Alienation and Despair - Faves

A Bald Head?!?!

I go through 2400 pounds of limes a month.

...Julio Bermejo, Bartender 
Tommy's Mexican Restaurant

 Just as I have threatened, I finally have Netscape on my Sparc Station,
 yeah! I took at look at Wilson Smith's page, excellent! He's archived
 all the digests (read on for www location). Now I just have to
 find Sue's home page, anybody? Actually send any cool music sites
 to me.


 from: Marc Odo 

 YLT in Seattle & Vancouver


 Sorry to not get this submitted in time for #8, but better late than 
 never, I guess.

 On October 19th YLT played Seattle, and it was the fifth time I had seen 
 them.  Each time I had seen them they were better than the previous 
 time.  I figured they wouldn't be able to top the accoustic show they did 
 the last time I saw them, but boy was I wrong.  

 Most of the material was off Electro-Pura, starting with the poppier 
 stuff like "Tom Courtenay" and then moving into slower tunes like 
 "Satellite".  In the middle of the set they played a stunning Dump song, 
 called "Bells" or something like that.  They moved into the organ stuff 
 near the end, which was quite amazing.

 The first encore featured a cover of a Monkees song, and some stuff with 
 some of the Run-Ons.  YLT then left the stage and the club brought the 
 house lights up.  However, YLT had no intention of leaving, and I think 
 they were a bit miffed that the club was trying to rush everyone out the 
 door.  So in response they did one of the most punk things I've ever had 
 the pleasure of witnessing.  They came out for a few songs, including my 
 fave cover- Beat Happening's "Cast A Shadow."  Then, just to cheese off 
 the nightclub, they played a 23 MINUTE LONG VERSION OF "SPEEDING 
 MOTORCYLCE".  It was awesome.  About 18 minutes into the song the club 
 turned the house lights back on, trying to get everyone to leave, but YLT 
 played right on.  Finally, at 2am, The Moe's shut their power off.  

 They played 'til they couldn't play no more.

 The following night they played at the Starfish Room in Vancouver.  This 
 was the first time I had seen them where they failed to top their 
 previous performance.  They were obviously pissed that some creep stole 
 their organ the night prior.  Also, hampering the show, was the audience.  
 During the quiet songs like "Alyda" they would talktalktalk, prompting Ira 
 to tell them: "You know, I realize it's Friday night and all, but, um, these 
 quiet songs kinda mean a lot to us."  They didn't get it.

 During the more upbeat tunes some guys wer actually slam-dancing and 
 air-guitaring.  Really.  But the weirdest part of the show was this guy 
 and his girlfriend who were doing this sleazy "dirty dancing" thing right 
 next to me FOR THE WHOLE SHOW.  He was giving her hickeys the whole time, 
 and I think it might be awhile before I see a show in Canada again.

 -Marc


 from: Matthew Benz-OHS 

 Ira interview, part one


 >From Moo Magazine, issue # 17, November 1995

 by Matthew Benz

 After rolling through Ohio this summer as part of Lollapalooza, and 
 following a European tour, Yo La Tengo is finally touring the US on its 
 own to support Electr-O-Pura, the band's latest release on Matador. 
 Recently, the band played to a full house at one of its favorite clubs, 
 Stache's in Columbus, Ohio. Concentrating on songs from Electr-O-Pura and 
 the previous album Painful, as well as a few choice covers, the band 
 stayed away from the maelstrom of noise that they have been known to 
 blast out in the past. In doing so, guitarist Ira Kaplan, drummer Georgia 
 Hubley and bassist James McNew took control of the sonic beast that they 
 ride, relying less on overwhelming the audience and more on allowing the 
 music to pull in the audience--an excellent concert. The week before, 
 Kaplan took some time off and talked with MOO.

 The Lollapalooza shows were really different from the pile-into-a-van 
 kind of tours you're used to...How did that work out for you? Did you 
 enjoy it?

 YEAH, IT WAS SO DIFFERENT. IT'S PRETTY EASY TO ENJOY SOMETHING THAT 
 YOU'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE. IT MADE IT PRETTY INTRIGUING.

 It was pretty damn hot when you played here in Columbus. I'm surprised 
 that you survived it, especially on that small second stage.

