Yo La Tengo started so that Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley could play the songs they loved. While they have progressed from playing parties to selling out large clubs and they've written a heap of great songs
themselves, their motivation has remained constant.
Anyone who has seen the band live knows that they like nothing more than to pull an unexpected cover out of their collective hat, and their contribution to one WFMU funding drive was to take requests from callers in return for pledges. This EP collects a half-dozen covers from their massive repertoire. Their hot
rodded Beach Boys appears twice; they reprise the version from last year's fantastic "I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One" and kick out a rougher live
take. They also include loving covers of five diverse tunes. English folk songstress Sandy Denny's "By The Time It Gets Dark," country singer Gram Parson's "How Much I Lied," and the Kinks' "No Return" get tenderly
respectful treatments. The Urinals' "Black Hole" is brief and spooky, with clouds of heavily echoed vocal harmonies swirling around the clipped guitar
rhythms. Their rendition of William DeVaughn's "Be Thankful For What You've Got" is marred by a rather stiff groove, but deserves a tip of the hat for
taking the band well away from familiar guitar pop territory.
I won't spoil the hidden surprise that ends the disc, but I will say that it's a joke
that's made me laugh more than once, and that Little Honda is a modest gift worth cherishing.
If you like Yo La Tengo, check out:
Jad Fair and Yo La Tengo Strange But True
Yo La Tengo And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Yo La Tengo Fakebook
Yo La Tengo Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo
psst...you might wanna check out our indie rock abode for more features on (guess what) indie rock bands.
-- Bill Meyer
