exile in girlville

Songs I Probably Shouldn’t Listen To #23

Song: Damage
Artist: Yo La Tengo
Album: I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One

Key Lyric:

I used to think about you all the time
I would think about you all the time
Now it just feels weird, that there you are

Commentary:

Your friday night downer has come in the form of this song by Yo La Tengo. I love the opening line of this song as the narrator dryly asserts “Not much Friday night, pinball, Lower East Side.” It pretty much sums up the lethargic feelings in the wake of a breakup, or in my case nearly 5 months later. You pretty much don’t want to do anything and feel no desire to parade yourself throughout the city on a Friday night. In fact, I may want to find a pinball or arcade tonight for amusement.

This song is pretty much the definition of atmospheric and moody. It drags on for about 5 minutes with a steady bassline, fuzzy reverb thrown in, some haunting female vocals and a monotone delivery from an apathetic narrator. The lyrics are very sparse throughout the song, but the few words sung follow a recurring theme of “damaging relationships” within my list of songs.