No, nothing to do with lobbers. Who looked as if they could ? The lobbers ? Wrong !
"We saw the Lovers, the Modern Lovers,
and they looked very good, they looked as if they could."
It's a joke about a very cool band The Modern Lovers inspired by the Velvet Underground (just as Eno had been) and "taking off" in an underground way in the early '70s. Their first album is a magnificent album, but they played live without any record to sell during the early '70s, the album only got released after they'd become a different band, so the only way to enjoy the band was to "see" the band live, back then in 1974, when the album this song comes from was made.
Calling yourself "The Modern Lovers", what a great band name. Eno's remarking that they "looked as if they could [do it Modern, that they looked like they could be real Modern Lovers]" is a cute in-joke and a tribute of sorts.
Ex-VU member John Cale produced their early efforts but Jerry Harrison ended up moving from the Modern Lovers to Talking Heads. Eno is giving his thumbs up to the band, just as he later would with "King's Lead Hat" (an anagram of "Talking Heads").
The first album got held up for years, which meant The Modern Lovers didn't get the recognition they deserved while they were playing that material, and the band splintered. So back in 1974, this is Eno giving the Lovers some much-needed promotion.
Thank you -- I was about to point out that the Modern Lovers formed four years before the appearance of "Taking Tiger Mountain" and the line was surely about them.
I always thought the Modern Lovers would've sounded pretty close to the VU if Johnathan Richman had taken speed instead of 'shrooms, or whatever he was on at the time.
Thank you -- I was about to point out that the Modern Lovers formed four years before the appearance of "Taking Tiger Mountain" and the line was surely about them.
I always thought the Modern Lovers would've sounded pretty close to the VU if Johnathan Richman had taken speed instead of 'shrooms, or whatever he was on at the time.
No, nothing to do with lobbers. Who looked as if they could ? The lobbers ? Wrong !
"We saw the Lovers, the Modern Lovers, and they looked very good, they looked as if they could."
It's a joke about a very cool band The Modern Lovers inspired by the Velvet Underground (just as Eno had been) and "taking off" in an underground way in the early '70s. Their first album is a magnificent album, but they played live without any record to sell during the early '70s, the album only got released after they'd become a different band, so the only way to enjoy the band was to "see" the band live, back then in 1974, when the album this song comes from was made.
Calling yourself "The Modern Lovers", what a great band name. Eno's remarking that they "looked as if they could [do it Modern, that they looked like they could be real Modern Lovers]" is a cute in-joke and a tribute of sorts.
Ex-VU member John Cale produced their early efforts but Jerry Harrison ended up moving from the Modern Lovers to Talking Heads. Eno is giving his thumbs up to the band, just as he later would with "King's Lead Hat" (an anagram of "Talking Heads").
The first album got held up for years, which meant The Modern Lovers didn't get the recognition they deserved while they were playing that material, and the band splintered. So back in 1974, this is Eno giving the Lovers some much-needed promotion.
Thank you -- I was about to point out that the Modern Lovers formed four years before the appearance of "Taking Tiger Mountain" and the line was surely about them. I always thought the Modern Lovers would've sounded pretty close to the VU if Johnathan Richman had taken speed instead of 'shrooms, or whatever he was on at the time.
Thank you -- I was about to point out that the Modern Lovers formed four years before the appearance of "Taking Tiger Mountain" and the line was surely about them. I always thought the Modern Lovers would've sounded pretty close to the VU if Johnathan Richman had taken speed instead of 'shrooms, or whatever he was on at the time.