painful

Yo La Tengo solidified their lineup, found a new label, and expanded their sound with the atmospheric shoegaze sheen of this noisy dream pop delicacy.  After releasing 'May I Sing With Me' on Alias Records, the band was signed to Matador Records.  It was during this time that bassist James McNew joined Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley to become a full-fledged member of the band:   "I originally signed on as a fill-in for a short US tour, and a 4-week summer tour of Europe with Eleventh Dream Day ... I just kept showing up and just wore them down."

'Painful' was recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey with producers Fred Brockman and Roger Moutenot.  Moutenot recalls:    "The name Water Music became very appropriate when we had to move the multitrack so it wouldn't get destroyed by the various leaks in the ceiling. I like that place, though, except for the persistent oil smell, and the giant electrical transformer which made all the equipment hum."

Kaplan considers:     "I think this group really started when we made the record Painful. James’ first record is May I Sing With Me, but he was still playing with Christmas at the time, and the thought was that he was going to be temporary, and we’d already written all those songs without him. He was kind of “occupying the bass chair” when he joined the group. ButPainful was the first record that we made as the three of us, and I think it sounds different from the things that came before it. Even though I can see connections with the earlier records and things we’ve done since, it really seems like mostly we’ve built on that record. Anything from before then is really, really different to me. Since Painful, I think we’ve gotten more confident and more willing to trust ourselves and trust each other, and probably better at dealing with things that go wrong ... Anyone who ever said they liked our older records more than 'Painful', I just told them they’re wrong.”






http://www.yolatengo.com/








"From a Motel 6" 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrOk4Ko5jiw



"Double Dare" 




"Nowhere Near"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOcTozRTRGo



"Sudden Organ" 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UxgZXg_L2Y




"Big Day Coming" 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnc-pYFPFdM




"I Heard You Looking"
Joe Puleo reveals:  "In 1992 we were flying out of JFK, on our way to Europe. I went through the metal detector first, then you guys went through, and you were all gathered around the monitor as the suitcase filled with effects pedals went through the x-ray machine. As we moved on from there, Ira asked me if I saw how cool it looked, and I replied, 'No, but I heard you looking.'"







'Painful' 
full album:



All songs written and sung by Ira Kaplan unless noted.

1. "Big Day Coming"   7:04
2. "From a Motel 6"  (Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley)  sung by Hubley 4:08
3. "Double Dare"   3:28
4. "Superstar-Watcher"  (Yo La Tengo)  1:42
5. "Nowhere Near"   (Hubley) sung by Hubley 6:01
6. "Sudden Organ"   4:42
7. "A Worrying Thing"   2:53
8. "I Was the Fool Beside You for Too Long"  (Yo La Tengo) 5:04
9. "The Whole of the Law"  (Peter Perrett) sung by Hubley & Kaplan   2:19
10. "Big Day Coming"   4:14
11. "I Heard You Looking"  (Yo La Tengo)  7:01