From release to release, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have grown considerably, moving from the arty yet anthemic garage punk of their self-titled EP to Machine's angular urgency. Fever to Tell, their first full-length and major-label debut, also shows growth, but for the first time the band doesn't sound completely in control of the proceedings. Their EPs were masterful studies in contrast and economy, balancing just the right amounts of noise, melody, chaos, and structure within 15 to 20 minutes. It's possible that the band needs the limits of an EP to give their music some boundaries; at 37 minutes, Fever to Tell manages to sound, at different times, scattered and monotonous. Most of this can be chalked up to poor sequencing -- the album opens with some of the raunchiest noise the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have ever recorded, then abruptly changes gears and delivers a kitchen sink's worth of pretty allads and experimental pieces. Ironically enough, the sudden switch makes Fever to Tell feel more like two EPs' worth of songs slapped together than playing their actual EPs back to back does. Both the old and new sides of the band's sound offer brilliant and frustrating moments: "Rich," a sneering sugar-mommy story; "Black Tongue," which features the great lyric "let's do this like a prison break" and is almost Hasil Adkins-esque in its screwed-up sexuality and ockabilly licks; and "A Date With the Night," a rattling, screeching joy ride of a song, combine Karen O's unearthly vocals, Nick Zinner's ever-expanding guitar prowess, and Brian Chase's powerful drumming in familiar but fresh ways. Not so good are the insanely noisy but underdeveloped "Man" and "Tick," which have enough volume and attitude to make the Kills and Jon Spencer turn pale, but also sound like they're coasting on those qualities. Interestingly, the moody, romantic songs on Fever to Tell are the most genuine; before the its release, Karen O hinted that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' new material would reflect the fact that she fell in love prior to making the album. "Pin" and "Y Control" have great guitar lines and a unique, bittersweet bounciness, while the unabashedly gorgeous, sentimental "Maps" is not only among the band's finest work but one of the best indie/punk love songs in a long, long time. Along with "Modern Romance," a pretty but vaguely sinister meditation on the lack thereof, these songs compensate for some of Fever to Tell's missteps (such as "No No No," a lengthy, halting mishmash of punk and dubby experimentalism), although it's unfortunate that they all arrive at the end of the album. Perhaps they should've included some of their tried-and-tested songs from their EPs, but for a group as mercurial as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs that would probably be stagnation. Indeed, they've cranked out so many songs in such a short time that, despite being their debut, the album almost feels like a transitional release; they're already rethinking their sound in radical ways. Ultimately, Fever to Tell might be slightly disappointing, but it delivers slightly more than an EP's worth of good-to-great songs, proving that even when they're uneven, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are still an exciting band.
Though they usually don't pop up until December, various music outlets are flooding the marketplace with their "best-of" lists a little early this year. The occasion? A chance to gauge the most "important" albums of this century's first decade. But just because a record is important, does that make it the best? This year's lists provide a test subject on the matter. Check out just a few al...
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Not too bad of a month of releases. Looking forward to hearing some of these.Diana Krall - Quiet NightsKeith Urban - Defying GravityLeonard Cohen - Live in LondonQueensryche - American SoldierYeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!John Parish and PJ Harvey - A Woman A Man Walked ByGavin DeGraw - FreePeter Bjorn and John - Living ThingGomez - A New TideFlo Rida - R.o.o.t.s.John Scofield - Piety StreetJim ...
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...when 300 dropped a couple of months ago and all of the hype was in full swing, I couldn't help but recall similar circumstances that took place in the lead up to the release of another film based on similar themes from the same region, Troy...as it turns out when the latter was released I covered it for a review but it never went into press...that's what blogs are for, son...it'll give you s...
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This song never fails to move me. Which songs bring you to tears?
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Though they usually don't pop up until December, various music outlets are flooding the marketplace with their "best-of" lists a little early this year. The occasion? A chance to gauge the most "important" albums of this century's first decade. But just because a record is important, does that make it the best? This year's lists provide a test subject on the matter. Check out just a few al...
More >
It's incredibly hard to believe it's been ten years since the formation of both the ATP Festivals and iconic New York band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. So someone, somewhere thought it'd be a good idea to have a celebration of both.
