Yo La Tengo 2024 WFMU All-Request Marathon TODAY

March 12, 2024 12:23 PM

Yo La Tengo are once again playing requests for pledges beginning at 9pm US EDT TODAY (Sat March 9) on WFMU. Every year, Yo La Tengo perform requests live on-air in exchange for pledges, to help keep freeform noncommercial radio station WFMU (91.1 FM in Jersey City, NJ) on the air. This year is no exception. They will begin playing at 9pm US EDT Tuesday March 12, and will be playing listener requests for several more hours.
posted by trashflow (20 comments total)

OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:24 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]

Queueing up my favorite request, "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton."


HAIIIIL SATAN
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:31 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]

For those who, like me, may have been confused by "Sat March 9" in the write-up (since today is March 12) the WFMU site confirms that the correct date is March 12th.
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:14 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]

Sorry about the wrong date above! I must have had some kind of brain freeze! But yes, this event is TONIGHT (Tues March 12) at 9pm US EDT. I must have lost three days in the switch to daylight savings time.
posted by trashflow at 1:18 PM on March 12

Request to add "MurderingTheClassics" as a tag

I can't believe they've been doing this for 29 years

I can't believe we've been doing this on Metafilter for 22 years
posted by thecaddy at 1:43 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]

I am on an epic road trip this year and will miss this. But I love this mefi tradition.
posted by wheelieman at 4:34 PM on March 12

"Yo La Tengo plays cover song requests in exchange for pledges live on Jesse Jarnow’s The Frow Show"

I can't believe that's the same Jesse Jarnow who used to write long concert reviews on rec.music.phish 29 years ago (actually that totally makes sense - I was just continuing the theme).
posted by morspin at 4:34 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]

I love this tradition so much.
posted by EvaDestruction at 6:12 PM on March 12

Set One
Starry Eyes (Roky Erickson)
I'll Be Around (The Spinners)
My Girl Josephine (Fats Domino) (sung as "My Girl Jolene")
The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) (The Grateful Dead) (for Ira's mom)
The Flying Burrito Brothers - Sin City
posted by trashflow at 6:24 PM on March 12 [4 favorites]

Set Two
Clash City Rockers (The Clash)
Draggin’ the Line (Tommy James)
Why Can't I Touch It? (Buzzcocks)
Captain Lou (NRBQ)
Black To Comm (The MC5) (my request!) (RIP Wayne Kramer)
posted by trashflow at 6:51 PM on March 12 [4 favorites]

They killed it on that set!

And Ms. Intermod and I just watched the MC5 documentary that someone here helped us get a hold of!

Ha, Set 3 started off with (seemingly) the same chords as Set 2 :)
posted by intermod at 7:04 PM on March 12

Set Three
I Can't Explain (The Who)
Fa-Cé-La (The Feelies)
Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)
Come On Down to My Boat (Every Mother's Son)
Too Late (Wire)
posted by trashflow at 7:17 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]

Set Four
I Wanna Be With You (Raspberries)
All Day And All Of The Night (The Kinks)
Where Did Our Love Go? (Supremes / Soft Cell)
Dog Meat (Flamin' Groovies)
Farmer John (The Premiers et al) (w/ Todd-O-Phonic Todd & The Great Gaylord)
posted by trashflow at 7:40 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]

Set Five
Yellow Submarine (The Beatles) (w/ Matt Warwick)
The Concept (Teenage Fanclub) (w/ Matt Warwick)
I Want You Bad (NRBQ) (RIP Donn Adams) (1944 - 2023)
One Hundred Years From Now (Byrds / Gram Parsons)
Dance This Mess Around (The B52s)
posted by trashflow at 8:15 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]

Set Six
Rain (The Beatles)
A Love Bizarre (Sheila E w/ Prince)
You Got To Me (Neil Diamond) (covering Miriam Linna & Nobody's Babies' cover of this song)
Heaven Only Knows (The Shangri-Las) (RIP Mary Weiss) (Dec 28, 1948 - Jan 19, 2024)
Little Man With A Gun In His Hand (Minutemen)
Dreaming (Blondie)
posted by trashflow at 8:51 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]

I am so mad I missed them doing early Dead.
posted by HunterFelt at 9:03 PM on March 12

The medley was worth staying up for, as always. That interpretation of "War Pigs" was immaculate.
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:26 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]

