September 2002 we answer your questions

updated 9/20/02

Michael Scott wants to know:
What is your favorite Robby Benson movie and why?

Right now, I feel like Doc Severinson and Ed McMahon on the old Tonight Show and we're playing Stump the Band. We're going to turn that question over to the percussion section. Georgia?

Well, the classic Robby Benson movie is probably Jeremy but I must admit my obsession with that movie has/had more to do with Glynnis O'Connor than Robby Benson. Now that I think about it without a doubt my favorite Robby Benson movie is one I don't know the name of because I only saw part of it on tv one night, but what I saw was truly magical. Robby plays a tormented, confused and thoroughly sympathetic teenager--but THIS time, instead of melting Glynnis O'Connor's heart, his soul seems to be SO tortured, at least in the scene I saw, that he is downright suicidal. He has a big fight with his father and he is so distraught that he works himself into an insane, squealing, hysterical frenzy and in a magnificent high-pitched outburst he screams out to his father (or the viewing audience) to shoot him! and he does! It's practically pornographic. I can't remember if he dies.

Dear Ira,
Now that Baseball has resolved it's labor nastiness, who do you like for the World Series?... Shouldn't Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame?... and True or False, The Baltimore Orioles 1975-1988 orange, white, and black baseball cap is the "Sgt. Pepper" of the nostalgic ballcap world.
— Glenn Riley
Cincinnati, OH

I leave the prognosticating to the experts, your Kreskins and your Miss Cleos. As for Pete Rose, he bet on baseball, so he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, that's obvious. The baseball hall of fame, that is. No one could argue against his place in the Culinary Hall of Fame for his fine line of Pete Rose Ballpark Cafe products; I am particularly partial to his "4256" Picante Sauce.
Finally: False, I happen to think the Baltimore Orioles' orange, white and black baseball cap is one of the greats.

Peter writes to us:

Doesn't it just fry your grits when people talk during your set? The last time you played the Casbah [in San Diego] I just wanted to shoot every last mother-f***ing dork talking about their 'pyscho lab partner' or whatever.

"Peter," is it? You can't fool us! I do believe we are the proud recipients of email from Polly Holliday. F*** yeah! But as to your question, I'll admit it, when it comes to the audience talking, to paraphrase the Gang of 4,
"I disapprove of it and so does James." But what to do? We try to adopt the attitude that if the audience is chattering, we must not be playing very well. We played a show in Tampa, Florida in 1996. It was Monday night in Ybor City, and if you're like me, you'd rather spend Monday night on Bourbon Street even though you'd hate to spend Monday night on Bourbon Street. We were playing a large club and for some reason it was packed, perhaps because it was Dollar Corona Night. I may have that wrong--it may have been Dollar Bud Night. It was loud, louder than that night at the Casbah, I promise you. We had the bright idea to play more softly, thinking the audience would have to quiet down or they wouldn't be able to hear us at all. It might have worked if in fact enough of them had cared about being able to hear us. But it didn't, so we did the only logical thing: we played even more softly. It got to the point where even we couldn't hear each other. The audience, if they noticed at all, seemed to appreciate that we were making it easier for them to converse and order dollar Coronas. We had a choice to make. We could play even more softly, i.e. end the concert, but nobody in the band wanted that. Instead, we confidently asserted (to each other) that we'd made our point, and started playing feedback. Good times.
"Peter" also asks:

which Simpsons episode you worked on. I can't believe I don't know already.

You and us both, "Peter." It's episode AABF02 entitled "D'oh-in' in the Wind," original air date 11/15/98. The day we recorded our version of the theme song an extremely gracious Dan Castellaneta got on the phone with my brother and as Homer wished him a happy 40th birthday.

A lot of you reading this probably imagine a rock 'n' roll life of ceaseless glamour, and I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. It's even more glamorous than you could ever dream. Permit me to lift the curtain ever so slightly on what it's like to be a member of Yo La Tengo as we hobnob with the stars . . .

Ira, does everyone constantly bring up the fact that you look exactly like the effeminate slave with the little blow-out in "A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum"? I only ask because...I actually have no reason.
On another note. Not actually a question. I've been a fan for years,but obviously I couldn't have been all that knowledgeable b/c one day a couple of years ago, I walk into a record store and pick up Fakebook, only because I'd heard good things, having no idea that you'd shockingly covered 'Yellow Sarong' by my cousin Phil Dray's band The Scene is Now. "The Scene is Now" records have been in my parents collection for as long as I can remember, and I had no idea that they were so viable. It was quite a shock. I began to yell, in store.
— Rob Travieso

but there's more . .

Hey YLT,
I know this is way overdue, but I want to thank you for giving a tribute to Doug Sahm at your last Austin, TX show. Doug was my 5th or 6th (depending if my mother, Debbie Sahm was his 5th) cousin and it was a good feeling to know that you had heard of him and his music.
— David S.

That's too much. If any of Nervous Norvus's relatives are reading this, please write soon.