And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (appreciation post)

Today, I’m here to tell you guys about an album I hold near and dear to my heart. I’ve loved it for a long time, but right now, it just feels so perfect. Life comes in so many colors and art reflects them right back to us, and this album’s color is the one it feels like I’m living in now. This blog is my way to sort of express how grateful I am for it. The album is And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out by Yo La Tengo.

It opens with the low, hypnotic song “Everyday”. Your heart rate gets a little slower as soon as you hear it. The arrangement is a little weird; the melody is built upon a single, droning chord, while the bass drifts up and down like a car driving through the mountains at night. The lyrics set the tone for everything that comes after, with Georgia Hubley singing about her desire to get a new start each morning, and to forget the context she’s gotten used to and appreciate everything as if it’s the first time. And I guess that’s what the rest of the album sets out to do: to find warmth and understanding in things you otherwise might not notice.

The two singers, Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan, are a couple. They’ve been together since the band formed more than forty years ago. A lot of their songs are about each other. They've created a style of music that's very tough to define; it's indie rock kind of, but with some bossa nova and jazz and country in there, but it doesn't really feel like any of those things.

“Last Days of Disco” is another beautiful highlight. Yo La Tengo is so great at making such a small, sparse composition feel earth-swallowing. It’s kind of time-stopping, I think. The lyrics are very simple and almost childish, but they feel really true. 

Despite the slow tempo and the mournful tone of a lot of the stuff here, I’ll always think of And Then Nothing as a happy album. Some of the songs are happy sounding, like “Madeline” or the semi-pop track “You Can Have It All”. But even the sadder-sounding songs, like “Tears are in Your Eyes”, have so much warmth and compassion behind them that they just remind you how much kindness there is to be found even in the loneliest moments.

I think this is an album about wanting. Maybe it is about wanting something you will probably never have, but accepting that and learning to be alright with it. And being thankful to always want, and to care, even if you can’t always find what you’re looking for.