I'm Straight (Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers)

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  • Опубліковано 24 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 669

  • @Renegd57
    @Renegd57 11 років тому +114

    I think this is the best song ever made.

  • @InService77
    @InService77 4 роки тому +96

    My favorite part is "Now I like him too .... Hippie Johnny". It's the most perfect joke in the whole song for me.

  • @gerharddehls
    @gerharddehls 14 років тому +29

    written when he was 17 yrs old ........killer song

  • @deweypug
    @deweypug 15 років тому +84

    Simply incredible that Jonathan Richman was putting music like this together in the early seventies. Seems so far ahead of its time... even today sounds fresh.

    • @jasonledyard404
      @jasonledyard404 2 роки тому +2

      totally... such a great launchpad for bands to come

    • @howard5992
      @howard5992 10 місяців тому +1

      he was heavily influenced by Lou Reed and John Cale... in a good way
      years later he pretty much said this music represented a time in his life where he was sort of miserable but it was self-inflicted misery
      anyways I agree with you - it's great in it's own way and certainly a bit different from where he later went

    • @GaryShowbiz
      @GaryShowbiz 5 місяців тому +1

      poetry is timeless

  • @jonnydeuteronomy9684
    @jonnydeuteronomy9684 6 років тому +31

    This song is priceless. This band belongs in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

    • @Cici1791
      @Cici1791 Рік тому

      Definitely!

    • @dannyhernandez265
      @dannyhernandez265 Рік тому +2

      Nah they’re too cool for the Rock n roll hall of fame. As Johnny Rotten said, it’s a “piss stain”.

    • @Flipper-r8m
      @Flipper-r8m 3 місяці тому

      Unfortunately the “Rock Hall” gets worse with each induction. Time change the name to music hall of fame.

  • @erinheartstrivan
    @erinheartstrivan 15 років тому +13

    i can not stop listening to this song

  • @Isitlovesaidshe
    @Isitlovesaidshe 14 років тому +21

    One of the coolest songs I've ever heard.

  • @angelan3691
    @angelan3691 2 роки тому +7

    And it's a great video!!! 😀👏👏👏

  • @Japorod1119
    @Japorod1119 3 роки тому +6

    I met and talked to Jonathan in 1982..Nice guy

  • @willgrx5055
    @willgrx5055 3 роки тому +35

    Me, gay and stoned listening to this : i m s t ra i gh t

  • @alhollywood6486
    @alhollywood6486 Рік тому +8

    I mean, you can see where punk was coming from, what an amazing band as short-lived as it was.

  • @heartoftoledo1560
    @heartoftoledo1560 5 років тому +14

    There's a guy at my local bar I have referred to as 'Hippie Johnny' numerous times.
    Ended up seeing him last night and played him this song. He really liked it.

    • @Shawnovin
      @Shawnovin 4 місяці тому

      I call myself 'hippie Shawny' have for over 20 years thanks to a mix tape, google, youtube and of course this awesome song :)

  • @AlexAlex-of6ms
    @AlexAlex-of6ms 9 років тому +93

    One year str8 today, had to listen to this :P

    • @MrEthanJason
      @MrEthanJason 9 років тому +8

      Congrats.

    • @TheGiannaras2
      @TheGiannaras2 9 років тому +13

      +Alex Alex hoping its 18 months today :)

    • @tschau92
      @tschau92 4 роки тому

      not anymore I guess

    • @AlexAlex-of6ms
      @AlexAlex-of6ms 4 роки тому +3

      @@tschau92 funny enough I've got about a year clean again rn lol

    • @louisallen6528
      @louisallen6528 3 роки тому +1

      @@AlexAlex-of6ms how about now?

  • @brycecary
    @brycecary 3 роки тому +7

    This song honestly just changed my life. This is amazing music. Incredible...

  • @Nilbog-Hunter
    @Nilbog-Hunter 2 роки тому +3

    I’m from Mass and I never heard them till now. Wtf? Better late than never

  • @Thats-Cool-Thats-Trash
    @Thats-Cool-Thats-Trash 12 років тому +9

    The Real Kids started in about 1972 or 73 but didn't record until 77. John Felice and Jonathan Richman grew up together in MA, and Felice was actually in the first version of the Modern Lovers but never recorded with them. Both great, great bands.

