Yeah Yeah Yeahs (American punk band)

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What is your opinion on this American punk band?



I must make a mea culpa for ignoring them beforehand... I heard their name on plenty of occasions but found the band name a bit silly and that sort of broke my interest. Also I read that their singer would do a sort of semi masturbation act during gigs (I am not sure if this is true, but some articles mention some play with microphone cables and such) and such stage acts usually do turn me off as most bands doing things like that need their shocking act to distract people from the not very impressive musical output. So based on those articles and the name in general, I just never really felt interested to actually give them a listen.

However, I was probably too fast in my judgements. And being an Echo & The Bunnymen fan i should in fact never make the mistake again anyway to not give bands a listen based upon an odd band name. So I heard this song by Yeah Yeah Yeahs tonight in a store, the song was called Down Boy. I didnt know who it was, I liked the sound a lot though, when the shopkeeper told me it was Yeah Yeah Yeahs I must say I feel like I should maybe give them a try after all. I really liked that song, it had a lot of energy in the chorus while the rest of the song sounded a bit dark and brooding, not goth/wave like but still it appealed to me. So if this is their typical sound I would like to find out more about them.

So is there anyone here familiar with their work? What songs are recommendable to start with?

I like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, particularly their mellower (still not too mellow) stuff. I would start with Gold Lion or Y-Control (songs) off the last two albums, consecutively.

I am thinking you will like, but I haven't heard the new one, so I can't be sure.

They suck

I've heard only their radio singles. They sound pretty good.

I certainly would Not calle them punk...........just indie pop/rock. And no, I dont care for them or that genre in teh least.

Yeah, I remember hearing Maps when it came out and I wasn't impressed.

I don't think I've heard them. The real punk scene happened in the 70's and 80's, and that's pretty much the only punk stuff that I listen to. The current crop of bands that pass themselves off as 'Punk' are really nothing more than generic music industry product marketed to appeal to people in the 14-24 Year old age bracket.

^ Seconded. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are not a punk band.

I heard their first record, and I kind of liked it when it first came out - in comparison to everything else I had to hear while working in a record store.

I don't mean to sound condescending. PM me if you want a list of other (better, imo) bands to investogate if you like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. If you heard some of the older music they're referencing / imitating, you might experience them differently.

Well, I fell in love with their first album immediately upon listening. It's brilliant, in my opinion. For something newer, try listening to the songs 'Down Boy' and 'Isis' - the latter being my favorite YYY song.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are freakin' awesome
their debut album 'Fever to tell' features a lot of short trashy/punky songs while its follow up 'Show Your Bones' expands upon that blueprint and is more straightforward Rock and slightly mellower but both are definitely worth hearing

It was Down Boy which I heard in that shop and which got me interested in the band ; I liked the song and asked the shopkeeper who sang it, so hence why I suddenly decided to give the band a try.

Have meanwhile gone through a few more songs, Kiss Kiss is quite good as well. IsIs is far from bad neither. Down Boy still my favourite though, it has a sort of gloomy new-wave esque feeling, but then with a more rough punky side in the chorus, though the overall feeling comes across close to coldwave or newwave and I like that. Do they have any similar songs with that same mood?

I watched them perform in a club and they were pretty cool. Yeah, she can get erotic on stage. I believe there are singers who do that kind of stuff for superficial shock value and there are singers who do that because they're in sync with the music on a more primal level. I'll put her in the latter category.

Yeah, I wouldn't label them punk. They seem to be referencing more of the post-punk aesthetic, I guess. I'm sure there are others here that can elaborate better than me on that.

It sounds more like postpunk, especially songs Down Boy, IsIs, ... When I first heard it it sounded like coldwave to me, maybe hence why I liked it immediately. The lyrics are abstract but I like that.

What do you mean with getting erotic on stage? I read some shocking stuff on Karen O but guess the press likes to exagerate.

I wouldn't say they're a punk band, more of an alternative rock or post-punk band. They have a couple good songs (like "Date With the Night" and "Maps").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u__qVuVMWTw

They are convincing live as well. I like their attitude as well. Apart from the drummer, both the vocalist and the guitar player have something ... well, they got the cool and the attitude for standing on a stage. Their whole air is just nice.