I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass is the eleventh full-length album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on September 12, 2006 by record label Matador.

I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Studio album by Yo La Tengo
Released	September 12, 2006
Recorded	2006
Genre	Indie rock, avant-pop[1]
Length	77:41
Label	Matador
Producer	Roger Moutenot
Yo La Tengo chronology
Summer Sun (2003) I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006) They Shoot, We Score (2008)
Singles from I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
"Mr. Tough" Released: October 10, 2006

Content

The title of the album is rumored to be a (paraphrased) quote by NBA player Tim Thomas. Sitting on the bench together during a game, Thomas was caught on tape by the MSG Network in a profane exchange with fellow Knick, point guard Stephon Marbury. Thomas yelled at Marbury, "Everyone in this organization is afraid of you, but I'm not, and I will beat your ass".[2][3]

Release

The record was released on CD and as a double LP vinyl.

A 7" single for "Mr. Tough" was released in the UK, September 4, 2006. On the B-side there is a cover of "I'm Your Puppet" by James & Bobby Purify.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	85/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The A.V. Club	A−[6]
Entertainment Weekly	A[7]
The Guardian	[8]
Mojo	[9]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A−[10]
NME	6/10[11]
Pitchfork	8.3/10[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Spin	[14]

The album has received widespread acclaim and appeared in numerous "Best of 2006" lists, including:

• a rating of 85% on Metacritic[15]
• appearing at number 13 on Metacritic's "Best of 2006" list.[16]
• appearing at number 23 on Pitchfork's "Top 50 Albums of 2006"[17]

Track listing

All songs written by Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan and James McNew.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind"	10:47
2.	"Beanbag Chair"	3:03
3.	"I Feel Like Going Home"	4:14
4.	"Mr. Tough"	4:06
5.	"Black Flowers"	4:28
6.	"The Race Is on Again"	4:37
7.	"The Room Got Heavy"	5:10
8.	"Sometimes I Don't Get You"	3:16
9.	"Daphnia"	8:51
10.	"I Should Have Known Better"	3:16
11.	"Watch Out for Me Ronnie"	3:02
12.	"The Weakest Part"	3:04
13.	"Song for Mahila"	3:40
14.	"Point and Shoot"	4:18
15.	"The Story of Yo La Tango"	11:49

• The final track is a deliberate misspelling of the band's name — the album's CD-Text reiterating this by listing the track as "The Story of Yo La Tango", followed by the message "Yes — it should be Tango!". A recurring feature on the band's web site depicts venue marquees with various misspellings of the name.

Personnel

Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound.

• Steve Herrman – trumpet ("Mr. Tough", "Black Flowers")
• Jim Hoke – saxophone ("Mr. Tough", "Watch Out for Me Ronnie")
• Bill Huber – trombone ("Beanbag Chair", "Black Flowers") and euphonium ("Black Flowers")
• David Mansfield – violin ("I Feel Like Going Home", "Black Flowers")
• Roger Moutenot – acoustic guitar ("Song for Manhila")
• Garo Yellin – cello ("Black Flowers", "Watch Out for Me Ronnie")

Art

• Cover painting: Little Pink Lady by Gary Panter
• Photos by Reuben Cox
• Inlay photo of Ira as a kid was taken by Abraham Kaplan (Ira's father)
• Inlay photo of Ira and Georgia's dog, named Sydney, was taken by Georgia

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
French Albums (SNEP)[18]	179
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19]	70
US Billboard 200[20]	66
US Top Independent Albums (Billboard)[20]	3

References

1. Kampwirth, Kevin (December 2006). "CMJ Best of 2006". CMJ New Music Monthly (144): 26. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
2. Albertoni, Rich. "Beat It". ishtmus.com. Isthmus Publishing Company, Inc. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
3. Burtch, Steve. "Burtch's top 10 of 2006". indiemusicfilter.com. Indie Music Filter. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
4. "Reviews for I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass by Yo La Tengo". Metacritic. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
5. Deming, Mark. "I'm Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass – Yo La Tengo". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
6. Phipps, Keith (September 13, 2006). "Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
7. Hermes, Will (September 8, 2006). "I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
8. Snow, Mat (September 8, 2006). "Yo La Tengo, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass". The Guardian. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
9. "Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass". Mojo (154): 94. September 2006.
10. Christgau, Robert (December 2006). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
11. "Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass". NME: 21. September 2, 2006.
12. Richardson, Mark (September 11, 2006). "Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
13. Sheffield, Rob (September 20, 2006). "I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
14. Young, Jon (October 2006). "Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass". Spin. 22 (10): 105. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
15. Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass (2006): Reviews
16. "Highest and Lowest Scoring Music and Albums at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
17. Pitchfork Feature: Top 50 Albums of 2006
18. "Lescharts.com – Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Affraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
19. "Offiziellecharts.de – Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
20. "Yo La Tengo | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 29, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2017.

External links

• I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass at Discogs (list of releases)