5 posts tagged “yo la tengo”

Specifically the year 2000. The early oughts were a very good time for indie rock, possibly even a golden age.

In honor of 90s music Monday, here is one of my (if not my all-time) favorite videos, which I only discovered last year thanks to Vox--Yo La Tengo's clip for "Sugarcube." Even if you've never heard of Yo La Tengo or have no interest in their music, it's still worth watching. There are so many hilarious things in it it's hard to know where to begin.

• the quote which I used to title this post
• "if you want to learn how to write rock lyrics, you have to learn where the hobbits dwell."
  
• "Everyone remember the Foghat principle--fourth album should be double live."
• The teacher reading the lyrics to "Closer to the Heart" to rapt attention.
  
• YlT's hapless attempts to trash a hotel room, windmill a guitar and put cool decorations on their drums.
  

What are your top 5 CDs/albums of 2006? 
Submitted by eliz. s.

1. Built To Spill "You In Reverse"
2. Yo La Tengo "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass"
3. Robert Pollard "From a Compound Eye"
4. My Morning Jacket "Okonokos"
5. Pearl Jam "Bill Graham Civic 7/15/06"

Vox should support structured data so we could aggregate these lists in interesting ways.

Matador Records just posted the first track from Yo La Tengo's forthcoming "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass." On first listen, it's a crazy guitar freak-out somewhat reminiscent of "Spec Bebop" but with vocals. They also announced tourdates, including three nights at the Fillmore in October (19,20,21.)

Ylt_hatchet

Yo La Tengo

Rollling Stone magazine has posted a preview of the forthcoming Yo La Tengo (scheduled for release September 12th) album "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass" which sounds like it could be another epic masterpiece like I Can Feel the Heart Beating As One or And Then Nothing Turned Inside-Out.

Beginning with the snarling, ten-minute guitar jam "Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind," the indie vets veer through Vince Guaraldi-influenced R&B ("Mr. Tough"), country-pop confections ("Sometimes I Don't Get You"), uptempo crunch ("I Should've Known Better") and the more familiar ambient sounds of their recent albums ("I Feel Like Going Home"). On "Mr. Tough," infectious brass is followed by bassist James McNew's winning falsetto, imploring, "Don't you think we've suffered enough?/Meet me on the dance floor." And "Black Flowers" pairs horns and strings -- along with bells and gorgeous harmonies from drummer-vocalist Georgia Hubley.

Ten minute guitar jam? Like that. Guitar theatrics were noticeably absent from 2003's "Summer Sun" and that was by design. They left several songs off of the album because they didn't fit the album's feel, a gutsy move that, after much going back and forth, I've decided I agree with. The omitted songs ended up the companion EP "Today Is the Day" which included the rock version of the mellow, wistful track from "Summer Sun" proving that it takes a very speical band to produce two equally valid, but utterly different versions of the same song.

The advance single from the album, "Beanbag Chair," is already available in the form of a free download, which has ended up on Vox, thanks to Harold.