Great Moments in WFMU History #34

Daniel Johnston / Yo La Tengo Phone Jam - by Gaylord Fields

The phrase "phoning in your performance" was considered to be a pejorative until February 4, 1990. For without Don Ameche's invention, one of the signature live-music moments in WFMU's annals never would have transpired: the interstate alchemical reaction that occurred when Daniel Johnston rang up Yo La Tengo (who were the featured guests on The Music Faucet, a live-performance program hosted by Nick Hill) for a long-distance radio session. The trio, then consisting of Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan, and Dave Schramm, performed three tunes with the singer-songwriter, who somehow kept pace, even though his voice was emanating from a telephone in West Virginia, located some 500 miles away from WFMU's studios. The standout track of the session proved to be a version of Johnston's "Speeding Motorcycle" that was much too brilliant to consign to the bootleggers, seeing legitimate release soon thereafter.

Nick Hill shares his memories of the phone collaboration here.

Listen to Daniel Johnston’s phone-in performance here (real audio)

Illustration by Matt Madden

Comments

[john's pal]

That's John Kessel from the Cigarettes on "Monkey in a Zoo"
http://myspace.com/johnkessel

[smith]

You're forgetting "The Blimp".

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