Robert Christgau Words of the Day

sybaritic adj. Devoted to or marked by pleasure and luxury.

gnomic adj. Marked by aphorisms; aphoristic: gnomic verse; a gnomic style. (dictionary.reference.com)

Yo La Tengo Electr-O-Pura [Matador, 1995]

Electric, sure, but Altern-A-Pura would be more like it. Brimful of fuzz, feedback, punk, skronk, and the lovingly amped squelches of fingers sliding off strings, their seventh album is a subcultural tour de force, luxuriating so sybaritically in guitar sound that I'm reluctant to mention that the tunes are pretty good. That's probably why it's the best record they've ever made, though. Singing's breathy as usual, with Ira yelling when the time is right. As for the lyrics, you know--murmured, gnomic, pop culture references, that kind of thing. A (www.robertchristgau.com)