Alienation and Despair - Faves

A Bald Head?!?!

She got a flat in a hurry
with some man 8 years past 30
She told her mom not to worry
after all, they were only friends
from Jack Logan's
"Shrunken Head"

 

 Jack Logan and Yo La Tengo have nothing in common that i can think of,
 unless you count the "indie cred" thing. I couldn't really think of 
 anything to kick off this edition, so why not what I'm listening to
 right now - 5/26/95 2:15 p.m. p.s.t.  Sooner or later I'll make it all
 the way through Logan's monstrous "BULK"

 I don't know if anyone noticed but Table Tennis Action News reported 
 an interesting story recently. When Ylt was recording Electr-O-Pura
 in Nashville, Ken Coomer (drummer Wilco, ex-Uncle Tupelo) dropped by
 and thoroughly worked Ira in a high stakes game of pong. Ken has the 
 incredible reach advantage. Rematch in the works?


 enjoy this issue and thanks to Yo La Tengo for the new one,

 tim
 tim@vestek.com



 from: "Hargrove, Matthew G." <mghargrove@ucdavis.edu>

 Hey Tim--

 On Tuesday, May 2, during my lunch hour I rode my bike to The Beat to pick
 up a copy of _Electr-O-Pura_, then pedaled home to listen to as much of it
 as I could. 

 I guess since I am so cynical, my first observation about the album was
 negative--not one song was listed as being more than 4:00 minutes.  This
 kinda bummed me out, since the long songs are usually my favorites.  Well,
 I listened to about 25 minutes of the album and then went back to work.  

 Being the hard worker that I am, no more than a half-hour after being back
 in the office, I checked my USENET groups, and saw a message posted about
 _E-O-P_.  The message pointed out that the last song was a helluva lot
 longer than was listed on the back of the CD.  This kinda intrigued me,
 because I had just noticed that on another CD I have (one by Spacemen 3)
 there are two tracks that are listed as being a lot shorter than they
 really were (like 10 mins shorter!).  I had wondered why they had done
 this, and couldn't figure it out. 

 So I went home and checked the rest of the album, and it turns out that
 almost half of the tracks have a listed time that does not jive with its
 actual time: 


	                       listed  actual                       
	song                    time    time  difference
	------------------------------------------------
	Flying Lesson           3:11    6:41    3:30
	False Ending            3:55    0:57   (3:02)
	Pablo and Andrea        3:07    4:16    1:09
	False Alarm             3:41    5:28    1:47
	My Heart's Reflection   3:02    6:02    3:00
	Blue Line Swinger       3:15    9:19    6:04


 These cannot be mistakes--they were purposefully "misrepresented" on the 
 back of the album.  Why?

 What's the hypothesis on this?  Are they trying to trick (college)
 radio programmers into putting some of their longer songs into rotation? 

 Or are they sending us secret messages encrypted within the time
 differences.  After trying to decipher this I have come to the conclusion
 that there is a secret message to me:  Georgia, James, and Ira want me to
 go drink an Anchor Porter after work.  I suddenly do have a great urge for
 a beer.  Spooky. 

 What do y'alluther Tengo-Heads think?  Maybe they're just being wierd.  

 By the way, I love the album (of course).

 Matt




 from: Glenn Susser <glenns@panix.com>

 It took some guy in California to clue me in to the opening act for THE
 Liz Phair show tonite at Town Hall, N'Yawk N'Yawk [thank you thank you
 Tim].  Too bad he waited until 3:30 to release the latest and greatest
 issue of the YLT Digest to announce that Ms. Key and soulmate Ira Kaplan
 were the opening act... it fucking cost me a week's allowance and a
 month's worth of lunch money to get in.  But it was worth every penny. 

 Talk about being like a fish out of water... I mean, tk had no one to 
 con into buying her a drink [though she tried], ik had no amps to hide 
 behind, and was I EVER uncomfortable in a cushy chair.  So the scene is 
 an audience whose avg age is, well, substantially lower than one you 
 might find at [insert name of any bar tk has visited in her life], an 
 audience who had no clue who the opening act was except for a nice-size 
 (make that LOUD) cheering section - and out comes the dynamic duo.  Just 
 the two of them.  Ira on acoustic guitar and tk on electric.  So what's 
 it gonna be, Yo La Tengo stuff, TK Band (aka the Barton Boys), or 
 Antietam??  The suspense was excrutiating... though actually, I don't 
 think I really cared.  As it turned out it was all TK BAnd (Bourbon 
 County & Ear And Echo) with an Antietam song thrown in for good measure.  
 And before I go on, I just gotta say this show was the hilite of my 
 life.  To witness the galaxy's 2 greatest guitarists playing the big 
 stage in the big apple is enuf to make anyone's head twist around a few 
 dozen times.

