1985, "The River of Water" b/w "A House Is Not A Motel" (Egon Records E-03)
A young Dave Schramm on lead guitar; a very young Dave Rick on the bass.

Dave Rick: I was 19. In fact I think I was the first Yo La Tengo member, even before the name. We did these two songs and 'Private Doberman' in the same session at Water Music in Hoboken.

YLTG: They're working on that building now where Water Music used to be. They're gutting it and making it taller.

Dave Rick: I wish someone would do that to me.

1985, "Private Doberman" on Luxury Condos compilation LP (Coyote Records TTC 8559)
same lineup as the first single.

YLTG: How many original songs were there then?
Dave Rick: We had three original songs, and one of them was a Love cover (laughs). No, let's see, there were probably enough to fill out most of a set - we played 'Crispy Duck' back then - lots of covers. Do you guys still do 'Big Sky'?
YLTG: Not very often.
Dave Rick: Good bass part.
Dave Schramm: I don't have a lot of uproarious recollections of the first recordings. They were great fun, of course. But I was pretty oblivious I guess, just having a gas in the studio, like a kid in a candy store. I do remember Mr. Stamey always taking issue with my use of the twang bar, but since I remember playing only lap steel on "Private Dalmations"(sic), that may have been some other session. I'm looking at the photo from Condos and wincing. What's with those specs I'm wearing? And Dave Rick looks like he's twelve years old.

"Heart's Expired" on Jersey Beat fanzine compilation cassette
Written by Will Rigby. His version is on the Egon album Sidekick Phenomenon of which, incidentally, we still have a few copies left. --Ira
Cassette also includes "Acid Punks" by The Mopeds, "Carla Gets Confused" by Balloon Squad, more. --James
Lineup unknown. --Georgia

1986, Ride The Tiger LP (Coyote Records TTC 8676) The Cone of Silence; Big Sky; The Evil That Men Do; The Forest Green; The Pain of Pain; The Way Some People Die; The Empty Pool; Alrock's Bells; Five Years; Screaming Dead Balloons; Living In The Country. Mike Lewis - bass. Produced by Clint Conley.

Dave Schramm: I remember being in the studio in Boston and hearing that the shuttle blew up, and how weird that day was. Sleeping on Byron Coley's floor, eating some strange rice dish he cooked up. Working on "Alrock's Bells," one of my favorites, and finally hearing Ira's vocals clearly for the first time. Hearing the words clearly for the first time, and, with some elucidation from Ira, realizing that he means PANTS. I knew who Alrock was. A local Hoboken thrift store guy. And all this time while we were working the song out I had been trying to get bell-like sounds out of my guitar, like really trying to play that angle up. After my revelation (who can blame me for not hearing the words clearly? - in those days Ira often didn't even finish the words to a song before we played it live - he just sang nonsense syllables to fill in the gaps). I thought it was even cooler to "play up the bells angle". So we ended up with that wild little grandiose instrumental part in the middle of the song, with speeded-up and tuned-down, slowed-down guitars and steels everywhere. What fun. I don't know if Ira and Georgia still like that part. Hope so. What's on the record is actually a much less full-blown thing than what we recorded, thank god. There were even more wacky sounds in there that we took out. I was disappointed at the time, but luckily, cooler heads prevailed.

Clint Conley: Right out of the box, I earned my handsome producerial remmuneration by detecting a slight but profound misreading of key notes in the Kinks' "Big Sky." Disaster was averted, a career launched.

The sessions were free of the tantrums, tawdriness, and extravagant excess that I'd been told to expect from YLT. The sessions were also free of promised money from Coyote Records, which brought forth an eviction notice half way though. I would have to say my greatest contribution to the making of RtT was a temporary cash infusion. The recording was completed, the record released, and soon what would come to be known as the Great Punk Bull Market was off and running. Coincidence or catalyst? Let history judge...

Our engineer was extremely patient and helpful, given our limited knowledge of studio ins and outs. But he was sort of a normal human from the music industry. So we were from different planets. He kept saying he heard unacceptable tempo changes. Variations that were completely undetectable by us punk rockers. I think by the time we packed out we'd successfully lowered his professional standards.

This was my first gig as a hi-paid session-man bass player. Coming at pre-existing music and creating my part was a fun challenge and different from my experience in Mission of Burma. But my contributions on the low end led to some moments of high drama. I thought I had come up with a cool pattern, sort of plain and structural, for my big bass showcase solo in "Forest Green" (?) but Dave Sch. couldn't stand this little squiggle I put on the end of one of the notes--one of those half-step squiggles you hear all the time with the funk bassists. Man I love those little squiggles. And the guys in Burma would never let me do them either. But Dave's disgust was so palpable, the look in his eyes so resolute, I knew then I was learning a brutal first hand lesson in the power of the Artist over the hi-paid session man. I swallowed up my little piece of self expression and did a total cave.

