And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Studio album by Yo La Tengo
Released February 22, 2000
Recorded Nashville, Tennessee
Genre Dream pop, indie rock, Lo-fi, Slowcore
Length 77:15
Label Matador
Producer Roger Moutenot
Yo La Tengo chronology
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
(1997)
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
(2000)
The Sounds of the Sounds of Science
(2002)
Singles from And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
  1. "You Can Have It All"
    Released: May 25, 1999
  2. "Saturday"
    Released: January 31, 2000

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 positive reviews from critics.

Recording and release

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out was recorded at Alex the Great in Nashville, Tennessee and mixed at the Big House in Manhattan, New York City. The album was produced by Roger Moutenot and released on February 22, 2000 by Matador Records. The title of the album is likely derived from a Sun Ra quote: "...At first there was nothing...then nothing turned itself inside-out and became something". The album artwork is made up of photographs by surrealist photographer and Yale professor Gregory Crewdson. As of January 2003, the album has sold 114,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.[1]

Music and lyrics

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out marks a creative shift in Yo La Tengo's songwriting with a greatly slower approach. The band continued to expand on their simplistic songwriting. Many songs on the album are soft ballads with very airy percussion and background noises. However, the guitars and bass provide a strong undertone of reverberation. The album also features an array of backing instruments such as vibraphone and drum machines, which all lend an expansion of musical textures and differentiation of timbre.

Yo La Tengo deliver more subdued art-pop songs on this album than on any other. However, their noise rock influence is also most present in songs like "Saturday", "Cherry Chapstick", "Tired Hippo", and the 17-minute epic "Night Falls on Hoboken". The title "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House" comes from an episode of The Simpsons, titled "Marge on the Lam". It is the name of a telethon that actor Troy McClure previously hosted. During this period, many of their tracks were given temp-titles based on Troy McClure's filmography.[2]

The song "The Crying of Lot G" is a reference to Thomas Pynchon's novel The Crying of Lot 49. "You Can Have It All" is a cover of the George McCrae song, originally written by Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band. Yo La Tengo's take is of a distinctly different style, with a much slower tempo. A techno version of "You Can Have It All" was used as Northwest Airlines's theme song under the Now You're Flying Smart slogan. The track "Our Way to Fall" appears in an episode of Six Feet Under titled "Driving Mr. Mossback" (season 2, episode 4).

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Alternative Press4/5[5]
Entertainment WeeklyA[6]
Melody Maker[7]
NME9/10[8]
Pitchfork Media8.1/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Spin8/10[12]
The Village VoiceB+[13]

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares felt that the album "isn't as immediate as some of the group's earlier work, but it's just as enduring, proving that Yo La Tengo is the perfect band to grow old with".[4] The album appeared at number 8 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 2000.[14] In 2009, Pitchfork Media ranked the album at number 37 on its list of The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s.[15] Similarly, the album was ranked at number 77 in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Best Albums of the 2000s.[16] In 2014, the album was ranked at number 44 in PopMatters' list of the 100 Best Albums of the 2000s.[17]

Track listing

All songs written by Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew except where noted.

  1. "Everyday" – 6:31
  2. "Our Way to Fall" – 4:18
  3. "Saturday" – 4:18
  4. "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House" – 4:59
  5. "Last Days of Disco" – 6:28
  6. "The Crying of Lot G" – 4:44
  7. "You Can Have It All" (Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch) – 4:36
  8. "Tears Are in Your Eyes" – 4:35
  9. "Cherry Chapstick" (Ira Kaplan) – 6:11
  10. "From Black to Blue" – 4:47
  11. "Madeline" – 3:36
  12. "Tired Hippo" – 4:45
  13. "Night Falls on Hoboken" – 17:42

References

  1. "Yo La Tengo Shines Up 'Summer' Songs". Billboard. 2003-01-31. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  2. Thompson, Stephen (2000-03-22). "Tengo inside out". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2006-06-14.
  3. "Reviews for And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out by Yo La Tengo". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  4. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out – Yo La Tengo". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  5. "Yo La Tengo: And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out". Alternative Press (140): 96. March 2000.
  6. Brunner, Rob (2000-03-03). "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
  7. "Yo La Tengo: And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out". Melody Maker: 53. March 14, 2000.
  8. "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out". NME. 2000-02-18. Archived from the original on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  9. Schreiber, Ryan (2000-02-29). "Yo La Tengo: And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  10. "Yo La Tengo: And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out". Q (163): 100. April 2000.
  11. Sheffield, Rob (2000-03-02). "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  12. Jacob, Sally (April 2000). "Turn In, Bliss Out". Spin 16 (4): 189–190. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  13. Christgau, Robert (2000-05-30). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
  14. "The 2000 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. 2001-02-20. Archived from the original on 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  15. "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 50-21 (Page 2)". Pitchfork Media. 2009-10-01. Archived from the original on 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  16. "100 Best Albums of the 2000s (Page 77)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  17. http://www.popmatters.com/feature/186482-the-100-best-albums-of-the-00s-60-41/P3/

External links

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