No Condition Is Permanent

Pictured: The Modern Lovers.

Another odd rock band that had yet to release a record resurfaced in January, when the Modern Lovers played the Townhouse Theatre, a tiny, eighty-eight-seat venue at 120 West Forty-fourth Street near Times Square. Jonathan Richman, age twenty-two, now had a ghost of a mustache, the sort that would inspire a fifteen-year-old to rooster-strut around the schoolyard. He sang a churning, thrilling, electric-guitar-driven number that resembled the Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray,” with a heady, nasal voice, all adolescent passion and clogged nostrils…

But they still couldn’t get a record out. They’d earned enough label interest to bankroll demos produced by John Cale in ’72, which eventually became the posthumous debut The Modern Lovers. “Roadrunner,” “Pablo Picasso,” and “She Cracked” are noisy, propulsive, proto-punk rock ’n’ roll rooted in the Velvets. But Richman was mercurial, and his interests were now shifting toward quieter, faux-naïf songs with titles like “Hey Mr. Insect.” He’d recorded another, somewhat gentler set of demos in late ’73 with the California producer Kim Fowley, but labels remained baffled, and by the time of the Townhouse gig, the band was falling apart.

— Will Hermes, Love Goes To Buildings On Fire.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 368 OF NO CONDITION IS PERMANENT:

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 368 OF NO CONDITION IS PERMANENT BY CLICKING ON THE THREE DOTS /\

Here’s what we played in Ep. 368 of No Condition Is Permanent:

THE FIRST SET

The Glitter Band — “Makes You Blind” — Disco 75

Livy Ekemezie — “Night Party” — Friday Night

The Coffin Daggers — “Stella Vista” — War Of The Surf Guitars!

Cymbals — “午前8時の脱走計画 (This Is What You Want, But This Is What You Get)” — Anthology **

Small Faces — “What’Cha Gonna Do About It” — From The Beginning

The Soul Sisters — “Wreck a Buddy” — Trojan Box Set: X-Rated Box Set

The Rock-A-Hulas — “Soraya Lou” — Hot, Cool & Fun 45rpm EP

Annette Pinto — “Love Me Baby” — Charas Babu

Ricki & The Rikatones — “Whiplash” — Running Wild 1

IT’S MADISON TIME…

Gene Page — “Movin’” — Blacula OST

THE SECOND SET

Ersen — “Metelik” — Ersen

The Ovations — “Pop Me Too” — Ho-Dad Hootenanny Too!

John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett — “Cheryl’s Going Home” — John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett

The Chosen Few — “Collie Stuff” — Darker Than Blue: Soul From Jamdown 1973-1980

Whitefield Brothers — “Rampage” — In the Raw

Chopstick Sisters — “Good Companion” — Taiwan & Singapore Disco

Reparata & The Delrons — “Panic” — Girl Zone!

Fela Ransome-Kuti & His Koolalobitos — “Mi O Mo” — Lagos Baby 1963-1969

Kit Kats — “That’s the Way” — Phil’s Spectre Vol. 3: Third Wall of Soundalikes

THE THIRD SET

Joe Gibbs & The Professionals — “Free The Children” — African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 4

The Hully Gully Boys — “Yabby!” — Jungle Exotica Vol. 1

Plearn Promdan — “Kosok Tee Det” — Thai? Dai!: The Heavier Side of the Luk Thung Underground

The Pretty Things — “Rosalyn” — Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire & Beyond 1964-1969

Henri Guedon — “Douce” — 10 Ans De Musique Caraïbe

Kid Creole & the Coconuts — “Latin Music” — Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places

Tito Chicoma y Su Orquesta — “El Baile Yeye A Go-Go” — ¡Gózalo! Bugalú Tropical Vol. 5

THE FINAL SET

Orchestre Shika-Shika — “Diabanza (La Gallina Java)” — Piconema: East African Hits On the Colombian Coast

The Modern Lovers — “I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms” — The Modern Lovers

Afrosound — “Una Abeja En El Semáforo” — The Afrosound Of Colombia Vol. 2

Eddie Bonds — “Slip, Slip ,Slippin’ In” — The Roots Of Psychobilly

Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators — “King Tubby Dub” — Slates, Plates & Acetates: Soul Groovers, Funky Dubs & Tight Reggae

Piano Slim — “Whammy In The Gizmo” — ‘Black’ Rock ‘n’ Roll – Savage Kick Vol. 3

Cheo Marquetti Y Su Conjunto — “Baila Ahora” — Region Matancera

Johnny Watson — “looking back” — Shakin’..Black (R&B Special)

LORD BUCKLEY’S WEEKLY BENEDICTION…

Terenchem — “Jeritan Cinta” — Those Shocking Shaking Days: Indonesia Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock and Funk 1970-1978

** Thanks to Bob Brainen.

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