Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan Talks Ass-Beating
Also: New Tour Dates

Here at Pitchfork, we do our best to go for the hard-hitting scoops, the things the people really want to know. Like, what's up with the title of the new Yo La Tengo album, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, due out September 12 on Matador (September 4 in Europe)? The band has been reluctant to explain themselves...until now. Sort of.

"Well, I mean, the explanation is...it's really not dissimilar to a lot of things we've done over the years in terms of what we want to talk about and what we don't want to talk about...it's kind of like the name of the band," singer/guitarist Ira Kaplan told Pitchfork last week. "Obviously there's something that--you know, it didn't come to us in a dream, but where it came from is ultimately kind of irrelevant to us. It just kind of touched a nerve for everybody in the band and made us laugh."

"As a rule, we sort of let other people decide these things rather than do it for them, but there is a lot of ways to do that. Let's say, 'We're not beating anyone to death. Just a small ass beating.'"

Well, that's good to know, I guess.

"When [bassist] James [McNew] suggested it, it certainly was unexpected," Kaplan continued, "but then it really rang true kind of instantly, and rang true in a variety of ways for kind of what's applicable about it, what's not applicable about it, and also, you know, what would be just almost...I mean, I think it's a great title. Informative, funny...I know, I really set you up for a much greater explanation than that."

Now we're even more confused!

Kaplan did drop one more hint: "I don't think there's that far a stretch from the set we played at the Pitchfork Festival and the album title."

He's talking, of course, about the band's performance of only new material at the festival, rather than tried-and-true hits. For the audience, it was a polarizing decision; some people loved it, others hated it, seeing it as confrontational and self-indulgent.

"We'd never done it before with a short set," Kaplan said. "It just kind of, you know, seemed like an interesting thing to try. We're happy with the record. We like playing the songs. We're still learning the songs. It was just what we'd been working on so we decided that's what we'd do."

Kaplan said that the band's set on their upcoming tour in support of the album will "mix it up a little more" with the Yo La Tengo back catalog.

As for I Am Not Afraid of You itself, Kaplan said that it has more in common with late-90s Yo La Tengo records like I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One or Electr-O-Pura ("this record kind of bounces around more") rather than their more recent "sustained mood" albums, 2000's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out and 2003's Summer Sun.

Matador has a gift for those who pre-order I Am Not Afraid of You from online retailers like Insound and Other Music: "The Beat Your Ass Season Pass", which is way less painful than it sounds. The pass is a special code that allows access to a secret website offering continually updated "exclusive bonus material" such as extra tracks, a player streaming I Am Not Afraid of You in its entirety, a digital booklet, and ticket purchasing details.

I Am Not Afraid of Touring:

09-02 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic Festival
09-03 Glasgow, Scotland - Indian Summer Festival
09-05 London, England - Bush Hall
09-25 Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
09-26 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
09-28 Boston, MA - Avalon
09-29 Jersey City, NJ - Loew's
09-30 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
10-02 Toronto, Ontario - The Phoenix
10-04 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Michigan Theater
10-05 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
10-06 Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
10-07 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
10-08 Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground
10-10 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater
10-14 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
10-15 Seattle, WA - Showbox
10-16 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
10-19 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
10-20 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
10-21 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
10-23 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
11-01 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis
11-02 Oslo, Norway - Sticky Fingers
11-03 Goteborg, Sweden - Vega
11-04 Malmo, Sweden - KB
11-05 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
11-07 Cardiff, Wales - Point
11-08 Gateshead, England - Sage Gateshead
11-09 Cambridge, England - Cambridge Junction
11-11 London, England - Forum
11-12 Paris, France - Café de la Danse
11-13 Tourcoing, France - Le Grand Mix
11-15 Strasbourg, France - La Laterie
11-16 Utrecht, Holland - Tivoli
11-17 Groningen, Holland - Vera
11-18 Brussels, Belgium - AB
11-19 Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
11-21 Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
11-22 Dusseldorf, Germany - Zakk
11-23 Munchen, Germany - Muffathalle
11-24 Heidelberg, Germany - Karlstorbahnof
11-25 Fribourg, Switzerland - Frison
11-27 Milan, Italy - Rainbow
11-29 Toulouse, France - Mange Disque
11-30 Spain, Barcelona - Apolo
12-01 Vitoria, Spain - Azkena
12-02 Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
12-03 Lisbon, Portugal - Aug

As previously reported, Ira, Georgia, and James continue to get their James Horner on, with a couple more films featuring their scoring and soundtrack work due out this fall. John Cameron Mitchell's sex-obsessed flick Shortbus should hit theaters later in 2006, and Old Joy, starring Will Oldham, will be shown at Film Form in New York City from September 20 through October 3.

MP3: Yo La Tengo: Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind
MP3: Yo La Tengo: Beanbag Chair