A couple of months ago I realised that my impression of two nineties bands, Sloan and Yo La Tengo, was completely wrong. I had somehow gotten it into my head that Sloan was a jokey version of Weezer and Yo La Tengo was a clappy, yappy, shouty thing. Very very wrong. They are, in fact, both great and both bands that would’ve added immeasurable pleasure to my life if I’d discovered them back in the day.
So, where to start with a couple of bands that have been going for three decades? Rather than go with a handy “essentials” playlist, I just chose the album from each band that had the song that made me change my mind about them. For Sloan that was Twice Removed because of I Can Feel It and for Yo La Tengo it was Painful because of I Heard You Looking, and played them over and over, letting them soak into me.
Is there anything as nice as slowly discovering an album? You start with the hook song, then a couple of others reveal their treasures, then the ones you’d skip over turn out to be the one you look forward to the most.
I’ve gone through that with both of those albums and I’m ready to make space for more. Rather than be guided by the internet in the case of Yo La Tengo or my superfan friend for Sloan, I’ve just picked one at random from around the same time. The winners are Sloan’s One Chord to Another and Yo La Tengo’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One. Let the fun begin.