For awhile now, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been making some of the most interesting alternative rock around. While they haven’t gotten as big as I think they deserve, the output we see from them hasn’t become stale or redundant. Today we’re gonna talk about how they came to be known, some of their highlights, and where they stand currently in halls of alternative rock of the newest millenium.

My first exposure to them, like many, was the video for “Maps” in 2004. At the time, I was slowly crawling out of my self-imposed metal years, and reaching out for new and different sounds. I happened to just get exposed to this band via MTV. Even then, the channel was still kinda playing videos from time to time. Oh how times have changed. The lyrics “They don’t love you like I love you” immediately reached me at the core, and I sat captivated while the lovely video played through. After that, the album had to be mine. Upon purchasing however, I was overjoyed to find the album wasn’t a one trick pony at all. “Maps,” and “Modern Romance” especially were deep and thoughtful, but the album also has moments of intense sexuality, frustratingly erratic rockers, and general avant-garde art house rock with a thin layer of glimmering lights cascading over the sound. Nick Zinner’s guitar playing stood out to me as a sort of translucent sound that you almost never hear. Zinner, along with born to be a rock star singer Karen O, and the always smiling Brian Chase had captivated my world, and it’s still one of the best albums I’ve ever heard in my life. For years, “Fever to Tell” made various long trips with me, and was a constant companion.

Finally, in 2006, we were given the second proper album “Show your Bones.” This album was not only a perfect step in a new direction, but for many moments of this enjoyable album, it tops the substance and vibe of the previous album. “Gold Lion” has a whole tribal gypsy vibe, while “Phenomena” has a strutty disco cat swagger to it. It’s sexy, slow, and it moves you in a gentle way then envelopes you and makes you become part of it. After being obsessed with this band for a few years at this point, they were announced as being part of Coachella 2006. I was basically going because of Daft Punk and Tool, but having them be part of the bill as well was a nice bonus. The show didn’t disappoint at all. They came at the crowd with the kind of rock star attitudes you would expect from a band this electric. One thing that has stayed with me all these years was how the drummer Brian Chase was grinning ear to ear the entire set. Maybe he was thrilled to finally be playing this great festival, but I’d like to think he’s like that at all the shows.

Probably the best song on Bones to me though is “Cheated Hearts.” I was going through one of the darkest periods of my life when this album came out, and once again, the emotional core and the sad elements of the song drew me to it. All aspects on the song work effortlessly to make a really meaningful, beautiful song. It’s always fascinating to me how hearing a song can propel you back to the feelings you once had and you can remember that you got through whatever was going on at the time, and that a piece of art helped you to do so.

After that, the band released an incredibly overlooked EP called “Is Is.” I won’t spend too much time here, other than to say it only contains great songs. They all work together, and it’s one of the better EP’s I’ve ever purchased. It contains the violence, tinges of punk, pretty yet atmospheric sounds we had come to expect from this band of indie misfits. Furthermore, upon hearing that the band chose to perform the full album at shows in complete darkness served to make the album stand on its own and add a slightly sexual predator vibe to the whole thing. I can’t even imagine how surreal that must have been to experience in a little dingy club.

What followed after that, the album “It’s Blitz!,” was a dramatic departure for the band, but ultimately one that I think paid off in huge dividends. For me, this is the disco themed album by the band. It’s bright and sparkly, and has much more of dance floor feeling rather than that of a dark disgusting bar that the albums before it possessed. Just listening to songs like “Heads will Roll,” and album opener “Zero” makes you wanna dance. I love that they tried something new, and in this instance, it turned out to be a success. So many of these songs are good songs. “Dull Life” has a slow build that turns into a funky rock anthem with a jump in its step that reminds me of a more mature band, while the one-two punch of album closer’s “Hysteric” and “Little Shadow” showcase how this band had evolved and managed to create another awe inspiring album full of textured, interesting sounds. I think at their core this is a group of opposite’s who try to find a varied mix of sounds to suit them all, and they succeed valiantly. This band, along with Queens of the Stone Age, has to be one of the most criminally underrated when it comes to levels of notoriety. They both should be headlining major festivals, but the world of mega rooms has eluded them thus far. But that’s fine, because they both just keep on making fucking jaw dropping epic albums.

After the success of “It’s Blitz,” the wait was on. It was three years between all the previous albums, but this time, they gave us an extra year. Whether it was time to take a break, or they wanted to make an adventurous new album, is hard to tell. They’re known for being a band that tours a lot for an album, so maybe they were just burnt out. Either way, what emerged was another interesting album in a long line of cool albums. Now don’t get me wrong, “Mosquito” is by no means a classic album, but it has quite a few really different, cool songs. “Subway” is a slow creeper and the band’s version of a nightmare meets lullaby, while “Slave” moans and writhes in a strobe light filled room. I like the chances they took here, and I think it will prove to move them into even more unknown territories. It’s also the darkest album they’ve made. As a side note, the cover art is awful. Having said that, a band this good is allowed an occasional misstep. The last three songs, “Always,” “Despair,” and “Wedding Song” all mesh appropriately together. “Always” is a quiet, shimmering light in a dimly lit park at dusk, but the darkness and brooding approaches when the translucent playing by Zinner emerges on “Despair.” As an aside, if you haven’t watched the video for this song, you should. It’s really beautiful, and to top it off, it’s the first video to ever be filmed atop the immaculate structure we know as the Empire State Building. The last new song we’ve heard by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs comes in the shape of “The Wedding Song.” It’s a slow burner but it also showcases how quaint and lovely Karen O can be when she’s not growling in the pale moonlight. It’s a sobering, heart breaking song about the trials of love. The closing words of the song, “You’re the breath that I breathe” touch me in an emotional way because that’s exactly how I feel about my amazing wife, and how nothing is possible without her.

I’m gonna do this like its high school: In conclusion, today we have discussed the merits of the band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who have been putting out music that encompasses everything from wild, fun, sexy, heartfelt, and loving, and how they manage to tie everything into a nicely shaped bow, only to tear the bow apart when they decide it’s time to get weird. Thank you for reading.