Jonathan Richman Whether it’s from his Modern Lovers guise, his solo work or even his Conan O’Brien cameos and appearance in the movie There’s Something About Mary, Jonathan Richman’s open-hearted take on pop and punk has influenced a slew of modern performers, including The Violent Femmes, They Might Be Giants, Ween, Weezer, Art Brut and others. Mind you, few of those artists approach the wide-eyed artistry and aw-shucks emotionalism (to further a phrase) of the man, but then again, they’ve all sold a shitload more records than homey, too. That said, good luck scorin’ a ticket. The Evening Muse (Timothy C. Davis)
This article appears in Oct 7-14, 2008.
