I'm So Confused
No doubt that playing the minstrel inThere's Something About Marygave Jonathan Richman the greatest exposure of his career.  But don't expect success to spoil him:I'm So Confused--which includes that movie's "True Love Is Not Nice," if not the title song--finds the charming if offbeat pop-folkie singing the same simple-minded odes he's been doing since disbanding theModern Loversway back when. Produced with negligible effect by Ric Ocasek,Confusedis mostly of a romantic nature, although with the occasional surprise. "The Lonely Little Thrift Store," for one, digs deep with arresting lines like "The avocado-green appliances with the smell of domestic violences." Perpetually quirky, Richman is nearly the definition ofcult artist. No role in any blockbuster film's going to change that.--Neal Weiss