Not quite a Yo La Tengo song, but not that far off.
She is a winsome wee thing,
She is a handsome wee thing,
She is a lo’esome wee thing,
This dear wee wife o’ mine.
I never saw a fairer,
I never lo’ed a dearer,
And neist my heart I’ll wear her,
For fear my jewel tine,
She is a winsome, &c.
The warld’s wrack we share o’t;
The warstle and the care o’t;
Wi’ her I’ll blythely bear it,
And think my lot divine.
She is a winsome, &c.
"Thou shalt not extinguish thine anger, but shall master it,
that thy conscience may not be blunted by adjustment
to wrong causes."
-The Dutch Ten Commandments to Foil the Nazis
Showing posts with label another yo la tengo post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label another yo la tengo post. Show all posts
14.1.15
I'm reading more poetry this days, and stumbled across this from Scotland's own Robert Burns:
19.2.13
A Field Guide to Yo La Tengo:
Basic Information: Yo La Tengo's appeal lies almost entirely in their personality, but it can be hard for the uninitiated to know where to start. The band has been together in its current incarnation since 1991, consisting of married couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, and adorably weird heavyset man with strange hair James McNew. Amongst indie bands, they're known for their sense of humor. To wit:
(Additional hipster cred note: the video is a dead rip-off of De La Soul's for "Me, Myself and I")
They also perform pledge drives on New Jersey indie radio, with the (usually credible) promise that they can play anything (a number of these are collected on the aptly titled Yo La Tengo Is Murdering the Classics); they also perform an annual set of concerts for Hanukkah at Maxwell's in their native Hoboken, on something like the same premise. One of their songs has a dance. They are not people who take themselves too seriously.
Style: Indie guitar rock. Neither Georgia nor Ira can sing in the conventional sense, but they can maximize their skills with greater skill than technically superior singers. After McNew joined the band, they made two important musical alterations, and one important change to the lyrics. In their first three albums, Yo La Tengo tended toward typical late-80s fast guitar pop. Beginning with 1993's Painful, they slowed the tempo of the songs, and began using drone as the primary means of melody and harmony. The end result are songs that become intensely focused on the melody and its variations: the sound of the music attends the lyrical content closely, either heightening the mood or providing ironic contrast. Lyrically, Ira and Georgia began writing much more about (one presumes) the topics of their near experience, primarily marriage, and what it's like to be in a relationship that has gone on for a long time. The songs address fights and conflict just as much as romantic moments, and stress the happy mundanity of life with someone you get along with: monogamy has never sounded like a better proposition.
Where to Begin: There are two acknowledged classics, and two others at the same level, preference among which determines which "kind" of fan you are. The two classics:
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One: in which the band goes eclectic. The earlier albums, as great as they are, tend to be exercises in doing one thing only (albeit better than anyone does it). This is where they branch out: bossa nova, country, surf, rinky-dink pop: short, catchy songs, longer exercises that don't overstay their welcome. The major lyrical themes all canvassed. Highlights: "Moby Octopad," "Suugarcube," "Deeper Into Movies." Personal favorite: probably still "Green Arrow." Avoid: "Spec Bebop," unless you like 12 minute atonal drone pieces.
...and then nothing turned itself inside out: the concept album. The concept, in this case, being "what it's like to be married to someone." Quieter and slower than any other album, but with more immediate returns than one might expect from a quiet and slow album. Highlights: "You Can Have It All," "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House" (named after one of Troy McClure's fake movies in The Simpsons), "The Last Days of Disco." Personal favorite: "Cherry Chapstick," a.k.a. 'the fast song.' Avoid: I've never been much of one for "Tired Hippo," but it's not a bad song.
Next:
Electr-o-pura: My personal favorite album of all time. Contains YLT's best 'single,' "Tom Courtenay." Possessed of the best guitar work of any of their albums. Look no further than to "Pablo and Andrea" for proof:
I mean, that guitar solo. Goodness. I'm not one to focus too much on lead guitar heroics, but it's incredible. Highlights: aside from the already-mentioned, "The Ballad of Red Buckets," "Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)," "Blue Line Swinger." Personal favorite: "Pablo and Andrea." Avoid: listen to this album all the way through.
Painful: some people think Painful is the great early YLT album. Those people are wrong. It has all the individual elements that would become great, but it lacks thematic coherence. But the tunes are solid. Has fiancee-reminding-me-of "Big Day Coming," which is a major plus. Highlights: "From a Motel 6," "Double Dare," "The Whole of the Law." Personal favorite: "Big Day Coming [Second Version]." Avoid: I usually stop after "The Whole of the Law," but there's no particular reason I do so.