Set Seven
1969 (The Stooges)
Pretty In Pink (The Psychedelic Furs)
Gimme Little Sign (Brenton Wood)
Pablo Picasso (Modern Lovers) medley, including Ride Your Pony (Lee Dorsey); Don't Go Back To Rockville (R.E.M.); Making Plans For Nigel (XTC); Jump (Van Halen); Gloria: In Excelsis Deo (Patti Smith); Wiggle Wiggle (Bob Dylan); Baby Blue (Badfinger); "I'm Excited Again" (??); King Kong (The Kinks); Bertha (Grateful Dead); Dixie Chicken (Little Feat); Jailbreak / The Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy); The Only Living Boy In New York (Simon & Garfunkel); I Know There’s An Answer (a/k/a "Hang On to Your Ego") (Beach Boys); War Pigs (Black Sabbath); Idiot Wind (Bob Dylan); "You Broke My Heart" (?); Waiting Room (Fugazi); American Girl (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers); Crimson & Clover (Tommy James & The Shondells).
posted by trashflow at 9:36 PM on March 12 [4 favorites]

Final Tracklist (with corrections and annotations):

Set One
Starry Eyes (Roky Erickson)
I'll Be Around (The Spinners)
My Girl Josephine (Fats Domino)
The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) (The Grateful Dead) (for Ira's mom)
Sin City (The Flying Burrito Brothers)

Set Two
Clash City Rockers (The Clash)
Draggin’ the Line (Tommy James)
Why Can't I Touch It? (Buzzcocks)
Captain Lou (NRBQ) (RIP Donn Adams) (1944 - 2023)
Black To Comm (The MC5) (my request) (RIP Wayne Kramer) (April 30, 1948 - Feb 2, 2024)

Set Three
I Can't Explain (The Who)
Fa-Cé-La (The Feelies)
Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)
Come On Down to My Boat (Every Mother's Son)
Too Late (Wire)

Set Four
I Wanna Be With You (Raspberries) (RIP Eric Carmen) (Aug 11, 1949 - March 10, 2024) (Vicky Wheeler's request)
All Day And All Of The Night (The Kinks)
Where Did Our Love Go? (Supremes / Soft Cell)
Dog Meat (Flamin' Groovies) (w/ Evan Funk Davies on maracas)
Farmer John (The Premiers, Don & Dewey, et al) (w/ Todd-O-Phonic Todd & The Great Gaylord on vox and Evan Funk Davies on maracas)

Set Five
Yellow Submarine (The Beatles) (w/ Matt Warwick)
The Concept (Teenage Fanclub) (w/ Matt Warwick) (Elizabeth Nelson Bracy's request)
I Want You Bad (NRBQ) (RIP Donn Adams) (1944 - 2023) (w/ Matt Warwick) (Timothy Bracy's request)
One Hundred Years From Now (Byrds / Gram Parsons) (w/ Matt Warwick)
Dance This Mess Around (The B52s) (w/ Matt Warwick)

Set Six
Rain (The Beatles)
A Love Bizarre (Sheila E w/ Prince)
You Got To Me (Neil Diamond) (covering Miriam Linna & Nobody's Babies' cover of this song)
Heaven Only Knows (The Shangri-Las) (RIP Mary Weiss) (Dec 28, 1948 - Jan 19, 2024)
Little Man With A Gun In His Hand (Minutemen) (Paul Nini's request)
Dreaming (Blondie)

Set Seven
1969 (The Stooges)
Pretty In Pink (The Psychedelic Furs)
Gimme Little Sign (Brenton Wood)
Pablo Picasso (Modern Lovers) medley, including Ride Your Pony (Lee Dorsey); Don't Go Back To Rockville (R.E.M.); Making Plans For Nigel (XTC); Jump (Van Halen); Gloria: In Excelsis Deo (Patti Smith); Wiggle Wiggle (Bob Dylan); Baby Blue (Badfinger); Lightning Strikes (Lou Christie); King Kong (The Kinks); Bertha (Grateful Dead); Willin’ / Dixie Chicken (Little Feat); Jailbreak / The Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy); The Only Living Boy In New York (Simon & Garfunkel); I Know There’s An Answer (a/k/a "Hang On to Your Ego") (Beach Boys); War Pigs (Black Sabbath); Idiot Wind (Bob Dylan); "You Broke My Heart" (?); Waiting Room (Fugazi); American Girl (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers); Crimson & Clover (Tommy James & The Shondells).
posted by trashflow at 7:47 PM on March 13 [3 favorites]

Thank you trashflow for the OPP alert and then the setlist. This was the first year that I knew about this event more than a few hours ahead of time, and it was fantastic to be able to PLAN to be able to listen to the while thing. What a riot!
posted by intermod at 8:51 PM on March 13