 YEAH, IT'S PRETTY AMAZING. WE WERE IN COLUMBUS AND CHICAGO THE WEEKEND 
 THAT PEOPLE WERE DYING. THE HOT PART OF IT WE KIND OF ENJOYED. 
 LOLLAPALOOZA RESEMBLES A SPORTING EVENT ALREADY, WITH THE NUMBER OF 
 PEOPLE AND EVERYTHING. IT JUST TOOK ON THAT BOTTOM-OF-THE-NINTH INNING 
 COMING-UP-TO-BAT FEELING. IT WAS LIKE TRIUMPHING OVER SO MANY ELEMENTS.

 Did you play some shows with Johnny Cash?

 YEAH, WE DID THREE SHOWS. IT'S BEEN ABOUT A YEAR NOW.

 How did that come about?

 I CAN ONLY GUESS. I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF THE WHOLE AMERICAN RECORDINGS 
 (CASH'S LABEL) THING. THEY WERE SUGGESTING THAT HE TRY TO POSITION 
 HIMSELF WITH A MORE CONTEMPORARY AUDIENCE, AND GET SOME DIFFERENT BANDS 
 TO PLAY WITH. I THINK THE JAYHAWKS HAD DONE SOME SHOWS. INCREDIBLY, THAT 
 DOG DID A BUNCH OF SHOWS, WHICH I FIND REALLY BIZARRE. ONCE IT BECAME 
 KNOWN TO US THEY WERE LOOKING FOR BANDS, WE THREW OUR HAT IN THE RING, 
 AND WERE PICKED FOR THREE SHOWS.

 Did you perform your standard set, or acoustic?

 WE DID THE ACOUSTIC THING, WHICH WAS RECEIVED AS IF WE WERE PLAYING MUSIC 
 FROM MARS. IT SEEMED FUNNY TO US, BECAUSE THAT WAS OUR MOST 
 ACCEPTABLE-ACCESSIBLE-FACE.

 Speaking of your acoustic shows, I imagine jumping around stylistically 
 like that, from an electric noise band to an acoustic set up, could cause 
 some confusion among your fans, especially those drawn in by 1990's 
 acoustic Fakebook. Has this ever been a problem that you've noticed?

 NOT REALLY. IT DOESN'T REALLY BOTHER ME. YOU KNOW, I PREFER TO LOOK AT IT 
 MORE FROM THE POSITIVE SIDE. IF IT'S TRUE THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE 
 LIKE THAT, HOPEFULLY, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE WHO COULD LISTEN TO 
 THE NOISIER, LOUDER STUFF IN A DIFFERENT WAY, KNOWING THE SAME PEOPLE 
 MADE FAKEBOOK. FANS THAT WANTED TO HEAR FAKEBOOK ARE NOT GOING TO BE 
 HAPPY WITH WHAT WE DO. I THINK THAT'S ALWAYS TRUE WITH OUR BAND. I THINK 
 THE OPPOSITE'S ALSO TRUE: PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING FORA NOISY FEEDBACK 
 GUITAR BAND WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO LOOK ELSEWHERE, `CAUSE TOO MUCH OF WHAT 
 WE DO IS NOT THAT, EITHER. THE PEOPLE WHO END UP LIKING THE BAND ARE AS 
 INTRIGUED AS WE ARE BY THE COMBINATION OF ELEMENTS.

 Your single "Tom Courtenay" is a great song. Tom Courtenay acted in Dr. 
 Zhivago with Julie Christie. Based on the first lines of the song: "Julie 
 Christie/The rumours are true/As the pages turn/All eyes are blue/For a 
 movie star/And her sordid life," is it about a scandal or story, in the 
 same way The Clash's "The Right Profile" is about Montgomery Clift?

 NO, NOT AT ALL. BETTER TO MAKE UP YOUR OWN. I THINK I WAS JUST FREE 
 ASSOCIATING. THE ATTRACTION OF THE NAME "TOM COURTENAY" FOR ME WAS THAT 
 I'M NOT REALLY FAMILAR WITH ANY OF HIS MOVIES, BUT HIS MOVIE BILLY LIAR, 
 WHICH ALSO FEATURES JULIE CHRISTIE, IS ONE OF GEORGIA'S FAVORITES, SO 
 IT'S A VERY PERSONAL WAY OF THINKING ABOUT GEORGIA. IT WASN'T 
 SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO HIM IN ANY BIOGRAPHICAL WAY.

 Your music covers a lot of ground, ranging from quiet and acoustic to 
 loud and abrasive, from well-crafted pop songs to more of an avant garde 
 approach. At what point in your songwriting do you know the direction of 
 a particular song?

