At the end of this summer, The Modern Lovers' 1976 eponymous album turns 47. I was absolutely obsessed with that album in high school—I can't even tell you how many times I've listened to it, and it never gets old. Music on Vinyl describes this absolute classic:
The Modern Lovers, originally released in 1976. Six tracks ("Roadrunner", "Astral Plane", "Old World", "Pablo Picasso", "She Cracked" and "Someone I Care About") were produced by John Cale. They influenced numerous aspiring punk rock musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Sex Pistols, whose early cover of "Roadrunner" was placed on The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2003, the album was listed on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Every song on the album is a standout, in my humble opinion. But two of my favorites are "Girl Friend" and "Roadrunner"—and, lo and behold, I recently found this clip of JoJo singing them both, live, at Joey Ramone's Birthday party at Coney Island High School in New York City, in May 1988. Harold Kramer, who uploaded the video to YouTube, describes the performance:
A rare live performance of Girlfriend and Roadrunner from the first Modern Lovers album. Original Modern Lovers bass player Ernie Brooks plays on here with Jonathan. This was taped at Joey Ramones' birthday party at Coney Island High in May 1998.
What a party that must have been! Enjoy!
