Sonic Youth is fuckin amazing!

[tragabigzanda]

[washing machine]

Same! Ever since Kim went public with not only everything that happened between them, but also how calculated he has been in his writing and perception, Ive found it increasingly difficult to enjoy his voice or lyrics

Exactly. It feels as if whatever happened between he and Kim was a symptom of some larger character flaw. Call it arrested development or a midlife crisis or too much acid or whatever, but there doesn't seem to be anything evolved about his songwriting since the breakup compared to the rest of SY's solo output, and I judge him as a person for it.

[washing machine]

Those guitar lines though.

[Kevin Davis]

Played the first few songs from this on my ride home last night. It's good, but I wish Thurston would give his singing a rest and explore guitar texture full time. I just don't fully buy his lyrics or delivery like I used to.

Same! Ever since Kim went public with not only everything that happened between them, but also how calculated he has been in his writing and perception, Ive found it increasingly difficult to enjoy his voice or lyrics

Exactly. It feels as if whatever happened between he and Kim was a symptom of some larger character flaw. Call it arrested development or a midlife crisis or too much acid or whatever, but there doesn't seem to be anything evolved about his songwriting since the breakup compared to the rest of SY's solo output, and I judge him as a person for it.

Interesting -- the SY albums I've found myself most attracted to lately have been the Spinhead Sessions and Destroyed Room releases, so I wonder if I'm not responding to some element of this same thing.

I don't know SY nearly as deeply as some of the other folks on this board but Thurston always seemed to have a kind of a snarky, adolescent side to his lyrics and delivery that felt out of step to me with how sophisticated SY was musically.

[washing machine]

Interesting -- the SY albums I've found myself most attracted to lately have been the Spinhead Sessions and Destroyed Room releases, so I wonder if I'm not responding to some element of this same thing.

I don't know SY nearly as deeply as some of the other folks on this board but Thurston always seemed to have a kind of a snarky, adolescent side to his lyrics and delivery that felt out of step to me with how sophisticated SY was musically.

This post makes me think you would really enjoy working through the SYR series (if you haven't already.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Youth_Recordings

SYR 1 is the shortest and most accessible in this series. Little vignettes and motifs all over this one. You get a great sense of what the SYR project is and how different from their general catalog they can get.
SYR 2 is probably my favorite. Consider it one big sound check for A Thousand Leaves that weaves in and out of pure improv.
SYR 3 has a special place in my heart as my first exposure to "avant garde" music in general. It's fairly abrasive and atonal, while having some transcendent, soft, melodic moments (think Contre le Sexisme off A Thousand Leaves).
SYR 4 is...not for everyone. Sonic Youth covering famous minimalist and avant garde compositions. I've never made it through the whole thing in one sitting, but at the same time, a lot of the individual pieces on their own are just fantastic when in the right frame of mind. It's the type of album that's fodder for people who like to hurl the catch-all "pretentious" invective at a band Kim Gordon is in.

SYR 5-8 are not collections I'm super familiar with. Some are live improvs. Some are collabs with noise artists. One has Merzbow on it (I remember enjoying that one a lot and definitely still have the CD somewhere.)

Which brings us to SYR 9. As a fan of Spinhead Sessions, you'd probably really like this one. It's some of the most gorgeous soundtrack music they've ever made. It gets a lot of play on my headphones still. But don't just take my word for it.

Spoiler: show

[Kevin Davis]

I always meant to check those out, Reid -- I think I would really enjoy them. That video you posted sounds like the intro to "The Diamond Sea" frozen in time

[washing machine]

I always meant to check those out, Reid -- I think I would really enjoy them. That video you posted sounds like the intro to "The Diamond Sea" frozen in time

Yes! def. Can one of the RM gearheads please tell me what the name of that pedal(?) effect is? Sounds vaguely like a robotic voice chanting.

[washing machine]

I didn't even mention that SY's brief career with Jim O'Rourke seems to have it's genesis in SYR 3. My love of that collection gave my ears a serious advantage when it came to appreciating NYC Ghosts and the dead center void of the otherwise SY-as-usual Murray Street.

[washing machine]

I'm having fun with some Daydream Nation retracking, and 9 times out of 10 I'd listen to the 28 minute EP before the 42 minute album listed below.

