Jan 31, 2024
Related Recs
New Jersey may have Bruce, but Massachusetts has Jonathan- a guy who has always been unapologetically himself whether it was being totally sober in the 70s, writing pleas for tenderness in a genre known for bravado, dancing in lesbian bars, or driving down to NYC every weekend to be Velvet Underground's biggest fan before anyone else was. a guy who despite being a rock legend, spends his days installing pizza ovens around the san fransisco area.
I've seen him live a few times now, and watching him play his sweet silly songs in an unapologetically sincere + sort of autistic way is somehow just as transgressive as the proto-punk he invented with The Modern Lovers over 50 years ago. I can't help but smile ear to ear for his entire set. effortless humor and charm.
Something that's also stood out to me after seeing him live a few times now, is the way he recontextualizes the classics. When he played "Old World" in 2022 he changed the lyrics to recognize how some things should be left in the past rather than simply romanticizing it. And last night he played with the iconic "Pablo Picasso" to focus less on the swagger of Pablo, and more on how that type of guy is actually kind of an arrogant creep. Angel Prost (of Frost Children) wrote a great essay on Jonathan's reinvention for her email-only newsletter a few years ago, if you'd like to read it I'm sure I can dig it up for you.
From last night-
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an oil painter. I was obsessed with colors.
Then I heard Velvet Underground and saw you can paint with a guitar
Anyways...if more people were a bit more like Jonathan the world would be a better place. A huge inspiration to me!
Mar 8, 2024
i am rapidly becoming a daryl johns superfan. everything he puts out is so cool and weird and catchy.
Sep 18, 2024
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the man, the music, the mindset, the little dances on stage. If they could bottle him I'd have a glass a day and I think it'd cure all my ailments.
Jun 14, 2024
Top Recs from @septembersublime
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makes my kid happy to get free books so i wanna make other people’s kids happy too.
Jan 29, 2024
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especially when there are so many better fits out there. dump him, babe.
Feb 29, 2024
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she's one of my tops too, so i'm just gonna rec some of my fave reads of the past few years:
august blue by deborah levy
the guest by emma cline
tides by sara freeman
pretend i'm dead / vacuuming in the dark / big swiss by jen beagin
hurricane girl by marcy demansky
we do what we do in the dark by michelle hart
noone is talking about this by patricia lockwood
want by lynn steger strong
luster by raven leilani
temporary by hilary leichter
pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier
goodbye vitamin by rachel khong
tampa by alissa nutting
hot milk by deborah levy
13 ways of looking at a fat girl by mona awad
barbara the slut and other people by lauren holmes
cat brushing by jane campbell
Jan 31, 2024