Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo - Strange But True

Strange but True is a collaborative album between the band Yo La Tengo and Jad Fair. It was released by Matador Records in 1998. Song titles on the album are taken from outrageous newspaper headlines.



Released on Matador Records , MATADOR OLE 309-2









Track List



"Helpful Monkey Wallpapers Entire Home" – 2:06

"Texas Man Abducted by Aliens for Outer Space Joy Ride" – 2:37

"National Sports Association Hires Retired English Professor to Name New Wrestling Holds" – 2:33

"Dedicated Thespian Has Teeth Pulled to Play Newborn Baby in High School Play" – 1:38

"Three-Year-Old Genius Graduates High School at Top of Her Class" – 1:17

"Embarrassed Teen Accidentally Uses Valuable Rare Postage Stamp" – 2:49

"Principal Punishes Students with Bad Impressions and Tired Jokes" – 1:24

"Retired Grocer Constructs Tiny Mount Rushmore Entirely of Cheese" – 1:51

"X-ray Reveals Doctor Left Wristwatch Inside Patient" – 0:50

"Clumsy Grandmother Serves Delicious Dessert by Mistake #2" – 1:01

"Retired Woman Starts New Career in Monkey Fashions" – 1:35

"Circus Strongman Runs for PTA President" – 3:19

"High School Shop Class Constructs Bicycle Built for 26" – 1:31

"Clumsy Grandmother Serves Delicious Dessert by Mistake #1" – 1:22

"Ohio Town Saved from Killer Bees by Hungry Vampire Bats" – 2:26

"Nevada Man Invents Piano with 21 Extra Keys" – 1:10

"Clever Chemist Makes Chewing Gum from Soap" – 2:00

"Minnesota Man Claims Monkey Bowled Perfect Game" – 1:34

"Ingenious Scientist Invents Car of the Future" – 1:29

"Car Gears Stick in Reverse, Daring Driver Crosses Town Backwards" – 1:48

"Shocking Fashion Statement Terrorizes Town" – 1:56

"Feisty Millionaire Fills Potholes with Hundred-Dollar Bills" – 2:41



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Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi group Half Japanese. Since then, Half Japanese has released nearly 30 records.

Besides Half Japanese, Fair performs and records as a solo artist, and collaborates with artists such as Terry Adams, Norman Blake, Kevin Blechdom, Isobel Campbell, Eugene Chadbourne, DQE, Steve Fisk, Fred Frith, God Is My Co-Pilot, Richard Hell, Daniel Johnston, J. Mascis, Jason Willett, Monster Party, Weird Paul Petroskey, R. Stevie Moore, Thurston Moore, The Pastels, Phono-Comb, Steve Shelley, Strobe Talbot, Teenage Fanclub, The Tinklers, Moe Tucker, Bill Wells, Jason Willett, Adult Rodeo, Lumberob, Yo La Tengo, and John Zorn.

In 1982 Fair released his first solo work, the single "The Zombies of Mora-Tau" followed by the full-length album Everyone Knew ... But Me one year later.

Besides his musical career Fair is also active as a visual artist, drawings as well as papercuttings. He took up papercutting to alleviate boredom while touring on the road.Many of the album covers are made by Fair. Four books of Fair's art have been published. Exhibitions of Fair's paper cuts and drawings have taken place in New York, Tokyo, Glasgow, Austin, Paris, London, Houston, The Hague at the State-X New Forms festival and in Nantes at Le Lieu Unique together with Daniel Johnston.

It's Spooky is a 1989 collaboration album by Daniel Johnston and Jad Fair. Strange but True is a collaborative album between the band Yo La Tengo and Jad Fair. It was released by Matador Records in 1998. Song titles on the album were taken from outrageous newspaper headlines. In 2002 Fair recorded an album with R. Stevie Moore, titled FairMoore, described as "a lovely, heartfelt effort that shows both in top form" by Dave Mandl, who stated that it "brings together two fiercely original figures in the American music underground", the album consisting of Fair reciting his poetry over Moore's instrumental backing. Words Of Wisdom And Hope is a collaboration between Glasgow, Scotland's Teenage Fanclub and Fair, released in 2002.

In 2008 Vincent Moon made a short documentary called Paris lost in Texas, which is part of his The Take-Away Shows-series. In this short movie he visits Fair in house in Texas. In the same year experimental instrument builder Yuri Landman constructed for Fair a special 2 string instrument called the Bachelor QS. In 2011 Half Japanese reunited as a live band and toured through Europe. In 2011 Thick Syrup Records released the compilation album '78 LTD. This album features the track "36 Perfect Ways I Ching of Love" Fair made with Ken Stringfellow (Posies, R.E.M.). In 2012 Fair contributed to the Landman album That's Right Go Cats with a 22-minute vocal contribution on side A of the record. The Nantes based venue Le Lieu Unique has organised a large exhibition of graphical work made by Fair and Daniel Johnston in April 2012. In the same month Fair released a lost album called Songs from a Haunted House with Gilles Reider on Interbang Records.

In 2012 Jad Fair released on Joyful Noise Recordings a collaboration with French experimentalist trio Hifiklub, and German guitarist/producer kptmichigan. The band was originally assembled to provide the audio component to Jad Fair's art exhibition at Le Dojo - Nice in France, 2011

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Yo La Tengo (often abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew (bass, vocals). In 2015, original guitarist Dave Schramm rejoined the band and appears on their fourteenth album, Stuff Like That There.

Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential critics' band" and maintains a strong cult following.

Though they mostly play original material, Yo La Tengo is renowned for its wide repertoire of cover songs both in live performance and on record