Il formato Cd della Matador raccoglie il secondo, New Wave Hot Dogs (Coyote/Twin Tone, 1987) ed il terzo lavoro, President Yo La Tengo (Twin Tone, 1989) dei nostri, più il singolo The Asparagous Song (Coyote, 1987).
La band di stanza ad Hoboken, New Jersey, costruita sul sodalizio matrimoniale ed artistico di Ira Kaplan e Georgia Hubley, che fa ciascuno dei due “la metà di un’unità più grande”, vede al basso Stephan Wichnewski al posto di Mike Lewis, ma su President anche Gene Holder, mentre Dave Schramm, secondo chitarrista, esce di scena per ricomparire solo episodicamente, ma non casualmente, in Fakebook (nel 1990) e in Stuff Like That There (nel 2015, in una sorta di pendolarismo paradossale). James Mc New, terzo di un paio artisticamente perfetto, non c’è ancora.
Affrancatosi dunque da Schramm, il songwriting di Kaplan, già all’esordio solido, nonchè magnifico, elabora e sviluppa, da una parte, la passione e le affinità velvettiane, dall’altra, perfeziona la propria inclinazione Folk, innata ed imprevedibile nei riscontri. Tutto ha così origine dalla chitarra di Kaplan, dai funambolismi tra Neil Young (urbano e rurale, elettrico ed acustico) e Tom Verlaine (poeta maledetto dei Television e della New Wave), ma al di qua e al di là di entrambi, e di lato, in un idioma personale, versatile e poliedrico. Le percussioni della Hubley, ispirate a Maureen Tucker, procedono incalzanti ed incisive, pur negandosi a virtuosismi futili, meritano attenzione a ogni brano. Invece, la sua voce tenue, per ora, è solo di sottofondo, relegata ai cori. Il canto baritonale di Kaplan risulta poco appariscente, riservato, ozioso, di contro alla sua chitarra, ferrea e più inflessibile rispetto al debutto, ma anche lirica.
Se New Wave Hot Dog, “La nuova ondata di caldi cani”, sottrae al Country-Rock dell’esordio proprio il Country, a vantaggio del Folk (nervoso, ma controllato) , President, da par suo, abbonda di sonicismi e dissonanze libertarie, e mostra altresì l’attitudine psichedelica degli YLT.
In NWHD possiamo incontrare:
-Did I Tell You, una intensa elegia, olezzante, canicolare, viva e sfuggente, scandita da continue ascese e discese (avete presente com’è correre in bicicletta lungo gli argini di un fiume, poniamo il Piovego, e poi scenderli in velocità, il vuoto d’aria in pancia e non sapere dove e quando il ritornello che stai ascoltando andrà a finire… beh, metteteci un pomeriggio assolato di Luglio, un po’ di spensieratezza, i vostri vent'anni ed è questo: semplicemente meravigliosa).
-Clunk , uno sguaiato rock’n’roll, tra jingle jungle e feedback, up-tempo e ipnosi ericksoniana-non direttiva;
- A Shy Dog, un pezzo vicino a “Ride the Tiger”, mirabile, veloce ed incalzante. Suona come una resa dei conti, pacifica, con un qualsiasi “Stupido cane”, sia anche interiore;
- The Story of Jazz, uno Tsunami di distorsioni concentrato in tre minuti;
-It's Alright (The Way That You Live), una cover di un “circa” inedito dei Velvet Underground, per ronzio di chitarra e canto semi-parlato.
President poi offre: l’Acid Rock di Drug Test e Barnaby, Hardly Working (innervata su di un feedback ripetitivo); le cover di The Evil That Men Do, dall’Lp di debutto, nella bellissima Craig's Version, rifatta con i suoni del deserto, e nella Pablo's Version, live, dilatata, enfiata di sonicismi e libere dissonanze, in una urticante feedback free-form freakout. C’è poi Alyda, ballata Country-Folk Psychedelica e, infine, I Threw It All Away, disciplinata e affascinante cover da Nashville di Bob Dylan.