  • @theonlytruepunk
    @theonlytruepunk 16 років тому +4

    First "straight edge" song! Drugs suck and so does hippie Johnny!!

  • @schukinofclm
    @schukinofclm 13 років тому +14

    I've listened it for the first time half an hour ago, and the last half hour I've listened it already 5 times! Really, one of the best songs ever made! And I'm straight!

  • @howlinghuntley1688
    @howlinghuntley1688 2 роки тому +2

    I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when he Lou Reed hung out. With their different views on drugs, but respect of each others music

  • @lndnflms484
    @lndnflms484 4 роки тому +9

    That is a fantastic drum sound they got in that studio.

  • @byronp2311
    @byronp2311 5 років тому +16

    I can still remember when someone said I have this new album and put on Modern Lovers. It was a game changer..

    • @GaryShowbiz
      @GaryShowbiz 5 місяців тому +1

      aongus hennesey hipped me to this

    • @MrMookRecords
      @MrMookRecords 5 місяців тому

      ​. Can see the true line from Modren Lovers to Moutpiece alrih !

  • @kfire66
    @kfire66 7 років тому +3

    Cool song. I thought it was Cake when I first heard it. Also a lot of VU influence.

  • @jensenbell
    @jensenbell 15 років тому +9

    I can't believe this masterpiece is from the mid 70s - an older cool girl agreed to date me for a few minutes and turned me onto things like this and "The Only Ones" ... My playlists always seem to contain this song.

  • @adamkallin5160
    @adamkallin5160 3 роки тому +6

    God damn Hippie Johnny messing up our shit since 1976.

    • @blackburnrfc1
      @blackburnrfc1 4 місяці тому

      This is from 1970 at the latest! Recorded in 1971-2, released in 1976. Hope for us awkward nerds, just being patient.

  • @lancelovecraft
    @lancelovecraft 11 років тому +3

    Tears are in my eyes right now its like this song was made for me. i wish she would come back.

  • @mysteryspoon
    @mysteryspoon 5 років тому +7

    Smoked a drug to this, very (fun/good!) Music today is (bad/good!), this music is very (cool/fun!). VERY underrated.

  • @dnaut69
    @dnaut69 15 років тому +2

    best song ever - great video too

  • @marjoriekaye9336
    @marjoriekaye9336 Рік тому +5

    Damn, forgot how good this song is.

  • @cwoodtul
    @cwoodtul 15 років тому +5

    My new favorite song; can't believe I've never heard this before. Brilliant.

  • @gentlejoejones
    @gentlejoejones 5 років тому +14

    Hell of a drum sound

    • @rustybeltway2373
      @rustybeltway2373 4 роки тому +2

      Don't know if they're on this track, but the Modern Lovers had the drummer from the Cars, and keys from Talking Heads. So many talented players from Boston MA.

    • @gentlejoejones
      @gentlejoejones 3 роки тому +1

      @@rustybeltway2373 facts! Thank you!

  • @QuestForPerfectSound
    @QuestForPerfectSound 7 років тому +4

    One of the best songs about jelousy ever written.

  • @seanfraid2675
    @seanfraid2675 3 роки тому +7

    "Why can't they take this place, and take it straight!" Words of wisdom for a substance abuser- I'm one!

  • @divirix
    @divirix 15 років тому +2

    o wow i thought it was an official video. super well done. cheers

  • @mattgilbert7347
    @mattgilbert7347 3 роки тому +4

    This song was so popular with all my stoner mates in the 80s

  • @plev10
    @plev10 7 днів тому

    I just heard this song for the first time yesterday. It's the best song I've ever heard and I'm 66 and I'm straight right now.