Dave Schramm: What else? Well, on "Screaming Dead Balloons" I remember us trying to get the wacky guitar solo at the end to feel right, and it not happening, over and over. Then it occurred to me that I was attempting to fit all the little notes in nice little cubby holes beatwise, and that's why it sounded stiff and unimaginative. So we recorded the next take and had Clint turn off my headphones once the ending started. That worked fine, and if I'm not mistaken we used that very next take on the record. I remember Georgia first singing along with the tracks, incredibly fucking softly, and how cool it sounded and everybody going wow! wonderful. Like on "Big Sky" and "Alrocks" and singing along with her on "Pain of Pain".

1987, "Dreams" on Chemical Imbalance fanzine compilation 7" EP
Stephan Wichnewski - bass. Dave Rick - lead guitar... Steve Michener suggested this song and it quickly became one of our least popular covers, which contributed somewhat to our decision to record it. Recorded live to 2-track one afternoon at Maxwell's. --Ira.

1987, "Asparagus Song" b/w "For The Turnstiles" (Coyote Records TTC 87104)
produced by Chris Stamey. Daves Schramm (A-side) and Rick (B-side) contribute lead guitar.

Dave Rick: I think this stuff was also from the same sessions as New Wave Hot Dogs. I came in and supplied some wild guitar, and Dave Schramm supplied some respectable guitar, back in the days before Ira was confident enough in his own abilities to do either. I seem to remember playing guitar with them off and on around this time, driving around New Jersey with Steve Michener. It seems so weird.

I have about 10 copies of this single that my cat pissed all over. The price has gone up since he passed away. --Georgia

1987, New Wave Hot Dogs LP (Coyote Records TT 87125) Clunk; Did I Tell You; House Fall Down; Lewis; Lost In Bessemer; It's Alright (The Way That You Live); 3 Blocks From Grove Street; Let's Compromise; Serpentine; A Shy Dog; No Water; The Story of Jazz. Produced by Georgia and Ira.

Dave Rick: I went in and recorded a bunch of guitar stuff but all that got used was the stuff I did on "Let's Compromise".

1988, "Somebody's Baby" on Human Music compilation 2LP (Homestead Records HMS-100)
Georgia also did the cover art. There used to be two of those chairs in I & G's kitchen. Then there were three. Now there are none. A fine compilation, with some great selections by The Clean, Happy Flowers, Pastels, GC Allin. --James.

1989, President Yo La Tengo LP (Coyote Records TTC 88142) Barnaby, Hardly Working; Drug Test; The Evil That Men Do; Orange Song; Alyda; The Evil That Men Do; I Threw It All Away. Produced by Gene Holder.

Gene Holder: Stephan played bass on the live stuff, but I played on the studio stuff. It was a weird time, it seemed like one day he was in the band, the next day he was in Switzerland or something, then the next day he was back in the band. One thing I remember was we sampled somebody's sniffle on a vocal track, I think it was Georgia, and then we used it as a percussion track on "Alyda".

1990, Fakebook LP (Bar None Records 7-72641) Can't Forget; Griselda; Here Comes My Baby; Barnaby, Hardly Working; Yellow Sarong; You Tore Me Down; Emulsified; Speeding Motorcycle; Tired So Hard; The Summer; Oklahoma, USA; What Comes Next; The Cry To Cry; Andalucia; Did I tell You; What Can I Say. Produced by Gene Holder.

Dave Schramm: We recorded a Gram Parsons song. Which one? Uh. Maybe "How Much I Lied"? I don't know. I think Gene nixed (nixed, not mixed) the whole deal, said it was just too long and slow. It was kinda Cowboy Junkie-ish I guess. I remember that Al was mostly worried about whether he would get paid for the sessions, but he always worries about that stuff (maybe that one's not a real appropriate memory for a discography). It just occured to me that both full-lengthers that I'm on feature Kinks songs. Spooky. Is that coincidence? (Well, yes, it is.) I must admit that when I listen to Fakebook today, I enjoy the originals the most. Not that I don't dig the covers...

Gene Holder: I think they recorded some Gram Parsons song, I can't remember which one. It was a really nice version but I think it was literally 15 minutes long. Maybe 20. I thought the record was already going to be a pretty long record, so it was just too long to put on the record. Then, once they gave in to me, I felt pretty guilty afterwards. I think that was the only song that involved any controversy.

1990, "Here Comes My Baby" PROMO-ONLY CDEP (Bar None Records) Here Comes My Baby (from Fakebook); The Story of Jazz (live); Barstool Blues (live); Let's Compromise (live, w/Chris Nelson singing); At The River's Edge (live); Ecstasy Blues (live); Speeding Motorcycle (w/Daniel Johnston singing via telephone)

Dave Schramm: I don't remember if anything was funny about the WFMU "Speeding Motorcycle" performance other than the whole thing...

