C/D: Sonic Youth's GOO

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I had to write up a little thingey about Sonic Youth for a weekly periodical that shall remain nameless this morning (they're playing at Irving Plaza with the Liars and Black Dice in a few weeks), so I randomly threw on GOO for probably the first time in ten or so years.

I know it's not their finest hour (usually a toss-up between BAD MOON RISING, EVOL, SISTER and, of course, DAYDREAM NATION, yeah yeah, I know...) but *OOOOF* is GOO ever pretentious! Are you kidding me? Can you listen to "Tunic (Song for Karen)" without wincing? Kim Gordon should be slapped with a large, frozen sea-bass for that.

Blah!

And you say?

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 November 2002 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw that tour and they were selling Goo panties.

Sean (Sean), Thursday, 14 November 2002 16:06 (twenty-two years ago)

It's got "Kool Thing" which from my viewpoint is their only decent song, therefore is classic. But I'm sure anyone who's listened to more than one and a half SY albums would disagree...

Jacob, Thursday, 14 November 2002 16:08 (twenty-two years ago)

I actually rather like it.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 14 November 2002 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Sonic Youth settles very comfortably into a rut and promptly jumps the shark. Destroy.

(those 8-track demos and live versions that appeared on, er, boy I can't remember what EPs around the same time were alright though)

Aaron W, Thursday, 14 November 2002 16:16 (twenty-two years ago)

It was my first Sonic Youth album and therefore classic! Changed my life! If it was pretentious, I was 14, so it was precisely what I needed.

Also:

Dirty Boots!

Dirty Boots baybeeee!

teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 November 2002 17:11 (twenty-two years ago)

At the time I really loved it cause I was big on supposed "sell-out" albums. "It's on a major, it must be great!" Oh, how perverse, yawn. I still think it has great songs on it. I love "Mary Christ".

Arthur (Arthur), Thursday, 14 November 2002 17:24 (twenty-two years ago)

songs = a step down from daydream nation

production = piss poor duddy dud

pettibon cover art = classic


search: goo demos.

gygax!, Thursday, 14 November 2002 18:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, don't go getting your Goo panties in a wad. It's definitely their first pro-forma rawk record, but it's got some decent cuts (the aforementioned "Boots," "Mary-Christ," "Mildred Pierce," "Titanium Expose"). Put another way, I haven't traded it in yet, which I can't say about several SY albums that came after.

Lee G (Lee G), Thursday, 14 November 2002 18:14 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah tunic's awful.
the worst spoken bits on record
this side of 'shorley wall' by ooberman.
'kool thing' ace though, ditto 'disapearer'.

cover's ace too, although isn't it something to do
with myra hindley or did i dream that ?

piscesboy, Thursday, 14 November 2002 18:30 (twenty-two years ago)

i say you couldn't be more right alex.

kephm, Thursday, 14 November 2002 19:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Goo is great.
It's got Mildred Pierce on it!

A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, 14 November 2002 19:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Goo was the second SY alb I owned and I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. Probably still do. Never liked "Kool Thing" that much, though.

Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 14 November 2002 19:38 (twenty-two years ago)

its a good rec really.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 14 November 2002 19:43 (twenty-two years ago)

It's probably better than Sister and DN but not as good as Dirty or Evol. It actually moves ("Titanium Expose" actually feels like rock music) and the production's clean enough that you can actually hear every detail of what they're doing. (Judging by their performances this summer, there's probably a lot missing from Daydream Nation because of the general lack of high end.) It was also where they started focusing on how to incorporate the noise into the fabric of 'normal' rock songs themselves rather than just setting it aside into 'guitar solo'-like sections. The playing's a bit tighter than on the two previous records, which is a good thing. "Dirty Boots" is great, "Mote" and "Disappearer" are heart-achingly lovely (Lee Ranaldo got good when he started singing). I'm not totally sure what you mean by "pretentious" or why you find this more pretentious than those other albums you mention. The Kim Gordon songs might be a bit smug lyrically and I could understand taking issue with the treatment of Karen Carpenter in "Tunic". The lush guitars on that track are nice though. "Kool Thing" was the highlight of their Montreal show in 2001 BTW.

sundar subramanian (sundar), Thursday, 14 November 2002 20:02 (twenty-two years ago)

. . . and lets not forget the joy that is driving down the motorway to "Mildred Pierce". I think it is a bit "jump the shark", it marks the end of the Blast First period and the beginning of the "Godfathers of Grunge" self-reverance. I still like it (even though I've not heard if for about five years) as it was my introduction to Sonic Youth at the tender age of fifteen.

