The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist

Nick Zinner Nicholas Joseph Zinner (born December 8, 1974) is an American guitarist for the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a record producer. Zinner is an accomplished photographer. Musical career Before forming the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs with Karen O and ...

, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist

David Pajo David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Tho ...

(formerly of Slint and Tortoise), who joined as a touring member in 2009 and replaced Imaad Wasif, who had previously held the role. According to an interview that aired during ABC's ''Live from Central Park SummerStage'' series, the band's name was taken from modern New York City

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

. The band has recorded five studio albums; the first, '' Fever to Tell'', was released in 2003. The second, '' Show Your Bones'', was released in 2006 and was named the second best album of the year by '' NME''. Their third studio album, '' It's Blitz!'', was released in March 2009. All three albums earned the band Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Music Album. Their fourth album, '' Mosquito'', came out in April 2013, and '' Cool It Down'' followed in September 2022.

History

Formation and ''Fever to Tell'' (1990s–2004)

Karen O and Brian Chase first met as students at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

in Ohio in the late 1990s, where Chase was a jazz student at the conservatory. Karen then transferred to

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and met Zinner in a local bar, where they formed an "instant connection." During this time, they also shared a loft with future members of the band

Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics In mathe ...

. Orzolek and Zinner formed an acoustic duo called Unitard but soon decided to "shake things up a bit" by forming a "trashy, punky, grimy" band modeled after the art student,

avant-punk Avant-punk is a punk music style characterized by "screeching experimentation," and a term by which critics used to describe the wave of American punk bands from the 1970s. It originated with the New York-based rock band the Velvet Underground, ...

bands Karen O was exposed to at Oberlin. After the drummer they initially recruited bowed out, Chase joined the line-up. The band wrote a slew of songs at their first rehearsal and soon wound up supporting The Strokes and The White Stripes, earning a significant buzz for their arty and garage punk scene. In late 2001, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their self-titled debut EP, which they recorded with

Boss Hog Boss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer (guitar) and Cristina Martinez (vocals) along with Jens Jurgensen (bass), Hollis Queens (drums) and Mickey Finn (keyboard). The band achieved some notori ...

's Jerry Teel, on their own Shifty label. Early the next year, they stepped into the international spotlight, appearing at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

, touring the U.S. with

Girls Against Boys Girls Against Boys is a post-hardcore band which formed in Washington, D.C. and subsequently relocated to New York City shortly after their formation in 1989. The band released albums on the labels Adult Swim, Touch and Go Records, Geffen Record ...

, and Europe with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and headlining their own U.K. tour. Wichita Recordings distributed the group's EP in the U.K. and Touch and Go reissued it in the States. In 2003, the band released their debut album, '' Fever to Tell'', which received several strong critical reviews and sold more than 750,000 copies worldwide. The album's third single, " Maps", received significant airplay on

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

radio. In 2010, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' ranked "Maps" as 386th in their list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine '' Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 i ...

. The video for their 2004 single "

Y Control "Y Control" is a single by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, from their debut album ''Fever to Tell''. The name of the song refers to the emotional control of a female, referring to the male Y chromosome, and can also be read as a reference to Prince's 1995 song ...

" was directed by

Spike Jonze Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze began his ca ...

. In October 2004, the band released their first DVD, ''

Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow ''Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow'' is a music DVD released by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on October 25, 2004, through Polydor. The main feature of the DVD is the band's live performance at The Fillmore in San Francisco on March 17, 2004, with bonus so ...

''. The DVD included a concert filmed at

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...

in San Francisco, all of the band's music videos to date, and various interviews. Later the same year, they were featured in

Scott Crary Scott Crary (also known as S. A. Crary; born 1978) is an American film director, producer and writer, best known for having directed, produced, filmed and edited the film ''Kill Your Idols (film), Kill Your Idols'', a documentary examining three ...

's documentary '' Kill Your Idols''. In November 2009, '' NME'' rated ''Fever to Tell'' the No. 5 Best Album of the Decade.