 They switched back and forth between acoustic and electric while the
 audience was slowly but surely won over by the incredible spectacle.  They
 took turns making that wonderful noise each is so (in)famous for.  Tim
 came out for 2 or 3 songs, and 45 wonderful minutes later it was history. 
 Tk got flowers instead of bourbon, a contract with Warner Bros, and will 
 be opening for REM at Giants Stadium.

 glenn susser
 glenns@panix.com
 CIS:73424.2630



 from: Sam Adams <sadams1@cc.swarthmore.edu> (Sam Adams)

 Yo La Tengo: May 11th at the Trocadero, Philadelphia

 Decora / Drug Test / Shaker / Pablo & Andrea / Tom Courtenay / Double Dare
 / Don't Say a Word (Hot Chicken #2) / My Heart's Reflection / Five-Cornered
 Drone (Crispy Duck) / False Alarm / Sudden Organ / Blue Line Swinger //
 Encores: Nowhere Near/ Did I Tell You/ (We're An) American Band

 Local faves The Strapping Fieldhands were advertised to open this show, but
 incessantly mediocre Bardo Pond was substituted at the last minute, playing
 a 45-minute set that sounded like the Grateful Dead if they listened to the
 Dead C--long pointless drones that don't go anywhere at all. To add insult
 to injury, they didn't even get on stage until 8:30, and the show was
 advertised to start at 7.  So YLT didn't hit the stage until almost 10,
 which meant I wouldn't be able to run across town and see the Tortoise/Sea
 & Cake/Run On triple bill.  Oh well.  I was pretty pissed off by the time
 YLT got on, but of course that changed quickly.

 The set focused heavily on material from the new release Electr-O-Pura,
 which is fine as it's their finest album ever.  Although the album had only
 been out for 9 days, a good deal of the audience seemed to be familar with
 it already, as almost every new song was greeted with enthusiastic applause
 a few bars in.  At one point, Ira plugged the new album, and the audience
 cheered in response.  "What," he responded, "do you like the title?"  

 Barring "Drug Test", showing off a new (?) Harder-edged arrangement, the
 show got off to a slow start.  It was interesting to hear "Shaker", since
 they don't do it live that often, but this performance didn't really pull
 together.  "Pablo and Andrea" featured a stripped-down, drumless sound that
 worked well until Georgia and Ira started to sing "harmonies"--his voice
 was a little off tonight, and wavered painfully (pun not intended) through
 the quieter songs.  "Tom Courtenay" probably benefits more than any song
 since "Upside-Down" from the studio environment, but it doesn't really come
 across live (at least tonight).  

 Starting with "Heart's Reflection" (my favorite tune on the new LP, and
 maybe their best ever), the show really got off the ground.  "Heart's"
 showed off Ira's increasingly-demented guitar to great effect.  Ira
 introduced their new Ace Tone organ, making its "Yo La Tengo debut",
 sitting on a box off to one side of the stage.  "It's got legs," he joked,
 "but we don't know how to use them."  After scattered laughter, he added,
 "That joke probably wasn't indie-rock enough for all most of you."  "False
 Alarm" was a surprisingly manic highlight, and "Blue Line Swinger" cooked
 along even sweeter than on disc.  "Nowhere Near" (my request) was a quiet,
 countryish version with no drums--not the howling, cacophonous masterpiece
 it can be, but quite nice in its own way.  The closing cover was a little
 questionable, a predictable choice of song and conventional placement in
 the set list--could YLT be going indie-rock on us?  Still, their version
 was happily straightforward (no snide "irony") and I've always loved the
 bass part.  

 Most interesting was the new organ, which was often played (by James) with
 a foot pedal, allowing the band to incorporate simple organ parts into
 songs without having to drop out another instrument.  I still have a soft
 spot for the old "new wave organ", but the new one doesn't sound
 appreciably different.  Not the best YLT show I've ever seen, which means
 it was only moderately fantastic, the band apparently being incapable of
 anything other then greatness.  Hope to see them again this Friday in NYC
 with Barbara Manning/S.F. Seals.  Bye for now.

 --Sam Adams



 from: christopher ott <cott@skidmore.EDU> 

 Hey Yo La Digest subscribers,

 Two things--I went to see Yo La at Bogie's in Albany last night, and
 am offering a review.  Secondly. 

 Electro-Pura has been broadcasting over the air on 91.1 WSPN, 
 Skidmore College Radio for 10 Hours straight 
 (during exams = dead air, and as I'm the Summer Manager, I'm filling
 it.  We'll see how long I can keep this up--Guiness Book?  That'd go
 nicely next to Ira's Jury Duty report in YL Gazette #4)
 Onlt three calls mentioning this fact.  All were in support or
 amusement (one kid had me re-cue it so he could record it).

