Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential critics' band" and maintain a strong cult following. Additionally, the band is renowned for its encyclopedic repertoire of cover songs both in live performance and on record.
Formation and Early History: 1984–1985
Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, a husband/wife duo, formed the band in 1984. They chose the name "Yo La Tengo" (Spanish for "I've got it!") in an effort to avoid any connotations in English. The name came from a baseball anecdote. During the 1962 season, New York Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and Venezuelan shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, "I got it! I got it!" only to run into Chacón, who 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 instead run over by left fielder Frank 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 heck is a Yellow Tango?".
They placed an advertisement to recruit other musicians who shared their love for bands such as The Soft Boys, Mission of Burma, and Arthur Lee's Love. The group's debut recording was a 7" single entitled "The River of Water" backed with a cover of Arthur Lee's "A House Is Not a Motel" released in late 1985 with Dave Schramm on lead guitar and Dave Rick on bass. After recording "Private Doberman" for inclusion on a Coyote Records compilation entitled Luxury Condos Coming to Your Neighborhood, Rick left the band and was replaced by Mike Lewis, the founding bass player of Boston garage-punk bands DMZ and Lyres, who was also a member of Brooklyn garage rock band The A-Bones throughout his tenure.
Early Releases: 1986–1989
In 1986, Yo La Tengo released their first LP, Ride the Tiger on Coyote Records. Produced by former Mission of Burma bassist Clint Conley who 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 on City 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 album New Wave Hot Dogs (1987) sold poorly, but in the words of Mark Deming, "was a quantum leap over the sound of their debut."
The release of President Yo La Tengo in 1989 did much to establish the band's reputation among rock critics including Robert Christgau who praised the "mysterioso guitar hook" in the first song. Produced by Gene Holder of The dB's, the album was the band's last release on Coyote. Despite the positive reception of the album, 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. Kaplan, though typically a pragmatist, started carrying a bug trapped in amber in his pocket for luck.
Bar/None and Alias Records: 1990–1992
Yo La Tengo reunited with Dave Schramm in 1990 to record Fakebook, an album of mostly acoustic tunes, including covers of Cat Stevens, Gene Clark, The Kinks, Daniel Johnston, among others, with five original songs by the band themselves. Again produced by Gene Holder, the album's folk sound 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 and double bass on the album, respectively.
In 1991, with Dave Schramm in tow, Yo La Tengo collaborated with Daniel Johnston on the song "Speeding Motorcycle" which was released as a single. The band also released a 7" single on Bar/None Records with the song "Walking Away from You" backed with a cover of Beat Happening's "Cast a Shadow." Gene Holder produced the single and played the bass. The That Is Yo La Tengo EP released later that year included some tracks that would end up on the group's next LP.
After the release of That Is Yo La Tengo, James McNew 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 in Munster, I was to look after our box of merchandise while Ira and Georgia went gallovanting 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 recorded May I Sing with Me in Boston with Holder producing and Lou Giordano engineering. The album was released on Alias Records in 1992. Two of the album's eleven songs ("Swing for Life" and "Five-Cornered Drone") were carried over from the That Is Yo La Tengo EP and feature Holder on bass. The Upside-Down EP 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 with Matador Records, releasing a 7" and CD5 of the song "Shaker" which the band recorded with John Siket in New Jersey. The following LP, 1993's Painful was also the beginning of the band's fruitful creative partnership with producer Roger Moutenot, who has produced all of their subsequent albums. Painful is the first Yo La Tengo to feature James McNew on every song; Rob Sheffield, writing for Rolling Stone remarked that McNew "became an essential part of the sound on Painful, the 1993 album that kept every promise Yo La Tengo ever made and blew their previous highlights away." Critical reaction was quite positive, with reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine calling 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 released Electr-O-Pura in 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.
The band's 1997 LP I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One synthesized the group's eclectic combination of folk, punk rock, shoegazing, long instrumental noise-jams, and electronic music into a sprawling, multi-faceted style. Critical reaction was extremely positive; Pitchfork Media awarded the album a 9.7 out of 10 and reviewer 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 after Electr–O-Pura we’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 with Jad Fair and released the album Strange But True to mixed reviews. The band entered the studio again in late 1999 to record their ninth LP. And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out was released in February 2000 to a warm reception.
Continued Acclaim and Soundtrack Work: 2001–Present
In 2001, Yo La Tengo recorded an instrumental score for eight short undersea documentaries by Jean Painlevé, entitled The Sounds of the Sounds of Science. The program debuted at the San Francisco Film Festival and has been performed live approximately twelve times. The band also released an EP with covers of Sun 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."