''Show Your Bones'' and ''Is Is'' EP (2005–2007)

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' second album, '' Show Your Bones'', was released on March 28, 2006. Karen O told online zine Drowned in Sound, "'' Show Your Bones'' is what happens when you put your finger in a light socket", crediting "9-year old antigenius wonder-kid Drake Barrett for the insight." The first single from the album, " Gold Lion", was released on March 20, 2006, reaching number 18 in the Official UK Singles Chart. It has been noted by Leah Greenblatt that " Gold Lion" sounds startlingly similar to "No New Tale To Tell" from 1980s alternative band Love and Rockets. The band toured throughout Europe and the United States during much of 2006, and also helped to curate an edition of the British All Tomorrow's Parties festival. In December 2006, the album was named second best album of the year by '' NME'' magazine, and "Cheated Hearts" was voted 10th best song. ''

'' magazine named ''Show Your Bones'' the 44th best album of 2006, while ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' magazine ranked it number 31 on their 40 best albums of 2006. Yeah Yeah Yeahs' third EP, titled '' Is Is'', was released on July 24, 2007. It includes 5 previously unreleased songs and a short film, which was recorded and filmed at the

Glasslands Gallery Glasslands Gallery (or simply Glasslands) was a music venue, dance club and art space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Glasslands was founded by Brooke Baxter and Rolyn Hu in 2006, as a relocation of Baxter’s earlier art space in the same building, ...

in Brooklyn, NY. The songs were written in 2004, during the Fever To Tell tour, and performed live often. Three of the five tracks were featured on the ''

'' DVD.

''It's Blitz!'' (2008–2009)

The Yeah Yeah Yeah's next album was released in March 2009 and titled '' It's Blitz!''. The band says the album sounds different from their previous ones but "still oundslike Yeah Yeah Yeahs". It was originally set to be released on April 13, but following an internet leak on February 22, the band's label, Interscope, pulled the release date closer to reduce the leak's impact. The album spawned three singles: "

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by Multiplication, multiplying digits to the left of 0 by th ...

", " Heads Will Roll," and "

Skeletons A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure insid ...

." ''It's Blitz!'' was named second best album of 2009 by ''

Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...

'' and third best by '' NME'', along with "

" from the album listed as the best track of the year by both.

''Mosquito'' and hiatus (2011–2016)

On December 9, 2011, Karen O reported to ''NME'' that she had been working on new music with the band, hinting a new album was possibly in the making. On January 14, 2013, it was announced via their official Facebook page that the new album would be titled '' Mosquito''. It was released on April 16, of the same year. The album features production by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, Nick Launay, and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy. The first single, "

Sacrilege Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical ...

", was released on February 15, 2013. "Despair" was released as the second single on July 23, 2013. Yeah Yeah Yeahs Ventura

In December 2014, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs went on hiatus. In 2016, the band received writing credits on the

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

single " Hold Up". Yeah Yeah Yeahs Corona Capital Guadalajara

Return in 2017

On June 20, 2017, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs announced that they would be headlining the Austin "Sound on Sound" festival on November 10, adding: "Watch for more news coming soon" The Sound on Sound festival was subsequently cancelled. On May 26, 2018, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs played at All Points Festival in Victoria Park, London.

Reissue of ''Fever to Tell''

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs released a deluxe remastering of their debut album ''Fever to Tell'' on October 20, 2017, through Interscope / UMe. It features previously unreleased demos, B-sides, and other rarities from the era. In a press release, the band announced, "A friend of a friend kept asking if we were ever gonna put ''Fever to Tell'' out on vinyl as it hasn't been on vinyl in 10 years. That's not right. So here it is on vinyl for the first time in 10 years plus a time capsule of photos, demos (1st ever recorded,) a mini film documenting our near downfall and other fun memorabilia, from the turn of the century NYC, made with love + the usual blood, sweat + tears of Yeah Yeah Yeahs." To celebrate the reissue, the band performed a small series of shows in October and November at

The Fonda Theatre The Fonda Theatre (formerly Music Box Theatre, Guild Theatre, Fox Theatre, and Pix Theatre) is a concert venue located on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style, the theater has hosted l ...

in Los Angeles, California, the

Fox Oakland Theatre The Fox Oakland Theatre is a 2,800-seat concert hall, a former movie theater, located at 1807 Telegraph Avenue in Downtown Oakland. It originally opened in 1928, running films until 1970. Designed by Weeks and Day, the theatre is listed on the ...

in Oakland, California, and Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York.

''Cool It Down'' (2022)

In June 2022, the band announced that they would be releasing the album '' Cool It Down'' on September 30, making it their first record in nine years. They released the first single, "Spitting Off the Edge of the World", featuring Perfume Genius, on June 1. On September 29, 2022, the band performed their second single, "Burning", on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's ...