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I love,love, LOVE this song! Never knew it has a video...such amazing lyrics!!But I think someone needs to follow up on these kids in the video, I am betting that at least half of them have severe psychological issues as a result of making this video...such creepy imagery!
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I was just about asleep. On the couch. Friday night. When I heard the TV announcer say that Yes would be playing at the Commodore Ballroom on Feb 15.I've never been to the Commodore, but as I lay there in my half asleep state, I vowed I would be heading there on Feb 15. Having never been there, I can't really comment on the venue, except to say that it's a club on the top floor of an older buil...
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs have announced plans to play Minehead, Englands’ All Tomorrow’s Parties fest next month.Karen O‘ and co. will be playing their debut album, ‘Fever To Tell‘, in it’s entirety when they play the three-day fest.ATP will run December 11-13 and will see performances by Devendra Banhart, Modest Mouse, Deerhoof, and The Mars Volta, among others.You can see the entire line-up b
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Directions from New York to London:1. go to www.google.com2. click on "maps" (above the search box)3. click on "get directions" (under the search box)4. type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)5. type "London" in the second box (the "to" box)6. SCROLL DOWN TO STEP #23 and proceed to laugh.MUSIC TIE IN:
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...when 300 dropped a couple of months ago and all of the hype was in full swing, I couldn't help but recall similar circumstances that took place in the lead up to the release of another film based on similar themes from the same region, Troy...as it turns out when the latter was released I covered it for a review but it never went into press...that's what blogs are for, son...it'll give you s...
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...ever find yourself in one of those moments where you're not saying "goodbye" but "see you soon" to someone you really care about? I'm caught up in one of those moments in real-time as my lady just got on her flight back to Europe and I probably won't see her in the flesh for a few months or so...blessed be the MacBook and it's internal video camera...but I will say this: we had hella fun, yo!
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I've been digging the Yeah Yeah Yeah's since they released their first EP on their own. I like this track, "Rich," off their debut album and thought you might be in the mood too.
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This song never fails to move me. Which songs bring you to tears?
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Rogue Wave - Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs Cover) Rogue Wave did an incredible job of covering the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' breakthrough hit "Maps" for the Valentine's Day-themed compilation, Sweetheart. I keep pushing this compilation, but it's almost V-Day! So it's now or never. I think of the songs I have let you in on so far, [...]
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Not too bad of a month of releases. Looking forward to hearing some of these.Diana Krall - Quiet NightsKeith Urban - Defying GravityLeonard Cohen - Live in LondonQueensryche - American SoldierYeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!John Parish and PJ Harvey - A Woman A Man Walked ByGavin DeGraw - FreePeter Bjorn and John - Living ThingGomez - A New TideFlo Rida - R.o.o.t.s.John Scofield - Piety StreetJim ...
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I've been spending a lot of time recently combing through Pitchfork's list of the top 500 songs of the decade, but one thing that has annoyed me is that I can't find a site that actually lists all 500 songs on one page. I'm tired of having to scroll through page after page. So, I'm doing it myself.Here's the complete list, republished merely as a reference. Go to www.pitchfork.com to see the full
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I can't reeally do this project justice, so I'll just let Buffetlibre DJ's do it for you. Read on below for the goods on how epic this compilation is. Hello ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, and all other life forms. Welcome onboard this RWD2 flight to the sounds of yesteryear. On behalf of Captain Marc and the crew of Buffetlibre, it is our pleasure to accompany you today on this journ...
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After reading "lemontwist's post":http://mog.com/lemontwist/blog_post/8795 on associating Tegan and Sara with Doctor Who, I started to think about songs that I have memories or thoughts attached to. One example would the song 'Maps' by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Whenever I see that song in my library I think of a joke I have with one of my friends: ever since we saw the Blair Witch Project my frien...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Rich |
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| 2 Date with the Night |
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| 3 Man |
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| 4 Tick |
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| 5 Black Tongue |
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| 6 Pin |
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| 7 Cold Light |
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| 8 No No No |
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| 9 Maps |
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| 10 Y Control |
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| 11 Modern Romance |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Fever to Tell")
