Yo Lo Tengo in Reedsport

It was raining in walls in Reedsport and I had a long drive back to Portland to deal with serious issues related to deaths in the family. My uncle had died the previous night and my mind drifted to all the interesting times we had together in my youth, something I will write up and share later.

More people should do that sort of sharing, real storytelling for sheer storytelling’s sake. And not just obituary stuff. Stories that reveal a unique person and their unique contributions.

I had been driving for hours and needed a break, so I pulled into a thrift store I’d patronized before and unearthed some decent treasures.

I was wandering the aisles, browsing, striking out on cords, books and stationery, when I detoured to the CD selection. The only music I listen to these days is while I am driving and usually the source is CDS I find at thrift stores. I recently discovered some new old tunes by Bob Welch this way. “Precious Love” is a damn good rock/pop hit.

A title caught my eye. I pulled it out. Yo Lo Tengo’s Electr-O-Pura.

How in the world was a Yo Lo Tengo CD in a Reedsport thrift store? It wasn’t possible. I knew of the band from a CD I owned, Summer Sun, a gift from a woman I dated briefly in the early 2000s, who later went on to become a political hack in Portland city politics. For reasons I no longer recall, she wanted me to try this band, which I’d never heard of, and I gave it a listen. As it turns out, that CD was played almost non-stop during the writing and design of the Vortex book. Then I never listened to it again, or any other Yo Lo Tengo record.

I bought the CD for a buck and popped it into the changer. Rain picked up, if that was possible. The music came on as the Umpqua River appeared. Guitars, fuzz, droning, languid solos, quiet vocals, drums, indecipherable lyrics. It fit my mood.

Fourteen tracks later I had listened to the album and written the piece about my Uncle in my head. And that would be the last time I ever listened to Electr-O-Pura or any other Yo Lo Tengo record, unless of course, I found another one in a thrift store or street library.