No glasses for classes

Funny how certain old impressions never change or even die. They just sit suspended, as though carved in rocks that never come into contact with weather. I put on the Swirlies every now and again and the recollections (mostly borrowed) are always the same. This song came out a little before my college days, but every note (and fairly ludicrous "noise" coating) smacks of the hermetic indie rock landscape that I was enamored of, and yet never fully connected with, at the time. Genuine pleasure, but it still feels like I'm looking into someone's bedroom window.

Swirlies - Pancake

May I sing with me

The Sparks obsession has segued to a tender look-back thru my Yo La Tengo collection. I maintain my collegiate perspective that they were one of those rare bands that could try anything without looking stupid. (Something about humility and not worrying too much about your career, I guess.) And yet, every song of theirs I put on the 'blague is a rocker. Hmmm.

Yo La Tengo - Upside-Down

Jaws

You know those days where the sum of events conspire to put a fierce tension in your jaw? You want to literally explode out of yourself, and even having recognized the childishness of that impulse, you still fail to have a laugh at it. Here's some musical therapy for that. Hey, it actually works! Fierce corrective rocking out, happily available over the proverbial counter.

The Men - Lotus

I followed you

I'll admit it, I didn't think these guys would have the staying power. Then for a while, I thought of them as brunch rock, to borrow a friend's phrase. I got into YLT in the mid-'90s, so for a long time they lived in the same mental file cabinet as Pavement, Guided By Voices, etc, even though had had more charm and eclecticism than most of that stuff blasting out of dorm rooms back then.

But they just kept going, getting more assured at whatever they tried their hand at (their cover of Sun Ra's "Nuclear War" was particularly inspired.) Sometimes, they can get a little precious. Not in a fragile way, but rather in their tendency to be overly curatorial about their influences. But this one is just a good loud, pretty rocker fueled by sadness.

Have people started naming their kids Ira or Georgia yet?

Yo La Tengo - Today Is The Day