Burning Light

February 27 2007

Better Late Than Never -- Way Better

Boy, this blog sure got busy in a hurry....

First, a flashback: I forget who the critic was now (we’re probably talking 20-25 years ago, after all), but I remember him going on at length about this game he played called Waiting for Echo and the Bunnymen. Basically, it was about a band with all the potential in the world showing flashes of greatness and yet fizzling out album after album. (They’re still putting out albums, so the guy’s probably still waiting, although 2005’s Siberia was actually pretty consistent.) I also remember said critic employing the baseball analogy that he was tired of long foul balls from a group capable of hitting home runs. (Said critic was especially frustrated that U2 had stolen what he believed was Echo’s rightful thunder, but that’s another story, I suppose. Speaking of U2 usurping all Island’s promotional money that could have gone to more worthy artists, have I mentioned Mike Roe and the 77s lately? ).

Anyway, up to now, the Hoboken band Yo La Tengo has kinda been like that for me. Imagine Ray Davies and Trey Anastasio joining Radiohead. Or, perhaps, World Party on steroids. You’re probably thinking both some really good things and some really not-so-good things. And you’d be right. That’s pretty much what Yo La Tengo’s 20-year career has been like, too. Some neat pop songs, some great feedback-laden jams and atmosphere, and yet, significantly stronger in the aimlessness and incohesion departments.

And thus the good news: I may not have finally found the first great album of 2006 (let alone 2007); on the other hand, I may have. In any case, it’s arguably the last (only really?) good one to come out of that decidedly subpar year, and from a band that’s been way overdue to put one out. It may not be a home run, but it’s hit deep into the corner. And as it skitters all around the park after hitting the wall, don’t rule out the possibility of stretching it into an inside-the-park homer. (Milk that metaphor…. well, they did take their name from a particularly obscure piece of New York Mets folklore, after all…)

And it has the best title I’ve come across in ages.

Not only that, but it lives up to it.

Instead of the usual sporadically interesting but ultimately rambling mess, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass is a tour de force that holds together almost despite itself, from the 10-minute Velvet Undergroundish “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” to the 12-minute so-this-is-how-Teenage-Fanclub-jams-when-no-one’s-looking closer “The Story of Yo La Tango” (sic).

And there’s still almost an hour of music in between, which ventures all over the musical map but never completely veers off that map. There’s a lot of traveling to be done here, but ultimately it all makes sense when you get there.

(Hmm, am I hinting at the coveted designation “transportational device” here? Well… yes… I mean, if it turns out to be true… hey, I’m not done absorbing this; give me a little more time before I decide that….)

As evidence of the above, we go directly from the glorious noisefest “…Goodkind” (which needs to be turned up to 11, by the way -- it’s just a great opener) to the decidedly Kink-y and horn-laden ‘60s pop of “Beanbag Chair.” Something you’ll no doubt notice is that singer Ira Kaplan doesn’t have the strongest voice in the world (see also the above Trey Anastasio reference). You’ll also notice that the music is strong enough on its own that it doesn’t really matter much at all this time around (see Phish’s one great album Billy Breathes, on that same note). From there, to the quiet and pretty atmospheric melody-hanging-by-a-thread (this is a good thing, by the way) ballad “I Feel Like Going Home,” to the catchy rhumba of “Mr. Tough,” featuring a decidedly Jaggeresque falsetto.

Are we having fun yet? You bet we are.

And then it turns yet again. “Black Flowers” is a lovely, near-majestic song from some alternate retropop universe (turn left at Sufjan Stevens, hit the gas, and crank up the orchestra). From there to “The Race Is on Again,” whose mid-period-Byrdsisms you’ll enjoy simply on general principle. “The Room Got Heavy” sounds like The Zombies gone acidhouse, while “Sometimes I Don’t Get You” is a vibe-driven (vibe as in the instrument) ‘50s kinda tune.

Then back to the atmosphere chamber, for the instrumental “Daphnia.” Some piano, some reverbed guitar, some feedback, just enough melody to hang it all on (again), and that’s about all you need for almost nine minutes. Have a cup of coffee and enjoy this one. I’m gonna do that again right now (actually, I did it twice today, I like this one so much). Take this song out for coffee too, if you feel strongly about it. Or look at it as intermission time, if you don’t.