  • @morganfitzp
    @morganfitzp 14 років тому +1

    @harwicke This is from 1972 and the Modern Lovers were inspired by a lot of 60s music, especially the Velvet Underground and the Stooges. Their own music and attitude marked a transition between the hippee and punk eras. Two of them went on to found the Cars and Talking HEads.

  • @CuteCatFaith
    @CuteCatFaith 11 років тому +7

    I knew "Hippie Johnnie," Ernie of the Modern Lovers and saw Jonathan play three times, twice in NYC and once in Paris. I loved and bought this stuff right from the beginning. I wonder what happened to my poster? You hadda get this stuff mail order from Beserkley, HOME OF THE HITS. It was so fun. "Modern girls and modern rock 'n' roll." Modern world, baby.

  • @morganfitzp
    @morganfitzp 14 років тому +1

    @sl1ghtlystoop1d The Velvets were The Modern Lovers' biggest inspiration. Jonathan Richman's first solo gig was opening for them in Western Mass, The Modern Lovers covered "Foggy Notion" in their live set, and John Cale played produced many tracks on their first album and even played piano on one song.

  • @irishandirie
    @irishandirie 5 років тому +26

    My parents would always ask me if I was "straight," meaning, was I sober. When I went to school and used this old terminology, people thought I was asking them if they were heterosexual. I quickly readjusted my vocabulary.

    • @anthonyhedberg6471
      @anthonyhedberg6471 5 років тому +3

      ...not that there's anything wrong with that (wink, wink).

  • @elizabethhann4028
    @elizabethhann4028 7 років тому +28

    In my opinion, this is Jonathan Richman's masterpiece. Earnest without being cutesy, and complete with the most crude, dirty, shambolic guitar sound you could want. I love it!

    • @secondthoughtplease1
      @secondthoughtplease1 Рік тому +1

      I agree. If you’d said summer time is the masterpiece, i’d agree too. My love is a flower.

    • @Cici1791
      @Cici1791 Рік тому +1

      Agree!

    • @blackburnrfc1
      @blackburnrfc1 4 місяці тому

      This is turning into my favorite cut of all time. I cannot stop listening to it.

  • @TheMusicalJourneys
    @TheMusicalJourneys 7 років тому +2

    Wow I love Jonathan but never heard this song before. Love it! I don't like to get high and always felt uncool in school.But straight or high it's a great song.

  • @ForARide
    @ForARide 15 років тому +4

    And this song and the whole first LP were produced by the great John Cale!

  • @aro5490
    @aro5490 5 років тому +4

    pure brilliance

  • @Jabsta
    @Jabsta 15 років тому +7

    Wow, this is really awesome. I seriously thought this was the official music video, you capture the mood and feel of this ridiculously awesome song perfectly. Great job.

  • @ruthdixon7807
    @ruthdixon7807 Рік тому +1

    few indeed were the rock musicians in 1972 who could so unabashedly beg the girl of their dreams to leave "hippy johnny" because he's always stoned, and let the "straight" jonathan take his place.

  • @TheGoblin1975
    @TheGoblin1975 8 років тому +49

    jonathan richman was just a minor threat

    • @ethanhill9331
      @ethanhill9331 7 років тому +4

      etha s
      Talking Heads won the war.

    • @fishysteg3308
      @fishysteg3308 7 років тому +1

      Did they? Jonathon has had quite a long and successful career writing and performing exactly the music he wants.

    • @TheGoblin1975
      @TheGoblin1975 7 років тому +14

      i will explain my commentary, this is a song that is very similiar to the 1980s straight edge movement which imo was defined by the hardcore punk band minor threat, hence my initial remark. xoxox

    • @perverseosmosis9799
      @perverseosmosis9799 3 роки тому +2

      I know I am 4 years late, but the Minor Threat comment is brilliant.

    • @Dejay06
      @Dejay06 15 днів тому

      Lol

  • @WilliamOshea-sj9ze
    @WilliamOshea-sj9ze 3 місяці тому +1

    A lot of kids at my school vape and are into pot, but I'm not one of them. It makes me sad to see all the kids that I grew up with go down the road of drug use, which will end in drug addiction. But seeing this video makes me proud to be straight-edged.