The live songs were recorded at our first-ever Berlin date on a not-especially-pleasant European tour. Chris Nelson, formerly of Information ("Let's Compromise" was one of their songs), later of Mofungo and The Scene Is Now, accompanied us. His occasional lead vocals provided us with many of the tour's memorable moments, particularly a frenzied performance of "1969" at our first-ever Madrid data. It was a free show and therefore packed a fairly large rock club (named The Rock Club), through it turned out there was still sufficient space for the crowd to get out of Chris' wasy when he decided to stage diver from the too-high-to-land-back-first stage. He limped for the rest of the tour, which didn't keep him from playing a stellar short solo set in Nijmegen, where we heard him debut "Gone For A Long Time" if memory serves. --Ira.

1991, "Something to Do" on A Matter of Degrees soundtrack (Atlantic Records 7-82245)
Producer Gene Holder on the bass guitar, unless it's Robert Vickers.

There's a really good version of "Liz Beth" by Eleventh Dream Day on this soundtrack. Drawing on his dynamic pas de deux opposite C. Thomas Howell in "Soul Man", Arye Gross taught us all how to laugh about love as the star of this delightful romp.

1991, "Speeding Motorcycle" b/w "Do You Really Love Me" (SOL, SOL-911-7)
side A is Daniel Johnston with Yo La Tengo (I - gtr, G - drums, Dave Schramm - organ), side B is Daniel Johnston without Yo La Tengo.

The story goes: Daniel, who was living in West Virginia, would call up Nick Hill's show on WFMU, which broadcasts from East Orange, NJ, and talk and sing. YLT played live on the air one night, and Daniel "sat in". But the thing is, there's no way he could have possibly heard the band - how the hell did he do it? How? Anyways, I wasn't there. --James.

1991, "Walking Away From You" b/w "Cast A Shadow" (Bar None Records AHAON-4502).
Produced by Gene Holder. Gene plays bass on the A-side and some guitar on the B-side; Wilbo Wright (now of UI) is on the B-side.

1991, That Is Yo La Tengo EP (Germany, City Slang Records Slang 009) Out The Window; Swing For Life; Walking Away From You; Five-Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck); Fog Over Frisco. Producer Gene Holder on the bass.

I started playing with Yo La Tengo just as this record was released. 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. One night after a show in Munster, I was to look after our box of merchandise while Ira and Georgia went gallovanting through the town, meeting their policemen. Needless to say, during our soundcheck in Hamburg the next day, it suddenly dawned on me that I had left the box filled with copies of this EP back at the club in Munster. Oh man, was I in trouble... Sure... blame it on the rookie. --James

1992, "Lewis" on The Best of Mountain Stage #3 compilation (Blue Plate Music BPM-003)
Live acoustic version of this song from New Wave Hot Dogs, as performed by the Fakebook touring group, with Wilbo Wright on the upright bass, and Kevin Salem on electric guitar. Recorded just after Ira's bout with Lyme disease.

This was recorded on a day the Giants won the Super Bowl. The night before we had played at this college in Ohio, where a couple of students playing acoustic versions of classic rock songs blew us off the stage. We performed for 45 minutes or so to an at-best apathetic gathering and saw no need for an encore. A couple of friends who had come from Columbus felt we hadn't given them their drive's worth, so we played another half dozen songs for them in the dressing room. We invited anybody interested to come watch, but I think the students felt that to do so would be to give up their home-court advantage, so they settled for complaining behind our backs. --Ira.

1992, "Hanky Panky Nohow" on The Ruta 66 Compilation (Spain, Ruta 66 CAP15)
Ruta 66 is a great music magazine from Spain, or at least it looks great, as none of us can read it, as it is in Spanish. The best Daniel Johnston song ever recorded, " The Monster Inside of Me", is also on here. The was song recorded on Tara Key's 4-track, in Ira & Georgia's old house. It features the beautiful vocals of their late cat Shauna.

1992, May I Sing With Me LP (Alias Records AO21) Detouring America With Horns; Upside Down; Mushroon Cloud of Hiss; Swing For Life; Five-Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck); Some Kinda Fatigue; Always Something; 86-Second Blowout; Out The Window; Sleeping Pill; Satellite. Produced by Gene Holder.

Gene Holder: We went up to Fort Apache studio in Boston to record it, and Lou Giordano engineered the sessions. One morning I got there early and me and Lou were sitting around drinking coffee... he got really serious and sorta leaned in close and said, "Are all bands fom New Jersey this difficult to work with? Because we just had The Feelies here recently, and..." He wasn't trying to be mean or anything, he was just genuinely curious. Also, I remember while we were there, we saw one of my all-time favorite episodes of "The Simpsons", the one where Bart falls in with the Mafia.

