By Mike Faloon
Yo La Tengo
Fade
Matador
The Debut and Demise of the Yo La Tengo Five Minute Song Theory
The Minutemen version – the best Yo La Tengo songs are over five minutes long.
The Yes version – I’ve never tested this theory. It came to me when I opened Fade for the first time. As I looked at the times of the songs I wanted to fast forward to the gold, to the songs that were going to stick, the tunes I’d be going back to over and over again. I always like songs on Yo La Tengo records. I seldom listen to Yo La Tengo records from start to finish. My favorite songs are the long ones, the ones with a kaleidoscopic mix of guitar feedback and organ and hypnotic drum beats, vocals squished into the background somewhere. I’m thinking of “Sunsquashed” and the best tunes from Elect-O-Pura (1996) and I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One (1997).
I was confident Fade would yield wonderful material. I also assumed there would be songs best skipped. Could I use the lengths of the songs to predict the former from the latter?
Side one
“Ohm”
6:47
Predication: Keeper
After reading the song length I lingered on the title for a second. I had to push aside thoughts of the Moody Blues and their song, “Om,” from the otherwise excellent In Search of the Lost Chord. “Ohm” is built with simple parts and ample repetition. On the one hand, there’s ample droning that’s quite graceful. On the other, the vocals are full of pure pop—do do do. It’s like a Lou Reed time warp, the Velvet Underground crashing into something from his Pickwick days (or at least my perception of those bands—I’ve never heard any of them). “Ohm” is long and it is good. Theory confirmed.
“Is That Enough”
4:14
Prediction: Skip it
Pleasant pop tune but it leaves me antsy for the kaleidoscope ride. The strings in the chorus don’t help. Theory confirmed.
“Well You Better”
2:37
Prediction: Skip it
Upside: cool drum beat that meshes well with a Motown bass line. Downside: the rhythm action is coated with vocals that are too intimate, too much like early ‘70s singer/songwriter. Theory confirmed.
“Paddle Forward”
2:48
Prediction: Skip it
Wow, couldn’t have been more wrong here. Sweet dual vocals from Ira and Georgia. Fuzzy guitar. So many of the long song elements in a too-short song. Theory shamed.
“Stupid Things"
5:05
Prediction: Keeper
Good tune, though unexpectedly so. It’s slow to develop and the vocals are in-your-ear high in the mix, akin to “Well You Better.” This inverts the formula used in so many of my favorite Yo La Tengo songs. The vocals are front and center and the guitars are largely secondary. Theory confirmed.
End of side one. The “Five Minute Song Theory” was confirmed 4 times out of 5 (80%) and rebuked 1 time out of 5 (20%).
Side two
“I’ll Be Around”
4:47
Prediction: Skip it
“I’ll Be Around” accomplishes the droney/kaleidoscope effect but uses different building blocks, acoustic guitars and just a trace of organ. Kind of like “Paddle Forward.” Theory denied.
“Cornelia and Jane”
4:49
Prediction: Skip it
Soothing vocal from Georgia. Equally soothing guitar lines. For most of the song the band seems to be building up but they never break through. Well played! The horns are a bit intrusive but they stick to the periphery. Theory overturned.
“Two Trains"
4:44
Prediction: Skip it
Third straight tune that’s just short of five minutes. It’s like they saw my theory coming. I’m tempted to round to the nearest minute, stretch the theory’s boundaries a bit—don’t the previous two songs suggest that’s the wise move here? In the end I went Republican on this one, opting for a strict interpretation of the rule. “Two Trains” has the right sound from the start. It seems to have the right trajectory too. But the wind’s blowing in and it’s just a fly ball to the warning track. Theory confirmed. (Apologies for the mixing of the metaphors. It’s March. Baseball/ spring on the mind.)
“The Point of It”
3:38
Prediction: Skip it
Eh. Nice enough, but I’d rather go back to “Ohm” or “Paddle Forward” or the beginning of side two. Theory confirmed.
“Before We Run”
6:14
Prediction: Yes, please!
From the outset the drums boom in a way seldom shared with mortal ears—significant drum envy in play. Whoever placed the mics that day did the work of a genius. All that sound needs is a worthy beat and Georgia comes up with a beaut. Beneath that amazing drum sounds is a thread of guitar and then her vocals. The top of the song is quiet, understated, a perfect contract to the bottom, disparate elements melted together with no small amount of grace. The song builds and builds…and then the horns and strings trample everything. (Enough with the whole notes on the horns already.) Bummer. Prediction confirmed.
“Oriole” (Bonus track)
11:04
Prediction: Keeper
Two, three, four (?) keyboards not so much piled atop one another as carefully placed beside each other. There are slight modulations but not in the way of a Steve Reich piece where you lean in, listen for the patterns, find the shifts, the changes. Just paint drying. Theory disappointed.
Final tally: 6 of 11 = .540. This is little better than the 50/50 chance you get with blind luck. Thus, the Yo La Tengo Five Minute Song theory would appear to be have little practical use. Still, Fade is a pretty good Yo La Tengo record.
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