DDN is a stone cold classic, but I've always thought the album's best trick was how it's most memorable songs hide the fact that it's really a pretty disjointed set that comes close to collapsing under the heft. When you isolate the long-form epics on the album, you've got yourself an EP of songs that slowly build steam but then you're left with a collection of fairly standard punk songs that make for a speedier and more digestible listen.


Daydream "EP"
Side A.
The Sprawl -- 7:42
'Cross the Breeze: -- 7:00

Side B.
Trilogy
-The Wonder
-Hyperstation
-Eliminator Jr.

Total Run Time: 28:ish


Daydream "LP"
Side A.
Teen Age Riot
Silver Rocket
Eric's Trip
Kissability

Side B.
Providence
Hey Joni
Candle
Rain King
Total Trash

Total Run Time: 42:ish

[tragabigzanda]

[VinylGuy]

Going back to that Moore talk...I really think both The Best Day and the last one from him are the best stuff coming out from a SY member after their split. Kim has been working a lot, and her solo album and specially Murderer Out were great, but as cohesive album The Best Day is better.

He hasnt changed much his style, thats true, but one could say that Lee and Kim also havent. Around the time Kim´s book was released was kind of a shock to learn how Moore handled the whole thing, but at the same time its his ex´s view. I loved her book but i also feel it was kind of a shame she needed to talk about it.

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[VinylGuy]

i totally get that but at the same time, thats Kim´s narrative.
And its one thats super affected. Its been a while and Moore is still with the same girl. And he was with Kim for quite some time too.

I dont know, i dont think his interest on art and being cool is a lie or is affected by anything. At least not more than Kim´s herself.

[tragabigzanda]

[washing machine]

Going back to that Moore talk...I really think both The Best Day and the last one from him are the best stuff coming out from a SY member after their split. Kim has been working a lot, and her solo album and specially Murderer Out were great, but as cohesive album The Best Day is better.

He hasnt changed much his style, thats true, but one could say that Lee and Kim also havent. Around the time Kim´s book was released was kind of a shock to learn how Moore handled the whole thing, but at the same time its his ex´s view. I loved her book but i also feel it was kind of a shame she needed to talk about it.

One good unintended consequence of the (band) split is, much like the Beatle solo stuff in the 70s, is that we get to really hear what each of them brought to the group. SY always seemed like such a tight unit, but their solo careers all follow the threads from their frayed partnership. Lee still sounds like Lee, but doesn't really sound too much like "Sonic Youth". Kim continues to have her hands in many different projects, and her solo album was both very Kim and very unlike SY. Thurston's music feels a lot like Sonic Youth, still.

[Birds in Hell]

All of a sudden he sounds like a big dumb dumb to me. I feel like I got a glimpse behind the curtain, and didn't love that I saw: A guy who has worked tirelessly to strike a perfect chord as artsy-intellectual-left-of-center-rock-music-cum-celebrity.

I think this was always my take on Thurston. A kind of goofy, endearing, attention-seeking dilettante.

I haven't read Kim's book. Not as a result of any particular principle, I just haven't felt interested in doing so.

I really liked The Best Day when it came out but I haven't really dug anything Thurston's done since.

I unfollowed him on Insta because I found his posts (and general personality) quite grating, but that doesn't change how much I love Schizophrenia or Tom Violence.

In retrospect, I could really jettison almost all post-Goo SY and be quite satisfied.

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[Birds in Hell]

Sonic Youth did have a significant role in Nirvana's path to mainstream success, encouraging them to sign not only with their label (Geffen) but their management company (Gold Mountain). In retrospect, I'm not sure that was a great idea.

[washing machine]

Here's a few years old interview out there with Kim Gordon that I found this morning. You guys would enjoy it, especially given the last page of discussion here. In her book and here, she consistently keeps up the message that she (and the band) don't think of themselves as musicians. This is one of the biggest reasons I enjoy Sonic Youth, and I think it's apparent now that a lot of what the essence of "Sonic Youth" is came from Kim's energy.

https://www.pbs.org/video/overheard-eva ... nd-author/

[washing machine]

Also, Spenno! Discard the post-Goo stuff? You're wild, man.