Weekly Top 10: Songs About Autumn

Though we're about a week late, autumn is upon us. As the signs of fall (and in Syracuse, winter) form around us, what better to ring in the new season than music? As much as I wanted all of these songs to be named "autumn-something," that didn't happen. Yet, surprisingly, the end result was still just as good. Every song here either has an autumn-esque name, evokes images of the season, or both. I think it's a pretty good time. You should check it out too if you feel like you need a playlist for walking past the orange and red leaves in the morning.

[Previously on Animal Noises: Weekly Top 10: Songs Under Two Minutes Long]

Weekly Top 10: Songs About Baseball

With the baseball season winding down (though mine technically ended months ago), I thought this would be an appropriate time to talk about some of our favorite songs about baseball. Most of them you probably know. One of them ("Today Is the Day") actually isn't, but since Yo La Tengo is named for a baseball-related term ("I've got it"), I had to pick a track from them. Also, please excuse the Joe Cocker version of "Catfish"-- Imeem didn't have Bob Dylan's original. And yes, "Meet the Mets" is one of the greatest baseball-related songs to ever grace this earth. Don't hate. It's been a rough year to be a Mets fan already, if you haven't noticed.

[Previously on Animal Noises: Weekly Top 10: Cover Songs]

Tuesday's Releases (9/8): Now Streaming

Welcome to another week of great releases here as we enter the end of the summer, and begin to transition into fall. Once again, we've got an extensive selection of records to choose from and browse over at Spinner, so by all means, stream away. As always, credit for the original idea goes out to LargeHeartedBoy. Also, for reviews not posted up by me here, consult the larger volume of reviews which I supervise over at 20 Watts.

• In Prism, Polvo
• Popular Songs, Yo La Tengo
• Hearbeat Radio, Sondre Lerche
• The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z
• Two Dancers, Wild Beasts
• Keep In Mind Frankenstein, Grand Archives

New Yo La Tengo Video, "Avalon Or Someone Very Similar"

Why doesn't everyone do things like this? Yo La Tengo continues to give the public bits and pieces of their album in video form with new song "Avalon Or Someone Very Similar." I find it to be a bit more relaxing than some of the other tracks off of Popular Songs, don't you think? It's lo-fi, smooth and dream-like. Plus, the fun and trippy colors splotches popping up all over the place only makes the venture more entertaining. I'd check it out if I were you. Popular Songs is out September 8th via Matador, by the way, in the off-chance you had no idea.

New Yo La Tengo Video, "Periodically Triple or Double"

It's stop action photography. With fruit! What is it with simple techniques that get us all excited about certain videos? I'm unsure, but I could definitely see myself being entertained by stop action pieces of fruit forming animal shapes for hours (really). Inevitably, it all comes to end though when the stars of our feature film are eaten. Tragic. Enjoy Yo La Tengo's new video for "Periodically Triple or Double" below, via Pitchfork. The song's all part of Popular Songs, which is out September 8th via Matador.

New Yo La Tengo Video, "Here To Fall"

Well, this is fun. To end (I think) our day full of videos, we've got one more-- Yo La Tengo's "Here To Fall," which, as you might know, is off of their new album, Popular Songs. The track is set to a pretty cool video full of psychadelic skywriting, dizzying enough to make your head hurt for a few. It's a bit uncharacteristic of them, to be honest, but hey, what do I know about making music videos? It's definitely something cool to watch though, so I'd recommend it. If you're keeping track at home, Popular Songs is out September 8th via Matador.

New Yo La Tengo, "Here to Fall"

I was never a huge Yo La Tengo fan. It's not that I didn't like them, it's just that before seeing them put on an awesome live show last week, I was never all that impressed. Of course, it's all different now, so I'm actually quite looking forward to the September release of their new record, Popular Songs. The fact that the band has released another track for us to listen to is also a plus. "Here to Fall" is a Yo La Tengo song in the truest sense. It's noisy and sporadic, yet also has a dedication to melody that I, for one, appreciate. Plus, who doesn't love a good Mets reference every now and then? Anyway, it's pretty good, so you might want to give it a listen for yourself below. Popular Songs is out September 8th via Matador Records. The track is courtesy of the band, via Stereogum.

Yo La Tengo- "Here to Fall"

Shows: Wilco, with Yo La Tengo- Keyspan Park, Brooklyn, NY (7/13/09)

Surprisingly, this is a first around these parts. Yes, this is the inaugural Animal Noises live show discussion. Not sure how this mishap has happened-- we've been to shows over the past year and change-- however, we're obviously more together now than we were then. Anyway-

Last night, Matt and I went to go see Wilco and Yo La Tengo (but mostly Wilco) at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn. For those who don't know, it's the home of my New York Mets' Single-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones. Never really thought of the ballpark as a concert venue, but let me tell you, after last night's show I'm convinced. Both bands brought some serious energy to their live sets, especially Wilco, who lit it up for a 26-song (27 if you count the crowd-led rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame") extravaganza that easily ranks as one of the best shows I've ever seen. They played songs from all over the catalogue, but stressed the two most recent releases, and even gave some nods to Mermaid Avenue. The biggest surprise was seeing Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste, and Leslie Feist make appearances for several songs during the very lengthy encore portion. Droste was more just playing the shakers, and providing some subtle backup vocals, but Feist provided a terrific counterbalance to Wilco leadsinger Jeff Tweedy's gruff voice, especially on "You and I," which she is featured on on Wilco (The Album).

On top of their short, noisy and brash set, Yo La Tengo also came back for a ridiculous and raucous rendition of Wilco's "Spiders (Kidsmoke)". The noise was almost deafening at points, but a truly fun and entertaining collaboration which really highlighted how much the bands enjoy their craft. Also of note, Wilco gave out these really awesome programs for the show, which even included a "scoresheet" of sorts for all of their shows on this summer tour. Very cool-- just wish they had had equally as interesting merchandise (damn you, goofy t-shirts and $25 posters). Still, fantastic experience overall. Below is the setlist from Wilco's portion of the show, as well as a video of their performance of "One Wing". I didn't get to take pictures, but for photos besides the one up top, see Kurt Christensen's, Caryn Rose's and DW Hartwig's respective Flickr streams. Credit for the lead photo goes to Christensen.

SETLIST

1. Wilco (The Song)

2. I'm Trying to Break Your Heart

3. Shot in the Arm

4. At Least That's What You Said

5. Bull Black Nova

6. You Are My Face

7. One Wing

8. Handshake Drugs

9. Deeper Down

10. Impossible Germany

11. Take Me Out to the Ballgame (crowd)

12. Jesus, Etc.

13. Sonny Feeling

14. Always In Love

15. Can't Stand It

16. Hate It Here

17. Walken

18. I'm the Man Who Loves You

19. Hummingbird

ENCORE

20. Heavy Metal Drummer

21. You and I (Feat. Leslie Fiest)

22. California Stars (Feat. Leslie Fiest & Ed Droste)

23. You Never Know (Feat. Feist & Droste)

24. Misunderstood

25. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (Feat. Yo La Tengo)

ENCORE 2
26. The Late Greats
27. Hoodoo Voodoo (Feat. Feist & Droste)

Enjoy the video below, and feel free to discuss your experience if you were there or wanted to go.