Yo La Tengo collaborated with Yoko Ono on the 2003 charity album Wig in a Box: Songs from and Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch in support of the Harvey Milk High School. The band put together their first "best of" compilation entitled Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs: 1985–2003 which was released in 2005. They composed scores for four more films: 2005's Junebug and Game 6, and 2006's Shortbus and Old Joy. Their scores for these four films were collected on the 2008 compilation They 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 released Yo 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 call in to pledge money to the station may request a favorite which the band will then perform 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. On June 4, Matador announced a new Yo La Tengo album called Popular Songs. Yo La Tengo is also contributing to a tribute album for New Zealand rock and roll musician Chris Knox who suffered a stroke in June 2009. All proceeds from the album will go towards Knox's recovery.
We
Yo La Tengo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Be still, be there
I’ll hold you in mine
Before we run , we can start to sing
I know it’s hard , believing in all of this
And then we run , running away from the end
Running away from the end , running away to stay
Before we lose our earth
Before we escape, cross the dotted line
Too fast, and wise
Slowly like the storm
Be still, be there
Running away from there
Running away from there
Running until we’re there
Take me to the place, the lonely place
Take me out beyond the stress
Speak to me words we can’t erase
Take me there, it’s only us
The lyrics to Yo La Tengo's Before We Run can be interpreted in various ways, but ultimately they seem to convey a sense of comfort and hope amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life. The first stanza seems to speak of two people holding each other, finding solace in one another's presence as they prepare to face whatever challenges lie ahead. The line "before we run, we can start to sing" suggests that music and art can be a source of strength and inspiration, a way to ground ourselves in moments of turmoil.
The next stanza contains more abstract and apocalyptic imagery, with references to orange clouds and "losing our earth." Despite these foreboding images, there is a sense of urgency and determination, a desire to "run away from the end" and "escape" before it's too late. The line "too fast, and wise" seems to speak to the dangers of rushing through life without taking time to appreciate the present moment or learn from past mistakes. The repeated refrain of "be still, be there" reinforces the importance of taking a breath, being present, and finding peace in the midst of chaos.
The final stanza is the most enigmatic, with references to a "lonely place" and a desire to be "beyond the stress." The line "speak to me words we can't erase" suggests a longing for connection and intimacy that transcends the fleeting nature of time and memory. Ultimately, the song seems to suggest that even in the face of uncertainty and impermanence, there is beauty and meaning to be found in the here and now, and that by holding onto each other and finding ways to express ourselves, we can weather any storm.
Line by Line Meaning
Hold it in your arms
Embrace this moment and cherish it
Be still, be there
Stay present and mindful of the present moment
I’ll hold you in mine
I will provide comfort and support for you
Before we run, we can start to sing
Before we face our problems and run away, let's find joy in the present moment by singing
I know it’s hard, believing in all of this
I understand the difficulty of believing in the goodness of life
And then we run, running away from the end
We're fleeing from the feeling of hopelessness and despair that comes with life's uncertain future
Running away from the end, running away to stay
We're trying to escape the fear of an unwanted ending and instead seeking a safe haven
Orange clouds before the sky rolls back
Viewing the beauty of nature before it's lost or depleted
Before we lose our earth
Before our planet is ruined by climate change and environmental destruction
Before we escape, cross the dotted line
Before we make a decision that we can't go back on
Too fast, and wise
We need to act quickly, but also make the right choice
Slowly like the storm
Making changes bit by bit, like the gradual progression of a storm
Be still, be there
Enjoy the present moment by being present and still
Running away from there
Trying to escape an undesirable situation
Running away from there
Continuing to flee from the negative situation
Running until we’re there
Persisting in our efforts to achieve our desired outcome
Take me to the place, the lonely place
Take me to a solitary place where we can find peace and solace
Take me out beyond the stress
Take me away from the stress and anxiety of life's challenges
Speak to me words we can’t erase
Share with me words and experiences that will stay with us forever
Take me there, it’s only us
Let's go to a place where we can find comfort and rely only on each other
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: GEORGIA MIA HUBLEY, IRA DAVID KAPLAN, JAMES GEORGE MCNEW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Morty 100mg Distillate Gummy
I went on Bandcamp to purchase this LP; then came the Covid Crisis Panic realization I really can't afford anything non-essential now.
I know I can't be the only fan short on loot @ the moment, so sincerely thank you for uploading.
Your music truly takes me to somewhere other when listening.
Peace
David Dioli
A melhor banda de todos os tempos!!! We love yo la tengo! Tanks from Brasil!
Sebastián
Que grande!! Lo mismo digo desde Uruguay!
tape stuff
This could go on for an hour and I wouldn’t complain.
Ned Watrshed
I’ve had these songs in repeat all day
Francisco Méndez
glad to hear more of you La tengo <3
3000EJS
Good music for studying.
Yamileth Ruiz
<3
latal ryan
My organs want to meet your organs! (Heart Emoji)