Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – Morning of Our Lives (Brian Reddy guest post)

I’m Brian, I live in Sheffield and I’m doing a PhD here. Musically I’ve noticed an increasing bias for the stuff just either side of punk. I have no doubt this intro will haunt me some day. In the meantime it’s a pleasure to meet you.

Jonathan Richman has been the revelation of 2011 to me and by some distance. This doesn’t make huge sense, really on paper it just shouldn’t work – his music is naive to the point of being saccharine, and often so catchy it sounds like children’s TV. But there’s also something so adolescent – just a surging, euphoric melancholia- to his work; something nostalgic and truthful and hysterical that almost makes me want to be a teenager again. [This is despite the fact I was effectively a walking, dripping pritt stick of nervous grease.] I do my best to avoid flowery language and I’m effectively gushing here. For some reason I just get this, on a level that I haven’t with music for quite a while. It’s verging on a mancrush.

So if I’d the chance to effectively spread the message of one act (even regardless of not repeating Rob’s fine choices), it had to be Jonathan. The Modern Lovers are my Wyld Stallyns; I half expect societies of the future to be based around this music. There are any number of songs to choose – this is probably the finest pop song under two minutes I have ever heard, this is the most enthusiastic song I’ve ever seen on TOTP2. But people simply should know about the song above, they should have it their back pockets for the next time they need it. We’re young now, right now’s when we can enjoy it. Make the most of it.