    • @AtZero138
      @AtZero138 5 днів тому

      Cheers from a Straight Edge kid.. now ancient..
      I have friends that I've known since I was a kid.. still.. my family of brothers and sisters..
      One i see almost everyday, met him at 13/14..
      Together we've seen a lot.. come and go..
      The hard (go)...
      Since you seem like a person who has that.. outside looking in view..
      The ability to make your own choice, think for yourself, choose what you actually like, not fallow the Trend..
      You will never lose this...
      Be who you are..
      Rise above it all..
      Massive Respect from Orange County California 🇺🇸..

  • @spockola
    @spockola 15 років тому +2

    That was fantastic.

  • @bfgivmfith
    @bfgivmfith 14 років тому +2

    Only the best F'ng song Ever!!!!!!!!

  • @FlawShow
    @FlawShow 15 років тому +7

    Absolutely hypnotic....love it!

  • @BenCulture
    @BenCulture 10 років тому +77

    The funny thing is, my frriends/bandmates and I all got high on weed and listened to this song, and we loved it sincerely. It wasn't a novelty, certainly not to me. I related very strongly to this song without having to be clean & sober. All that matters to me is that Jonathan is saying "I refuse to follow the trendy crowd . . . but I want _you."_

    • @UnderTheAffluence
      @UnderTheAffluence 10 років тому +25

      Hippie Benny

    • @justinlebowitzle3167
      @justinlebowitzle3167 10 років тому +7

      ***** Now, I like hippie Benny.

    • @MrEthanJason
      @MrEthanJason 9 років тому +4

      This is a great I WANT YOU blues.

    • @SlackerInc1
      @SlackerInc1 8 років тому +3

      Right. I'm not straight (in the sense meant here), but I LOVE this song.

    • @pyrrho314
      @pyrrho314 7 років тому +1

      yes... it's jonathan

  • @mosriteminioncause7741
    @mosriteminioncause7741 Рік тому +1

    Jonathan and the Modern Lovers really picked up where the Velvet Underground left off....to early for punk to late for psych mod...raw and timeless....

  • @countrymousejewelry
    @countrymousejewelry 3 роки тому +3

    Greatest song ever. In the history. Of non music and music.

  • @lagunz
    @lagunz 14 років тому +2

    Some of the greatest lyrics ever.

  • @HeraldBoon
    @HeraldBoon 12 років тому +5

    Jonathan Richman is a genius! Imagine if he had stayed the course with this pre-punk style. If we could have gotten 4 or 5 records like this out of him before he sort of changed gears. I wonder...

  • @mustlovepretzels
    @mustlovepretzels 6 місяців тому +1

    hydrogenatedupload: thanks for posting. Happy Birthday today(May 16) to Johnathan Richman. Cheers! 🥨

  • @televisedvision
    @televisedvision 14 років тому +1

    today was the first time i have ever heard this song...makes me feel like i have been in a new york apartment for 2 weeks with no money, smoking dope and drinking stale beer. im in love with this song...im ohh so grateful i have heard this during my lifetime.

  • @mudatthewall
    @mudatthewall 8 років тому +126

    I'm certainly not stoned.

  • @twiguydk
    @twiguydk 3 роки тому +2

    It's a perfect call!

  • @autocyclist4062
    @autocyclist4062 7 років тому +2

    hydrogenated!
    you made yourself and us a brilliant video here my man!!!
    cheers to you!

  • @neocoders
    @neocoders 15 років тому +2

    Oh my god this is excellent.

  • @GreatDepressionRace
    @GreatDepressionRace 14 років тому +1

    Saw Jonathan a few years ago in a tiny venue of maybe 50 people and hoped he would play some Modern Lovers. He didn't but he was really fun to watch and listen to. I don't nerd up on his influences or who he influenced or what his music was and what it is now, he is just a fun performer now and worth the ticket.

  • @angellacanfora
    @angellacanfora 15 років тому +5

    Wish I could give this 10 stars, both for the great song & the cool video!

  • @biloby
    @biloby 16 років тому +1

    good video ..good song.

