Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase have kept the same lineup since forming in the East Village around 2000.
For a quick sense of their energy, put on 'Y Control' or 'Heads Will Roll.' That's the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in a couple minutes.
They arrived with 'Fever to Tell' in 2003, a record that spliced post-punk with electroclash and garage rock. Songs like 'Y Control' and 'Heads Will Roll' define their sound: Karen O's vocals riding over Zinner's guitar lines and Chase's drums. Their music has turned up in films and TV shows, and they've kept making records through the years.
They started playing together in a shared East Village apartment. After 'Fever to Tell,' they released 'Show Your Bones' in 2006, 'It's Blitz!' in 2009, and 'Cool It Down' in 2022. The band paused touring for a bit after Karen O mentioned having thyroid cancer in 2018, but they came back to play shows in 2019.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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