True story: It’s 1989. Young Joey Sweeney is in the third row at the TLA ‚Äî this is when they still had seats ‚Äî desperately, anxiously awaiting for The Sundays to come on. Because The Sundays are one of the little jerk’s favorite bands. Looking back now, it’s hard to say why, but there are clues. In 1989, the kid basically didn’t listen to any bands that weren’t British. Maybe like The Sugarcubes and R.E.M., but that was about it. While waiting in schoolboy rapture for The Sundays ‚Äî man, you will never live this one down ‚Äî Yo La Tengo take the stage. And yon Joey Sweeney’s mind is blown, never to return. Because from there, it’s just a short jump to Superchunk, to Unrest and on and on. The American indie rock wormhole opens and the kid just jumps down there. In less than a year, he himself will form a group named after a Yo La Tengo song: Barnaby, Hardly Working (eventually paired down to The Barnabys. We think you can get it on eMusic, but seriously, don’t. Just don’t.)
All of this is to say that if ever there were a towering example of what it means to be an American independent rock band ‚Äî following the muse, bucking fashion and striking bold new ones as you go, and overall to thine own self being true ‚Äî you could do no better than Yo La Tengo. In that catalog ‚Äî now 16 albums deep ‚Äî you can find everything from bossa nova to classic rockist jams to pensive avant-garde stylings to wild scree to perfect pop to God ‚Äî yes, to God itself. So yes, they do in fact have every right to call their latest album ‚Äî one of the better ones of the bunch, by the way ‚Äî I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass. Because they’re not and they will. Oh, you don’t believe me?
Click here to launch I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass on The Philebrity Player!
Related Links: IAmNotAfraidOfYouAndIWillBeatYourAss.com: For All Your Ass-Beating Needs
Yo La Tengo: “Sugarcube” [YouTube, featuring Mr. Show]
Exclusive MP3: Yo La Tengo: “I’m Your Puppet” [mp3, UK-only B-side]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 at 3:39 pm.