I think this album was recorded the same year I threw a drumstick at Gene Holder and kicked Ira in the shins. Somehow, Lou Giordano got away unscathed. --Georgia

The album included "Mushroom Cloud of Hiss," which originated as an instrumental in Georgia and my two-electric-guitar shows, after Stephan quit for the time. The title came about later. Like "The River of Water" before it, it came from some lousy book I was copy-editing. Sleepily correcting some softcore, I misread the word "crown" as "cloud" and corrected the typo in the phrase "The mushroon crown of hiss penis." --Ira

1992, "Upside Down" CDEP (Alias AO26) Upside Down (different from LP version, sort of); The Farmer's Daughter; Out Of Control; Upside Down (acoustic, featuring Kevin Salem on guitar); Sunsquashed.
"Sunsquashed" first recorded appearance of the Ace Tone organ.
The original idea for the cover of this EP was to feature our beloved road manager/raconteur Joe Puleo in the umbrella/cymbal position, but the pictures didn't turn out quite right.

1993, "Artificial Heart" on Delicacy & Nourishment: Lyrics by Ernest Noyes Bookings volume 3 compilation (East Side Digital ESD 80632)
Recorded at Fun City with Wharton Tiers, on a reel of tape from Noise New York, over a Zeena Parkins session, in April of 1991. My first recording date, and I stunk. --James

1993, "Some Kinda Fatigue" on This is Art 2x7" compilation (Spain, Radiation RARE-009)
Very different version than appeared on May I Sing With Me. Compilation also features Cell, Vineland, and Love Child; all bands practiced in the same building, and all tracks were recorded by Fred Brockman at Snack Time Studio in Hoboken.

Lyle Hysen: Hoboken needs a lot of things beside pizza and nail places, and an 8 track studio is one of 'em. I was hanging out a lot with Fred Brockman, and he thought it would be fun if we ran a studio together. He was wrong. Oh we got along fine, actually having some good laughs at the expense of the unknowing talent. Since a control room wasn't an option, Fred and I had to invent hand signals so the talent wouldn't know what we were saying. In the long run all I was trying to say was: "Can I leave yet?" Fred worked really hard, and did some great stuff, and like most things, well, you figure it out. "This Is Art" is a compilation with mainly bands in the practice space with Snack Time Studios. Oh that crazy Unai... It was all his idea, and well, I really have nothing but bad memories about the compilation. Yo La were pissed about how small their name is on the cover, and we got into a fight about Fed Ex expenses. Eventually everyone else on the damn thing broke up and Fred moved away. My favorite fact about the record is that the title "This is Art" was done by fellow ex-Das Damen member Alex Totino. I only found that out AFTER the record was released.

I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One (new cd/double LP, on Matador Records)

"Autumn Sweater" EP (Matador)
features the LP track, plus its remixes by Kevin Shields, u-Ziq, and the collective of Bundy K. Brown / Doug McCombs / John Herndon / David Pajo, and interludes by Astoria.

"Blue/Green Arrow" b/w "Watching The Sun Rise or Johnny Carson" (UK, Earworm Records)

"Rocket #9" b/w "Wig Out With Charly Dapper" (UK, Planet Records)

1993 "Dreaming" on Freedom Of Choice compilation (Caroline)
On the release of this album, we played a Planned Parenthood benefit at CBGB. To hammer home the new wave theme, we invited audience members to perform new wave karaoke with us (we played, they sang). Celebrity participants included Combustible Edison's The Millionaire ("Turning Japanese") and Anitetam's Josh Madell ("Concrete Jungle"), though the scene-stealer was without a doubt the stranger (in every sense of the word) who gave his all to "Psycho Killer." -Ira

1993 "Barnaby, Hardly Working" on They Came, They Saw, They Blocked The Driveway 2CD compilation (WFMU) recorded live on WFMU, 91.1 FM. Dave Schramm on lead guitar. This double CD was available as a premium during the 1993 pledge drive. It also features a great version of "Goldfinger" by Peter Stampfel, and a blood-curdling scream by Roxanne Stephen towards the end of The Faith Healers' "Moona-Ina-Joona".

1993 "Shaker"/"For Shame of Doing Wrong" 7"/CDEP (Matador OLE 060)
"Shaker" and "For Shame of Doing Wrong" (Slide Version) were recorded by the ornery John Siket at a studio somewhere in New Jersey. The version of "Shame" that appears on the 7", and the CD bonus track "What She Wants" were done at Snack Time by Fred Brockman.

For "What She Wants" it was decided that I should play a part on the baritone horn, an instrument I played briefly in middle school band. It sounds like a trombone but is shaped like a small tuba. Anyways, I knocked myself out, gave myself a migraine trying to get my part right. Since then, I have not been asked to play baritone horn on any more recordings. I wonder why. -James

1993 Painful LP (Matador/Atlantic OLE 069) Big Day Coming: From A Motel 6; Double Dare; Superstar-Watcher; Nowhere Near; Sudden Organ; A Worrying Thing; I Was The Fool Beside You For Too Long; The Whole Of The Law; Big Day Coming; I Heard You Looking. Recorded at Water Music, Hoboken. Produced by Roger Moutenot.

