Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo(Spanishfor "I've got it"; also abbreviated asYLT) is an Americanindie rockband formed inHoboken, New Jersey,in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted ofIra Kaplan(guitars, piano, vocals),Georgia Hubley(drums, piano, vocals), andJames McNew(bass, vocals). In 2015, original guitaristDave Schrammrejoined the band and appeared on their fourteenth album,Stuff Like That There.

Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo performing in 2010. From left to right: McNew, Hubley, and Kaplan
Background information
Origin	Hoboken,New Jersey,U.S.
Genres	Indie rock noise pop experimental rock shoegaze
Years active	1984–present
Labels	Matador Bar/None City Slang Alias Arts & Crafts México Three Lobed
Spinoffs	Dump Condo Fucks
Members	Georgia Hubley Ira Kaplan James McNew
Past members	Dave Schramm Mike Lewis Dave Rick Stephan Wichnewski
Website	www.YoLaTengo.com

Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential critics' band" and maintains a strong cult following.Though they mostly play original material, the band performs a wide repertoire ofcover songsboth in live performance and on record.

History

Formation and early history, 1984–1985

Ira KaplanandGeorgia Hubleyformed the band as a couple in 1984. They chose the name Yo La Tengo, Spanish for "I have it". The name came from a baseball anecdote from the 1962 season, whenNew York Metscenter fielderRichie AshburnandshortstopElio Chacóncollided in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would yell, "I got it! I got it!" only to run into Chacón, aVenezuelanwho spoke only Spanish. Ashburn learned to yell, "Yo la tengo! Yo la tengo!" instead. In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was run over by left fielderFrank Thomas,who understood no Spanish and had missed a team meeting that proposed using the words "Yo la tengo!" as a way to avoid outfield collisions.After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn, "What the hell is a yellow tango?"

Kaplan and Hubley placed an advertisement to recruit other musicians who shared their love for bands such asthe Soft Boys,Mission of Burma,andArthur Lee'sLove.The group's debut recording was a7 "single, "The River of Water", backed with a cover of Lee's "A House Is Not a Motel", released in late 1985 withDave Schrammon lead guitar andDave Rickon bass. After recording "Private Doberman" for the Coyote Records compilationLuxury Condos Coming to Your Neighborhood Soon,Rick left the band and was replaced by Mike Lewis, the founding bass player of Boston garage-punk bandsDMZandLyres,who was also a member of Brooklyngarage rockbandthe A-Bonesthroughout his tenure in YLT.

Early releases, 1986–1989

In 1986, Yo La Tengo released their first LP,Ride the Tigeron Coyote Records. Produced by formerMission of BurmabassistClint Conleywho also took over bass duties on three songs, the album "marked Yo La Tengo as a band with real potential" according to reviewer Mark Deming.Kaplan was credited as "naive guitar" on the sleeve, and in the liner notes for the 1993 reissue of the album onCity Slang Records,went so far as to say "Dave's guitar playing is inarguably the best thing about the record."

Schramm and Lewis left the band after the album's release, with Kaplan subsequently taking on the role of lead guitar and Stephan Wichnewski joining to play bass. The group's next albumNew Wave Hot Dogs(1987) sold poorly, but, per Deming, "was a quantum leap over the sound of their debut."

The release ofPresident Yo La Tengoin 1989 did much to establish the band's reputation among rock critics;Robert Christgaupraised the "mysterioso guitar hook" of the first song, "Barnaby, Hardly Working".Produced by Gene Holder ofThe dB's,the album was the band's last release on Coyote. Despite the album's positive reception, sales were still poor and Wichnewski left the band not long after. Hubley and Kaplan carried on as a duo and began playing two-electric-guitar shows.

Bar/None and Alias Records, 1990–1992

Yo La Tengo reunited with Dave Schramm in 1990 to recordFakebook,an album of mostlyacoustictunes, includingcoversofCat Stevens,Gene Clark,the Kinks,Daniel Johnston,among others. It also featured five original songs, including an acoustic version of "Barnaby, Hardly Working". Again produced by Gene Holder, the album'sfolksound was a change of pace for the band. Years later, Kaplan recalled that the album was "just me and Georgia looking for an excuse to record with Dave Schramm and Al Greller" who played guitar anddouble basson the album, respectively.

