New Yo La Tengo

I haven't heard yesterday's or today's yet, but I thought the first three were really nice.

Sounds pretty good for The End of Yo La Tengo.

It's funny, as these tracks sound a lot like my ambientish band, especially us circa 2001-2003 hah hah. I listen to a lot of stuff like this and enjoy it, but if you had played me these tracks without telling me who it was I would likely never have suggested Yo La Tengo.

That being said, I have zero problem with them doing this. Likely they are doing these simply as exercises for playing music during the pandemic that feels good for them to play. Being "inside the sound" of music that has very little changes and sits in place can be really good for a restless brain. Also, almost every musician I have talked to recently (and I know quite a few) has talked about how difficult it is to be creative/productive right now. Honestly this seems like "where it's at" for a lot of people, so it actually resonates with me kind of heavily from that perspective. I, personally, find it yet another way they are an endearing band.

yeah, i like the unfinished quality here — basically a glimpse into their creative process where you get to imagine how these things might turn into full-fledged YLT songs. definitely get that it's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea but it is my cup of tea.

Also, my version of "good music" is likely different than many people's. Frankly I find a lot of "exciting rock music" tedious to listen to right now, along with singer-songwriter stuff generally (though of course there are always good bands/musicians doing work in this territory). But clearly I am a fan of a lot of stuff people would find "boring nothingness" but I can assure you I am pretty comfortable with it not being a waste of my time. Enjoying what you enjoy is an actual perfectly good use of your time.

there is so much good music out there right now why waste your time with this depressing nothingness?

New board description?

And Then Depressing Nothingness Turned Itself Inside-Out

Enjoying what you enjoy is an actual perfectly good use of your time.

Oh I get that Alex, and I am not sure if I will listen to them again, partly because I have a lot of music that sits in a very similar place and probably does what these tracks do a bit more deeply/successfully. But, time will tell. This type of music tends not to drag me down, but I get why it could for others, especially if it is via a band they have much different expectations for.

To each his own of course, but Alex' criticism goes awry for me because sure, they're instrumentals, but it's not that different from what they've been doing for years and years now, surely? A lot of elements here could be heard on previous records as well. Maybe not brought together in this way, but it still sounds very YLT to me.

And I like it a lot on first listen. 'Depressing nothingness' is a description I'm more than willing to unironically embrace tbf, but this album is not that.

Having said that it's totally fair to conclude 'hey this band just isn't for me anymore'.

'Depressing nothingness' is a description I'm more than willing to unironically embrace tbf

Ditto.

but this album is not that

Ah, that's too bad.

We'll find you one, no worries :)

bye bye yo la tengo. i will put on their last decent proper album "summer sun" again tonight i think.

like what you like i guess, but i gotta say its surprising to me that someone would have such a visceral reaction toward this stuff and then say the last decent thing was Summer Sun, an extremely slow, samey, quiet record with several formless jams.

Summer Sun is an album emanating love, warmth and emotion. You must be writing about something else. There is one ten minite jam Let's be Still and it is a late night beauty. That trumpet is bliss. There are definitely not enough instruments on these improvisational sketches.

this is the most heated yo la tengo related discussion since that tragic concert fire

Which concert fire?

the chat room got heavy

A tragic day: 'I gave up my vintage Galaxie 500 shirt just to help some guy bandage his arm. It was horrible.'

https://i.imgur.com/mmEpJrl.jpg

sincerely,

alex in mainhattan

sorry i can't decipher anything past the first sentence...

I didn't realize they had something new till seeing this thread a few days ago. Bought it and played it twice through in the car today. I can definitely understand thinking it's pointless, and I've reacted that way myself when they start noodling around. I'm in just the right frame of mind right now--whatever that might be--so it was perfect for aimless driving.

Yeah I can see how this might futz with expectations and disappoint those who were hoping for more obvious threads being carried forward from their past few albums (although I'd argue that this does very much feel like one possible natural step removed from There's A Riot Going On) or hoping for a more straightforward "Yo La Tengo" album. But it's been much appreciated this week for getting through some work crunches.

yeah this definitely feels like one thread among others in the YLT sound, so it's not weird or disarming for me to hear a release focusing on this aspect - just like it's not disarming when they put out, say, a record or EP full of covers.

Also I listen to music like this all the time--guitar-based ambient--and I'm enjoying this just as much, or maybe even more than, say, the new Windy & Carl album.

I met a friend in a venerable old Toronto record store today, and mostly as a token of support--it's not particularly anything I was after--I bought There's a Riot Going On.

I like about half of songs #4 through #15. There's some filler near the end, and "Out of the Pool" is the one song I definitely didn't like.

I think the first three songs--"You Are Here," "Shades of Blue," and "She May, She Might"--are masterpieces. Especially "She May, She Might." I may, I might be forgetting something, but I can't think of another Yo La Tengo song like it.

I haven't got tired of the record, just like Fade actually. I think that somehow I prefer 2010s YLT to late 00s YLT.

No doubt on that imo

Went to YouTube and was hoping to find a video for "She May, She Might" as great as the one they made for "I'll Be Around," but there's just something generic and static.

On WFmu they covered:

Yo La Tengo set #1
Yo La Tengo live! Heroes (David Bowie) Options
Yo La Tengo live! Don't You Just Know It (Huey "Piano" Smith Options
Yo La Tengo live! A Girl Like You (Edwyn Collins) Options
Yo La Tengo live! Human Fly (The Cramps) Options
Yo La Tengo live! Flying (The Beatles

Yo La Tengo live set #2
Yo La Tengo live! That's Amore (Dean Martin)
Yo La Tengo live! So Sad About Us (The Who)
Yo La Tengo live! Wonderful World (Sam Cooke/Herman's Hermits)
Yo La Tengo live! Bela Lugosi's Dead (Bauhaus) Honky Tonk Radio Girl request!
Yo La Tengo live! Whole Wide World (Wreckless Eric

Yo La Tengo live! Driver 8 (R.E.M.}
Yo La Tengo live! Sugar Sugar (The Archies)
Yo La Tengo live! Dear Betty Baby (Mayo Thompson)
Yo La Tengo live! At The River's Edge (New Colony Six)
Yo La Tengo live! We Got The Beat (The Go-Go's)

Yo La Tengo live! Street Waves (Pere Ubu)
Yo La Tengo live! Gimme Some Money (Spinal Tap)
Yo La Tengo live! Please Mr. Postman (The Marvelletes/Beatles)
Yo La Tengo live! You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory (Johnny Thunders)
Yo La Tengo live! Touch Me I'm Sick (Mudhoney)

Too many to cut and paste em all

From the March 13, 2021 Todd-aphonic show

https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/102001

wow would love to hear the Huey "Piano" Smith or the Mayo Thompson - 2 fave songs!

Sadly not archived by WFMU

What's the reason they don't archive these specifically? For future release? Bums me out because I almost always have something conflicting with them doing this and I usually only get to hear bits and pieces, at best.

Yo la Tengo play the songs by request during fundraising that must come accompanied by large donations. WFMU & Yo La Tengo probably think making the renditions easily available after will discourage donations and the uniqueness of what they are doing once a year

i always assumed that plus maybe a bit of embarrassment, not wanting those sets hanging out there on the web with their name on them permanently

also risk of lawsuit by music publishers

wow There's A Riot Going On is even better than I remembered, works really well as a whole album listening through.