Joe Puleo: 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."

YLTG: Then that was the tour you began playing organ on the song, right?

JP: Yeah, well, I had just named the song, I had to do something with it. I think the first time I played organ was in Munich. Hey, remember that guy who played drums for Seam on that tour? Whatever happened to him? maybe some of your readers will know.

Roger Moutenot: 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.

1993 "Big Day Coming'/"Double Dare (Sominextraction)" 7" (Matador OLE 071) green vinyl. B-side is a live recording from a Sleeping Pill show at CBGB.

1993 "Always Something" & "Some Kinda Fatigue" on Music From The Films of Hal Hartley CD (True Fiction Pictures; Phonogram, Europe) These are the same versions that appear on the May I Sing With Me lp.

1994 "From A Motel 6" CDEP (Matador OLE 080)From A Motel 6; Nutricia; Ashes On The Ground; From A Motel 6 (remixed by Steve Fisk). The version of Half-Japanese's "Ashes On The Ground" was recorded at live at SIR in New York City by the unholy tag-team of Roger Moutenot, Fred Brockman, and Terry Moore (The Chills, phases 5 and 31).

1995 "Tom Courtenay" 7"/CDEP (Matador OLE 139) Tom Courtenay; Treading Water; Bad Politics; My Heart's Reflection; The Bisexual Boogie (7' only) "Bad Politics" and "My Heart's Reflection" were recorded live at Alex The Great on the last day of the Electr-O-Pura sessions.

1995 Electr-O-Pura LP (Matador OLE 132) Decora; Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1); The Hour Grows Late; Tom Courtenay; False Ending; Pablo & Andrea; Paul Is Dead; False Alarm; The Ballad of Red Buckets; Don't Say A Word (Hot Chicken #2); (Straight Down to the) Bitter End; My Heart's Reflection; Attack on Love; Blue Line Swinger. Recorded at Alex The Great, Nashville. Produced by Roger Moutenot.

Roger Moutenot: For me, ping-pong goes back to my Nile Rodgers days, like around 1984. I thought the ping-pong table at Alex The Great was a savior to the project. It was amazing how Ira transformed from a mild player into a cutthroat, with the jones to annihilate anyone he could, at any time. I had him until the end, I beat him everytime. But on the very last night, he beat me...

"False Alarm" was nearly recorded, vocals and all, in a single take. There were two mics on my singing: one distorting through an amp, and one clean. The problem was that when we listened back, the maracas that I was playing simultaneously were as loud as the singing. It was agreed that I would have to double-track the vocal, which was something of a challenge as the words that had never been sung previous to the recording, and they had still yet to be sung completely sober. Matching up with the phrasing on tape proved even harder than returning Roger's ping-pong serve, and I don't think I could have accomplished it all were it not for Georgia and James' supportive screams of laughter at my every misstep. -Ira

The first time we went to Nashville to record was also the first time we tried Prince's Hot Chicken. Hot chicken is bright orange pan-fried chicken - the color of a traffic cop. When you order it "hot" it's unimaginably hot, which is partly why it took me a good two years to appreciate it. When you order it mild it's till hot, but more manageable, and while we were recording I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, we ate it once or twice a week (usually during "Cannon" or "Mannix"). -Georgia

Prince's Hot Chicken Shack, 123 Ewing Drive, Nashville TN 37207. (615) 226 9442. Open late. -James

1995 "Shaker" on Amateur soundtrack (Matador/Atlantic OLE 092) Also contains tracks by Povement, The Josus Lazard, EJ Harvey, Liz Fair, My Bludy Valentine.

1995 Camp Yo La Tengo 7"/CDEP (Matador OLE 171) Blue Line Swinger (3:20); Tom Courtenay; Can't Seem To Make You Mine; Mr. Ameche Plays The Stranger. The quiet, Georgia-sung "Tom C." appears on the b-side of the single. "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" was another song recorded live at Alex The Great on the last day of the Electr-O-Pura sessions. "Mr. Ameche" features the vocal of I&G's late cat, Egon.

