Things I Listened To: The Modern Lovers

I haven't blogged much lately so you'll have to forgive the tardiness of this post. I fell out of love with writing for a couple of months owing to moving to a different city. Good news though, I'm back, and with a new idea - listening to a new album each day and reflecting on the results.

First up is The Modern Lovers debut album, erm, The Modern Lovers.

The Modern Lovers are a fairly well known band so I'm loathe to sound like I'm addressing something new and interesting. They were influential on the Punk Rock genre and followed another well known band The Velvet Underground in pioneering the style. Their debut album was released in 1976. It's 35 minutes long and, in my opinion, really fucking good.

To describe it succinctly, it's rough and ready. It muses on artists, living life in rough parts of town, and the lead singer's relationship between modern living and what he describes as the 'old world'.

One of the main aspects that stands out is the fascination with girls and dating. It sounds very much like the emotional bellyaching of a teenager but with enough refined sensibility that it doesn't succumb to idle cliches or anything too soppy. It's reflected so well by the imperfect raspy vocals of lead singer, Jonathan Richman.

My favourite song is Hospital, which really cuts to the core of problematic relationships. I love the bittersweet line that reads, 'I still get jealous of your old boyfriends in the suburbs sometimes'.

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