OK, back. And The Zombies are apparently back too (or at least Doug Sahm), but this time in hyperdrive, for “I Should Have Known Better.” After which the tempo gets kicked UP a couple more notches, for the rave-up “Watch Out for Me, Ronnie.” “The Weakest Part” may be just that, but it’s a pleasant pop song that gives you a breather after the last two songs nonetheless.

The Rickenbacker from “The Race Is on Again,” gets busted back out for “Song for Mahila,” a quiet, downbeat tune that probably sounds truly great around 11 p.m.: “Six for the frightened child, on the day we die / Five for the search for meaning, in the tears we cry / Four from the shadows, hiding just out of sight / Three for the disappearance, in the morning light…”

“Point and Shoot” could serve as a reprise of “I Should Have Known Better,” if not for the less-than-impressionistic lyrics: “we know sometimes justice moves too slow / i'll be the judge, give it a gentle nudge… all you need is love / and to our friends / thinking of you as we look ahead / and to all the people / that we want dead.”

Then it all gives way to the closing epic, “The Story of Yo La Tango” (misspelling totally intentional, and reflective of a cult status that deprives people of getting their name right), which needs to be turned back up to 11 and is as much of an artistic statement (and no doubt meant to be) as the lyrics here will allow:

We stared at the sun, too long
until the shapes before our eyes
turned into the sun, in our eyes...
We made up our minds
to lose and never once looked back...
We stared at the road ahead
Closed our eyes and then
sped up to the turn, around the bend
With nothing to lose, we lost
Suffered every cost...

And we tried, we tried, we tried with all our might
we tore the playhouse down
We ran headlong, headlong in our way...
we tried so hard...
we tried so hard...

And with this album, Yo La Tengo have finally succeeded. Hopefully more than just a bunch of critics will get to discover that.

Starting with you.

Posted by: burninglight at 18:52 | link | comments (6)

Comments:

#1 09 March 2007 - 15:49

yo. sorry i almost missed these pieces. i got hit between the eyes w/"... and i will beat yr ass>" myself not 2 days ago at my buddy Rob's house. very cool as always but i agree w/yr sentiment that this time they 'got it right'. although i of course reserve the right to also think that maybe this time our ears were ready or something like that. love love love the patti piece although i think 'Radio Ethiopia/Abbyssinia' is the band's greatest moment but that's just me w/noise i guess. more noise, less peace. new tape almost ready to ship, have 7 new songs to record. will keep ya posted.
tim

Anonymous

#2 21 March 2007 - 23:15

Carl,

It's time for an update brother!

Monty

Anonymous

#3 22 March 2007 - 14:23

Yo, Montell: Yes. Yes, it is. There's one I have rolling around but it still seems like speaking too soon. It's not WRONG yet, but it's not definitely RIGHT yet either. And I don't have any new tuneage to talk about, although we're looking at new Patti and Modest Mouse in the next few weeks. :)

burninglight

#4 27 March 2007 - 05:43

Check out the new Ry Cooder! Of course you may be like my editor and hate it!

Monty

Anonymous

#5 24 September 2007 - 14:14

Interesting -- I can respond now to both assertions here. :D

Tim: I'm sort of wondering whether you have a point. I'm going back through Electr-O-Pura, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, and And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (these guys CAN do quite the album titles, BTW), and -- with a little bit of editing, mind you -- I'm hearing a cohesion that I wasn't hearing before. Probably hearing a YLT album that DIDN'T require editing (i.e., IANAOY&IWBYA) helps me put the pieces together on these earlier ones.

Oh, and by the way, where the heck ARE you????

Montell: Finally tried the Ry Cooder album. Sorry dude, just too old-school-revivalist for me. :P

burninglight

#6 24 September 2007 - 14:28

BTW, interesting that THIS should be the title of the thread I'm adding a belated response to seven months later. :D

burninglight

Comments:

About me

Recent comments

Links

Archives

Counter

Posted by: burninglight at 18:52 | link | comments (6)