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Rating: The first time I heard "Big Day Coming", the first of two homonymous tracks on "Painful" (Matador, 1993), it was a bolt from the blue. A true revelation. I didn't believe one could achieve so much with so little. A three-note organ loop repeated ad libitum, yet anything but obsessive. A gentle arpeggio, supported by an almost nonexistent bassline. Keplan starts to whisper and then tames ornamental guitar feedbacks that gracefully weave between one melody and another. I may be cliché, but I can't define the resulting amalgam in any other way than magic. Lying on a bed of clouds, amidst birds chirping and the resurfacing of the emotions that mattered most. Serenity. Nothing was wrong. I thought that if perfection truly existed in the world, the kind that doesn't tire even with too much precision, it must be hidden in the dreamlike atmosphere of that song. In time, I was able to put things into perspective, relatively, but the impact of that seemingly simple track was truly remarkable. The impact of that track is truly remarkable.
Then, once I came down, I didn't experience any sort of down; rather, I felt like when you're in love, but there was no sweetheart waiting for me anywhere. Only a scribbled guitar riff ("From a Motel 6") that would have embarrassed Sonic Youth in a school-like, almost radiofriendly fashion.
The first two introductory tracks are already worth any album that holds value. And the temptation to end now by proposing the link to purchase the CD on Amazon is strong.
It's not easy at all to talk about an album like this. I've even hypothesized it hasn't been discussed here yet just to avoid embarking on a tedious yet sensibly obligatory track-by-track. Obligatory because it's like dealing with a concept album, where one cannot shirk from touching any point of passage of the album.
"Painful" craves the track-by-track treatment. As if it were a concept, but without an underlying concept. A sonic concept, a sort of journey towards the listener's purification and bliss. A musical journey that culminates in the peace of the senses following the emotional instrumental finale, "I Heard You Looking".
The Yo La Tengo in this album do not make any mistakes. This is not written by a fanatic. Here every step is simply the right one. Every arrangement, whether bare ("Nowhere Near", with Hubley on vocals) or full-bodied and powerful like the organ and distortions of "Sudden Organ", is crafted with awareness and takes shape by adding one piece after another to a work that comes to life once completed.
Even though some tracks may apparently turn out to be inconclusive (which one?!), in their context they make a difference. Skipping a random passage would be tantamount to denying oneself a great moment for a noble purpose.
There's a track on the album, a cover of "The Whole of the Law" by The Only Ones, which when taken individually might seem nothing more than a pleasant ballad, but nestled between the two most vehement, intense moments of "Painful" ("I Was the Fool Beside for Too Long" and "Big Day Coming (2)") it serves as two minutes of relaxation, where the listener stretches and refreshes, preparing for the poignant final liberatory act (mentioned above).
Visibly struggling and all sweaty, I conclude with a banality in the style of "water is wet...": music must be experienced firsthand and sometimes, indeed, very often words are not enough. Surely they will never be able to express an emotion aroused by music. It would be like explaining to a deafblind person the sensation of auditory perception.
So I'm ready for the refund, I cannot exempt myself from this temptation: A Link
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Big Day Coming (07:05)
Let's be undecided, let's take our time
And sooner or later, we will know our mind
We'll be on the outside, we won't care
Cause we're together, that's somewhere
And there's a big day coming, about a mile away
There's a big day coming, I can hardly wait
Let's wake up the neighbors, let's turn up our amps
And we know we're used to without a plan
We can play a Stones song, sitting on a fence
And it'll sound pretty good, til I forget how it ends
I woke up early, couldn't go back to sleep
Cause I had been thinking of where it all would lead
So I made you wake up, I said, "Let's take a walk,
I wanna hold your hand, we don't have to talk"
02 From a Motel 6 (04:09)
you shouldn't hide but you always do
cause even when you're gone, I can see right through
you want disconnection
you want me there enough for two
pull a woollen blanket across my eyes
dream a quiet place for us to fight
oh no, your heart is broken
don't you think that's a little trite?
I climb where I can see
you're close but I won't reach
blank stare at the tv
CNN's on channel 3
in the passing lane on 1 and 9
stuck in sad, car stuck in drive
oh no, your heart is broken
well, you can have what's left of mine
I climb where I can see
you're close but I won't reach
blank stare at the TV
the howling II's on channel 3
oh, I drift off to sleep
while the snow falls on the screen
03 Double Dare (03:28)
I, I should know
You shouldn't have to tell me
Sometimes it's the way we feel
or the way we feel we feel-
pretty bad
In a double dare
He's got wandering eyes
And I see 'em look at you
looking straight at you-
but I know where they are
I'll walk you home
You take as long as it takes
The sun in the morning sky,
in the morning sky we'll know where we are
We'll know where we are
05 Nowhere Near (06:03)
Do you know how I feel
How I feel about you
Do you know this is real
How I feel around you When I see you look at me
I'm not sure of anything
All I know is when you smile
I believe in everything
Do you know how I dream
How I dream about you
Do you know how I feel
Do you know... Do you know how I feel
How I feel about you
Doesn't take much to tell
That I love, oh, I... Everyone is here, but you're nowhere near
06 Sudden Organ (04:46)
Will you stare, will you stare as the final curtain starts to fall
Will you watch, will you watch with closing eyes, with closing eyes
Everyone, everyone's a little worried, you know I am
But I hate to watch the days go by, watch the days go by
Another day, another time, another way for the moment, watch it for a sign...
Well I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that I want to shoot it in the back
As the days go by, I'm stepping on them all like ants
I've seen the way that they look at you
Maybe you, or maybe not a guess, we'll know it after a while
I'm wondering just how this will stop, how's it gonna stop
Another day, another time, another way for the moment, watch it for a sign...
when to be mine
09 The Whole of the Law (02:20)
Well, I used to have the notion I could swim the length of the ocean
If I knew that you were waiting for me
I used to have the notion I could swim the length of the ocean
I'd plumb the depths of every sea for you
I'd escape from my chains, and I'll reach out for you
Maybe I'm in love with you
Maybe, maybe I'm in love with you
I had to contact you, found out I was in love with you
I had to contact
That's it, that's the law, that's the whole of the law
The whole of the law
10 Big Day Coming (04:15)
Let's be undecided, let's take our time
And sooner or later, we will know our mind
We'll be on the outside, we won't care
Cause we're together, that's somewhere
And there's a big day coming, about a mile away
There's a big day coming, I can hardly wait
Let's wake up the neighbors, let's turn up our amps
And we know we're used to without a plan
We can play a Stones song, sitting on a fence
And it'll sound pretty good, til I forget how it ends
I woke up early, couldn't go back to sleep
Cause I had been thinking of where it all would lead
So I made you wake up, I said, "Let's take a walk,
I wanna hold your hand, we don't have to talk"
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