  • @adinocc2042
    @adinocc2042 3 роки тому +3

    Richman is God!

  • @sedanurkorcan3967
    @sedanurkorcan3967 7 років тому +46

    missing hippie john, salad days are gone

    • @stonecole4703
      @stonecole4703 5 років тому +3

      Remembering things just to tell 'em so long

  • @erwinwoodedge4885
    @erwinwoodedge4885 8 років тому +108

    Sounds a lot like a Velvet Underground song.

  • @jonsays
    @jonsays 15 років тому +2

    thank you. thank you. thank you. for posting this.

  • @bollyanddom
    @bollyanddom 15 років тому

    unbelievably cool video. soooooo suits the song.
    hippy johnny...

  • @ethosyourbro
    @ethosyourbro 7 років тому +7

    He throws that cigarette down with authority!

  • @samcfinnie
    @samcfinnie 9 років тому +3

  • @lbateman55
    @lbateman55 8 років тому +1

    THANK YOU for posting this! I remember when this song came out and it took me years and years o find it again. Excellent tune.

  • @toust44
    @toust44 15 років тому +1

    Great video...and great song too ;)!

  • @ItsAwfulbutitWorks
    @ItsAwfulbutitWorks 14 років тому +2

    This is my fav off the album... and was very happy to find it accompanied by a vid... thanks for the upload

  • @danadavis6199
    @danadavis6199 5 років тому +2

    this song is rock n roll

  • @robertbooth1395
    @robertbooth1395 Рік тому +1

    I’m not judging, but
    ...this guy sounds slightly more stoned than Hippie Johnny.
    Excellent tune!

  • @rosalyre
    @rosalyre 11 років тому +3

    I wish I could time travel and go out with this guy when I was young

  • @lizajane8703
    @lizajane8703 15 років тому +1

    great video- totally tops man.

  • @bobsmith3217
    @bobsmith3217 9 років тому +111

    If you get an anti-drug message out of this, that's perfectly fine, because drugs can cause problems. I think it's mostly about some average guy lamenting why some chicks always go for the bad guys, while he's just trying to be a good guy and make the chick like him and not feel uncomfortable with him. Heard this on that great Troublemakers compilation that Warner Bros. put out about 1980, with great songs by Wire and other new wave/punk bands.

    • @samuelbarrett447
      @samuelbarrett447 8 років тому +3

      +Bob Smith yeah, i think you nailed it.
      I met him a few months ago at a small show in Oregon and he seemed very nice and genuine.

    • @ashevillecat
      @ashevillecat 8 років тому +14

      +Bob Smith for me this isn't about any problems that drugs may or may not cause. From my perspective it's just a lamentation of being "the straight guy" in the rock business in the early 70s, where almost everybody was on drugs...a lot.

    • @pyrrho314
      @pyrrho314 7 років тому

      or what about the naturally stoned guys... why isn't that stoned enough itself.

    • @konstantinossventzouris7646
      @konstantinossventzouris7646 7 років тому

      Bob Smith σσσα

    • @thirdpowerful1
      @thirdpowerful1 7 років тому +1

      It can be both things.

  • @DystopianDeepDives
    @DystopianDeepDives Рік тому

    lol i love this song and i am hippy johnny

  • @YanFerraz
    @YanFerraz 15 років тому +2

    Man, so psycodelic!
    sounds so fresh!

  • @andrewrobert22
    @andrewrobert22 3 роки тому +2

    I had a roommate in college named Johnny who sold pot and who got girls I liked, drank, and did other drugs... and now I'm sober after many years of alcoholism and multi-substance abuse and married and love myself for who I am and am genuinely happy despite everything going on around me. If I can do it (that is, overcome whatever it is and be happy) Anyone can :)

  • @bzine3726
    @bzine3726 8 років тому +362

    The great thing about this is that Jonathan was able to make being sober and slightly nerdy sound edgy and dangerous.