'' as part of the show's weeklong residency at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

Musical style

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' style has been described as "an art-rock trio who made an edgy post-punk, dancefloor-friendly racket that mixed up Blondie, Pretenders, and

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine ...

Awards and nominations

Antville Music Video Awards , - , rowspan="2" , 2006 , rowspan="2" , "Gold Lion" , Best Cinematography , , - , rowspan="2" , Best Performance Video , , - , rowspan="4" , 2013 , "Despair" , , - , rowspan="3" , "

" , Video of the Year , , - , Best Narrative , , - , Best Editing , BMI London Awards , - , 2007 , " Gold Lion" , Pop Award , D&AD Awards , - , 2005 , "

" , Direction , style="background:#FFBF00", Yellow Pencil , - , rowspan=2, 2014 , rowspan=2, "

" , Cinematography , style="background:#BF8040", Wood Pencil , - , Editing , style="background:#8a8b89", Graphite Pencil Grammy Awards , - , style="text-align:center;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, '' Fever to Tell'' , rowspan="4", Best Alternative Music Album , , - , style="text-align:center;",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, '' Show Your Bones'' , , - , style="text-align:center;",

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, '' It's Blitz!'' , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2, 2023 , '' Cool It Down'' , , - , "Spitting Off the Edge of the World" , Best Alternative Music Performance , , - International Dance Music Awards , - , rowspan="3", 2010 , Themselves , Best Artist (Group) , , - , '' It's Blitz'' , Best Artist Album , , - , " Heads Will Roll" , Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track , MTV Video Music Awards , - , rowspan="4",

, rowspan="4", " Maps" , Best Art Direction , , - , Best Editing , , - , Best Cinematography , , - , MTV2 Award , , - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

, " Heads Will Roll" ,

Breakthrough Video Breakthrough or break through may refer to: Arts Books * ''Break Through'' (book), a 2007 book about environmentalism by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger * ''Break Through'' (play), a 2011 episodic play portraying scenes from LGBT life * ...

, , - , rowspan="2",

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, rowspan="2", "

" , Best Direction , , - , Best Cinematography , MVPA Awards , - , 2005 , "

" , Best Alternative Video , , - , 2006 , " Gold Lion" , Best Cinematography , , - , 2009 , "

" , Best Rock Video , mtvU Woodie Awards , - , 2004 , Themselves , Woodie of the Year , , - , 2009 , " Heads Will Roll" , Best Video Woodie , NME Awards , - , rowspan="2", 2003 , Themselves , Philip Hall Hot New Band Award , , - , rowspan="3", Karen O , rowspan="3", Hottest Woman , , - , 2005 , , - , 2007 , , - , rowspan="2", 2010 , "

" , Best Dancefloor Filler , , - , Themselves , Best International Band , , - , 2011 , Karen O , Hottest Woman , New York Music Awards , - , 2011 , " Heads Will Roll" ( A-Trak Remix) , Best Dance Remix , Rober Awards Music Poll , - , rowspan=4, 2009 , rowspan=2, Themselves , Best Rock Artist , , - , Band of the Year , , - , "

" , Song of the Year , , - , " Heads Will Roll" ( A-Trak Remix) , Best Remix , Shortlist Music Prize , - , 2003 , '' Fever to Tell'' , Album of the Year , UK Music Video Awards , - , rowspan="2", 2013 , rowspan="2", "

" , Best Rock/Indie Video , , - , Best Editing , Žebřík Music Awards !Ref. , - , rowspan=2, 2009 , Karen O , Best International Female , , rowspan=2, , - , Themselves , Best International Discovery ,

Discography

Studio albums * '' Fever to Tell'' (2003) * '' Show Your Bones'' (2006) * '' It's Blitz!'' (2009) * '' Mosquito'' (2013) * '' Cool It Down'' (2022)

References

External links

*
BBC artist page

early list of links to interviews, photos, etc.
"Yeah Yeah Yeahs: The Love Cats"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeah Yeah Yeahs 2000 establishments in New York City Alternative rock groups from New York (state) American art rock groups Dance-punk musical groups Fiction Records artists Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Interscope Records artists Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups from New York City American musical trios Modular Recordings artists Polydor Records artists Post-punk revival music groups Touch and Go Records artists Wichita Recordings artists Female-fronted musical groups Secretly Canadian artists