviews with musicians from Boston involved in the Renaissance of the local scene in the late seventies, including Jonathan.
Cheryl is more than familiar with the Boston scene, she belongs to it. She used to be involved with bands, managing and promoting them during the 80's and the 90's. She saw all those bands rising in 1976 and was close to Lou Miami and Human sexual response and later to the Real Kids. Of course she is fascinated by John Felice who is a genuine novel character.
She did not hesitate to answer my questions about Jonathan, I would like to thank her here for her kindness and wish her the best for her upcoming project "Nothing is truer than truth", a film about Edward de Vere.
- You stated somewhere that the Real Kids were the beginning of some golden age for rock music in the Boston area. Many bands bloomed following their tracks, it was 1977 and the music went on better and better for the next 5 years. Don't you think that the Modern Lovers were actually the catalyst which triggered this all by the magic of their unpredictable sound ?
>I think the Modern Lovers were certainly part of the seed capital - the connection between the folk rock scene in Harvard Square - Jonathan playing on the Cambridge Common - and the New York scene in early seventies. Definitely, the exposure John Felice had to the NY scene through his part in the Modern Lovers was the catalyst for what became the Real Kids sound. The early stuff that he was doing with his first band The Kids is totally influenced by the Velvet Underground.
Cheryl is more than familiar with the Boston scene, she belongs to it. She used to be involved with bands, managing and promoting them during the 80's and the 90's. She saw all those bands rising in 1976 and was close to Lou Miami and Human sexual response and later to the Real Kids. Of course she is fascinated by John Felice who is a genuine novel character.
She did not hesitate to answer my questions about Jonathan, I would like to thank her here for her kindness and wish her the best for her upcoming project "Nothing is truer than truth", a film about Edward de Vere.
- You stated somewhere that the Real Kids were the beginning of some golden age for rock music in the Boston area. Many bands bloomed following their tracks, it was 1977 and the music went on better and better for the next 5 years. Don't you think that the Modern Lovers were actually the catalyst which triggered this all by the magic of their unpredictable sound ?
>I think the Modern Lovers were certainly part of the seed capital - the connection between the folk rock scene in Harvard Square - Jonathan playing on the Cambridge Common - and the New York scene in early seventies. Definitely, the exposure John Felice had to the NY scene through his part in the Modern Lovers was the catalyst for what became the Real Kids sound. The early stuff that he was doing with his first band The Kids is totally influenced by the Velvet Underground.
The Kids ...It was not until he teamed up Alpo and Howie and Billy Borgioli that he found his own voice, the distinctive sound of the Real Kids and later Boston garage/punk rock. For example, Dinosaur Junior's new record has a song where J. Mascis does a little guitar flourish - very uncharacteristic for him - that is direct homage to Felice the guitarist.
- You were involved in managing bands , can you tell us if you were aware of some Modern Lovers influence then ?
>It was part of the history, the collective unconscious as it were of the Boston rock scene. Willie Alexander was a major force on the scene then, and his connection to the VU was quite clear. He also made the connection to Patrick Mathe, telling him about all the great the bands in Boston.
- And what is your opinion today, is there an influence after all ?
does it still exist ?
>Absolutely. It exists in all of Felice's songs, in The Cars' music, in The Talking Heads, in all the original band members' later projects.
- Did you ever see the original Modern Lovers live ? If so, how was it ?
> I did see bands playing live on the Cambridge Common in the early seventies and may have seen them but I was too young to know who they were. My dad was very hip - had seen Janis Joplin at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, etc., and he would bring us to the free concerts in Harvard Square on Sundays.
- Have you seen Jonathan live later and today ? What do you think of his evolution ?
I have seen Jonathan many times in Cambridge and Boston, and took my son to see him several times already, beginning he was about 3 years old - he is 10 years old now. Jonathan always put on great show. Every show is different but he is an extraordinarily talented musician and songwriter.
- In your documentary "All kindsa girls" about the Real Kids and John Felice, you interviewed the crucial people involved in the scene. How did it go with Jonathan ? Was he easy to interview ?
>Jonathan does not usually do interviews so I had to be very persistent. I have to thank his assistant at the time, Daisy Dailey, for putting me in touch with him. Once he agreed to the interview, everything went okay until he arrived in Boston on a Sunday night and I did not have a camera crew ready to shoot at his hotel as he requested. I had hoped to do the interview on the Cambridge Common. He graciously agreed to do the interview the next day before his show at the Somerville Theatre. He would not allow me to film any of his rehearsal, and the entire interview lasted eight minutes. As Patrick Mathe said to me about the Real Kids in France in 1983, "What should I say and what should I not say ?
- You were involved in managing bands , can you tell us if you were aware of some Modern Lovers influence then ?
>It was part of the history, the collective unconscious as it were of the Boston rock scene. Willie Alexander was a major force on the scene then, and his connection to the VU was quite clear. He also made the connection to Patrick Mathe, telling him about all the great the bands in Boston.
- And what is your opinion today, is there an influence after all ?
does it still exist ?
>Absolutely. It exists in all of Felice's songs, in The Cars' music, in The Talking Heads, in all the original band members' later projects.
