Song Of The Day 10/12/2015: Jonathan Richman – “That Summer Feeling”

You Pick the Artist IV – Andy Lewis gave me Jonathan Richman. I’ve seen Jonathan a few times, but the one I remember the most was at a movie theater in Nevada City, California on a Saturday afternoon. I think it was 1989. It was a Rocky & Bullwinkle matinee special. Jonathan lived in the area at the time and he brought his child to the show. We saw him as they came in. I feel it’s important to expose one’s children to the classics at as early an age as they can comprehend, so kudos to Jonathan. My date and I were there for re-examination purposes. To make sure we got everything right the first time. We did but we also caught a few nuances we missed. It’s a game of inches.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the important role the Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner” played in my oldest child Lucie’s development. There’s an MP3 floating around somewhere of Lucie and I at the piano when she was around two years old. She’s singing “Roadrunner” while I’m playing the song’s grand total of two chords on the keys. She gave the proper six-beat count-off. Caught most of the lyrics that were vital to the song, especially the Stop & Shop. It’s too bad we didn’t wind up moving to Massachusetts like we almost did last year; then everything could have come full circle.

And now, just in time for autumn: My favorite Jonathan song is “That Summer Feeling,” which he recorded a couple of times. I’ve chosen the electrified version with the backup singers. I personally can vouch that everything in this song is about as true as you can get: a dissertation on the romanticization of youth and the distortion it can cause later on if you haven’t been using the right filters on your dream sequences.

Thanks, Andy!