“Yo La Tengo have always made cover songs an integral part of their repertoire, and the release of their four-track Nuclear War EP follows in that tradition. The song began showing up in live sets almost two years ago, but has just now been recorded. And while the band’s tastes are sweeping and informed, never before has one of their covers been so apropos outside of its immediate rock context. “Nuclear War” might not be a post-9/11 tribute, per se, but it rightly encapsulates the languid panic of a post-ironic America. While Alan Jackson celebrates his inanity for foreign policy and Steve Earle proves himself too careerist to impact anything outside of his own record sales, Yo La Tengo see how beautifully this song summarizes our nation’s apathetic despair: “It’s a motherfu*ker/ Don’t you know/ If they push that button/ Yo ass gotta go.” –
