Line #43 Music/JonathanRichman


1	[[quoteright:232:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jonathan_richman_and_the_modern_lovers_jonathanrichman5_1148.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:232:The troubadour in action.]]
3
4	'''Jonathan Michael Richman''' (born May 16, 1951) is a prolific American singer-songwriter. He rose to underground fame as leader of Music/TheModernLovers, who were among the {{Trope Maker}}s of PunkRock during the early 1970s. After the band broke up, Jonathan ("[[FanNickname Jojo]]") made a HeelFaceTurn towards mellow acoustic rock that couldn't be more different to the Modern Lovers' edgy and intense proto-punk rock. He is recognized for his innocent lyrics, charismatic stage presence, "wide-eyed" performances and distinctive lo-fi style of acoustic rock.
5
6	'''Discography:'''
7	* ''Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers'' (1976)
8	* ''Rock 'N' Roll With the Modern Lovers'' (1977)
9	* ''Modern Lovers 'Live''' (1978)
10	* ''Back in Your Life'' (1979)
11	* ''Jonathan Sings!'' (1983)
12	* ''Rockin' and Romance'' (1985)
13	* ''It's Time For...'' (1986)
14	* ''Modern Lovers 88'' (1988)
15	* ''Jonathan Richman'' (1989)
16	* ''Jonathan Goes Country'' (1990)
17	* ''Having a Party With Jonathan Richman'' (1991)
18	* ''I, Jonathan'' (1992)
19	* ''Jonathan, te vas a emocionar!'' (1994)
20	* ''You Must Ask the Heart'' (1995)
21	* ''Surrender to Jonathan'' (1996)
22	* ''I'm So Confused'' (1999)
23	* ''Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow'' (2001)
24	* ''Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love'' (2004)
25	* ''Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild'' (2008)
26	* ''¿A qué venimos sino a caer?'' (2008)
27	* ''O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth'' (2010)
28
29	!This man is associated with the following tropes:
30	* BreakupBreakout: He became the most popular member of the defunct band. He also recruited a new band of the same name as a backing band.
31	* BrilliantButLazy: A talented songwriter whose discography gives the impression that hard work is a foreign concept to him.
32	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Considered one of the most influential singer-songwriters of all time.
33	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Sings songs about yetis in a supermarket and aliens visiting Earth on a regular basis.
34	** He doesn't allow air conditioning during his concerts, because it is "fake air".
35	* DenserAndWackier: And how. It's not like Music/TheModernLovers were the most serious band of all time, but his solo music is downright goofy compared to that.
36	* DoubleEntendre: Sometimes blatantly averted, to the confusion of people not familiar with his innocent music.
37	** Examples: ''Ice Cream Man'' is not about a drug dealer, it's a celebration of the ice-cream man. ''Buzz Buzz Buzz'' is not a metaphor for wild sex in nature, it's about bees. ''I was Dancing in a Lesbian Bar'' is in fact about dancing in a lesbian bar and nothing else.
38	** At other times he plays them straight. ''My Love Is a Flower'' clearly is about masturbation.
39	* EpicRocking: Maybe one of the strangest examples: the 8-minute long doo-wop homage ''Ice Cream Man''.
40	* EmotionalBruiser: Once again, his ballads, in which he intentionally plays against the light-hearted tone of his music.
41	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: ''Jonathan Goes Country'' is, well, a country album.
42	* GentleGiant: He is a tall man and was quite muscular back in the '70s, contrasting with his absurdly soft music and {{Cloudcuckoolander}} persona.
43	* GratuitousSpanish: ''Jonathan, te vas a emocionar!'' An entire album of Jonathan going Spanish.
44	* GreekChorus: Memorably played the part in Film/TheresSomethingAboutMary.
45	* [[GenkiGirl Genki Boy]]: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjFU98mEem4 His highly entertaining live performances.]]
46	* IdiosyncraticCoverArt: His album covers are often goofy or corny shots of him.
47	* JabbaTableManners: "I Eat With Gusto, Damn! You Bet" from ''Jonathan Richman'' consists of the narrator reveling in how disgusting his table manners are.
48	* JewishAndNerdy
49	* LoveNostalgiaSong: ''Back in Your Life'' is an entire album of these.
50	* ManChild
51	* Main/{{Pastiche}}: Completely anachronistic surf-rock instrumentals that are frequently included in his albums.
52	* QuirkyCurls: At least until 2009 when he shaved his head.
53	* SeriousBusiness: Inverted, ''all the time''. Nothing of Jonathan Richman's solo career even makes the slightest impression of being the result of hard work. Bandmate Ned Claflin remarked in the liner notes of ''I, Jonathan'' that ''"nothing you do with Jonathan is ever work"''.
54	* UrExample: Of Indie Folk, Anti-Folk and Lo-Fi rock music in general. Members of the next generation of musicians followed his lo-fi approach, such as Music/ViolentFemmes or Music/DanielJohnston.

Context Music / JonathanRichman