In 1991, with Dave Schramm in tow, Yo La Tengo collaborated withDaniel Johnstonon the song "Speeding Motorcycle" which was released as a single. The band also released a 7 "single onBar/None Recordswith the song "Walking Away from You" backed with a cover ofBeat Happening's "Cast a Shadow." Gene Holder produced the single and played the bass. TheThat Is Yo La TengoEP released later that year included some tracks that would end up on the group's next LP.

After the release ofThat Is Yo La Tengo,James McNew(who also records under the solo monikerDump) began playing bass with the band, forming the trio that continues to make up the band today. According to McNew,

I originally signed on as a fill-in for a short US tour, and a 4-week summer tour of Europe with Eleventh Dream Day. One night after a show inMunster,I was to look after our box of merchandise while Ira and Georgia went gallovanting [sic] through the town, meeting their policemen. Needless to say, during our soundcheck in Hamburg the next day, it suddenly dawned on me that I had left the box filled with copies of this EP back at the club in Munster. Oh man, was I in trouble... Sure... blame it on the rookie.

The band recordedMay I Sing with Mein Boston with Holder producing andLou Giordanoengineering.The album was released onAlias Recordsin 1992. Three of the album's eleven songs ( "Swing for Life", "Out the Window" and "Five-Cornered Drone" ) were carried over from theThat Is Yo La TengoEP and feature Holder on bass. TheUpside-DownEP was released on CD in support of the album, rounding out the band's releases on Alias.

Early Matador period, 1993–2000

In 1993, Yo La Tengo began their partnership withMatador Records,releasing a 7 "and CD5 of the song" Shaker "which the band recorded with John Siket in New Jersey. The following LP, 1993'sPainful,was also the beginning of the band's fruitful creative partnership with producer Roger Moutenot, who has produced all of their subsequent albums up until 2013'sFade,which was produced byJohn McEntire.Painfulis the first Yo La Tengo album to feature James McNew on every song. Ira Kaplan explains:

I think this group really started when we made the recordPainful....Painfulwas the first record that we made as the three of us, and I think it sounds different from the things that came before it. Even though I can see connections with the earlier records and things we've done since, it really seems like mostly we've built on that record. Anything from before then is really, really different to me. SincePainful,I think we've gotten more confident and more willing to trust ourselves and trust each other, and probably better at dealing with things that go wrong.

Rob Sheffield,writing inThe New Rolling Stone Album Guideremarked that McNew "became an essential part of the sound onPainful,the 1993 album that kept every promise Yo La Tengo ever made and blew their previous highlights away. "Critical reaction was quite positive, with reviewerStephen Thomas Erlewinecalling it "a subtly addicting album."Robert Christgau also praised the group once again, writing in his review that Yo La Tengo is "always friendly. This is not the forbidding experimentation of an aspiring vanguard. This is the fooling around of folks who like to go out on Saturday night and make some noise—and then go home humming it."The band releasedElectr-O-Purain 1995 to similar acclaim. For the first time, all songs were credited to the band as a whole rather than individual members; this became the norm for all future releases.

In 1996 the band had a role in the movieI Shot Andy Warholas an anonymous version of the Velvet Underground,a Warhol-associated band to whom Yo La Tengo were often compared in their early years.

The band's 1997 LPI Can Hear the Heart Beating as Onesynthesized the group's eclectic combination of folk,punk rock,shoegazing,long instrumental noise-jams, andelectronic musicinto a sprawling, multi-faceted style. Critical reaction was extremely positive;Pitchforkawarded the album a 9.7 out of 10,andAllMusicreviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that it was "arguably Yo La Tengo's finest and most coherent album to date."Kaplan recalled a turning point in the band's musical progression:

I think afterElectr–O-Purawe've had a direction of trying not to worry too hard about what the next album is going to sound like. Everything we've ever played on we just do whatever seems right at the moment, we just write a bunch of songs, and then go one baby step at the time and just do what seems right.

