Doom & Gloom From the Tomb

Number 15: Spotlight On James McNew (Sunsquashed Archives)

Let’s hear it for James McNew! Yo La Tengo had bad luck when it came to bassists until he joined the band’s ranks in the early 90s — incredibly, McNew was the 15th (!) bassist to play with them. But they’ve never needed to look for anyone else since. And of course, the enormously talented James does much more than simply hold down the low end, contributing vocals, keyboards, guitars, percussion, songs and much more to the mix. For our latest edition of the Sunsquashed Archives, we’ve got a compilation that puts the spotlight on No. 15, featuring James-centric tunes performed live onstage or on the radio in the past two decades or so. Covers abound, naturally, drawing from such disparate sources as The Rutles, Sparks, Sun Ra, The Beach Boys, and a certain skinny (purple) motherfucker with the high voice. Ira and Georgia are the backing band for most of this, though there are a few solo performances sprinkled in there, too. McNew isn’t particularly ambitious when it comes to his Dump solo project, but he’s quietly built up a solid body of work that nicely complements his main gig (and word has it that he’s working on a much-needed Dump box set/reissue project). As a bonus, we’ve also got a rare Dump set from one of Yo La’s recent “Spinning Wheel of Fortune” shows, which is totally awesome, and includes my fave Dump song, “Hope, Joe,” not to mention a monstrous jam on “Daily Affirmation.”  

NUMBER 15

1. Down To The Sea In Ships, 1992/08/21a CBGB
2. Slow Down, 1995/05/12a Record Exchange, Chapel Hill, NC
3. I Want To Be With You (Bonzo Dog Band), 1995/06/20a Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW
4. So Sedimentary (Faith & John Hubley/Quincy Jones), 1996/03/09 WFMU
5. I Can Hear Music (Greenwich/Barry), 1997/07/01 WFMU
6. Principal Punishes Students With Bad Impressions and Tired Jokes (Jad Fair/YLT), 1998/08/08 Festival du Sudoeste, Sudoeste, PT
7. When U Were Mine (Prince), 1999/03/13 WFMU
8. Sloop John B (Trad./Beach Boys), 1999/12/12 Aligre FM, Paris, FR
9. You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate), 2000/11/24 Bowery Ballroom
10. Clumsy Grandmother Makes Delicious Dessert By Mistake (Jad Fair/YLT), 2001/02/18 La Trastienda, Buenos Aires, AR
11. Cheese and Onions (Neil Innes), 2002/03/16 WFMU
12. Ouch! (Neil Innes), 2004/12/08 Maxwell’s (with Calexico)
13. Nuclear War (Sun Ra), 2007/12/06 Maxwell’s
14. Black Flowers, 2008/04/08 Berkeley Church, Toronto, ONT
15. Tiny Birds, 2008/12/24 Maxwell’s
16. Angst In My Pants (Sparks), 2008/12/24 Maxwell’s (w/ Todd Barry on Drums)
17. 1999 (Prince), 2009/07/10 Maxwell’s
18. Daily Affirmation, 2010/06/08 The Tank, NYC

Download

Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA, Feb. 22, 2011 (Dump Set)

1. Basic Cable
2. Slow Down
3. Hope, Joe
4. Secret Blood
5. A Plea For Dump
6. The Beautiful Ones
7. Daily Affirmation
8. Superpowerless 

Download 

[new links, December 2012] 

Thanks again to all the tapers! In case you missed it, we’re posting these rare, fan-curated Yo La Tengo recordings in the lead-up to Jesse Jarnow’s Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock, published next month by Gotham Books. The first three installments are here, here and here. Jesse is on Twitter and Facebook, offering many more YLT treats. And of course, the band itself is at www.yolatengo.com.