New Yo La Tengo

I'm really liking "Fade", a lot more than I thought I would based on some of the things I'd been reading about it. Sure, they've stopped trying to break new ground, but even YLT on autopilot is better than just about any other band when they've reached that "comfortable" phase of their career and have supposedly stopped trying to be inventive.

The band will turn 30 next year.

The strings and horns on "Before We Run" makes me think they are slowly turning into Lambchop.

― Jah Creature (WilliamC), Wednesday, January 16, 2013 11:40 AM (1 week ago)

At the Maxwell's holiday party I said hi to Ira and in our conversation he mentioned Lambchop as the only current release he could say he's a big fan of. Feel free to make fun of me for assuming I cornered him to ask really boring questions.

Very interesting video (which stars Mac McCaughan as the singer/guitarist), seems at first to suggest that "I'll Be Around" is the third part of a trilogy ("Deeper Into Movies"->"I'm On My Way"->"I'll Be Around") but by the end it's essentially a visual text montage of many of their lyrics (and other texts?) superimposed over a nice home cooking session (which sounds ridiculous but it works):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?fv=KJyjzHIgqr4

Interview about new vid here on bonappetit.com!
http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2013/01/yo-la-tengo.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJyjzHIgqr4

This:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNCc561-KLQ

really annoying to listen to this with the asshole and his expensive camera clicking away every 30 seconds. his flickr stream is going to be AWESOME though.

thankfully it seems he gets all the shots he needs during the first 10mins. my blood pressure has leveled. carry on.

Paddle Foward is so lovely.

This finally showed up in my mailbox this morning--seemed to take forever. I've only played it once in the car so far (once through, and my two favourite songs a second time).

"Ohm"'s pretty good as an opener; I like the music, the vocal not as much. The next four songs more or less went right past me--one I disliked. Maybe they'll get better. The first really great song for me is "I'll Be Around," the beginning of which makes me think of CSNY's "4 + 20."(Speaking of whom, I think they've done that before--like Neil Young, they'll take a title from some other great song.) And from that point forward, I love everything. I think that last half, #6-10, is one of the most beautiful stretches on any of their albums. I don't like Yo La Tengo when they try to write overly cute pop songs, and I don't like them much when they try to sound noisy. (For anyone who despises Yo La Tengo and finds the last half of that sentence really funny, it's true--sometimes they try to sound noisy.) Really the one thing I love about them--and I think they consistently do this better than any band ever--is their gift for a kind of formless beauty that's like a guitar-based version of Another Green World or something, with words that just fill in the space between (for me; I know they write songs about marriage and domesticity and such).

Yeah, this is really growing on me, especially the back half as clemeza points out. "Two Trains" really hits a sweet spot for me, I think it might secretly be the best song on here.

eir gift for a kind of formless beauty that's like a guitar-based version of Another Green World or something

well said. This album doesn't quite hit the mark but certainly your observation is true of most of their other albums. I've kept "Ohm," "Paddle Forward," and that last lovely horn-anchored track.

New Snore La Tengo

calsnores

"Paddle Forward" sounds like "Sugarcube," but that's a good one too. It's either the second or third song that to my ears doesn't seem to fit. Otherwise, I think this is a classic (within the narrow confines of the Yo La Tengo universe...if you hate them, this album would reinforce everything you hate about them). Love that video for "I'll Be Around"--the unexplained twist is a great joke, I think.

still really enjoying this one -- i think "is that enough" is probably the weakest track, but it's pleasant enough. jon otm about "two trains" that one is fantastic. recent live show here: http://www.speakersincode.com/2013/02/download-yo-la-tengo-january-31-2013.html -- the more rocked out coda to "before we run" is great.

Electric in-store @ Easy Street:
http://youtu.be/BH5I3gqkmV8

Bleargh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH5I3gqkmV8

hey, i was at that show. it was the final day of easy street before it was taken over by a Chase bank.

ah so that's the reason for the stones cover...bummer.

That's one of them, Tyler--"Is That Enough?" Don't care much for that or the next song. But I was wrong about "Paddle Forward" (great title), and the fifth song's really strong too. They're doing it the way all great albums were 40 years ago: 10 songs, 45 minutes, a couple of wayward tracks to mix things up. (I always say that Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is literally the only album ever where there isn't a track or two I like noticably less than everything else--Beatles, Dylan, Velvets, doesn't matter.)

"Two Trains" really hits a sweet spot for me, I think it might secretly be the best song on here.

― HAPPY BDAY TOOTS (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, February 5, 2013 9:12 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

2 trains gives me heavy phish 'billy breathes' album vibes, which i heard playing before a movie @ a college theater like last wk for the 1st time prob since i was in lol college

also there shd be a two trains rmx f/ 2 chainz obv

Another live version

http://www.npr.org/event/music/171803705/yo-la-tengo-still-around-thank-god

WFMU Live Cover session so far: http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/49819

Almost forgot it was today! Glad I brought headphones.

Thanks for the reminder! Fun show so far.

live from berlin! they just murdered "this time tomorrow"

I have so many request ideas but don't necessarily have the guts to drop the $100 for it.

ha yeah. maybe someday when i am flush with cash. this "disguises" is pretty rad.

Wait, does the band have a second guitarist again?

It looks like they have a whole gang of helpers.

Bruce Bennett is the 2nd guitarist

yeah he's usually on these fmu things, right? did he fly out to berlin for it?

he did! he's also the one who knew "Baseball Altamont" by the Nightmares the year i requested it.

i had to explain to my sister that old Neil Diamond is considered cool

Sounding so good this year. Is it the air in Berlin?

Yoo Doo Right, indeed.

this is the leftover hash medley finale

haha, ira's mom is donating.

she sometimes sings the last encore at the hanukkah shows.

My fantasy song for this kinda thing would be:

Lilys - Radiotricity

James McNew, rock critic:

http://www.adequacy.net/2013/04/artists-on-albums-aoa34-yo-la-tengos-james-mcnew-on-seizure/

Haven't read it, but I noticed the unusual adjective "Beatle-y," and the even more unusual "Eno-y."

Fade is still my favorite YLT record since ATNTIIO

It's really great, but seriously fuck a Matador for this bullshit deluxe reissue already. Unlike the Kurt Vile deluxe thing, you CAN'T get the bonus material separately in any form. Well, unless you want to buy each of the tracks separately for $1.29 each on iTunes, but even that still won't get you the 11-minute track, "Oriole 5". The Matador website doesn't offer a digital version either, only the full 2-disc package.

Fade is going from "hey a good yo la tengo record" for me to a pretty much a great yo la tengo record. don't think there's a bad song on it.

this leaked about a year ago!

it sure did!

I've been thinking this is a really solid, unspectacular album and will probably age well. Oddly, was reading this thread and comments about "Is That Enough" while listening to a great power pop song which, when I checked, turned out to be "Is That Enough" by The Shivvers. Shivvers track>YLT track.

"Cornelia and Jane" is on my personal tracks list this year.

yeahhh, that is probably the best georgia showcase since ... "tears are in your eyes" or "today is the day"?

Yeah, for sure.

after track 2, album really gets going.