San Diego Radio Sucks Quite A Bit

Thursday, March 25, 2010

22 Days 'til Coachella - Yo La Tengo


Full disclosure: I'm actually a really big fan of Yo La Tengo. I don't have a lot of recent stuff from them, though I'm starting to realize that not having a copy of their latest, Popular Songs, is a phase of my life I need to end soon. The opening track on that album, Here To Fall, is a blistering, 5+ minute psychedelic opus of the perfect kind. Not too long, and you don't need drugs to appreciate it.

I had some reservations about them on paper at first. They're a husband and wife duo, which can really suck, but they proved me wrong. And any band with an album called I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass gets a million points in my book.

The two albums I do own by them, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One and And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, are a wonderful mix of dark instrumentation and stark vocal arrangements, with occasional blasts of psychosis (listen to Sugarcube and see if you get the reference). I think I was hooked on these guys from the first few lines of the first track on the latter, Everyday.

All in all, these guys are a a must-see for me on Sunday. I'm guessing they'll be daytime, either very early on the Coachella stage or later in the day on the Outdoor. But who knows? Hopefully Goldenvoice doesn't screw them and put them up against some other must-see act. Fingers crossed, brothers and sisters.

1 comment:

bereweber said...

oh wow! Yo La Tengo at Coachella, didn't know... ahh gonna miss them :(
i know you'll be lined-up for them

i gotta listen to some of those "popular songs" love the cover btw!