My Top 1000 Songs #55: From A Motel 6
One of my favorite bands finally makes its first appearance on the Top 1000 (with only the fourth post-80s song so far, as 60s & 70s classic rock essentials continue to clutter the highest ranks). Yo La Tengo's albums grew steadily more ambitious and accomplished after their initial mid-80s college radio days. 1992's May I Sing With Me was already pretty great. But it was their three-album run beginning with 1993's Painful that established them as indie rock legends. And that album's "From A Motel 6" is a perfect little encapsulation of what made Yo La Tengo so beloved. It's maybe a bit less poppy than some of their other singles, but still has a hook that catches your attention and holds on. The verses are gentle and hypnotic, a hushed duet between Ira Kaplan and partner Georgia Hubley; the lyrics are an intimate, vulnerable look at a relationship in distress. "Pull a woolen blanket across my eyes, dream a quiet place for us to fight. Oh no, yo
