Artists with a song you really like but...

[tragabigzanda]

[Kaius]

This might be my worst offense that needs to be remedied ASAP.

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot

[washing machine]

This might be my worst offense that needs to be remedied ASAP.

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot

bro.

[washing machine]

What's the song sound like, ruddo?

It's very haunting

So like Portishead?

Have a good day, Reid

Thanks for replying and groetjes

[Jorge]

An actually fun fact: "Pulling muscles from the shell" is a British euphemism for sexual intercourse, making the visual metaphor from labia going in/out during the thrusting motion.

The above sentence kind of has an Argo vibe to it.

STOP SAYING MUSCLES

[washing machine]

[Kaius]

This might be my worst offense that needs to be remedied ASAP.

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot

bro.

sometimes it’s the size of the catalogue that deters me. Same with artists like Costello or Springsteen. Do I go chronologically? Are the early albums good enough to keep my interest in the long game? Or do I start with the album that houses the song I know and like? That probably makes the most sense, but could backfire if it just happened to be a commercially successful song on a bad album amongst a collection of better albums with lesser known songs.

[washing machine]

This might be my worst offense that needs to be remedied ASAP.

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot

bro.

sometimes it’s the size of the catalogue that deters me. Same with artists like Costello or Springsteen. Do I go chronologically? Are the early albums good enough to keep my interest in the long game? Or do I start with the album that houses the song I know and like? That probably makes the most sense, but could backfire if it just happened to be a commercially successful song on a bad album amongst a collection of better albums with lesser known songs.

I get that. I started with Washing Machine (the album) after someone gave it to me for a birthday in like 1996. It took me years to really get into it or Sonic Youth in general, and now it's top tier SY for me. Not a good entry point, I guess.

Daydream Nation would be a good place to start, I would think. Or Nurse. Both of those albums have enough on them to give you a really good sense of what the group is capable of while still being loaded with enjoyable on their own "singles".

[Kevin Davis]

guys this song is perfect

I like this song a lot, I had no idea it was Squeeze.

"Up the Junction" is another really good one.


I'm not that crazy about "Tempted" though.

[Kevin Davis]

Costello....Do I go chronologically? Are the early albums good enough to keep my interest in the long game?

Costello's first few albums are all really strong; many think they're his best. My favorites are scattered throughout his catalog (and I don't think he has any albums I outright dislike), but I definitely don't think going through Costello's catalog chronologically would be a bad approach. Same with Springsteen, really.

[washing machine]

This might be my worst offense that needs to be remedied ASAP.

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot

bro.

sometimes it’s the size of the catalogue that deters me. Same with artists like Costello or Springsteen. Do I go chronologically? Are the early albums good enough to keep my interest in the long game? Or do I start with the album that houses the song I know and like? That probably makes the most sense, but could backfire if it just happened to be a commercially successful song on a bad album amongst a collection of better albums with lesser known songs.

I get that. I started with Washing Machine (the album) after someone gave it to me for a birthday in like 1996. It took me years to really get into it or Sonic Youth in general, and now it's top tier SY for me. Not a good entry point, I guess.

Daydream Nation would be a good place to start, I would think. Or Nurse. Both of those albums have enough on them to give you a really good sense of what the group is capable of while still being loaded with enjoyable on their own "singles".

Also, you don't need to go chronologically with this band. In fact, I would advise against it. Wouldn't be a bad idea to start with their last indie label release (Daydream) and work chronologically through the rest of their subsequent DGC catalog, though. If you can make it that far, you'd have enough sense of where they were headed to really appreciate their noisy roots. Bad Moon Rising, Evol and Sister are all fantastic albums, but none of them except maybe Sister would likely make you want to hear more unless you're just really into noise and avant garde punk.

[Kevin Davis]

I started -- somewhat randomly -- with Goo, Washing Machine, and A Thousand Leaves. That did it for me; SY was basically all I listened to for a year.

I've never warmed to their really early stuff, and I thought The Eternal was kind of a dud, but Bad Moon Rising through Rather Ripped is an outstanding run of records.

