This may or may not be the Yo La Tengo album to start with. There seems to be no shortage of fans who will put this on the short list, but to me it's distinctly different from anything else they've done -- somber, slow-tempo'd, almost depressed, yet with all the subtleties of songwriting, arrangement, production, and performance for which we've come to appreciate them. It gets noisy like most of their albums do -- and in surprisingly tasteful ways, also like most of their albums -- but in memory it lives in a still, quiet place that is equal parts serenity and anxiety. Good late night fare.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Painful (1993)
This may or may not be the Yo La Tengo album to start with. There seems to be no shortage of fans who will put this on the short list, but to me it's distinctly different from anything else they've done -- somber, slow-tempo'd, almost depressed, yet with all the subtleties of songwriting, arrangement, production, and performance for which we've come to appreciate them. It gets noisy like most of their albums do -- and in surprisingly tasteful ways, also like most of their albums -- but in memory it lives in a still, quiet place that is equal parts serenity and anxiety. Good late night fare.
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My favourite Yo La Tengo. What excellent taste you do have. Thanks belatedly for 'Court and Spark' a while back. Don't spose you have 'The Hissing Of Summer Lawns' too?
ReplyDeleteThis hits a sweet spot. Thanks so much for all your efforts, they are appreciated even if us are too darn lazy to always convey our thanks. Keep up the good work!
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