Tuesday, February 17, 2009

old: Yo La Tengo

"We Could Slip Away"

Yo La Tengo's Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs 1985-2003 isn't just a clever use of alliteration, rather a comprehensive collection of highlights, gems and rarities that begs the question, "Why aren't Yo La Tengo the most popular band in the world?"

While perennial fan favs like "Tom Courtenay" and "Autumn Sweater" appear on the greatest hits collection, reinterpretations of both indie staples also appear on the Outtakes and Rarities disc, which plays out like a wet dream for the Electr-O-Pura, Painful, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One and ...And then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out faithful. My Bloody Valentine leader Kevin Shields lends the woozy "Autumn Sweater" an even more hypnotic element, which, in typical Shields fashion, took forever and a day to complete. Oh, and in case you were wondering if Yo La could reinterpret their own tunes, well, they can, as exemplified by the acoustic version of "Tom Courtenay", which features Georgia's subtle, sublime and absolutely enchanting vocal. Simply put, the cutting room floor for Yo La Tengo tends to be miles above most bands most accomplished works, a profound testament to their oeuvre.

Yo La Tengo- Tom Courtenay (Acoustic version)
Yo La Tengo- Autumn Sweater (Kevin Shields remix)

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