Biography
Yo La Tengo is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. The name is Spanish for "I have it."[1]
The group began as a project of Ira Kaplan, a music critic, and Georgia Hubley, whose parents were Oscar-winning animators. The two met in the early 1980s and started playing together partly as a way to work through shyness and explore the favorites in their record collections.[2] After a long string of bass players, James McNew joined in 1992 and completed the trio that has remained the core lineup since.[1][2]
Early records such as Ride the Tiger (1986), President Yo La Tengo (1989) and the acoustic-leaning Fakebook (1990) built their critical reputation. After signing with Matador, they reached a high point with I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997), which moves between hushed pop, krautrock, bossa nova and noise.[1][3] Later albums include And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000), Fade (2013), There's a Riot Going On (2018) and This Stupid World (2023), and the band has also written film scores.[1]
Their influences include The Velvet Underground, The Kinks, My Bloody Valentine and Bob Dylan.[1]
References
- Wikipedia: I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One — Release date, recording details, themes, singles, chart and critical reception
- Wikipedia: Yo La Tengo — Band history, lineup, discography and influences
- American Songwriter: 4 Songs That Prove the Quiet Genius of Yo La Tengo — Band background and a reading of the song as the band's most popular
- NME: All Hail Yo La Tengo — The band on performing Kevin Shields' remix of the song live
- Pitchfork review (Chinese translation on Douban) — Competing readings of the song, including the date and affair interpretations
- Rolling Stone: I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One review — Contemporary review placing the album after Electr-o-Pura