Frontier Archaeology, vol. 4: The Modern Lovers

[FP's weekly column on music before 1990 appears on Sundays]

Despite being name-dropped by LCD Soundsystem, inspiring the work of M.I.A., and being responsible for writing "the first punk song" according to one Hollywood film director, Jonathan Richman has never truly gotten his due.  After moving to New York from Massachusetts in 1969 in an attempt to get the attention of The Velvet Underground (he famously slept on their manager's couch), Richman founded The Modern Lovers and, with the help of the VU's John Cale, recorded a set of demos that would eventually form the band's eponymous debut.  Lead single "Roadrunner" was good enough to inspire The Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten to say "I hate all music except Roadrunner."  With rock music having shed its rebellious image in exchange for self-deprecation in the last decade or so, there has been some limited rediscovery of the band's work; still, they remain relatively unknown compared to the work of contemporaries recent Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Stooges.  We highly recommend picking up their 1973 debut; in the interim, in honor of Richman's 59th birthday, here are a few songs from that record.

The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner


The Modern Lovers - I'm Straight


The Modern Lovers - The Old World

Frontier Archaeology, vol. 4: The Modern Lovers