Hello wearing scarves. Hello knowing the names of your neighbours. Hi interest in the weather. Hi staying in on Saturday night. Goodbye skateboard. Goodbye weird flavoured super cheap schnapps. Bye clove cigarettes. Bye Korn. (In fact, goodbye all nu-metal). Hello flossing. Hi White Album. Nice to meet you mushroom on pizza. Goodbye backpacking. Hello bank loan…
There are so many arbitrary milestone moments in life that characterize the beginning of adulthood and, concurrently, the end of youth. Discovering a love for Hoboken-based, hipster-cherished trio Yo La Tengo is one of those seemingly insignificant moments in life that represents the best part about - for lack of a better expression - getting older. All of a sudden, ten-minute-long instrumental guitar freak outs go from being tedious and boring album filler to becoming the appreciated soundtrack to a hypnotic mid-morning bliss out - complete with a mature cup of coffee and half closed eyes. I Am Not Afraid Of You came out in 2006 twenty years after the band first started making music but it has all the elements that have endeared them to indie critics and (adult) fans. The buzzy noise-rock tunes like “Watch Out For Me Ronnie” and grandiose distortion-heavy instrumental moments ("Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind") are interspersed with cute easy-listening pop jams, like sweet piano tune “Mr. Tough” which reads like a Beat poem, pledging positivity and comforting prosaic romance: “Alone in our pad on Saturday night / Hemmed in by the room / But hiding at a crowded party / The record's playing for just me and you.”
Heavy static meets jazz piano meets psychedelic guitars, falsetto soul vocals and Ramones’ flavoured give-a-fuck punk vibes. I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass is not a passive listening experience, but then welcoming challenges is all part of growing up and it makes the experience all the more rewarding. Hello growing up. Hello Yo La Tengo.
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One response to “album of the week: Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass”
Great choice,unlike us this album never seems to get old.
"I feel like going home" is such a good song to listen to when (as cliche as it is) your finishing an epic trip like the one in Yo La Tengo's "Today is the Day" clip, and your so spent/content you barely have the energy to blink.
Regnar.
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