|
|
|
I know, I know...I'm too psychotic when it comes to Yo La Tengo so no one ever takes my reviews seriously. "You're biased!", our readers cry. "You're crazy!" Well, maybe a leeeetle. ;) So, instead I'm just gonna describe this latest CD EP to the best of my ability.
This 6-song EP features tracks dating from 1999 to 2002. It opens with a rocked-out version of the originally-dreamy "Today is the Day" from their 2003 album Summer Sun (see below for crazy-fan review). "Styles of the Times" will make fans of the rockin' Yo La sound very happy. "Outsmartener" (a title Mike loves) is a song we've seen them play live, and when I heard it live, I looooved it! But the recorded version? Not so much! I cringe to say it, but Ira (or lord, is it James?) is singing so ridiculously low, he sounds like Ned from South Park, the dude who co-hosts the hunting show with Jimbo, the one who got throat cancer from smoking too many cigarettes and now must speak with the help of an electro larynx? That's the one! So while I love this song, and its cool drivin' rockin' sound...the vocals make me laugh. "Needle of Death" is a cover of a Bert Jansch song (he was a British folk singer from the 60's...I had to look it up). It's a quiet song featuring some intricate acoustic guitar finger pickin' from Ira, and Georgia's vocals are really pushed to the front on this, and she sounds gorgeous, but the lyrics are so afterschool-special! "Dr. Crash" is a mod go-go instrumental that would fit in just fine on Summer Sun, and then "Cherry Chapstick" is a quieted down version of the rockin' original from And Then Nothing..., featuring just Ira on acoustic and James on bass. It's lovely!
But anyway, I've been listening to these 6-songs non-stop like the good crazy little fan I am. I love it. Awesome! (janice.10.03)
rating
summer sun • matador records • 2003
I should probably make it clear for anyone reading this who doesn't already know me: Yo La Tengo have been one of my utmost favorite bands for ages and I've basically grown up listening to their music. So, yes, I can get a little defensive when it comes to their music, but that's only to be expected since unlike most music reviewers, I'm not a "casual" listener of theirs...I'm a totally obsessed fan. (Cue eerie Single White Female-movie piano soundtrack.)
So, that said, I'm getting really annoyed with reviewers who keep going on about how "different" this CD is for Yo La Tengo! Look, when it comes to Yo La Tengo, there is no "different", cause from quiet, gentle, folky acoustic ballads to fuzzed-out raucous rockers, Yo La has been there, done that, and they cannot be pigeonholed, got it? Do ya? Are we gonna have to take this outside???
So, Summer Sun... this continues in the same quiet vein as their 2000 album (and the soundtrack to my nuptials to Mike) And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out. However, like everything Yo La does, it's an evolution. Ira mentioned that they've been listening to a lot of jazz lately, and if the Nuclear War EP wasn't an indication, this CD certainly reflects it: there are flutes, piano, horn sections. Ira kinda scats his way coolly through "Moonrock Mambo", namechecking Don Cheadle, Tara Key and Professor Frink, among others, and croons through the darker, moody "Nothing But You and Me". And the almost eleven-minute "Let's Be Still" trills along serenely with flutes and horns in a sort-of Beatles-psychedelia way, and also features a very cool vocal effect where it sounds like Ira and Georgia are singing in unison, but filtered through like a pedal or something --- really cool!
Other highlights for me on this CD include hearing the mighty James McNew take lead on the sweet "Tiny Birds", the awesome 60's groove of "Winter A-Go-Go" which doesn't feel like winter at all and never fails to make me wanna get up and start doing the "swim" (old 1960's dance move; go ask your parents, kids), and the romantic "Don't Have to Be So Sad", another love letter from Ira to Georgia that sounds like a leftover from And Then Nothing....
And I gotta shout it loud and proud: I LOVE GEORGIA HUBLEY! This? This is so her CD. Apparently, she's been really working on her singing voice, and is part of a choir in her free time. It shows. Never has her voice sounded so lovely, and never has she had such confidence in her delivery. She seriously makes me melt into a puddle, especially on the languid "Today is the Day" (like when Georgia coos "Can't stay up laaate...", ooooh!), and especially (especially!) on the closing track, a cover of Big Star's "Take Care". Swoooooon!
I seriously love this new album. (janice.05.03)
rating
nuclear war ep • matador records • 2002
Oh.
Um, so what we have here is a EP of our beloved Yo La Tengo performing Sun Ra's "Nuclear War". Sun Ra was one of the founders of that whole "free jazz" thing, and a politically-minded fellow, though not exactly subtle. The lyrics are totally repetitive and are like "Nuclear War/ It's a motherf*cker/ Don't You Know" over and over. And if that's not unbearable in itself, you get 4 different versions here.
Version 1: The most bearable of the four, and that's not saying too much. This one is just Ira, Georgia, and James. Georgia's drumming is really amazing and is the only instrumentation while everyone sings (more like "chants") along.
Version 2: This version is just like the 1st expect now we've got a small choir of young children singing along. Ira told Rolling Stone magazine, "It was interesting to watch these kids singing stuff they at best barely understood. They were all instructed beforehand that stuff they're saying is not something to say outside the studio. They all knew they were saying something forbidden, but I don't think the meaning of the song was sinking in."
I mean, I guess from a sociological standpoint, having children sing along only strengthens the meaning of the words (which is, duh, nuclear war sucks). But it's also upsetting to hear all these kids using such vulgar language. I'm old-fashioned.
Version 3: The most unbearable of the 4 because it's 15 minutes long. Just like the first, but with some extra percussion, a horn section, and a super-long trumpet freak-out in the middle. Yikes!
Version 4: A re-mix by Mike Ladd. A little more "funky" than the others and uses the kids singing again.
I wish I could say I loved this whole-heartedly, 'cause goodness knows, Yo La Tengo are one of my favorite bands of all time! But I've listened to it over and over again, and maybe I'm just not "hip" or "intellectual" enough to get this EP. I mean, sure, I get it, nuclear war is a motherf*cker. Ira also told Rolling Stone "The song's topicality had a lot to do with deciding to learn it for political and personal reasons. I think it's what's on our minds and I think on the minds of lots of other people." And certainly in these times, the song is relevant and I agree with the sentiment of the song. I guess, stylistically, it's not really my cup of tea. (janice.11.02)
rating
related links