1995 "Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop"/Stereolab "The Long Hair of Death" (Duophonic Super 45s DS45-10, UK) This very limited yellow-vinyl 7" was sold on the triumphant Stereolab /YLT tour of the UK, Spring 1995, and at a few of our shows in the USA that summer. Opening Night of Stereolab/YLT Tour haiku, by James:

Morgane's first concert
Mary's making fun of her
maybe they'll play "Crest"

1996 Ride The Tiger Re-Issue (Matador OLE 205) The Cone Of Silence; Big Sky; The Evil That Men Do; The Forest Green; The Pain Of Pain; The Way Some People Die; The Empty Pool; Alrock's Bells; Five Years; Screaming Dead Balloons; Living In The Country; The River Of Water; A House Is Not A Motel; Crispy Duck; Closing Time

1996 President Yo La Tengo/New Wave Hot Dogs Re-issue (Matador OLE 206) Barnaby, Hardly Working; Drug Test; The Evil That Men Do; Orange Song; Alyda; The Evil Than Men Do; I Threw It All Away; Clunk; Did I Tell You; House Fall Down; Lewis; Lost In Bessemer; It's Alright (The Ways That You Live); 3 Blocks From Groove Street; Let's Compromise; Serpentine; A Shy Dog; No Water; The Story Of Jazz; The Asparagus Song

Some people think President Yo La Tengo is the best YLT record. Even Elvis Costello played "Drug Test" as a guest DJ some time ago. A few people have cited New Wave Hot Dogs as their favorite, but they're either Dutch or drunk, or both. Or just drunk and Dan Cuddy. -Georgia

1996 "Attack On Love" (Live) on The Lounge Ax Defense & Relocation CD (Touch & Go TG130) Recorded live at Cabaret metro, Chicago, 11/10/95. That night all 4 members of The Coctails augmented our set on various instruments. On this song, John Upchurch played alto & tenor saxophones simultaneously, and Barry Phipps played the Theremin. I may have broken Mark Greenberg's wee drumkit during this song. -James

1996 "Demons" on I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack CD (Atlantic TAG92690) Tara Key - lead guitar. Recorded at The Magic Shop, NYC. Produced by Roger Moutenot.

Ms. Tara Key: Being on the movie set was like waking up at a carnival without my glasses, scratching my head and wondering if I had passed out or gotten rolled. The whole set was wrapped in the traditional Factory (tm) Reynolds reflective material and I had been deprived of my prescription eyewear by wardrobe, so all the colors and shapes and reflections of people just bounced around the whole time. In fact, my visit to wardrobe was interesting in that I became a xerox of myself...I walked in wearing my black leather jacket, black jeans, a smart pair of beaten down Byrdsy boots, a black shirt and sunglasses (mine). I was asked to disrobe and don...a black leather jacket, black jeans, a black shirt and sunglasses (theirs). The boots were deemed "fab" and stayed.

I have to admit a perverse pleasure in having someone run over at a third party's beckoning to straighten one hair on my head. Someone needs to shout "wardrobe" at me every morning!

Anyway...since I was "in character", I could not see for two days - which was very cool combined with the effects of sprints around the block for "refreshments" every few hours...even more trippy, and, I like to think, in tune with the true spirit of the time portrayed (since the party joints in the movie were mere tobacco -- I know, because they were rolled by the prop person and myself). I also enjoyed seeing Donovan the Younger "jam out" on my prized Gretsch guitar (the beauty queen of my collection who was, indeed, "ready for `her' closeup, Mr. DeMille") during breaks in filming. To think that the same hands which had wielded a whip violently and extremely close to my head moments earlier could caress its neck with such sweetness!

I also enjoyed Ira's sideburns immensely - kinda like what he would have looked like pitching for the Athletics in the 70's. When Billy Name (the real one) was led by the film makers to inspect the replica closet where in real life he had spent months without coming out, it was a definite waitress on the catsup bottle holding a tray with a catsup bottle with a waitress holding a tray with a catsup bottle with a waitress (etc.) moment.

1996 Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo 2CD (Matador OLE 194) Disc One: Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop; Demons; Fog Over Frisco; Too Late; Hanky Panky Nohow; Something To Do; Ultra-Powerful Short Wave Radio Picks Up Music From Venus; Up To You; Somebody's Baby; Walking Away From You; Artificial Heart; Cast A Shadow; I'm Set Free; Barnaby, Hardly Working; Some Kinda Fatigue; Speeding Motorcycle. Disc Two (instrumental): Nutricia; Her Grandmother's Gift; From A Motel 6 #2; Gooseneck problem; Surfin' With The Shah; Ecstasy Blues; Too Much pt. 1; Blitzkrieg Bop; One Self: Fish Girl; Enough; Drum Solo; From A Motel 6 #1; Too Much, pt. 2; Sunsquashed.

The reel of tape that contained "Somebody's Baby" was in such bad shape that it could only be resuscitated by the miracle of "baking" - actually putting the reel of tape in a convection oven. Real studio guys told us to do this. And it worked! Like Homer Simpson said when describing how he invented the Flaming Homer, "I don't know the scientific terms for it, but Fire Made It Good." -James

1997 Autumn Sweater EP (Matador OLE 250)Autumn Sweater; Tortoise Collective (Bundy K. Brown, John Herndon, Doug McCombs, & David Pajo) remix; u-Ziq remix; Kevin Shields remix; transitional remixes by Astoria.

