Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo

Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo is a 2-disc compilation album by Yo La Tengo, consisting of rarities, alternate versions, and out-takes, spanning 1988 to 1995. The album was released on Matador in 1996; a Japanese version with two extra tracks appeared in 1998.

The title is a pun on the 1960 Ray Charles album, Genius+Soul=Jazz. (“The Genius” was Charles’ nickname.)

The first disc contains songs with vocals. There are several cover songs, such as John Cale’s “Hanky Panky Nohow,” The Velvet Underground’s “I’m Set Free,” Beat Happening’s “Cast A Shadow,” and Wire’s “Too Late.” The cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Speeding Motorcycle” features Johnston calling in his vocals to the song via telephone. “Demons” originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1995 film I Shot Andy Warhol (in which YLT appeared as a Velvet Underground-esque band).

The second disc consists entirely of instrumental pieces. Included are songs previously recorded by the group (such as an 8-second drum solo), and covers, such as a wedding-band-like rendition of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop.” “Sunsquashed” is a 26-minute psychedelic jam, from which one of the band’s main fansites took its name.