[washing machine]

A Thousand Leaves is my favorite Sonic Youth album by a mile. Something about the aesthetic and mood of that one, front-to-back, really resonates with me. That being said, it's unfortunately one of their least accessible ones, I'd think.

[Kevin Davis]

A Thousand Leaves is my favorite Sonic Youth album by a mile. Something about the aesthetic and mood of that one, front-to-back, really resonates with me. That being said, it's unfortunately one of their least accessible ones, I'd think.

Really? I'd say that about NYC Ghosts and Flowers (which I like too), but I've always found A Thousand Leaves a very easy album to just sort of slip into and get lost in; of those three I listed, it was my favorite right out of the gate, and it's still one of my go-to albums of theirs (actually this and the 1986 Spinhead Sessions disc are probably my most played SY albums of the last couple years). There's a bit of a disconnect between the Kim songs (which are at the more abrasive end of her spectrum) and the Thurston tunes (which are at the dreamier, jammier end of his), as opposed to on, say, Daydream Nation where all the writers seem to occupy a more common middle ground, but to the right set of ears I think it's pretty instantly likable.

[washing machine]

A Thousand Leaves is my favorite Sonic Youth album by a mile. Something about the aesthetic and mood of that one, front-to-back, really resonates with me. That being said, it's unfortunately one of their least accessible ones, I'd think.

Really? I'd say that about NYC Ghosts and Flowers (which I like too), but I've always found A Thousand Leaves a very easy album to just sort of slip into and get lost in; of those three I listed, it was my favorite right out of the gate, and it's still one of my go-to albums of theirs (actually this and the 1986 Spinhead Sessions disc are probably my most played SY albums of the last couple years). There's a bit of a disconnect between the Kim songs (which are at the more abrasive end of her spectrum) and the Thurston tunes (which are at the dreamier, jammier end of his), as opposed to on, say, Daydream Nation where all the writers seem to occupy a more common middle ground, but to the right set of ears I think it's pretty instantly likable.

It's been so long since the album has been new to me, so I think it feels kind of hard for fans like you and I to put ourselves in a new listener's shoes, but just looking at your recap of both this one and DDN it's easy for me to see what would be inaccessible about A Thousand Leaves.

You're right about the Kim songs and you're right about the Thurston songs, and I don't think that an average newcomer would stick around for the extremes of those vocalists ranges on this album. Kim, especially. Imagine hearing about the greatness of Sonic Youth for years and years, searching bins for the perfect starting album, finally coming across A Thousand Leaves, then pressing start. Static. Hiss. Thunderous mood. Kim Gordon delivering spoken word about "describing the touch", punctuated with french phrases. Then Sunday comes around and everything makes sense for a bit. You feel like, okay, I can groove to this for a while... Then Female Mechanic! Those jagged guitar lines. Kim being Kim. Meanwhile, somehow, Lee works his way in dropping a touch of acid to the mix.

This is a great album and I am going to listen to it shortly, but man oh man is this not a place to start with this group. Much better to get a sense of the band as a gelled unit with something relatively homogeneous like Daydream Nation.

[Kevin Davis]

Oh man, I forgot about the Lee songs. "Hoarfrost" is one of my favorite SY songs ever.

[washing machine]

Oh man, I forgot about the Lee songs. "Hoarfrost" is one of my favorite SY songs ever.

The rhythm of this verse is so wonderful


Wheels paddle wheels paddle movement as we go
Trees passing trees passing signs along the road
A view through the trees to a couple in the snow
A view through the trees to a couple standing in the snow

[Chris_H_2]

[Ms Harmless]

Stone Temple Pilots (I like "Plush")

[knee tunes]

If I posted all the artists that I like but never explored their catalog, I think you all would throw shit at me , or be disgusted. Anyway, so I'm an idiot or lazy.

Note to everyone, send me a link to a good song and I will listen to it, I might even buy some CDs.

Ok actually I am imploring you to do this please. It's the only way I learn

Smashing Pumpkins
REM
RadioHead
Stone Temple Pilots (although I do have one CD)
Wilco
My morning jacket


(Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Jack White et. al. used to be on this list until friends saved me of these sins)