Doug McCombs: I haven't done much in the way of other groups' remixes, except for your thing. We all sat down and listened to it together. The first thing we decided was to try to put it in a different time signature. So then we took the drum track, Bundy sampled it and then we just fucked around with phrases, looking for variations and goods breaks and stuff. We took the kick and snare and hi-hat and created patterns in 5/4, then built all the other stuff on top of it. We did it all on a sampler, no computers were used. It's Bundy's process, it's pretty tedious, but it gets great results. Johnny wrote a lot of drum track, me & Bundy did all of the structural things, and Dave sat there kinda going "yeah, man that sounds good. That's a good idea!"

1997 I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One 2LP (Matador OLE 222) Return To Hot chicken; Moby Octopad; Sugarcube; Damage; Deeper Into Movies; Shadows; Stockholm Syndrome; Autumn Sweater; Little Honda; Green Arrow; One PM Again; The Lie and How We Told It; Center of Gravity; Spec Bebop; We're an American Band; My Little Corner of the World. Recorded at House of David, Nashville. Produced by Roger Moutenot.

Jonathan Marx: You could say that being asked to play on a Yo La Tengo record made me feel like a Little Leaguer who's been asked to bat an inning with the Mets. When you consider the fact that I can't play baseball, the analogy becomes much clearer.

So once I heard the news, did I rush home and work out a bunch of different parts for my brief solo break in "Shadows'? Well, no. I did listen to a tape of the song and I played around with it, but I just wasn't too sure what to do. Nothing stuck in my mind. Fair enough, you might respond.

Well, did I at least make sure that my lip was in top form? Did I make sure I'd eaten a good two or three hours before I headed to the studio? (Trumpet playing is like swimming - you have to wait a while to do it after you eat.) most important, did I make sure I was heading down Music Row East with a clear head? Well, not exactly. On my way to the studio, I stopped by a friend's house, whereupon I was offered a smoke from a Busch-beer-can pot pipe. "What's the harm?" I thought.

Ten minutes later, I was at the studio. My head was reeling, ever so slightly, and my mouth was utterly dry. Hmmm. We tried a few takes, all kind of shambling and not terribly interesting. After a short while, producer Roger Moutenot, possibly the calmest, politest studio professional I've ever encountered, made a few suggestions about how I might consider approaching my solo differently. If I could remember them, I'd tell you: the only problem was, I couldn't understand anything he said. It's not that I was so stoned, it's just that I don't know a damn thing about music. There was some mention of "pedaling," whatever that means.

So after my dumbfounded silence, Roger provided a very concise, cogent explanation of what he'd just told me, only this time it was in layman's terms. OK, so now how to heed the suggestions? I tried a couple more takes. A pregnant pause from the control room. Then: "Jonathan, why don't you come in for a second?"

"This is the last-ditch attempt where they decide to sample me," I figured. Don't laugh; it's happened before.

I walk in. Ira, nice as he can be, says: `You know, Jonathan, what you just did, if you could play that right, it would be perfect." James and Georgia look on, a mixture of compassion and pity in their faces.

Fair enough. I go at it again, fumbling more than ever. Finally, Roger saves the day. At some point, it seems that the first phrase of my line is pretty much there. So he coaches me through the remaining, oh, five or six notes. I leave soon thereafter, apparently having given Yo La Tengo something workable. Later, I am assured by someone (I can't remember who) that if what I did really sucked, the band won't have a problem not using it.

Months later, to my surprise, I find my name next to Al Perkins' in the album credits. Driving down Music Row one day, I even hear the song on the radio -- and I get cottonmouth all over again.

Roger Moutenot: I am now addicted to Prince's Hot Chicken. I live here but had to have you guys turn me on to it. There's some nights now that I have to have it.

Kurt Wagner: This I sort of recall: 1) Being present when YLT were working on "Moby Octopad," Ira triggering the "cool" sound, Roger wearing "the patch" 2) James watching Howard Stern 3) The nice selection of beer on hand 4) a lyrical discussion with Ira to which he confessed that words came to him in...the shower. 5) the daily working of the Times crossword puzzle 6) Georgia breaking our coffee table (it was already sort of fucked up) while we were in Spain and their (G&I's) touching confession thereafter. They seemed a bit apprehensive, almost nervous upon our return. As they owned up to the mishap I could almost hear their hearts beating, quietly, almost undetected and I swear it sounded as if I could hear their hearts beating as one.

1997 'Blue/Green Arrow"/"Watching The Sun Rise or Johnny Carson" 7" (Earworm UK) Both sides recorded in our practice space, on 4-track cassette, during the summer of 1996. We even turned off the air conditioner for added fidelity.

