It’s Not An Impossible Thing To Do

Yo La Tengo “Winter A-Go-Go”

“Winter A-Go-Go” is sung from the perspective of someone who is very concerned about a friend who seems to be lost and depressed, but knows there’s not much she can really do other than show them support. This is a perfect song for Georgia Hubley’s singing voice – extremely low key and unassuming, but exceptionally warm and empathetic. The song is an expression of kindness, but also of frustration at how powerless she is to fix the situation beyond being loving and supportive. As the title implies, the sound of the music evokes the beach on the off season, with traces of summery sounds muted by chilly and overcast tones. This is a fairly obscure Yo La Tengo song, but I think it’s one of their best composed pieces of music – Ira Kaplan’s organ solo is particularly inspired, and seems to open up the emotional range of the song before it narrows back down for the final round of the chorus, in which Hubley just seems to shrug: “It’s not an impossible thing to do / I know there’s a better life for you / I can’t keep from wondering.”

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