With their critical reputation higher than ever before, the band toured extensively and their fan base continued to grow. In 1998, they collaborated withJad Fairand released the albumStrange but Trueto mixed reviews. Yo La Tengo had a cameo role as aSalvation Armyband in the 1998Hal HartleyfilmThe Book of Life,and feature on its 1999 soundtrack release.The band entered the studio again in late 1999 to record their ninth LP.And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Outwas released in February 2000 to a warm reception. The album features some intimate songs with hushed, varied instrumentation and includes the 17-minute meditation "Night Falls On Hoboken".

Continued acclaim and soundtrack work, 2001–present

In 2001, Yo La Tengo recorded an instrumental score for eight short undersea documentaries byJean Painlevé,entitledThe Sounds of the Sounds of Science.The program debuted at theSan Francisco Film Festivaland has been performed live approximately twelve times. The band also released an EP with covers ofSun Ra's "Nuclear War" in late 2002.

The band's tenth LP,Summer Sun,was released in 2003. Although the album received generally favorable reviews, some critics found the album's quiet atmosphere "underwhelming."Others criticized the band for a perceived lack of invention.When asked about the album's quiet nature, Kaplan stated,

We made a decision at the last second just to leave the loud songs off. We were looking at the material we recorded and just trying to put out the best record that we could. At a certain point, we just thought it seemed right to put out the quiet ones. I've been aware that there's been some surprise about that and people saying it's even quieter than the last record, which has sort of taken me by surprise.

Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo playing inBattery Park,New York City, July 4, 2005

Yo La Tengo collaborated withYoko Onoon the 2003 charity albumWig in a Box:Songs from and Inspired byHedwig and the Angry Inchin support of theHarvey Milk High School.The band put together their first "best of" compilation entitledPrisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs: 1985–2003which was released in 2005. They composed scores for four more films, 2005'sJunebugandGame 6,and 2006'sShortbusandOld Joy.Their scores for these four films were collected on the 2008 compilationThey Shoot, We Score.

Their eleventh LP,I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass,was released in 2006 to universal acclaim.Informed by their soundtrack work, the arrangements included more strings and horns than any of the band's previous albums. Kaplan told an interviewer: "I think we gained an element of comfort with using that kind of instrumentation, and it became something we could draw on for our other songs."In addition, the album was book-ended with two guitar jams lasting over ten minutes each.

In 2006, the band releasedYo La Tengo Is Murdering the Classics,a compilation of their live impromptu cover-song performances on the New Jersey freeform radio station,WFMU.As part of the station's annual fundraising marathon, listeners who called in to pledge money to the station could request a favorite which the band then performed on the spot. In late 2007, the band began performing acoustically for "The Freewheelin' Yo La Tengo" tour. Audiences were encouraged to request songs and ask questions which, Kaplan stated, the band tried to answer "in a strategic manner so that the answers to the questions will lead to the next song."

In March 2008, Yo La Tengo performed under the alias "Condo Fucks" at Brooklyn's Magnetic Field.As Condo Fucks, the band released an album of cover songs,Fuckbook,on Matador in March 2009.

Popular Songs,the band's 12th album, was released on September 8, 2009. The album was recorded in the band's rehearsal space in New Jersey and features two songs with elaborate string sections (composed by jazz composer Richard Evans). It entered theBillboardchart at No. 58, the highest entry of the band's career thus far.

In 2009, Yo La Tengo contributed toStroke: Songs for Chris Knox,a tribute album for New Zealand rock and roll musicianChris Knoxwho suffered a stroke in June 2009. Yo La Tengo covered Knox's song "Coloured". All proceeds from the album went towards Knox's recovery.Also in 2009, Yo La Tengo contributed a cover of the song "Gentle Hour" to the AIDS benefit album,Dark Was the Night,produced by theRed Hot Organization.

