Yo La Tengo and Talk:Pavlo Tarnovetskyy: Difference between pages

Revision as of 04:34, 20 October 2006

Revision as of 16:57, 8 May 2007

Line 1:

{{WPBiography

{{Infobox_band |

|class=Stub

band_name = Yo La Tengo |

|priority=

image = [[Image:Yo La Tengo.jpg|300px]] |

|auto=yes

years_active = [[1984]]–present |

status = Active|

origin = [[Hoboken, New Jersey]]|

country = [[United States]]|

music_genre = [[Indie Rock]] |

record_label = [[Bar/None Records]]<br />[[City Slang Records]]<br />[[Alias Records]]<br />[[Matador Records]] |

current_members = [[Georgia Hubley]]<br />[[Ira Kaplan]]<br />[[James McNew]] |

}}

'''Yo La Tengo''' is an [[United States|American]] rock band, based in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]]. They have demonstrated unusual longevity for the indie-rock scene. While they are a critical favorite with a devoted fan base, they have achieved only limited popular success.

==Etymology==

Their name comes from a [[baseball]] anecdote. During the 1962 season, [[Richie Ashburn]], the center fielder of the [[New York Mets]], was collliding again and again with [[Venezuelan]] shortstop [[Elio Chacón]]. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, "I got it! I got it!" only to run into the 160-pound (73 kg, 11 stones 6 pounds) Chacón, who spoke only Spanish. Ashburn learned to yell, "Yo la tengo! Yo la tengo!" which is "I've got it" in Spanish. In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by 200-pound (91 kg, 14 stones 4 pounds) left fielder [[Frank Thomas (NL baseball player)|Frank Thomas]], who understood no Spanish.

The band wanted a name that sounded foreign in order to avoid any connotations and Kaplan is a devoted baseball fan (and a fan of the New York Mets in particular). However, it still irks them when they are asked the origin of the name. The band once performed a cover of the Mets theme song "[[Meet the Mets]]" during a benefit appearance on radio station [[WFMU]]'s pledge drive.

==History==

[[Ira Kaplan]] and [[Georgia Hubley]], a husband/wife duo, formed the band in [[1984 in music|1984]]. They went through several other bandmembers before stabilizing with lead guitarist [[Dave Schramm]] and bass player Mike Lewis (founding bass player of Boston garage-punk mainstays [[DMZ]] and [[The Lyres]], and a member of Brooklyn garage band The [[A-Bones]] throughout his tenure in Yo La Tengo) for their debut recording, "The River of Water". In [[1986 in music|1986]], their first LP, ''[[Ride the Tiger (album)|Ride the Tiger]]'', was released.

Schramm and Lewis left the band, and [[Stephen Wichnewski]] joined, with Kaplan taking on the role of lead guitar. ''[[New Wave Hot Dogs]]'' ([[1987 in music|1987]]) did much to establish the band's reputation among rock critics, though it sold poorly. ''[[President Yo La Tengo]]'' ([[1989 in music|1989]]) continued this trend, with rave reviews yet poor sales.

[[1990]] saw the release of ''[[Fakebook (album)| Fakebook]]'', an album of mostly [[folk music|folk]] tunes, including [[cover version|covers]] from [[Gene Clark]], [[Cat Stevens]], [[Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers]], [[the Escorts]], [[the Flamin' Groovies]], [[the Scene Is Now]], [[the Kinks]], [[the Pastels]], [[Daniel Johnston]], and several songs by Yo La Tengo themselves. ''[[May I Sing with Me]]'' ([[1992 in music|1992]]) included new bassist [[James McNew]] (of [[Christmas (band)|Christmas]] and [[Dump (band)|Dump]]), who has stayed with the band ever since. ''[[Painful (album)|Painful]]'' ([[1993 in music|1993]]), ''[[Electr-O-Pura]]'' ([[1995 in music|1995]]) and ''[[I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One]]'' ([[1997 in music|1997]]) marked a steady progression towards a sprawling, multi-faceted style, which included such disparate elements as folk, [[punk rock]], [[shoegazing]], long instrumental noise-jams and [[electronica]] oriented songs. ''[[Painful (album)|Painful]]'' was also the beginning of the band's fruitful creative realtionship with producer Roger Moutenot, who has produced every subsequent Yo La Tengo album release. During these years their cult grew and, thanks to almost constant touring and unrelenting critical praise, they became one of the most prominent American [[indie rock]] bands. They released ''[[And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out]]'' in [[2000 in music|2000]] and ''[[Summer Sun]]'' in [[2003 in music|2003]].

The band is renowned for its encyclopedic repertoire of [[cover song]]s, and every year plays live on the New Jersey freeform radio station, [[WFMU]], as part of its annual fundraising marathon, performing (with guitarist Bruce Bennett of [[Norton Records]] [[A-Bones]], and occasional additional guests like Hamish Kilgour of New Zealand's [[The Clean]] and Pacific Northwest folk-punk chantuese [[Lois Maffeo]]) impromptu cover-song requests from listeners who call in to pledge money to the station. In 2006 the band released an album compiling performances from the marathons between 1996 and 2003 entitled ''Yo La Tengo Is Murdering The Classics''.

In 1996 Yo La Tengo appeared briefly (along with their friend Tara Key of the band Antietam) as the [[Velvet Underground]] in the film [[I Shot Andy Warhol]]. In [[2001]] they recorded an instrumental soundtrack for eight short undersea documentaries of [[Jean Painlevé]], entitled ''[[The Sounds Of The Sounds Of Science]]''. Yo La Tengo also provided the soundtrack for the acclaimed 2005 indie film "Junebug" and Kelly Reichardt's award-winning 2006 feature film "Old Joy."