1997 "Rocket #9"/"Wig Out with Charlie Dapper" 7" (Planet UK) One of the versions of "Rocket #9" was a live recording from night 2 of the Lounge Ax benefits in Chicago, summer of 1996. That night, Ira and I also served as half on 11th Dream Day, me in place of Doug McCombs, who was off somewhere in Scandinavia with Tortoise. Anyway, we learned a bunch of 11th DD songs, and we practiced all day long before the show, in the Tortoise loft, where it was 200 degrees. At soundcheck the next day, Doug shows up! I mean, I was happy to see him and everything, but I wasn't about to let him play. Eventually, in the spirit of the event, and after a few hours, and a beer or two, I allowed him to play on one song. After all, that's what friends are for. -James

1997 Sugarcube CDEP/7" (Matador Europe) Sugarcube; Looney Tunes; The Summer (live); Busy With My Thoughts (7" only) "The Summer" comes from the same show as the Lounge Ax Defense version of "Attack on Love." Regular readers of the YLT Gazette might recall guest vibraphonist Mark Greenberg's account of this night from issue 7 - to make a long story short, it seems I grew up a bigger fan of the Bonzo Dog Band than did Mark. -Ira

1997 "Tom Courtenay" & "Don't Say A Word" (Demo) on What's Up Matador 2CD (Matador OLE 163) This is the version of "Tom Courtenay" that appears on Electr-O-Pura, and the Hubley-phonic recording of "Don't Say A Word" from the summer of 1994

Antietam, Burgoo LP (Triple X, 1990) - produced by I&G, Ira plays organ on a few songs

Antietam, Rope-a-Dope LP (Homestead 1994) - Ira plays organ on "Hands Down"

Christmas, "Scissors Paper Stone" on Live at Pipeline compilation LP (WMBR 1996) - James plays bass

Christmas, Vortex LP (Matador 1993) - James plays bass

Dr. Janet, "Ten Years Gone" 7" (Ringers Lactate 1990) - Ira plays bass & guitar

Double Dynamite, "Hero Takes a Fall" 7" (Ecstatic Peace/Smells Like Records 1993) - Ira plays guitar

Mark Eitzel, Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back Out Because I Love You Too Much Baby LP (Matador 1998) - James plays bass on some songs

Jad Fair, I Like It When You Smile LP (Paperhouse UK 1992) - Ira plays guitar on a bunch of songs, one of which "I Like It When You Smile" also appears on: Half Japanese's Greatest Hits LP (Safe House 1995)

Fish & Roses, We Are Happy to Serve You LP (Homestead 1989) - Ira plays guitar on "Stand Fast Bo Diddley"

Sue Garner, To Run More Smoothly LP (Thrill Jockey 1997) - Georgia plays drums on some songs

Tara Key, Bourbon County LP (Homestead 1994) - I&G play on a bunch of songs

Jon Klages, In a Dream LP (Coyote 1985) - I&G play throughout

Lois, Snapshot Radio EP (K 1996) - James plays synthesizer on "Not Funny Ha Ha"

Mosquito, UFO Catcher LP (Time Bomb JP 1994) - James plays bass on some songs

Mosquito, Cupid's Fist LP (De Konkurrent NL 1995) - James plays bass on some songs

Mosquito, Time Was LP (smells Like Records 1994) - James plays bass on some songs

Odes, "Meltaway" 7" (Merge 1994) - James plays bass

Portastatic, Scrapbook EP (Merge 1995) - I&G appear on "St. Elmo's Fire"

Amy Rigby, Diary Of A Mod Housewife LP (Koch 1996) - Ira plays organ on "Don't Break The Heart" and "That Tone of Voice."

Run On, "Days Away" 7" (Ajax 1993) - produced by Ira

The 6ths, Wasps' Nests LP (London 995) - Georgia sings "Movies in My Head"

Sleepyhead, Late Night Thinkin' EP (Sealed Fate 1997) - James plays guitar on "Boys Don't Lie"

Special Pillow, "Tomorrow Night" 7" (Really Fast Racecar 1995) - James plays guitar & maracas

Special Pillow, Ancient History LP (Zofko 1997) - James plays guitar & maracas

Splendora, In The Grass LP (Koch 1995) - Georgia drums on 2 songs, one of which, "Cover the River" also appears on the "Rattle" 7" (Really Fast Racecar 1995)

Chris Stamey & Kirk Ross, The Robust Beauty of Improper Linear Models in Decision Making LP (East Side Digital 1996) - Ira plays guitar on some songs

Stanton-Miranda, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" on A Means To An End: The Music of Joy Division compilation LP (Virgin 1995) - Ira plays guitar, doesn't have a copy

Stinky Puffs, A Tiny Smelly Bit of the Stinky Puffs LP (Elemental 1995) - Ira plays guitar on some songs

Thin Lizzy, Jailbreak LP (Mercury 1976) - James plays 2nd solo, "Cowboy Song"

Timber, Parts & Labor LP (Rift 1993) - Ira plays organ on "Stupid Reasons"

Two Days in the Valley soundtrack LP (Edel 1996) - Georgia duets with Lois Maffeo on "Cat Fight"