Preceding their albumPopular Songs,Yo La Tengo released an EP titledHere to Fall Remixesin the summer of 2010. Remixes of their single “Here to Fall” were done byDe La Soul,RJD2,andPete Rock.This was Yo La Tengo's third out-of-the-box remix EP in 14 years, following theAutumn Sweater RemixandDanelectro RemixEPs.

In 2012 Yo La Tengo recorded a cover of Todd Rundgren's "I Saw the Light"for a fund raising CD titledSuper Hits Of The Seventiesfor radio stationWFMU.In August 2012 they announced the release of an EP in September 2012, to be followed by an album in January 2013.The EP includes three versions of the song "Stupid Things": the single version, a remix byEYƎ,and the original 12-minute instrumental version.

The following album,Fade,was released on January 15, 2013.

In 2014 they toured and performed live onstage as film makerSam Greenlive narrated an evolving version of his new film The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller in Austin, Burlington, Detroit, Ithaca, Portland, New Orleans and Vancouver.

In 2014, they played an Indiana-based Night Ranger cover bandBobby Night Rangerin thefinal episode of season 6of the television seriesParks and Recreation.

On August 28, 2015, Yo La Tengo releasedStuff Like That There,an album (and "a sequel of sorts toFakebook") of re-recorded versions of some of their old songs as well as covers, including songs by The Cure, Hank Williams, and Sun Ra.

In 2016, the band releasedMurder in the Second Degree,a second compilation of their live impromptu cover-song performances on the New Jersey freeform radio station,WFMU.

In 2017, the band played two dates in New York City with Robyn Hitchcock. The performances included the Hitchcock album "Black Snake Diamond Role" in its entirety, as well as collections of classic Hitchcock songs and covers of other artists.

In 2018, Yo La Tengo released their 15th studio album,There's a Riot Going On,which Pitchfork decided 'reflects the group's greatest and most instantly recognizable strengths'.

Yo La Tengo backingRobyn Hitchcockin 2019

In 2020, Yo La Tengo releasedWe Have Amnesia Sometimeswhich was recorded over a 10-day period from late April to early May amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.The album consists of five instrumental,ambientcompositions which were recorded with one microphone in the room and the band spread out adhering tosocial distanceprotocols laid out by Governor Murphy of New Jersey.

On February 10, 2023, the band released their seventeenth studio albumThis Stupid World.

Musical style and influences

AllMusicdescribes Yo La Tengo's style as diverse, incorporating "noisy" guitar work and "dreamy" melodies that are "infused with an understated sweetness that made even their noisiest freakouts feel accessible and their extended jams compelling in their exploration". They have citedthe Kinks,the Velvet UndergroundandMy Bloody Valentineas influences.

Band members

Yo La Tengo have always had the core members Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley. They have had 14 bass players.James McNew has been the bass player since 1992'sMay I Sing With Me.

Current

• Ira Kaplan– lead vocals and backing vocals, guitar, keyboard (1984–present)
• Georgia Hubley– drums, lead and backing vocals, percussion, keyboard (1984–present)
• James McNew– bass, guitar, percussion, keyboard, lead and backing vocals (1992–present)

Past

• Dave Schramm– lead guitar (1985–1986, 2015)
• Dave Rick– bass (1985)
• Mike Lewis – bass (1985–1986)
• Stephan Wichnewski – bass (1987–1989)

Discography

Main article:Yo La Tengo discography

Studio albums

• Ride the Tiger(1986)
• New Wave Hot Dogs(1987)
• President Yo La Tengo(1989)
• Fakebook(1990)
• May I Sing with Me(1992)
• Painful(1993)
• Electr-O-Pura(1995)
• I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One(1997)
• And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out(2000)
• Summer Sun(2003)
• I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass(2006)
• Popular Songs(2009)
• Fade(2013)
• Stuff Like That There(2015)
• There's a Riot Going On(2018)
• We Have Amnesia Sometimes(2020)
• This Stupid World(2023)

See also

• Music of New Jersey

External links

• Official website
• Matador Records' official site
• Yo La Tengodiscography atDiscogs
• Bar/None Records Yo La Tengo page
• A guide to Yo La Tengo on MatadorfromBandcamp