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| Background = group_or_band
| Background = group_or_band
| Origin = [[New York City]], [[United States]]
| Origin = [[New York City]], [[United States]]
| Genre = [[Alternative rock]], [[art punk]], [[Garage rock#Revival|garage rock revival]], [[Electronic|Electronic music]]
| Genre = [[Alternative rock]], [[art punk]], [[Garage rock#Revival|garage rock revival]], [[New Wave]]
| Years_active = 2000–present
| Years_active = 2000–present
| Label = [[Interscope Records|Interscope]], [[Fiction Records|Fiction]]
| Label = [[Interscope Records|Interscope]], [[Fiction Records|Fiction]]

Revision as of 00:47, 23 February 2009

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a New York City-based alternative rock band. The band consists of lead singer Karen O, drummer Brian Chase, and guitarist Nick Zinner. In 2000 they formed a trio, and were later joined by second guitarist Imaad Wasif in 2006 for touring purposes. According to an interview that aired during the ABC network's Live from Central Park SummerStage series, the band's name was taken from modern New York City vernacular. The band has recorded two studio albums; the first, Fever to Tell, was released in 2003. The second, Show Your Bones, was released in 2006 and was named the second best album of the year by NME. The band will release their third studio album, It's Blitz!, in April 2009.

History

Formation and first EP

Karen O and Brian Chase first met as students at Oberlin College in Ohio in the late '90s, where Chase was a jazz student at the conservatory. Karen then transferred to New York University, and while in New York met Zinner in a local bar, where they formed an 'instant connection'. The two formed an acoustic duo called 'Unitard', but they went electric after being inspired by Ohio's legendary avant-punk scene. After the drummer they recruited initially bowed out, Chase joined the line-up and decided to form a punk band similar to the 'trashy, punky, grimy' art student groups that Karen had left behind in Ohio.[1] The band wrote a slew of songs at their first rehearsal and soon wound up supporting the Strokes and the White Stripes, earning a significant buzz for their arty and garage punk scene. In late 2001, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their self-titled debut EP, which they recorded with Boss Hog's Jerry Teel, on their own Shifty label.[2] Early the next year the band stepped into the international spotlight, appearing at South by Southwest, touring the U.S. with Girls Against Boys and Europe with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and headlining their own U.K. tour. Wichita Recordings distributed the group's EP in the U.K. and Touch and Go reissued it in the States.[3]

Fever To Tell

In 2003, the band released their first complete album, Fever to Tell, which received several strong critical reviews and sold more than 750,000 copies worldwide. The album's third single, "Maps", received significant airplay on alternative radio. The video for their 2004 single "Y Control" was directed by acclaimed director Spike Jonze, who was involved with the band's lead singer Karen O for a period.[4] In October 2004, the band released their first DVD, Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow. The DVD included a concert filmed at The Fillmore in San Francisco, all of the band's music videos to date, and various interviews.

Show Your Bones

Karen O live at the Tim Festival

Their second album, Show Your Bones, was released on March 27–28, 2006. The album's producer, Sam Spiegel – who had previously collaborated with Karen O on the song "Hello Tomorrow" for an Adidas commercial directed by Sam's brother (and Karen's ex-boyfriend), Jonze[5] – told MTV News that it was a concept album about Karen's cat, and would be titled Coco Beware. However, MTV was forced to retract the story, noting that Spiegel had failed to mention that he was joking.[6] Karen O told online zine Drowned in Sound, "Show Your Bones is what happens when you put your finger in a light socket," crediting "9 year old antigenius wonder-kid Drake Barrett for the insight."[7] The first single from the album, "Gold Lion", was released on March 20, 2006, reaching 18 in the Official UK Singles Chart. It has been noted by Leah Greenblatt that "Gold Lion" sounds startlingly similar to "No New Tale To Tell" from 1980s alternative band Love and Rockets.[8] The band toured throughout Europe and the United States during much of 2006, and also band helped to curate an edition of the British All Tomorrow's Parties festival. In December 2006, the album was named the second best album of the year by NME magazine, as well as "Cheated Hearts" being voted the 10th best song. Rolling Stone magazine named it the 44th best album of 2006, while Spin magazine ranked it number 31 on their 40 best albums of 2006.

Is Is EP

Yeah Yeah Yeahs' most recent EP, titled Is Is, was released on July 24, 2007. It includes 5 previously unreleased songs and a short film, recorded and filmed at the GlassLands Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. The songs were written in 2004, during the Fever To Tell tour, and performed live often.[9] Three of the five tracks were featured on the "Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow" DVD.[10] They are also going to be releasing a DVD of a performance on May 7 in New York directed by Patrick Daughters. However, the DVD of the performance is yet to be released. The iTunes store added all the performances in video form.[11]

It's Blitz!

The next album by the band is set to be released on April 13, 2009 and is going to be called It's Blitz![12] The band says the album will sound different from their previous ones but will "still sound like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs". The new single Zero can be heard on the band's website and MySpace page.[13]

Touring

As well as performing headlining tours across the world, the yeah yeah yeahs have also supported bands like The White Stripes, The Strokes, Liars, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The band became one of the first western rock acts to play in China when they headlined the Modern Sky Festival in Beijing in 2007.[14]

Media reference

An acoustic version of the song "Gold Lion" is included on the Mississippi Studios Live, Vol. III compilation.[15]

The band's song, "Maps," is a playable track in the music video game Rock Band, with "Date with the Night" being available for download.

Side Projects and collaborations

Karen O and Nick Zinner both appear as guests on Tiny Masters of Today's album Bang Bang Boom Cake. The song was written via email and features Karen singing. In addition, Karen co-directed and all three band members were featured in the video for the group's Hologram World video.

Discography

Main article: Yeah Yeah Yeahs discography

References

  1. ^ "Lynsey Hansley talks to Yeah Yeah Yeahs".
  2. ^ http://www.discogs.com/artist/Jerry+Teel
  3. ^ http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/yeah_yeah_yeahs/artist.jhtml
  4. ^ http://people.famouswhy.com/spike_jonze/
  5. ^ http://people.famouswhy.com/spike_jonze/
  6. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/35524-yeah-yeah-yeahs-title-new-feline-concept-record
  7. ^ Roberts, Colin. "Yeah Yeah Yeahs LP and single details, yeah". Drowned In Sound. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  8. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (June 16, 2006). "Did The Red Hot Chili Peppers copy Tom Petty?". No. 883. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  9. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/43606-yeah-yeah-yeahs-to-release-new-ep-of-old-songs
  10. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs to release new EP". NME.COM. June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  11. ^ http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?id=1265171
  12. ^ "New Yeah Yeah Yeahs Album: It's Blitz".
  13. ^ http://site.yeahyeahyeahs.com/news/?nid=17199
  14. ^ Sisario, Ben (2007-11-25). "For All the Rock in China". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  15. ^ Baker, Jeff (2007-12-21). "Everybody sing 'yeah'". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
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