 The Show:  Ira said they'd never played the first song before--I
 didn't recognize i.  It was pretty, though.  Then came Decora, which
 was excellent, although 0% of Georgia vocals made it out from behind
 the kid.  Damn.  I'm still confused as to the inaccurate track
 listings on the CD--I'm pretty sure the name of the closer is Blue
 Line Swinger, and they closed with it live as well.  It was truly
 amazing.  Twice as long a drum solo in the middle and we ate it up.
 They played a jolly encore with the horn section from Lambchop, Ira
 switching to drums and Georgia umm..."playing" the guiatr.  She looked
 like she was having fun watching Ira, though.  I didn't recognize
 these songs either, the closer's refrain was "?Bad Politics, Baby".
 The horn section from Lambchop was a little to quirky for my taste.  
 Other than that, almost all of the set was from Electro, the third
 song on Painful was excellent--also, a really stark, extended version
 of "Big Day Coming" (the rock version w/drums).  The Hour Grows Late
 was beautiful.  The "Show-Stopper"?  False Alarm.  WOW.  They put K.C.
 & The Sunshine band to shame--it  was close to 10 minutes long. 
 Thanks to Yo La Tengo for a great night.

     -cott@skidmore.edu



 from: MR MARK E MOODY <EEMC58A@prodigy.com> 

 Review of Yo La Tengo show - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. - 5/13/95

 After finally taking the stage, Georgia sang some of her angelic open-mouth
 ahhhhh's between slugs of Wild Goose Ale, while Ira and James McNew backed
 her with a distorted low drone.  A lot like the sound off of Electr-o-pura,
 a twisted doo wop.  They played primarily from the new album, with some
 Painful material mixed in.  Instrumentally everything was in synch, but Ira
 didn't seem as possessed as in previous shows I've seen.  Only late in the
 show did they begin instrument shifts, with Ira taking a turn behind the
 Ace Tone for two songs (many more on the Painful tour).  On the organ he
 played "Big Day Coming" and "False Alarm", the second complete with the
 "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" riff.  He played the Ace with one hand(arm)
 and shook a pair of green maracas with the left.  These two songs were
 clearly the highlight of the show.  Ira seemed to have more abandon on the
 organ than the guitar, like he was choppin' wood.

 They encored with a set of "Fakebook"-style covers including "Andalucia"
 and Georgia's version of "Tom Courtenay" (played for the second time).  It
 was a great show by any standard, but not quite as inspired as I've seen
 before.  Maybe it was the drive from Chapel Hill.  They also seemed a
 little concerned about a lack of cash offers for an accidentally
 overpurchased $8.50 subway card.  Since there were no takers, they'll have
 to come back.



 from: DW <imprint@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca>

 Hi Tim;

 Just thought you might be interested... *Filler* #3 should be coming out 
 within a week or so. It'll have the huge McNew/Yo La/Dump spread, as well 
 as a long Palace interview/story, and stuff on the Blues Explosion, 
 Superchunk, Mercy Rule, Archers of Loaf, Vegeterian Meat, and lots 
 o'reviews.

 If you want a copy let me know.

 Cheers,

 Derek.



 from: Bryan A Killingsworth <akilling@pen.k12.va.us>

 2 things: I picked up the new album (of course), and caught
 their new video.....

 I _really_ like Electro-Pura, took me a few listens but all my
 favorite albums took a few listens. I had to go out in the
 backyard, sit in the hammock and plug the headphones in....
 'Pablo and Andrea' is a great song, best late at night in low
 light at the end of a long day. '(Straight Down To The) Bitter
 End' is nice real loud, especially when you have someone around
 who appreciates noize and tells you to turn it down...

 I saw a video the other day on '120 minutes' on eMpTyV...I only
 stuck around because they promised a new YLT video (reallY).
 Well, it was 'Tom Courtenay' (good pop) and it was b&w with
 mostly subtitles.....it has YLT opening up for the Beatles'
 reunion tour, they get booed by the crowd ("You suck")
 and...well I don't want to give away the plot. Let's just say
 it's fun (and funny)...
 -- 
 (bryan killingsworth)




 from: Tony McCartan <TONY@itd.tv.bbc.co.uk>

 "STEREOLAB tour in the UK in June and will release a special seven inch 
 single that will only be available at the gigs. The track 'The Long Hair
 of Death' will feature support band Yo La Tengo on the other side."

 One presumes that this means a YLT only track.


 Tour Dates

 6/2  - Liverpool Lomax (with Stereolab)
 6/6  - Manchester Boardwalk (with Stereolab)
 6/7  - Wolverhampton Wulfrun (with Stereolab)
 6/8  - London Shepherds Bush Empire (with Sebadoh, Stereolab, and 
        Quickspace Supersport)

 6/10 - Atlanta, Masquerade
 6/12 - San Antonio, Taco Land
 6/13 - Austin, Liberty Lunch
 6/14 - Dallas, Trees
 6/16 - Albuquerque, Dingo Bar
 6/18 - San Diego, Casbah
 6/20 - Santa Monica, Alligator Lounge
 6/21 - San Francisco, Great American Music Hall 
 6/24 - Seattle, Crocodile Cafe
 6/25 - Vancouver, Starfist Room

 After that it gets murky... They may stay in the northwest and do some
 regional dates or drive over to Minneapolis and Chicago.

 Why the confusion? Lollapalooza... it looks like they'll be on the
 second stage for a few weeks....

It's so very lonely; you're light years from home.
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This page modified on June 2, 1996