| Popular Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Yo La Tengo | ||||
| Released | September 8, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | Early 2009, Hoboken, New Jersey and Nashville, Tennessee, United States [1] | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, indie pop [2] | |||
| Length | 72:49 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Matador | |||
| Producer | Roger Moutenot | |||
| Yo La Tengo chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Popular Songs | ||||
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Popular Songs is the twelfth full-length album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released digitally, on CD, and double LP on September 8, 2009, by the Matador record label. [3]
The band contacted the conceptual artist Dario Robleto. [4] He contributed three pieces for the album design:
Four videos were made by the director John McSwain to accompany one song from the album each. In the weeks leading up to the release of the album, a new video was posted on Matador's various "partner sites" and collected on Matador's own website. The first video, for "Here to Fall", was posted on Matador's own "Matablog" on July 28, 2009. [5]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100 [6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The A.V. Club | A− [8] |
| BBC Music | positive [9] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10 [10] |
| The Guardian | [11] |
| musicOMH | [12] |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10 [2] |
| PopMatters |   [13] |
| Rolling Stone |  [14] |
| Slant | [15] |
Popular Songs was leaked onto the Internet on July 26. In response, Matador began streaming the album to Buy Early Get Now customers on July 28, more than a week before the stream was originally advertised to begin. [16]
Popular Songs was released on September 8, 2009, by Matador. It was the eighth album to be given Matador's Buy Early Get Now treatment, [17] in which it was sold with a vinyl LP with Yo La Tengo's original score from the film Adventureland , as well as three bonus tracks as download in MP3 and FLAC. The first two of these downloads were demo versions of two album tracks and became available shortly before the release of the CD. The third download became available on December 15, 2009. The same track is also available in the iTunes Store and on the Japanese CD issue of the album. [18]
By 2012, it had sold over 43,000 copies in United States. [19]
All songs written by Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan and James McNew.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Here to Fall" | 5:45 |
| 2. | "Avalon or Someone Very Similar" | 3:17 |
| 3. | "By Two's" | 4:29 |
| 4. | "Nothing to Hide" | 2:46 |
| 5. | "Periodically Double or Triple" | 3:53 |
| 6. | "If It's True" | 2:39 |
| 7. | "I'm on My Way" | 4:35 |
| 8. | "When It's Dark" | 3:54 |
| 9. | "All Your Secrets" | 4:26 |
| 10. | "More Stars Than There Are in Heaven" | 9:39 |
| 11. | "The Fireside" | 11:25 |
| 12. | "And the Glitter Is Gone" | 15:54 |
String arrangements by Richard Evans
Produced by Roger Moutenot Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound
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, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew. In 2015, original guitarist Dave Schramm rejoined the band and appeared on their fourteenth album, Stuff Like That There.
Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass, Peter Prescott on drums, and Martin Swope contributing audiotape manipulation and acting as the band’s sound engineer. In this initial lineup, Miller, Conley, and Prescott all shared singing and songwriting duties.
Turn On the Bright Lights is the debut studio album by American rock band Interpol. It was released in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2002, and in the United States the following day, through independent record label Matador Records. The album was recorded in November 2001 at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was co-produced, mixed and engineered by Peter Katis and Gareth Jones. Its title is taken from a repeated line in the song "NYC".
Ira David Kaplan is a co-founder, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter in the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. He is married to the band's co-founder Georgia Hubley.
Barbara Manning is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose albums blend elements of rock, folk, pop and proto-punk. She is also known for her cover versions of often obscure pop songs. In addition to an acclaimed solo career, Manning has been active in a number of bands, including 28th Day, World of Pooh, SF Seals, and The Go-Luckys!.
There's a Riot Going On is the fifteenth full-length studio album by the American band Yo La Tengo, and was released through Matador Records on March 16, 2018.
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on April 22, 1997, by Matador Records. It was produced by Roger Moutenot and recorded at House of David in Nashville, Tennessee. The album expands the guitar-based pop of its predecessor Electr-O-Pura to encompass a variety of other music genres, including bossa nova, krautrock, and electronic music. Most of the songs on the album deal with melancholy emotions and range from short and fragile ballads to long and open-ended dissonance.
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on February 22, 2000, by Matador Records. The album received acclaim from critics.
Summer Sun is the tenth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on April 8, 2003 by record label Matador.
Painful is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in 1993 by record label Matador, their first for the label.
Electr-O-Pura is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on May 2, 1995, by record label Matador. The album received very positive reviews from music critics.
New Wave Hot Dogs is the second studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in 1987 by record label Coyote.
President Yo La Tengo is the third album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in 1989 by record label Coyote.
I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass is the eleventh full-length album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on September 12, 2006 by record label Matador.
Today Is the Day is an EP by Yo La Tengo, released in 2003 on Matador Records. The title track is a rock version of a song from the album Summer Sun.
Fuckbook is an album released by indie rock band Yo La Tengo under the alias Condo Fucks in 2009. The band name comes from an inner sleeve listing fake albums and genre send-ups included in their 1997 album I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One. Guitarist Ira Kaplan and drummer Georgia Hubley are credited on this album as Kid Condo and Georgia Condo, respectively. The Matador press release for the album creates a fictional backstory for the band that hints at the truth. The album is purportedly produced by Mutt Lange, mixed by Bob Clearmountain, and mastered by Greg Calbi, but this is unconfirmed and most likely part of the gag.
Fade is the thirteenth full-length album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. It was produced by John McEntire, instead of Roger Moutenot, who had produced all their albums since 1993's Painful. It was recorded at Soma in Chicago, in the summer of 2012. It was released on January 15, 2013.
"Stupid Things" is a song by Yo La Tengo, released as a single in 2012 on Matador Records.
Stuff Like That There is the fourteenth full-length album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in August 2015 by record label Matador.
Periodically Double or Triple is a song by American band Yo La Tengo, from their 2009 album Popular Songs. The music video was directed by John McSwain, and features stop motion animation with pieces of fruit, interspersed with close-ups of various people eating fruit.