Gli YLT, pur agli esordi, sono già un gruppo capace di coniare un proprio personale linguaggio, una propria cifra stilistica. Non c’è sincretismo, non c’è plagio, nei loro riferimenti, rimandi e divagazioni; creativi ed originali, intellettuali ed eclettici, schietti e credibili, appassionati ed autentici, capaci di novità sulla scorta della tradizione e della contemporaneità stessa, ravvivano, in ogni persona che li ami, le proprie inclinazioni migliori e, perché no, l’attitudine al lavoro. Sono un modo di stare nella musica, un “modus vivendi et operandi”, capace di scardinare i generi e disattenderli, di cambiare e rimanere fedeli a se stessi. Dell’Indie Rock hanno fatto, e, anche oggi, continuano, dopo oltre trent’anni di carriera, a fare un’arte raffinata. O si ignorano, o si amano. Profondamente. Impossibile odiarli.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Barnaby, Hardly Working (04:38)
For the moment slipped right through him
Combed his hair, combed his hair
Knew the feeling of contentment
The actors' actor
The actors' actor
Smiled a smile uncomprehending
I took his time, took his time
Wore a hat, so he'd impress her
They took a ride
They took a ride
As I could wait for hours
I could wait and never fall down
Never fall down
Never fall down
He is down beside the river
He is down beside the river
He is down beside the river
He is down beside the river
02 Drug Test (04:06)
You may have left your mistake with breakfast
Watching the sun go down
I've been lying awake till dawn now
I'm not ready to face that
I'm not ready to face that thing today
I wish I was high
Brighter than nothing
Smarter than nobody
I've wasted away
I think of the things that matter
And I think of the things that don't
Whatever it is no matter
I hate feeling the way i feel
I hate feeeling the way I eel today
I wish I was high
Brighter than nothing
Smarter than nobody
I've wasted away
I see myself with headphones on
I'm listening to Wake of the Flood (?) (2x)
now I'm high
I wish I was high
Brighter than nothing
Smarter than nobody
I've wasted away
I wish I was high
Brighter than nothing
Smarter than nobody
I've wasted away
05 Alyda (03:40)
Came the day you made your mind to put you down
Raised your voice and found it made a stronger sound
Alyda, what have you done to you
Did confusion make you act that self assured
To take the step that you were not yet ready for
Alyda, what have you done to you
While you whiled away the hour
Do you still the way i knew
Do you dream of something better
Or just something else to do
He said how you hopped until your feet grew corns
Check for some reaction then just hop some more
Alyda, Alyda, Alyda - what have you done to you, to you, to you
07 I Threw It All Away (02:18)
I once held her in my arms
She said she would always stay
But I was cruel and treated her like a fool
I threw it all away
One side's mountains in the palm of my hand
Rivers that ran through everyday
Now I must've been mad or I never knew what i had
I threw it all away
Love is all there is
And it makes the world go round
Love and only love it can't be denied
No matter what you think about it
You won't be able to live without it
Take a tip from one who's tried
So if you find someone
Who gives you all of their love
Take it to your heart
Don't let it stray
Because one thing is for certain
You'll surely be hurting
if you thow it all away
just don't throw it all away
09 Did I Tell You (03:31)
Did I tell you of the dark lonely road
I was counting my steps as I made my way home
Days of nothing but time on your hands, weighing on me
Can't deny it, undecided
Whether to count what I felt against what I could say
I try not to wonder, or tell you that I'm not willing to wait
'Cause deep in my heart I'm willing, heart's still willing
Brain's impatient, my heart's still willing to wait.
Our love is so important to me
Starts wherever you land, walks right over to me
Days of nothing but time in between, I'll be asleep
So unwary or uncaring
I try not to be part of that, well, that's easy to say
I try not to wonder, or tell you that I'm not willing to wait
'Cause deep in my heart I'm willing, heart's still willing
Brain's impatient, my heart's still willing to wait.
There's a moment to discover no one can take all the blame
and it's finally clear.
I try not to wonder, or tell you that I'm not willing to wait
'Cause deep in my heart I'm willing, heart's still willing
Brain's impatient, my heart's still willing to wait,
willing to wait, willing to wait
16 Serpentine (01:58)
In the middle of nowhere
I thought I heard a sound
Went to seek it out,
Track it down.
In the middle of nowhere,
I broke out in a sweat
I don't know how I got there,
All I knew was I was wet
There was no one knowing this there
I was tired and I was scared
Maybe next time I'll know better
Maybe I've learned nothing at all,
nothing at all, nothing at all,
I should've known, I should've known.
17 A Shy Dog (03:38)
Sitting at home inside yourself
Thinking it's cool to be so reserved
And it's kinda funny
Lying in bed that night, wasting time, wasting time
and I know how that is, want to know how that is
How do these days go by, why does time move so slow
When are my decisions made
Make a new plan that you're gonna be strong
Eat a bit of lunch and the moment's gone,
But not quite forgotten.
When you alone at night, reflecting time, reflecting time.
And I know where that leads, want to know where that leads.
How do these days go by, why does time move so slow
When are my decisions made
When that day comes, you're sure you're gonna know
You're like some shy dog looking for the nerve,
looking for the nerve to bite.
Start to react, too smart to miss
You're coming just til you resent
It's turning into a problem
Lying awake at night, just wasting time, wasting time
And I know where that leads, do you want to know where that leads.
How do these days go by, why does time move so slow
How do these days go by, why does time move so slow
When are my decisions made, I'll never know, I'll wonder.
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