If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo . . . (You Can Have It All)

You Can Have It All by Yo La Tengo from 2000 on Conan.  I would have loved to have heard this or countless other great songs when I saw them at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Tuesday night.  Unfortunately, they focused mostly on making noise and creating feedback. 
[Related Posts: The Story of Yo La Tengo; If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall; With a Girl Like You, Black Flowers; Don't Cry No Tears; Jesus, Etc.; Little Eyes; I Should Have Known Better]

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo . . . (I Should Have Known Better)

I Should Have Known Better by Yo La Tengo from the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA on 1-12-08.
[Related Posts: The Story of Yo La Tengo; If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall; With a Girl Like You, Black Flowers; Don't Cry No Tears; Jesus, Etc.; Little Eyes]

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo . . . (Little Eyes)

Little Eyes by Yo La Tengo.

[Related Posts: The Story of Yo La Tengo; If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall; With a Girl Like You, Black Flowers; Don't Cry No Tears; Jesus, Etc., Tom Courtenay]

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo . . . (Tom Courtenay)

Great live version of Tom Courtenay by Yo La Tengo from 2008 in Atlanta, GA at the Variety Playhouse.
[Related Posts: The Story of Yo La Tengo; If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall; With a Girl Like You, Black Flowers; Don't Cry No Tears; Jesus, Etc.]

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (Sugarcube)

Yo La Tengo perform their song Sugarcube in a very funny video in which they are forced to go to Rock School.  [Related Posts: The Story of Yo La Tengo; If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall; With a Girl Like You, Black Flowers; Don't Cry No Tears; Jesus, Etc.]

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo . . . (Jesus, Etc. w/ Jeff Tweedy)

Yo La Tengo with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, playing Jesus, Etc., at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, on December 3, 2010 (the third night of their eight Chanukah shows).
[Related Posts: The Story of Yo La Tengo; If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall; With a Girl Like You, Black Flowers; Don't Cry No Tears]

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo . . . (Don't Cry No Tears)

Yo La Tengo plays a cover version of Neil Young's Don't Cry No Tears at Bimhuis, Amsterdam in June 2009.  [Related Posts: The Story of Yo La Tengo; If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall; With a Girl Like You, Black Flowers]

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo . . . (Black Flowers)

Black Flowers by Yo La Tengo (North Carolina 1/08)

[Related Posts: The Story of Yo La Tengo; If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall; With a Girl Like You]

The Story of Yo La Tengo

Those of you who are devoted followers of this blog know that I feature a Yo La Tengo song every Friday.  This band really resonates with me, and not only because Ira Kaplan, the band's leader, is a big Mets fan, and the band's name happens to come from a classic story in Met lore (which Ira and former Met Ed Kranepool explain here).

Yo La Tengo combine an original, capitvating sound, great songwriting and an encyclopedic and enthsiastic knowledge of rock and pop music, with humor, irreverence, and passion.  Based in Hoboken, New Jersey, YLT consists of Kaplan on vocals and guitar, his wife Georgia Hubley on drums and vocals, and since 1992, James McNew on bass and vocals.

Their "8 Nights of Hannukah" tradition at Maxwell's in Hoboken encapsulates their generous spirit, sense of fun and stellar musicianship.  (I wish I could have been there).  Each show includes a comedian to open, and a wide array of musical guest stars (The National and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy appeared this year).  As described in The Jersey Journal, the "deadpan trio's experimental yet harmonious cornucopia of shoegaze, noise, toe-tapping pop, lo-fi and even rhythm and blues" perform while the menorah sits atop the speakers, candlelight flickering against the red of the curtains shrouded in a wall of sound," with "fan requests each night determining a charity that will benefit from the proceeds."

Their website explains the parameters of their upcoming tour, which includes spinning a carnival wheel to determine each night's first set, that could include Q's & A's from the crowd, the band and crew acting out a classic sitcom, or a setlist with only songs starting with "S."  But, to be sure, the band is not just about gimmicks.  YLT boasts, as one music critic put it, "adventurous eclecticism, defiant independence, and restless creative ambition."  They have "explored the extremes of feedback-driven noise rock and sweetly melodic pop, shading its work with equal parts scholarly composure and fannish enthusiasm."  Ira Kaplan has described the band's process of songwriting as starting with a long jam, finding a song within the jam, and only then figuring out the song on acoustic guitar.  They are sort of like a jazz band that doesn't play jazz.

My initial foray into the band's music was their album Fakebook, released in 1990, which includes several covers of mostly obscure (at least to me) songs, as well as some great originals.  Fakebook is perhaps Yo La Tengo at their most accessible, and a great place to start.  After that, my favorites include, but are not limited to:  I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997), I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006), And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000), and Painful (1993), as well as their latest Popular Songs (2009).  

Check them out -- or just tune in here on Fridays.  [Related posts:  If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo -- Mr. Tough, The Summer, I Feel Like Going Home, Today Is The Day, Sugarcube, Tom Courtenay, Here to Fall, Autumn Sweater, Femme Fatale, Our Way to Fall]

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo

My friend Raoul pointed me to this What's In My Bag segment with YLT's Ira Kaplan and James McNew showing off their encyclopedic musical knowledge and eclecticism at Amoeba Records in San Francisco.

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (With a Girl Like You & Our Way to Fall)

This is from a video from La Blogotheque.  YLT first performs a cover of the Troggs' With A Girl Like You before doing Our Way to Fall

If It's Chanukah It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo . . . (Femme Fatale w/ Alex Chilton)

Here is Yo La Tengo with the late Alex Chilton playing the Velvet Underground classic Femme Fatale.  Yo La Tengo traditionally plays 8 shows during the 8 nights of Chanukah at Maxwells in Hoboken, N.J.  This performance is from Chanukah 2007.  Enjoy and Happy Chanukah.

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (Autumn Sweater)

Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo @ 1997.

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo ( Here To Fall)

Here to Fall by Yo La Tengo

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (Tom Courtenay)

Tom Courtenay by Yo La Tengo in a very funny video involving a Beatles fantasy.

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (Sugarcube & Periodically Double or Triple)

Sugarcube (acoustic version) by Yo La Tengo (followed by Periodically Double or Triple)

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (Today is the Day)

Today is the Day by Yo La Tengo @ 2004 on the John McEnroe Show.

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (I Feel Like Going Home)

I Feel Like Going Home by Yo La Tengo

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (The Summer)

The Summer by Yo La Tengo

If It's Friday It Must Be . . . Yo La Tengo (Mr. Tough)

Mr. Tough by Yo La Tengo