 WELL, RARELY DO WE DECIDE IN THE STUDIO. DEPENDING ON HOW FAMILIAR YOU 
 ARE WITH OUR COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY, SOMETIMES WE NEVER DECIDE. WE ENJOY 
 PLAYING THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS, WHICHEVER WAY STRIKES A CHORD. I DON'T 
 KNOW. WE KNOW IT WHEN WE HEAR IT, OR AS WE HEAR IT. SOME SONGS NEVER GET 
 PLAYED ANY OTHER WAY, OTHERS GET PLAYED ALL OVER THE PLACE. IT MIGHT BE 
 EASIER TO ANSWER THE QUESTION IF YOU PICKED A SONG.

 Okay. How about "Mushroom Cloud Of Hiss?"

 THAT WAS ACTUALLY LESS EXPIRIMENTAL ON THE RECORD THAN IT WAS IN ITS 
 INTIAL FORM. IN THE YEARS BEFORE JAMES JOINED, WE WERE CONSTANLY LOSING 
 BASS PLAYERS. WE HAD JUST LOST ANOTHER: WE TOURED EUROPE AND LEFT HIM 
 THERE. GEORGIA AND I WERE ASKED TO PLAY SOMEWHERE, AND I THINK THEY 
 EXPECTED US TO PLAY ACOUSICALLY. INSTEAD, WE DECIDED WE'D BOTH PLAY 
 ELECTRIC, AND SO WE JUST WROTE SOME STUFF, THINGS THAT WERE PRETTY LOOSE, 
 AND GEORGIA'S GUITAR PLAYING IS VERY...EXPRESSIVE ANYWAY. "MUSHROOM" IS 
 ONE OF THE THINGS WE MADE UP, SO WHEN WE CONVERTED IT TO A SONG FOR THE 
 BAND, FINISHING IT MADE IT LESS EXPERIMENTAL.

 How about "The Hour Grows Late."

 THAT SONG PROBABLY GOT SOFTER IN THE STUDIO. WHEN I SAID WE DON'T DO 
 STUFF IN THE STUDIO, ELECTR-O-PURA IS AN EXCEPTION. WE HAD MORE TIME TO 
 RECORD IT, SO WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE MORE DECISIONS RATHER THAN JUST RECORD 
 SONGS. WE BARELY PRACTICED IT, THERE WERE NO LYRICS, SO THE SONG WAS 
 PRETTY UNFORMED. WE HAD THE TWO  CHORDS, AND JAMES HAD THAT PRETTY 
 DECENDING BASS LINE THAT LEADS INTO THE CHORUS. WE ENDED UP USING PIANO, 
 ORGAN, AND ALMOST NO GUITAR-NONE OF WHICH WAS PLANNED BEFORE WE GOT 
 THERE. WITH THAT SONG, WE WERE DOING SOMETHING IN THE STUDIO THAT WE 
 NORMALLY DO IN PRECTICE, JUST KIND OF STRIKE A MOOD THAT WE LIKED AND 
 FOLLOW OUR IDEA UNTIL WE GOT TO SOMETHING WE LIKED.

 Are you guys playing the Velvet Underground in a movie?

 WELL, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, AND WE'RE NOT. WE ARE THE BAND PLAYING IN THE 
 FACTORY, BUT IT'S NEVER ID'D AS THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. ALTHOUGH IT 
 DOESN'T TAKE A GREAT LEAP OF IMAGINATION TO FIGURE OUT THAT'S WHO WE ARE.

 Did you contribute to the soundtrack?

 I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING RIGHT NOW. WE DID SOME RECORDING FOR IT, 
 BUT I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GONNA USE.

 Do you write much as a journalist or rock critic anymore?

 NO. OTHER THAN GOOFY LITTLE THINGS FOR OUR NEWSLETTER, I DON'T THINK I'VE 
 WRITTEN ANYTHING SINCE A VU ARTICLE. I KEEP TELLING PEOPLE WHO ASK THAT 
 QUESTION THAT WHEN SPIN ASKS ME TO INTERVIEW THE SHAGS, THAT'S WHEN I'LL 
 BE A WRITER AGAIN. I HAVEN'T BEEN A MUSIC WRITER IN MAYBE 10 YEARS, 
 PROBABLY MORE. ANY WRITING I DID DURING THAT PERIOD WAS JUST AN 
 OCCASIONAL LARK.

