Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

James and the giant bass

Yo La Tengo's James McNew talks "stuff like that there"

James McNew (left) and Yo La Tengo return to San Diego, where they played one of their “all-time favorite shows.”
James McNew (left) and Yo La Tengo return to San Diego, where they played one of their “all-time favorite shows.”

In 1990, Hoboken natives Yo La Tengo released Fakebook — an album composed of cover songs, reworked tunes, and a handful of original compositions. 25 years later, the band is revisiting that template with Stuff Like That There. In strict adherence to the original recipe, they have brought back the original producer (Gene Holder) and former Yo La Tengo member Dave Schramm.

Sponsored
Sponsored

James McNew, who joined Yo La Tengo on bass about a year after Fakebook came out, bit the bullet and learned how to play upright bass to complement the original album’s instrumentation.

Video:

"Friday I'm in Love"

...from Yo La Tengo's <em>Stuff Like That There</em>, a cover of the Cure's single.

...from Yo La Tengo's Stuff Like That There, a cover of the Cure's single.

“It kind of rearranged my molecular structure as a bass player,” McNew explained to the Reader. “It almost changed my entire physiology in just the way you live your life as an upright bass player as opposed to an electric bass player. It’s all new muscle groups and discovering parts of the spine that you didn’t know were there. It’s completely different, but really enjoyable...except for the part where you have to carry it around.”

Fans can expect to see McNew lugging his new instrument into the Observatory for the band’s concert with Blitzen Trapper on November 12.

One of the covers on the new disc is a stripped-down take of the Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love,” with drummer Georgia Hubley tackling the vocals. The group shot a video for the song, which has piled up 575K views in about three months. The video follows a rather subdued Hubley as she casually sings the song while a barrage of gigantic heart-shaped asteroids take out her neighbors one by one.

Past Event

Yo La Tengo and Blitzen Trapper

“The final product was insane and better than any of us ever dreamed,” McNew explained. “I think we came up with the germ of the idea of Georgia walking around, kind of lost in her own world singing to herself. Then we contacted the director, Jason Woliner, who’s been a friend of ours for a while. We are big fans of his work, and he said, ‘That sounds great, let me call you back on Monday.’ And then on that Monday, he basically had that entire video that you see now written out. Not only that, but he had all the technical stuff worked out already, and he knew exactly how he could get all the shots and effects that he wanted, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t do it. And then we did it in a day. We went out to Los Angeles and did it in a few different parts of town. It was awesome. It was so much fun when we got to see it.”

About eight years prior, and two hours south, Yo La Tengo performed what was apparently one of the band’s favorite sets at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla on November 4, 2007.

“We had a fantastic show — one of those shows of a lifetime. We did a freewheeling Yo La Tengo show where we would play acoustically and talk most of the show. It was one of the all-time favorite shows of ours. It was our first and only visit to La Jolla,” McNew said.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Next Article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”
James McNew (left) and Yo La Tengo return to San Diego, where they played one of their “all-time favorite shows.”
James McNew (left) and Yo La Tengo return to San Diego, where they played one of their “all-time favorite shows.”

In 1990, Hoboken natives Yo La Tengo released Fakebook — an album composed of cover songs, reworked tunes, and a handful of original compositions. 25 years later, the band is revisiting that template with Stuff Like That There. In strict adherence to the original recipe, they have brought back the original producer (Gene Holder) and former Yo La Tengo member Dave Schramm.

Sponsored
Sponsored

James McNew, who joined Yo La Tengo on bass about a year after Fakebook came out, bit the bullet and learned how to play upright bass to complement the original album’s instrumentation.

Video:

"Friday I'm in Love"

...from Yo La Tengo's <em>Stuff Like That There</em>, a cover of the Cure's single.

...from Yo La Tengo's Stuff Like That There, a cover of the Cure's single.

“It kind of rearranged my molecular structure as a bass player,” McNew explained to the Reader. “It almost changed my entire physiology in just the way you live your life as an upright bass player as opposed to an electric bass player. It’s all new muscle groups and discovering parts of the spine that you didn’t know were there. It’s completely different, but really enjoyable...except for the part where you have to carry it around.”

Fans can expect to see McNew lugging his new instrument into the Observatory for the band’s concert with Blitzen Trapper on November 12.

One of the covers on the new disc is a stripped-down take of the Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love,” with drummer Georgia Hubley tackling the vocals. The group shot a video for the song, which has piled up 575K views in about three months. The video follows a rather subdued Hubley as she casually sings the song while a barrage of gigantic heart-shaped asteroids take out her neighbors one by one.

Past Event

Yo La Tengo and Blitzen Trapper

“The final product was insane and better than any of us ever dreamed,” McNew explained. “I think we came up with the germ of the idea of Georgia walking around, kind of lost in her own world singing to herself. Then we contacted the director, Jason Woliner, who’s been a friend of ours for a while. We are big fans of his work, and he said, ‘That sounds great, let me call you back on Monday.’ And then on that Monday, he basically had that entire video that you see now written out. Not only that, but he had all the technical stuff worked out already, and he knew exactly how he could get all the shots and effects that he wanted, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t do it. And then we did it in a day. We went out to Los Angeles and did it in a few different parts of town. It was awesome. It was so much fun when we got to see it.”

About eight years prior, and two hours south, Yo La Tengo performed what was apparently one of the band’s favorite sets at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla on November 4, 2007.

“We had a fantastic show — one of those shows of a lifetime. We did a freewheeling Yo La Tengo show where we would play acoustically and talk most of the show. It was one of the all-time favorite shows of ours. It was our first and only visit to La Jolla,” McNew said.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Next Article

The Art Of Dr. Seuss, Boarded: A New Pirate Adventure, Wild Horses Festival

Events December 26-December 30, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader