My Top 2000 Songs #1186: And The Glitter Is Gone
While I'm trying to avoid instrumentals on this list, I'm breaking that loose rule for yet a second time with Yo La Tengo . Much like " I Heard You Looking ," "And The Glitter Is Gone"--the closing track from 2009's Popular Songs --is one of their epic freak-outs, a brief riff serving as the basis for repeated explorations of sonic devastation by guitarist Ira Kaplan. In this case, the basic song structure, such as it is, reminds me of a Robert Fripp-styled Frippertronics tape loop, a slithery lick that sounds almost like an electronic sample. And while the extended 15-minute track falls back on that loop a few times, its largely an excuse for Ira to go particularly batshit with the noise pedals and the feedback whirlwind howl, all as James & George dutifully and relentlessly pound away at a particularly ferocious rhythm. As a mere piece of audio, it's not exactly one of their most mixtape-friendly tunes, and might be something you only sit thro...
