Were you a Violent Femmes fan back in the 80's. If so then you have The Modern Lovers to thank. The Lovers built on The Velvet Underground's work, bringing the music down to a more personal and pop space, and there are times when listening to this album that you understand completely where bands like The Cars and the Femmes got their sound. Unlike The Jam album, this album has actually aged pretty well. I think it's mostly the lyrical content that helps it hold up today, but musically these guys are kind of in their own space on this album. Yes you can hear the influences on bands like The Cars and the Femmes, but it still stands on it's own, just as The Velvet Underground's work stands separate from this.
As I'm typing this this album sits at number 97 on the Best Albums of the 1970's list at Best Ever Albums.
If it's a hot summer night, and you are in downtown Paducah wandering around depressed because things aren't working out with you and the girl that use to be your best friend, then I say throw this on your headphones.
Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.
This is my favorite description of when you should listen.
ReplyDeleteI, too, love this application sentence.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting, too, because in my zillion evenings of being depressed about this girl or that girl, alienation music hardly ever provided me any solace or escape whatsoever. The only music that ever made me feel better or worse or anything intense or useful was music about connectedness. For example, ...