Love Take Me Down (To The Streets)--Jonathan Richman Sings!!!!

When I'm down and troubled, and I need a helping hand, or when the other scientists at the Institute call me "mad"; instead of gulping down pills or seeing a psychic therapist I go consult with my sonic therapist. It's not like I really have a choice here of course. I understand that modern science has come up with effective ways of dealing with peoples' brain chemicals. I'd like to think mine aren't quite as serious, but we all have our days.

So I go to Dr. Jonathan Richman. He's a lot nicer than Dr. Laura Schlessinger. She would just say its my fault anyway. But Dr Jonathan is patient and understanding, and never fails to get me to a happier place. He gives me good advice without negativity. The general public would most readily know him as the guitar playing narrator in the movie Something About Mary.



Now Jo Jo, What Brings This Change We See?

 I first met Jonathan from the dynamite Modern Lovers album. Roadrunner is one of the great punk rock driving songs ever, and an important record in any alternative rock collection. But shortly thereafter his writing style morphed from classics like Pablo Picasso and She Cracked to the eccentric Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns and I'm Natures Mosquito. At school one of my roommates had the Jonathan Richman Live album which contained the childlike Ice Cream Man song. It had a length comparable to Freebird and kept ending only to masochistically segue back to the chorus again and again and again...

Jonathan Sings! is both wistfully nostalgic and jump-up-and-down giddy. I originally thought his new musical  persona was pretty ridiculous, but he grew on me gradually. Its only a few degrees of separation from a children's album. Sort of a crazy blend of Springsteen and Mr. Rogers. But there is some pragmatic sort of philosophy or crazy wisdom going on here--don't subsume what is important to you--have passion in life--and don't worry about the opinions of close minded people. But it doesn't come off as preachy, since the album is so lighthearted and funny. I originally got this on cassette on the way home from Worcester on a whim, for about 1.99 and I played it in the car endlessly. Eventually I got it on Cd when the cassette broke. Sadly, this album appears to be out of print and not particularly a bargain, folks.

Though this album came out in 1983, it has a 50's feel to it, especially with the female backing vocals. And though I have been highlighting the childlike vibe of this album, there is brilliance here. While I have a deep seated hatred of those talking hipster stock trading babies that you see on American TV, Not Yet Three is a great song giving props to the little guys and girls. Every time I hear the straight faced yet hilarious Give Paris One More Chance I want to hop on a Air France flight. It isn't a song about America's greatest eternal debutante, though that would be funny. Probably in 1983 she was having trouble getting in clubs.



This Kind Of Music is another cool song, a tribute to rock and roll full of idealistic giddiness, like in the movie The Rocker, when Rainn Wilson and Teddy Geiger drive all over Cleveland listening to their demo take. I think that anyone who has been in a band has dreamed of adulation and doing the thing you love instead of a real job.  But the very visceral thrill of creating something great that never existed before is what I am talking about here. Somebody To Hold Me has a simple message, but conveyed so effectively. The transformative and miraculous power of love. When I'm Walking is simply terrific--I do my best thinking when my feet are moving, the calories burning seem to push the negativity out of my system.

And I think Those Conga Drums...well, the title speaks for itself. If there is ever a song about Congas, buy the album. Just like Monkeys-if there is a monkey on an album cover, you should probably buy the album!(Maybe its a guy thing) Jonathan Sings! is unrelentingly upbeat music. And Richman probably has influenced my personal growth as much as Lao Tzu ever did. If you can get a hold of this at a reasonable price, I say do it--it may give you some peace of mind and actually make you reflect a little, or you could at least get your kids to jump up and down to it.



Ice Cream Man--The Freebird of tweepop.