 So when you are labled an "ex-rock critic", that's an exaggeration.

 YEAH, I THINK THAT SUBJECT IS OF MUCH GREATER INTEREST TO ROCK CRITICS 
 THAN IT CERTAINLY IS TO ME, AND PROBABLY THE READERS.

 Are you bringing along the Acetone organ on this tour?

 OH YEAH. THE ORGAN IS USED IN AT LEAST HALF OF THE SONGS WE'VE BEEN PLAYING.

 It is becoming a more predominant part of your sound.

 I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S USED MORE ON ELECTR-O-PURA THAN ON PAINFUL; 
 CERTAINLY, THERE'S A BIG JUMP BETWEEN THOSE REOCRDS AND THE ONES BEFORE. 
 THAT CAME ABOUT COS' WE GOT ONE. THE ORGAN REALLY ILLUSTRATES AN ANSWER 
 TO A QUESTION YOU ASKED EARLIER ABOUT WHAT WE DO IN THE STUDIO. WE DIDN'T 
 OWN AN ORGAN, AND INBETWEEN THE RECORDING OF MAY I SING WITH ME AND 
 PAINFUL, WE FOUND ONE SITTING IN OUR PRACTICE SPACE THAT BELONGED TO 
 SOMEONE ELSE, AND WE STARTED USING IT. BY THE TIME WE RECORDED PAINFUL, 
 WE WERE USING IT QUITE A BIT, WHICH THAT ALBUM REFLECTS.

 Who plays it on stage?

 IT DEPENDS ON THE SONG. WE HAVE SONGS WHERE ALL THREE OF US PLAY, AND 
 QUITE A FEW WHERE IT JUST DRONES ON IN THE BACKROUND, OR FOREGROUND, 
 DEPENDING ON THE SOUNDMAN.

 Are there any new Yo La Tengo projects, aside from the soundtrack thing?

 OH NO. WE HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT IT AT ALL. REALLY, WE'VE BEEN PLAYING SO 
 MUCH THAT WE'VE JUST BEEN THINKING ABOUT THAT FOR NOW.


 from: Michael Morris 

 YLT Digest stuff

 Just saw YLT at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor.  Absolutely fantastic show--my
 third & 2/3rd time seing 'em.  (Figure it out :))  The set list:

 Paul is Dead
 Double Dare
 Tom Courtenay
 Pablo & Andrea
 Barnaby, Hardly Working  (incredible new arrangement; ~10 minutes)
 Satellite
 ?  (The Scene is Now cover; not the one you'd think)
 Nowhere Near
 My Heart's Reflection
 Shaker
 False Alarm
 Sudden Organ
 Blue Line Swinger
 (The final 4 songs were essentially one continuous 30 minute swirl of
 musical ecstasy)
 Encore:
 Speeding Motorcycle (vocals by Steven of the Pastels)
 I Heard Her Call My Name

 Grabbed the new YLT Gazette -- one laugh-out-loud moment:  Xeroxes of
 royalty checks from BMI made out to James George McNew, Brooklyn NY.  One is
 for $.03; the other for $.01.  (Isn't there a story you hear when you're a
 kid that says that writing a check for under 1 dollar is against the law?)

 I made my virgin trek into bootlegging last night, too.  Unfortunately, if
 the tape were to be looked at by a rock critic, it would be described as
 "for completists only". Due to my guilt about trading low-quality stuff, I'd
 be happy to sell anyone a copy for $3 (tape, postage, envelope).  E-mail me
 back or send it to:

 Mike Morris
 PO Box 302
 Lincoln Park MI 48146 

 Random snippet of Ann Arbor conversation heard behind me: "It's my
 bloodline.  It's in my fucking family.  It's our fucking castle."


 from: Wilson Smith 

 Digests loaded

 Hey, Tim

 All the Yo La Digests, from v1n1 up to the one you sent out a 
 week or so ago (v2n8), have been loaded to my web site:
   http://www.panix.com/~neslon 
 or more specifically,
   http://www.panix.com/~neslon/music/faves

 There's some older stuff out there, too, that folks might be 
 interested in... a few reviews of shows from Fakebook time (was 
 always interesting then -- never knew for sure if you were 
 gonna get the souped-up electric raveup YLT or the gentle, 
 acoustic version; they've since pretty much assimilated the two 
 sides of the band into a single cohesive unit, but back then it 
 felt like two very different and distinct bands [both of them 
 excellent].