If anyone hears it and feels disappointed just be glad you weren't a silly bastard like me and shelled out SIXTEEN FUCKING QUID for Thurston Moore's "Psychic Hearts", possibly the worst album I've ever heard. Any other Youth related project sounds ace to me now as a result.

Lynskey (Lynskey), Thursday, 14 November 2002 21:12 (twenty-two years ago)

KOOL THING, highlight to a SY live show????
I am sure glad that hasn't happened at any of the shows ive seen.

kephm, Thursday, 14 November 2002 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

''(Judging by their performances this summer, there's probably a lot missing from Daydream Nation because of the general lack of high end.)''

sundar- wasn't DN remastered? i never got holf of it. if you have can you tell me what do you think of it. thanks.

again. I love daydream and sister and Goo is beautiful rec but I can't rank 'em really. i have seen SY live so I don't know how diff the songs on DN are.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 14 November 2002 22:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm gonna say classic, because it's my favourite of their albums. Plus the band themselves don't seem to like it.

Vic Funk, Thursday, 14 November 2002 22:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Their 2nd best album. Tunic is ace (and so is Shorley Wall)

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Friday, 15 November 2002 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

When it came out, I thought it was so-so, but maybe it's my favorite now. In all honesty I don't listen to them anymore.

Sean (Sean), Friday, 15 November 2002 00:23 (twenty-two years ago)

It isn't as good as Sister, Evol or Daydream Nation, but Goo is OK by me, it's rock and roll. I saw them right after it came out with Redd Kross in a small room at IU Bloomington and it was one of the absolute most fun times I ever had seeing a band.

I can't haven't been able to get into their last three albums at all and haven't even bothered with the new one, although I would check them out live if they ever decided to play some place in the midwest again, which they haven't forever.

The thing that is such a let down on later Sonic Youth is that their music sounds lethargic and doesn't have the same energy coming up from the drums. For a couple of years Steve Shelley was tapping into some Keith Moon freakbeatery that was awesome, now the drums just don't have that kind of drive.

earlnash, Friday, 15 November 2002 00:36 (twenty-two years ago)

'disappearer' is classic, i don't remember anything else about the album other than the video for kool thing and thurston moore eating corn flakes.

keith (keithmcl), Friday, 15 November 2002 00:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Alex in NYC's right. "Tunic" is embarassing. Kim Gordon should be kept away from the microphone as a general rule.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 15 November 2002 00:45 (twenty-two years ago)

How about Washing Machine?

David Allen, Friday, 15 November 2002 01:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Never heard it, actually. I think I was put off enough by GOO that I never bothered with anything after that.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 15 November 2002 01:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Put my vote as "kinda silly but more good songs-qua-songs (as Christgau would burp) than most later albums. Tunic is indeed barf." 7 out of 10.

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 15 November 2002 02:26 (twenty-two years ago)

their albums always have a certain highs-to-lows ratio and I think Goo's is the most dramatic. a handful of their very very very best (if you don't think Titanium Expose, Mote, Cinderella's Big Score, Dirty Boots, etc. don't rank up there with anything on Daydream or ever, think again), but it's hard to appreciate those when every other track is something goofy and half-baked, not necessarily their most undercooked ideas, but enough to kill the mood.

Al (sitcom), Friday, 15 November 2002 07:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I like "Disappearer"

dave q, Friday, 15 November 2002 08:31 (twenty-two years ago)

''Alex in NYC's right. "Tunic" is embarassing. Kim Gordon should be kept away from the microphone as a general rule.''

kim always has done great vocals. i can't remmeber 'tunic' but she's always been exceptional as a rock n' roll singer.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 15 November 2002 10:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Washing Machine is far and away their worst alb.

I really like the 'video album' (or whatever they're called) that SY made for 'Goo'.

