review
Pop culture geekitude in excelsis, “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House” borrows its title from The Simpsons (in reference to a charity telethon hosted by the late Phil Hartman’s character Troy McClure) and its hypnotic electro-drone melody from vintage Stereolab, yet it’s as original a pop song as anyone’s ever created. The lyrics imagine that the Dawn who backed singer Orlando on bubblegum classics like “Knock Three Times” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” is the same Dawn once loved by singer Frankie Valli, who famously told the girl “Go away, I’m no good for you” in his chart smash. Yo La Tengo picks up the narrative years later: while Orlando wows the crowd at a state fair, a revenge-minded Valli--bearing rags and gasoline--descends upon his Lake Tahoe mansion, vowing to reclaim Dawn for his own as he sets Orlando’s home ablaze. “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House” fulfills the titular promise of its accompanying album And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out--the song takes sweet nothings from music’s past and twists them every which way, bringing together seemingly disparate points on the pop cultural continuum and divining cultural resonance and echoes that even their creators never knew existed.