Basic Information: Yo La Tengo's appeal lies almost entirely in their personality, but it can be hard for the uninitiated to know where to start. The band has been together in its current incarnation since 1991, consisting of married couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, and adorably weird heavyset man with strange hair James McNew. Amongst indie bands, they're known for their sense of humor. To wit:
(Additional hipster cred note: the video is a dead rip-off of De La Soul's for "Me, Myself and I")
They also perform pledge drives on New Jersey indie radio, with the (usually credible) promise that they can play anything (a number of these are collected on the aptly titled Yo La Tengo Is Murdering the Classics); they also perform an annual set of concerts for Hanukkah at Maxwell's in their native Hoboken, on something like the same premise. One of their songs has a dance. They are not people who take themselves too seriously.
Style: Indie guitar rock. Neither Georgia nor Ira can sing in the conventional sense, but they can maximize their skills with greater skill than technically superior singers. After McNew joined the band, they made two important musical alterations, and one important change to the lyrics. In their first three albums, Yo La Tengo tended toward typical late-80s fast guitar pop. Beginning with 1993's Painful, they slowed the tempo of the songs, and began using drone as the primary means of melody and harmony. The end result are songs that become intensely focused on the melody and its variations: the sound of the music attends the lyrical content closely, either heightening the mood or providing ironic contrast. Lyrically, Ira and Georgia began writing much more about (one presumes) the topics of their near experience, primarily marriage, and what it's like to be in a relationship that has gone on for a long time. The songs address fights and conflict just as much as romantic moments, and stress the happy mundanity of life with someone you get along with: monogamy has never sounded like a better proposition.
Where to Begin: There are two acknowledged classics, and two others at the same level, preference among which determines which "kind" of fan you are. The two classics:
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One: in which the band goes eclectic. The earlier albums, as great as they are, tend to be exercises in doing one thing only (albeit better than anyone does it). This is where they branch out: bossa nova, country, surf, rinky-dink pop: short, catchy songs, longer exercises that don't overstay their welcome. The major lyrical themes all canvassed. Highlights: "Moby Octopad," "Suugarcube," "Deeper Into Movies." Personal favorite: probably still "Green Arrow." Avoid: "Spec Bebop," unless you like 12 minute atonal drone pieces.
...and then nothing turned itself inside out: the concept album. The concept, in this case, being "what it's like to be married to someone." Quieter and slower than any other album, but with more immediate returns than one might expect from a quiet and slow album. Highlights: "You Can Have It All," "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House" (named after one of Troy McClure's fake movies in The Simpsons), "The Last Days of Disco." Personal favorite: "Cherry Chapstick," a.k.a. 'the fast song.' Avoid: I've never been much of one for "Tired Hippo," but it's not a bad song.
Next:
Electr-o-pura: My personal favorite album of all time. Contains YLT's best 'single,' "Tom Courtenay." Possessed of the best guitar work of any of their albums. Look no further than to "Pablo and Andrea" for proof:
I mean, that guitar solo. Goodness. I'm not one to focus too much on lead guitar heroics, but it's incredible. Highlights: aside from the already-mentioned, "The Ballad of Red Buckets," "Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)," "Blue Line Swinger." Personal favorite: "Pablo and Andrea." Avoid: listen to this album all the way through.
Painful: some people think Painful is the great early YLT album. Those people are wrong. It has all the individual elements that would become great, but it lacks thematic coherence. But the tunes are solid. Has fiancee-reminding-me-of "Big Day Coming," which is a major plus. Highlights: "From a Motel 6," "Double Dare," "The Whole of the Law." Personal favorite: "Big Day Coming [Second Version]." Avoid: I usually stop after "The Whole of the Law," but there's no particular reason I do so.
7.2.12
I want this very excellent Yo La Tengo shirt just enough that it may overcome my resolve to not spend $20 on a t-shirt. Maybe.
1.2.12
If there were remaining doubts about whether Yo La Tengo is now my favorite band, which were not otherwise resolved by my beginning to purchase the odds and ends of their career recordings (Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo has a instrumental/muzak-y version of "Blitzkrieg Bop"!), the Yo La Tengo Sell Out pages on their website would settle that definitively settle the question:
The year was 1996. The Atlanta Olympics were on the horizon, and the braintrust at Coca-Cola were searching for that special sound that would say to Americans: "I'm so glad the Olympics are back and I sure could go for a Coke." Is it any wonder they turned to Yo La Tengo?
They asked to license one of our songs. Don't bother writing to ask which one; we won't answer, and if we do answer we will lie. As we have in so many other instances, we looked to the career of Barry Manillow for guidance. Did Barry get to the top by licensing "Mandy"? He did not. Instead, he composed "Just like a good neighbor, State Farm is there." No, Mr. Coca-Cola, we replied. We will not license one of our songs for your commercial, but instead we will write you your very own jingle. Much to our surprise, they said yes.
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