Why Jonathan Richman has shunned modern technology: “Gonna ring and wreck the vibe?”
It takes a while, but everyone eventually comes to the same conclusion that Blur did in the early 1990s: that Modern Life Is Rubbish. You spend long enough with your face buried in the Glastonbury toilet that is life without the comfort blanket of nostalgia or the optimism of a better future, and everyone always comes to the same conclusion. That this second, this particular moment is the worst one ever created. One that all other moments past and present leaves on read when it invites them to their bimonthly stitch and bitch. Now, the fact that everyone always thinks this probably speaks to its falsehood, but if Jonathan Richman is saying so, it’s difficult to argue with.
In a way, this is nothing new to the Modern Lovers’ main man. His musical outlook has always been resolutely simple to the point of childlike. This is a man whose signature song begins with a countdown that has nothing to do with musicianship and everything to do with the fact that songs beginning with countdowns are cool. With that song though, began a career that would last and last, influencing the likes of Joan Jett, Pixies and Mac DeMarco with his ramshackle, Velvet Underground-inflected proto-indie rock.
Fast forward to the present day, and it comes as no surprise that a man constantly looking to strip things back to their barest essentials has no time for the trappings of 2024. In an article for The Spinoff, Oscar Zambuto details the hoops he needs to jump through just to secure an interview with the famously reclusive Richman. In a time when many punk rock luminaries have their emails available to the public, from Frank Turner to Henry Rollins, Zambuto finds getting a hold of Richman a little tricky.
“I first emailed Richman’s agency, who emailed his personal assistant, who emailed me with Richman’s PO Box address, to which I could mail him my hand-written questions.” He goes on to say that he was aiming for a Zoom interview but finds that, according to no less an authority than Richman’s personal assistant, “Jonathan doesn’t use the internet, email, etc. and has never owned a computer or cell phone”. So Zambuto mails him ten questions, all handwritten with his letter and two and a half months later, he receives a response.
Each of the questions are answered and answered well. Particularly on whether his music and the way he presents himself is intentionally comedic: “I’m just like that,” he answers. “Sometimes I can be funny. Not always.” The most he has to say though, comes when asked specifically about modern technology. Richman fills the entire page with his biro-written response, saying he “Don’t need ‘em and don’t want em. Why would I want to carry around a little electronic thing that’s gonna ring and wreck the vibe?”
Is it a little luddite? For sure, that’s part of the charm. He does hit the nail right on the head though later on in his answer when he says “It’s all I can do to answer the letters I get and answer the phone answering machine” (not even the phone, the absolute legend) “Why would I want things to get faster?” That, dear reader, is a question to ask oneself as well. I love aspects the modern world and would sooner part with my nipples than my laptop and PS5, but the world is only going to get faster and more confusing from here on out. One day soon, it will all look unintelligible to us, and if we can slow it all down, why not make like Richman himself and do just that?
