VMP Magazine

Less than a page into Love Goes to Buildings on Fire, Will Hermes’ definitive book on the intersecting music scenes of 1970s New York City, someone rips their shirt off. But context is key—the culprit was a 21-year-old Jonathan Richman, who shaped the self-aware sex symbol role like none other before him. He started performing his own songs 5 years prior in the Cambridge Commons, either frightening or enticing passing intellectuals by projecting his voice and his unfiltered perception.

He’s always sang what he sees, banking on charisma, a couple chords and a “first thought, best thought” mentality to elevate earnest rock songs. “Cappuccino Bar” expresses the anxiety of overcaffeination. On “You Can’t Talk To The Dude,” Richman empathizes with an awkward roommate situation. With hits like the Velvet Underground-inspired “Road Runner,” he claims to have never wrote down the words.

Richman never lost touch with lyrical genuity, regardless of which iteration he was playing as: the Modern Lovers, Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, or Jonathan Richman, solo. The original Modern Lovers released their self-titled debut post-breakup in 1976, before Richman trekked out west and formed a new lineup. That configuration was short lived too, though. These days, he’s solo full-time, save for regular live collaborations with drummer Tommy Larkins. Later this month, he’ll be warming up FYF Fest’s very stacked Saturday lineup with one of the earliest slots of the day, and it’s well worth braving the heat to catch his signature guitar strap-less jaunt. Amid a fairly massive discography, we picked five of his best introductory records to set the mood.

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