    • @christenmorrow6931
      @christenmorrow6931 8 років тому +22

      +Will Maclachlan Lol, the story behind this song was that he was making fun of a guy that kept trying to take his girl, referred to him as "Hippy Johnny", and went on and on about being straight (never doing drugs).

    • @willmaclachlan8896
      @willmaclachlan8896 8 років тому +16

      Ha ha yeah its john felice btw, the guitar player who is hippy johnny.

    • @mm2200
      @mm2200 5 років тому +1

      He really does, doesn't he?

    • @tracyporter5471
      @tracyporter5471 5 років тому

      Unique!!

    • @andyisdead
      @andyisdead 4 роки тому +9

      Commenting on Richman, Felice has said, "Me and Jonathan, as close as we were, you know, I was like a punk, I was a wise-ass kid. I liked to do a lot of drugs, I liked to drink, and Jonathan was like this wide-eyed, no-drugs, ate nothing but health food..."
      Source: jojofiles.blogspot.com/2004/05/john-felices-interview-1998.html

  • @houdeanis
    @houdeanis 15 років тому +1

    nice work

  • @Matholomew24
    @Matholomew24 12 років тому +2

    Kinda strange that this is a really good song to listen to when you're stoned,

  • @marissadower-morgan3313
    @marissadower-morgan3313 6 років тому +1

    Genius

  • @Thats-Cool-Thats-Trash
    @Thats-Cool-Thats-Trash 16 років тому +19

    Absolutely brilliant clip. Hippie Johnny was actually John Felice from the Real Kids, a friend of Jonathan Richmans. This is very cool, thanks for posting this.

    • @mturynP
      @mturynP 2 роки тому +3

      I thought that in the original version of the song he was 'Hippie Ernie', as in the version of this song currently on UA-cam labelled as being live at Harvard in 1971-2. Jerry Harrison said (in a recent interview with Marc Maron) that Ernie Brooks (their bassist) objected after awhile, so Richman pointed it at himself.

  • @sweetb1255
    @sweetb1255 6 років тому +1

    Thanks dude i loved that crazy song

  • @deliabongo
    @deliabongo 14 років тому +3

    Jonathan Richman has always had that edge of strangeness that indeed makes you think he means the opposite of what he's saying. And his ever-wonky lo-fi sound with stuffed-up nose and a touch of menace is indeed a lot like Heroin, I definitely get that! :)

  • @MrFishateyokids
    @MrFishateyokids 8 років тому +22

    I am such a Hippy Johny

    • @groki9572
      @groki9572 7 років тому +1

      reee

    • @Mich6961
      @Mich6961 3 роки тому

      Your name makes your comment 100 times better

    • @ajricherson1099
      @ajricherson1099 3 роки тому

      Too much Moloko Vellocet?

  • @pmfont
    @pmfont 14 років тому +1

    yeah i can see that, but it doesn't surprise me; the entire album has the vu stamp
    i saw a richman show two months... totally rad. he played pablo piccaso

  • @GuerthysGrowlers
    @GuerthysGrowlers 6 років тому +1

    Best song ever. Jesus. I mean, Johnnies!

  • @Pedru65
    @Pedru65 6 днів тому

    Absolute amazing!

  • @shrinshee
    @shrinshee 14 років тому

    liked those images. suits the song.

  • @someAholeComment
    @someAholeComment 2 роки тому +6

    I was outside a venue trying to get some hotties to come see Jonathan, and simplified it as nerd rock. As I said it, Johnathan walked right past. I've never been more embarrassed for being so inarticulate.

  • @vinto34
    @vinto34 15 років тому +1

    hes always stoned...hes never straight!

  • @TonySmith-i4c
    @TonySmith-i4c 8 місяців тому +1

    nasally voice is perfect. they took that coventry sound and twisted it made it American

  • @EMS929519
    @EMS929519 12 років тому +1

    best song

  • @DucMan600
    @DucMan600 7 років тому +1

    Serious commentary re the lyrics! They always make me laugh. Although it has a deep sad layer this song is funny and I believe that was the writers" intention too..

  • @modelleg
    @modelleg 12 років тому +1

    Rough and wonderful!