Video: Yo La Tengo: "Kaplan's Korner"
Almost everybody reading this probably knows what Yo La Tengo means in Spanish by now, even if you're one of those single-issue anti-immigration voters the Republican presidential candidates were falling over to impress in Iowa (before running bilingual ads in Florida, natch). What you might not know, however, is the specific moment in New York Mets baseball history that explains how the Hoboken, N.J.-based indie rockers got their name. And even if you know all about the 1962 Mets' Venezuela-born shortstop Elio Chacón and the famous collision between left fielder Frank Thomas and center fielder Richie Ashburn, odds are you haven't seen this campy, endearing video.
Playing baseball outdoors with bandmates Georgia Hubley and James McNew on a windswept afternoon, Yo La Tengo singer Ira Kaplan acts surprised to notice the camera. "Hello, I didn't know we had company," Kaplan says. He's about to explain how Yo La Tengo got their name when he realizes, "Why am I telling you this? I wasn't there." What follows is a sit-down interview between Kaplan and all-time Mets hit leader Ed Kranepool, who played first base for the 1969 "Miracle Mets." Kranepool gamely sets the record straight, helped by all the necesary backing graphics. Um, not much to say musically here, though that classic version of "Meet the Mets" is pretty killer.
Video:> Yo La Tengo: "Kaplan's Korner, or how Yo La Tengo got their name"
[I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass is out now on Matador]