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Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo - Strange But True Audio CD

A fair review of the Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo "Strange But True" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo reviews here, or go back to the Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo tabs.

Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo Band: Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo
Title: Strange But True
Rating:
Release Date: 1998-10-20
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Helpful Monkeys Wallpapers Entire Home 2: Texas Man Abducted by Aliens for Outer Space Joy Ride 3: National Sports Association Hires Retired English Professor to ... 4: Dedicated Thespian Has Teeth Pulled to Play Newborn Baby in Highschool 5: Three-Year-Old Genius Graduates High School at Top of Her Class 6: Embarrased Teen Accidentally Uses Valuable Rare Postage Stamp 7: Principal Punishes Students With Bad Impressions and Tired Jokes 8: Retired Grocer Constructs Tiny Mount Rushmore Entirely of Cheese 9: X-Ray Reveals Doctor Left Wristwatch Inside Patient 10: Clumsy Grandmother Serves Delicious Dessert by Mistake #2 11: Retired Woman Starts New Career in Monkey Fashions 12: Circus Strongman Runs for Pta President 13: High School Shop Class Constructs Bicycle Built for 26 14: Clumsy Grandmother Serves Delicious Dessert by Mistake #1 15: Ohio Town Saved from Killer Bees by Hungry Vampire Bats 16: Nevada Man Invents Piano With 21 Extra Keys 17: Clever Chemist Makes Chewing Gum from Soap 18: Minnesota Man Claims Monkey Bowled Perfect Game 19: Ingenious Scientist Invents Car of the Future 20: Car Gears Stick in Reverse, Daring Driver Crosses Town Backwards 21: Shocking Fashion Statement Terrorizes Town 22: Feisty Millionaire Fills Potholes With Hundred-Dollar Bills

David Fair is a poor, poor songwriter
David's songs sound like they were written by a 12-year-old -- all obvious rhymes and stupid punchlines. Yo La Tengo's music here is lazy, but Jad Fair's decision to recite joke lyrics written by his brother David is what really kills this record. It's ghastly.


Great Find!
This album is a gem-- Yo La Tengo's beautiful complexity and precision juxtaposed with Fair's from-the-guts-spontaneity, which has always sounded like a teenager recording songs on a bedroom boombox. As other reviewers have said, "Yo La Tengo fans beware!" Half-Japanese/Jad & David Fair fans will be delighted, however, to have their favorite odd-ball lyricist (I believe David Fair wrote most of the lyrics) and lo-fi songwriting master (perhaps outside of Daniel Johnston) backed-up by some of the premier instrumentalists of the 90's. It's a long way from Yo La Tengo's usual eerily-soft and clouded vocals and with Fair taking over we're forced to see both teams from a different perspective: Yo La Tengo comes out sounding more angular and grating, Jad Fair more introspective, but only by virtue of the new contrast-- all players remain themselves, as freely and creatively as ever.

But all my praises notwithstanding, the album remains a great experiment but hardly a masterpiece. Essential, maybe, to Jad Fair fans but probably a novelty to Yo La Tengo listeners who may not have the taste for beauty-in-ugliness aesthetic that appreciation for Half-Japanese has always required.


Fairly good
After repeated listenings I hold it to be actually a pretty good Fair record. I edit my old review, having revalued this Fair/YLT release. One of the better of the era in which it was recorded (1994-96). I would also agree with those seeing this album as a mainly Jad Fair production, with YLT backing up Fair in his lo-fi esse, and as such it should be recommended to his fans. And, yes, one has to appreciate the kinda "weird" aestethics to see the greatness of this album. I would upgrade my stars to four if it was possible, but it isn't.


yo la tengo fans beware. . .
. . jad fair's cutesy contrivances are so utterly unclever and outright annoying that they make this unlistenable. would the music stand alone as instrumentals (a la the infinitely superior 'genius + love')? i really can't say because i can't get past jad's pretensions (they're not even original; they were supposedly clipped from tabloid headlines). i saw this performed live and was so upset that i couldn't listen to any yo la tengo albums for weeks afterwards. however, if you're into jad, or think live introductions like "this is a song about a circus strongman who runs for pta president. it's called circus strongman runs for pta president'" are scintillating, then go for it.


An exercise in weirdness, but little more than that

I give this 2 stars for a certain curiosity factor and for the kinda wacky lyrics, but in terms of music and production, this is a far cry from other Yo La Tengo albums. Yo La Tengo fans should beware; this album is not exactly what they might expect. "Weak" sounds like an understatement.

Even though the music is credited to YLT, this is much more of a Jad Fair album. Their musical talents hardly shine through as the production is a devil-may-care kind of lo-fi, the songs rarely extend beyond 2 minutes and seem mere fragmented vehicles to transport Fair's jumbled vocals. A major disappointment.


You can see a complete list of all Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo discography, or go back to the Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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