I made a big, big mistake with Yo La Tengo. I should have got into them in the mid Nineties really. Round about the time they really began to bruise Rock & Roll. In their own inimitable, friendly, slightly middle class kind of way.
Perhaps I should have got into them even earlier. They formed, or Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, the couple that are the band's beating heart, did, in 1984.in Hoboken, New Jersey. They started putting out records shortly afterwards and have been doing so and touring pretty much ever since. I didn't fall for them in 1984.. I just didn't alright. I bet you didn't either.
Anyway, I've fallen for them now. But only relatively recently. Over the last ten years really. It's middle aged love. The best kind. I have seen them play live. About fifteen years ago at one of those All Tomorrow's Parties festivals that allow you to catch up with loads of the bands you really should have seen before but haven't, in a single weekend. They were OK. Not mind-blowing, but comforting which is an adjective that suits them. Like an Autumn sweater which is probably their best known song and one which they played that evening.
Well, they're back with a new album, This Stupid World which I think is their 17th. Sorry I'm not going to fact check. My good friend Rod tells me it's a return to form. I have no idea whether this is true.. I really, really liked There's a Riot Going On, a double which came out in 2018 and I own up to the fact that I only know a couple of their earlier records well. I like everything I've ever heard by Yo La Tengo. They might as well be my favourite band. But R.E.M. took that vacancy in Autumn 1983 when I saw them play on The Tube and I went out and bought Murmur from Our Price in Richmond shortly afterwards. Sorry Yo La Tengo. I know R.E.M. turned a bit crap before the end but they were so, so good at the start, believe me..
What does This Stupid World sound like? It sounds like Yo La Tengo. Exactly as they should sound at this point in their careers and lives. Still in the circle with The Velvet Underground, Television, Sonic Youth and Dean Wareham in all his incarnations. That wonderful humming, New York guitar sound that has been going down since 1967 and is one of the greatest and truest musical loves of my lifetime. Like a partner I'll always be committed to and don't even need to marry because I know they'll never let me down.
I think I'll go out and buy this later on today. Everyone should have a Yo La Tengo record in their record collection. I'll think about it for a little while, might do a small tour of Newcastle's record shops to see if they have any alternatives from the band's back catalogue. I'll probably just get this one. It seems as good as any. As great as any I should say.
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