The group collaborated with [[Yoko Ono]] as well on the 2003 album "Wig in a Box, Songs From & Inspired by [[Hedwig and the Angry Inch]]," made as a charity album to support the [[Harvey Milk High School]].

March of 2005 saw the group release a 2-disc greatest hits package, entitled ''Prisoners of Love''. A bonus edition included a 3rd disc of rarities and unreleased tracks.

The album "[[I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass]]" followed in September 2006.

==Trivia==

* The band was mentioned in a 2002 front-page headline for the satirical newspaper, ''[[The Onion]]'' ([http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27870 "37 Record-Store Clerks Feared Dead In Yo La Tengo Concert Disaster"]). They were later asked by the newspaper to perform live at a staff party, and re-enacted the events of the article at the end of their set, complete with a staged roof collapse.

* They are big fans of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and performed the psychedelic version of ''The Simpsons'' theme that appears at the end of the episode ''[[D'oh-in In the Wind]]''. Actor [[Dan Castellaneta]] (the voice of [[Homer Simpson]]) was present during the recording of the theme.

*Their song "Today Is The Day" is featured on the Major League Baseball 2k6 soundtrack.

*Yo La Tengo is referenced in [[Hot Chip]]'s song "Playboy" in the lyric "20 inch rims with the chrome now, blazin' out Yo La Tengo..."

*The band makes a cameo appearance as troubadours in the 2006 season finale of the TV show [[Gilmore Girls]], along with [[Sonic Youth]], [[The Pernice Brothers|Joe Pernice]], [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]], [[Sam Phillips (singer)|Sam Phillips]], and [[Mary Lynn Rajskub]].

==Selected discography==

The [[Matador Records]] web site has a detailed discography up to 1998, available [http://www.matadorrecords.com/yo_la_tengo/annotated.html].

===Singles and EPs===

* The River of Water/A House Is Not A Motel (Egon Records, 1985)

* The Asparagus Song/For the Turnstiles (Coyote Records, 1987)

* That Is Yo La Tengo (City Slang, 1991)

* Upside Down (Alias, 1992)

* Shaker (Matador, 1993)

* From A Motel 6 (Matador, 1994)

* Tom Courtenay (Matador, 1995)

* Camp Yo La Tengo (Matador, 1995)

* Autumn Sweater (Matador, 1997)

* Blue-Green Arrow (Earworm, 1997)

* Little Honda (Matador, 1997)

* Rocket #9 (Planet, 1997)

* Sugarcube (Matador, 1997)

* You Can Have It All (Matador, 2000)

* Saturday (Matador, 2000)

* Nuclear War (Matador, 2002)

* Merry Christmas From Yo La Tengo (Egon, 2002)

* Today is the Day (Matador, 2003)

===Albums===

* ''[[Ride the Tiger (album)|Ride the Tiger]]'' (Coyote, 1986)

* ''[[New Wave Hot Dogs]]'' (Coyote/Twintone, 1987)

* ''[[President Yo La Tengo]]'' (Coyote, 1989)

* ''[[Fakebook (album)|Fakebook]]'' ([[Bar/None Records]], 1990)

* ''[[May I Sing with Me]]'' (Alias Records, 1992)

* ''[[Painful (album)|Painful]]'' (Matador, 1993)

* ''[[Electr-O-Pura]]'' (Matador, 1995)

* ''[[Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo]]'' (outtakes and rarities compilation) (Matador, 1996)

* ''[[I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One]]'' (Matador, 1997)

* ''[[Strange But True]]'' (with [[Jad Fair]]) (Matador)

* ''[[And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out]]'' (Matador, 2000)

* ''[[The Sounds of the Sounds of Science]]'' (Egon, 2002)

* ''[[Summer Sun]]'' (Matador, 2003)

* ''[[Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs: 1985-2003]]'' (Best of Compilation) (Matador, 2004)

* ''[[Yo La Tengo is Murdering the Classics]]'' (Egon, 2006) - a compilation of cover songs recorded during the last 8 annual [[WFMU]] telephons

* ''[[I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass]]'' (Matador, 2006)

* ''[[Deez Nuts]]'' (Egon, special edition rarities compilation, scheduled for December 2006)

Matador Records reissued ''New Wave Hot Dogs'', ''President Yo La Tengo'' and ''The Asparagus Song'' on a single CD in 1996.

==External links==

* [http://www.matadorrecords.com/yo_la_tengo/ Official site]

* [http://www.yolatengo.com/ Band site]

* Interview with Ira Kaplan on [[The Sound of Young America]]: [http://libsyn.com/media/tsoya/tsoya041605.mp3 MP3 Link]

* Yo La Tengo interviewed by [[Tom Scharpling]] on their "fake" radio station (a [[Podcast]]), ''Radio Free Yo La Tengo'' : [http://www.matadorrecords.com/mpeg/yo_la_tengo/rfylt.mp3 MP3 Link]

* [http://www.3ammagazine.com/musicarchives/2003/mar/interview_yo_la_tengo.html Interview]

* [http://www.musicemissions.com/display_review/1727 Assorted Yo La Tengo reviews]

* [http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=2ca09eee-1d35-4f27-ae49-c624e0921691&k=49967 A Q&A with Yo La Tengo, by Jordan Zivitz, ''Montreal Gazette'', September 26, 2006]

[[Category:Musical groups founded by married couples]]

[[category:New Jersey musical groups]]

[[Category:Peel Sessions artists]]

[[de:Yo La Tengo]]

[[es:Yo La Tengo]]

[[nl:Yo La Tengo]]

[[pt:Yo La Tengo]]