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Yo La Tengo

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Hoboken, New York NJ, United States (1984 – present)

Yo La Tengo is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, vocals), and James McNew (bass, vocals).

Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called “the quintessential critics’ band” and maintain a strong cult following. Additionally, the band is renowned for its encyclopedic repertoire of cover songs both in live performance and on record.

Formation and Early History: 1984–1985

Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, a husband/wife duo, formed the band in 1984. They chose the name “Yo La Tengo” (Spanish for “I’ve got it!”) in an effort to avoid any connotations in English. The name came from a baseball anecdote. During the 1962 season, New York Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and Venezuelan shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, “I got it! I got it!” only to run into Chacón, who spoke only Spanish. Ashburn learned to yell, “¡Yo la tengo! ¡Yo la tengo!” instead. In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by left fielder Frank Thomas, who understood no Spanish and had missed a team meeting that proposed using the words “¡Yo la tengo! as a way to avoid outfield collisions. After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn, “What the heck is a Yellow Tango?”.

Tagged as:

indie, indie rock, alternative, indie pop, rock
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Top Albums

I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
Yo La Tengo
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Fakebook
Yo La Tengo
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Popular Songs
Yo La Tengo
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May I Sing With Me
Yo La Tengo
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Top Tracks

1	Here to fall	1,949
2	periodically double or triple	1,348
3	Nothing to Hide	1,309
4	Avalon or Someone Very Similar	1,298
5	Autumn Sweater	1,191
6	Gentle Hour	1,158
7	Sugarcube	1,039
8	If it's true	963
9	All your secrets	948
10	Fourth Time Around full track	922
11	Our Way to Fall	921
12	By Two's	911
13	Stockholm Syndrome	903
14	More Stars than there are in heaven	862
15	I'm on my way	826

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RichDude4Life wrote:
3 hours ago

download Yo La Tengo ringtones now for free at http://tiny.cc/MQsGh

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Stretchead wrote:
yesterday evening

We all make mistakes. That's what I love.

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johanathanowl wrote:
Monday afternoon

best band ever

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Crustclock wrote:
Sunday evening

'Yo La Tengo Is Murdering The Classics' is hilarious. What a great band.

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xNotverynicex wrote:
Saturday evening

Come to Colombia!!!

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bkelleher wrote:
Saturday morning

of course, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is better.

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ar99 wrote:
Saturday morning

http://turningthelightbulb.wordpress.com/

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bkelleher wrote:
Saturday morning

I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One is currently on repeat. It's. So. Good.

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Stone_Birds wrote:
Wednesday evening

i just watched the music video for "Periodically double or triple" it's very "Juicy"... literally

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alvareo wrote:
Wednesday afternoon

@1nnervision: No, but I have a link to Facebook. http://facebook.com

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clark_ wrote:
Wednesday morning

The Race is on Again!

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gahoonisme wrote:
7 days ago

Watch adventureland you all!

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1nnervision wrote:
7 days ago

Anyone have a link to Fakebook? thank you...

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Stone_Birds wrote:
7 days ago

i covered "Autumn Sweater": http://www.last.fm/music/Stone+Birds/Early%2BCremation%253A%2BCovers%2B%2526%2BRemixes%2B2009 (FREE download of my cover in the link)

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AndreaVolta wrote:
8 days ago

they are a legend

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rikkimccabe wrote:
10 days ago

Looking forward to seeing you in the Perth International Arts Festival :)

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gooberturd wrote:
12 days ago

oh man, im becoming obsessed with them. its taken almost a year. but im finally "getting it" and falling in love with their music

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cara__ wrote:
14 days ago

i really miss you. come back to london soon.

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Sunzy wrote:
15 days ago

whoa, I love Gentle Hour.

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Lahiri wrote:
15 days ago

Please listen here! http://www.last.fm/music/And+This+Again ;-)

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Videos

Events

Jan 22 Yo La Tengo The Crofoot, Pontiac, MI, Detroit, United States
7 shouts | 59 attendees
Jan 23 Yo La Tengo Barrymore Theatre, Madison WI, United States
Add shout | 21 attendees
Jan 24 Yo La Tengo The Pageant, Saint Louis, St Louis MO, United States
1 shout | 36 attendees

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News

of olives and dame judi dench

21 Mar 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/yolatengo

Hello out there radio lovers,If you find yourselves in front of a radio and/or a computerSaturday afternoon between 1 pm and 3 pm, eastern time, I hope you'lltune in to WFMU as I return to the airwave. …

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Friday the 13th, Part 14
8 Mar 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/yolatengo
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Hanukkah 2008 Diary and Happy 2009!!
1 Jan 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/yolatengo
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Hanukkah 2008 Diary and Happy 2009!!
1 Jan 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/yolatengo
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