marblexyz@hotmail.com | Bellevue, WA United States | 06/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The bonus cd contains songs from previously released YLT albums, Painful, Electr-o-pura and I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One."
The best so far
a_music_fan_who_is | USA | 06/24/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love Yo La Tengo with all my heart and I think that this is their best album yet. Maybe it is just because I am so excited about it at the moment......cause all their stuff is good, so please buy it all......but it really IS beautiful. It should be listened to at nighttime! Around 9:45 at night....under the stars! With strawberry icecream! It is perfect! Please buy it, it will make you happy............ WHen you get it, please listen to Cherry Chaptstick, Saturday, Everyday.....well listen to the whole thing, but repeat those for me:-)"
Rock Out and Relax
a_music_fan_who_is | 06/13/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is perhaps the best Yo La Tengo album I have heard (although it is difficult to say, as all of their music is amazing). There are quite a few of their melodic slow/sad tunes, as well as some more rockin' songs. As usual, I was amazed by the combination of a compelling rhythm and surf-sounding guitar. If you like Yo La Tengo, or if you just like music that really makes you *feel* something, you should definitely get this album. Five stars isn't enough!"
Sumptuous in structure. a magnum opus
almosthappy | San Diego, CA, California | 05/17/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I attended an excenllent Yo La Tengo concert in Toronto lately, during which many songs from "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-out" were played. One of the things that fascinated me was the composition of the people that attended the concert. Many YLT fans attended the concert were also noticeably fans of artists such as Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney and My Bloody Valentine etc. I know this because of the scattered chit-chats I had with various people before and during the concert (I have also spotted a few Sonic Youth Washing Machine T-shirts). Also at the concert were the neo-hippies high school kids and college undergrads. There were also some boomers, the very simliar type of people that you'd usuaully meet at a Bob Dylan or Lou Reed concerts. I think the mixture of Yo La Tengo's fanbase says a lot about the band's music. There are many bands that are similar in someway to the aforementioned artists, but only Yo La Tengo can successfully gather all sorts of musical influences and create a highly original yet comfortably familiar sound. A strangely infectious art form. I like most of Yo La Tengo's albums, "And Then" is among their best achievements and it's probably one of my favorite albums. From cover art to composition, from lyrics to arrangements...A true magnum opus in every way. The songs on the disc are complex in structure and rich in emotions. Songs such as "Everyday", "Last Days of Discos" and "Tears Are In Your Eyes" easily bring tears to one's eyes. It's amazing how YLT can make the simplest words into moving and memorable music. In "Last Days of Disco", Ira croons softly "the songs said 'Don't be lonely', it makes me lonely, I hear it and I'm lonely more and more." So simplistic. Without knowing the song, the lyric looks retardedly common. But once you hear them through YLT, the same words sound chilling and extremely rich in suggestions. Songs such as "You Can Have It All" and "Cherry Chapstick" are like sonic catharsis that purifies the listeners' emotions. I would highly recommend this album to anyone who likes real music."
Timeless
tksc | 01/16/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"upon my initial listening, i was rather disappointed by the lack of catchy tunes (and the virtual absence of sonic noise). but more and more, and i've been listening to this album faithfully for nearly a year now, antiiso is, in my estimation, one of the greatest achievements in music in the past ten years. one can appreciate this album for the depth of the lyricism, both musically and verbally. there are sounds in here that are so gentle, so stunningly subtle that they defy characterization. take the low-key (and lo-fi) opening track "everyday." there are crackles and worbles (for a lack of a better anamonopoeia), scrapes and buzzes. it's amazing what imagination and a boxful of old stompboxes can really do in the absence of a total onslaught of noise. and the second track, "our way to fall," begins with georgia's gentle brushing: it's the sound of a slow march... we're on our way to fall in love, it goes. there are also lines like "and the song said 'let's be happy'... it made me happy" over a delicate stream of slide guitar and a polyvalent drumming. and georgia demonstrates that one can hit many beats without raising one's decibles. and james? he's solid as ever: minimal and ever musical. and ira?... it isn't until "cherry chapstick" that he unleashes his infamous guitar attack (along with georgia's own formidable wailing). but it's easy to forget the prodigious amount of quiet guitar sounds of the previous 30 minutes: from the aforementioned scrapes on the opening track to the ethereal ebow leadwork on "tears." then, there's the masterpiece: a seventeen minute mini-opus. what else can we call it? it's five minutes of a beautiful ballad and 12 minutes of unclassifiable sustained sounds: the acoustic guitar howls with controlled feedback while georgia eases into a comfortable, simple groove, complimented by james. then as the squeals and squaks echo, the opus turns into a rhythmic seance, complete with flanging and other "unclassifiable' oddities. simply: it is stunning.this album has been an old comfortable friend to me for the past year: a soundtrack and a wise sage, a gentle reminder of loss and love, the color gray.thanks georgia, james and ira."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1