 Still got the eyeballs peeled for a free majordomo...

 W


 from: Slpngpil@aol.com

 Just a quick YLT story and what truly nice people they surely are.  Last May
 as my thirtieth was upon us I had mentioned to my (at this time) girlfriend,
 about how great it would be to have one of those posters from the Tom
 Courtenay video.  (You know "The Beatles etc...)  Well I had seen one around
 town (NYC) and I couldn't seem to get it off the wall.  Time passed and as my
 b-day arrived I was presented with an actual leftover poster from the shoot.
 Apparently she had gotten in touch with Ira via Matador and he called her
 back and said he may have one left in their rehearsal space.  Thinking she
 may never hear from him again, days passed.  But soon after she was called
 again and told to pick up the poster at Matador.  What a suprisingly great
 gift which adorns my wall to this day.  (Kind of timely with all this Beatle
 stuff going on eh?)  Just reconfirms that YLT are the least jaded, most
 personable band in the land.  Always enjoy getting a postcard back from Ira-
 he never fails to return his mail!!!!  Thanx again YLT and see you at Tramps
 on the 18th.


 from: brian david antonak 

 Yo La Tengo
 w/s.g. The Pastels
 The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor MI
 11-11-95

	This is the first time I've had the opportunity to write a show 
 review this for this list, so this may be disjointed.  But I had to tell 
 you all about this great show.  I saw Yo La Tengo at this same club 
 almost exactly two years ago [if memory serves, it was the same week 
 _Painful_ was released{?}, or at least the same day I got my copy].  Then, 
 I was leaning against the front of the tiny stage looking right over the 
 edge of the AceTone [was it an AceTone then...?] as Ira flailed his way 
 through "Sudden Organ" burning that song's number 6 into my cd player's 
 display for the next two months.  This year I was a few rows back, but it 
 was again "Sudden Organ" which reminded me how incredible this group 
 really is.  The show had been running smoothly enough -- they opened 
 with "Paul Is Dead" and performed a pretty slow-song interlude including 
 "Satellite", the ever-beautiful "Nowhere Near" and 
 (amazingly-enough-to-me) "Let's Compromise" as a ballad.  But the sparks 
 really began to fly when, near the end of the set, they cranked up "False 
 Alarm."  This live version absolutely took off -- I think the entire 
 audience was shimmying a good foot off the ground by the first chorus.  
 This already burning song was stepped up yet another notch by Georgia's 
 intense percussion and Ira's, er, imaginative fills on the AceTone.  Then 
 came the kicker -- those wonderful opening chords to "Sudden 
 Organ."  I knew what to expect from last time and was not disappointed.  
 Yow! what a groove they had going.  Then came the set-closer, "Blue Line 
 Swinger."  The intro was a study in restrained noisy group dynamic, each 
 part adding up until Georgia finally kicked in double-time over the organ 
 chord-drone.  For those of us patient enough -- I had my eyes closed 
 throughout most of the intro waiting and listening to see how they'd get 
 to that pretty melody -- the bum-bum-bah-dum's at the end sounded like a 
 rock'n'roll manifesto.
	Knowing that I had just seen the show-of-the-year, I eagerly 
 awaited the group's return to the stage for an encore--the crowd was very 
 receptive all night long, something of a trend in Ann Arbor.  The first 
 song was "Speeding Motorcycle" with Steven form the Pastels singing very 
 nicely.  Then came a pleasant surprise: "I Heard Her Call My Name" by the 
 Velvet Underground!  It was awesome, very natural-sounding as played by 
 these three.  The end devolved into a cool rhythmic drone reminding me 
 ever-so-slightly of local faves Morsel, but I'm sure I'm imagining that...

 Trust me, I could say a lot more, and I could say it a lot more worser, 
 but I think now is a good place to say
					goodbye  
 -Brian Antonak
  briguy@engin.umich.edu


 from: Tony McCartan 

 >From "Mojo" interview with John Cale.

 "Q. You've done the music for Mary Harron's docu-rama about Valerie Solanas, 
 I Shot Andy Warhol?"

 "A. She invited me down to [the set] ... The only thing that was weird was 
 the band on-stage [i.e. "The Velvet Underground"]. The bass player kinda 
 looked like Tiny Tim."

 Tony McCartan.

It's so very lonely; you're light years from home.
Ultra-fine free Web-Counter ^TM courtesy of http://www.digits.com/.

This page modified on November 24, 1996