The walls and lockers of punk rock's past are lined with magazine pull-out posters of Jonathan Richman. Why not? He was straight before McKay, made wit and snark a cornerstone of indie rock, and combined his enduring embodiment of the past into the future of rock effortlessly. At this point in his life -- a completely anti-Internet old school musician of a considerable age, all things considered -- he has acquired enough life experiences to be honestly struggling, to be having doubts, to be absolutely startled by the way mortality can rear its head so suddenly, without concern for your state of mind. more ›