- Did you ever see the original Modern Lovers live ? If so, how was it ?
> I did see bands playing live on the Cambridge Common in the early seventies and may have seen them but I was too young to know who they were. My dad was very hip - had seen Janis Joplin at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, etc., and he would bring us to the free concerts in Harvard Square on Sundays.
- Have you seen Jonathan live later and today ? What do you think of his evolution ?
I have seen Jonathan many times in Cambridge and Boston, and took my son to see him several times already, beginning he was about 3 years old - he is 10 years old now. Jonathan always put on great show. Every show is different but he is an extraordinarily talented musician and songwriter.
- In your documentary "All kindsa girls" about the Real Kids and John Felice, you interviewed the crucial people involved in the scene. How did it go with Jonathan ? Was he easy to interview ?
>Jonathan does not usually do interviews so I had to be very persistent. I have to thank his assistant at the time, Daisy Dailey, for putting me in touch with him. Once he agreed to the interview, everything went okay until he arrived in Boston on a Sunday night and I did not have a camera crew ready to shoot at his hotel as he requested. I had hoped to do the interview on the Cambridge Common. He graciously agreed to do the interview the next day before his show at the Somerville Theatre. He would not allow me to film any of his rehearsal, and the entire interview lasted eight minutes. As Patrick Mathe said to me about the Real Kids in France in 1983, "What should I say and what should I not say ?
- What does he think about the Real Kids, I know he liked the Classic
Ruins lead by another of his friends, Frank Rowe, but I cannot imagine him listening to the Real Kids.
Ruins lead by another of his friends, Frank Rowe, but I cannot imagine him listening to the Real Kids.
>He says in the film "I'm a Felice fan." I think he is disappointed with the trajectory of John's career, especially since he was like an older brother to him. He didn't say that but John seemed to feel that. I know he has tremendous respect for John as a writer and musician. I'm sure that's the only reason he agreed to the do interview.
- You visited Natick, John Felice's and Jonathan's hometown. Is there something in the air in that place that inspired these two talented musicians ? Or is the landscape so boring that one has to find a way to escape and move on Route 128 ?
>I think there may have been a bit of suburban angst fueling the music. John certainly had strong feelings about the need to get out of Natick. It's interesting that there were these pockets of musical creativity, in Natick and on the North Shore, where Alpo and Billy and Jeff Wilkerson and Wille were playing, and it was Jonathan who brought them together.
The classic Real Kids line-up circa 1976, L-R Billy, Alpo, John and Howie
- You told me that you might help on the production of a film about the Modern Lovers, can you comment about that project ?
The classic Real Kids line-up circa 1976, L-R Billy, Alpo, John and Howie- You told me that you might help on the production of a film about the Modern Lovers, can you comment about that project ?
> I just offered to help on a film being written and directed by a Harvard film student, Katharina Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg. I have not been hired as producer yet! I only met with her once. She was referred to me by the Harvard Film Archives, who suggested that I might be able to assist her on the project. I hope to hear more from her soon about the project and will let you know the status.
- Did you like the Rockin Robins line up of the Modern Lovers with Beth and Ellie ?
>I am most familiar with the original line up.
- Do you know them ? Beth is a film director as you today, it is a small world.
> I know Beth - I saw her documentary THE BLINKING MADONNA when it first played here in Boston. She is very talented. She is a past President of Women in Film & Video New England and I am now Treasurer of the same non-profit organization.
- What is your favourite song of all the songs you heard from Jonathan ?
> I have lots of favorites : Girlfriend, Fly into the Mystery, Pablo Picasso, Rooming House on Venice Beach, That Summer Feeling.
- What is it according to you that makes Jonathan concerts different ?
>Jonathan is totally original and a consummate performer, not unlike Sammy Davis Jr., or John Lydon, or Paul McCartney, or David Johansen.
- When back in Boston, did Jonathan change ? Has California modified him after all these years ?
>My husband met him years ago flying out to California. I don't know if he's changed. I think he will always be Jonathan.
- Any anecdote related to Jonathan ?
>We did a screening of ALL KINDSA GIRLS in San Fransisco in 2005. It was a fantastic crowd - two soldout s hows with over 350 people at each show - at an abandoned warehouse - with the Flakes playing live - they did an excellent cover of ALL KINDSA GIRLS - anyway, Jonathan's wife came and introduced herself while we standing in line for the ladies room, and said that Jonathan had wanted to come but was at a Bar Mitzvah in Hawaii. So, unfortunately, he missed one of the best screenings of the film. I promised to send him a DVD as soon as it is available. I hope he likes it.
>We did a screening of ALL KINDSA GIRLS in San Fransisco in 2005. It was a fantastic crowd - two soldout s hows with over 350 people at each show - at an abandoned warehouse - with the Flakes playing live - they did an excellent cover of ALL KINDSA GIRLS - anyway, Jonathan's wife came and introduced herself while we standing in line for the ladies room, and said that Jonathan had wanted to come but was at a Bar Mitzvah in Hawaii. So, unfortunately, he missed one of the best screenings of the film. I promised to send him a DVD as soon as it is available. I hope he likes it.
Wednesday, June 6
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