Andrew L (Andrew L), Friday, 15 November 2002 10:21 (twenty-two years ago)

andrew- are you at HMV today? i wuz plannning to pay a visit to the jazz dept to check whether they have any interesting BYG reisuues.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 15 November 2002 10:24 (twenty-two years ago)

No Julio it is my day off! And erm I don't really want to talk abt my 'job' on a public forum, thanks.


Andrew L (Andrew L), Friday, 15 November 2002 10:46 (twenty-two years ago)

sorry andrew.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 15 November 2002 10:47 (twenty-two years ago)

"Disappearer" is one of my all-time favorite SY songs. So classic.

o. nate (onate), Friday, 15 November 2002 16:08 (twenty-two years ago)

"Kim always has done great vocals. i can't remmeber 'tunic' but she's always been exceptional as a rock n' roll singer."


With all due respect, Julio, I sincerenly think you're mistaken, or at least when it comes to this track. Dig it out and listen again, then let's discuss. I think it's absolutely vile.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 15 November 2002 16:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Still love it alot, despite loads of filler. Throw me in the "Disappearer" pile.

James Blount (James Blount), Saturday, 16 November 2002 10:16 (twenty-two years ago)

The only thing I hated about this record was the video for "Kool Thing."

I reread Kim's Spin interview with L.L. Cool J, which inspired the song, and I'm still like, What did he do to deserve this? Their best vid was "Beauty Is in the Eye"...

Pete Scholtes, Sunday, 17 November 2002 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Was also my first SY album purchase. But disregarding any sentimentality I may have for it, it's probably still my favorite anyway. "Kool Thing" is a fine tune, uncharacteristic for them or not. "Dirty Boots" opens with a bang and "Titanium Expose" closes even better. "Mote" is one of Lee's best ever songs on a SY record. Even "Tunic," as labored as it might seem, still has some redeeming values (mentioning Dennis Wilson, for one).

paul cox (paul cox), Sunday, 17 November 2002 22:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I really enjoy most of it, except for maybe the Chuck D bit on Kool Thing because even then I thought it smacked of "hey, let's get someone with rap cred to show we're down with the kids" awkwardness.

Nicole (Nicole), Sunday, 17 November 2002 22:49 (twenty-two years ago)

heard it again last night: alex can you explain what's wrong with Kim's singing on 'tunic'. Granted, its not amongst their greatest but I like her 'morose' singing on it and it does suit the backing track.

I like chuck's bit on 'kool thing' too. they are now on a major label and they can get chuck D to guest on a track. I never got the 'down with the kids' thing at all nicole.

Its a good rec.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 10:24 (twenty-two years ago)

"Alex can you explain what's wrong with Kim's singing on 'tunic'?"

What's right with it?

In all seriousness, it's less an example of "singing" and more of a recitation. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that part of it, but Gordon's lifelessly deadpan delivery, coupled with what I consider to be a rather churlishly contrived narrative (ooh, look, I'm eulogizing soft-rock demi-goddess Karen Carpenter in a relatively shallow way...am I being ironic? You decide!) renders the whole thing embarassing and unlistenable.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 18 November 2002 13:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Does anyone know what Richard Carpenter thought of it?

Marcello Carlin, Monday, 18 November 2002 13:52 (twenty-two years ago)

well yr initial statement on it suggested you had probs with the delivery. and yes, there is nothing wrong with it.

when I listen to music I listen to sound. I find it very hard to concentrate on the lyrics (so I didn't know what it was abt).

''again. I love daydream and sister and Goo is beautiful rec but I can't rank 'em really. i have seen SY live so I don't know how diff the songs on DN are.''

that should be ''haven't'' seen SY live.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 14:04 (twenty-two years ago)

"when I listen to music I listen to sound. I find it very hard to concentrate on the lyrics (so I didn't know what it was abt)."


Can you walk and chew gum at the same time, Julio?

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 18 November 2002 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

with the voice it is the sound that it makes. I can get choruses becuz they get repeated over and over again but even that is a stretch at times but I've no clue abt verses.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 15:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Then I can't help you.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 18 November 2002 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

NOOOO!!!!!!

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 16:03 (twenty-two years ago)

alex he wz reaching out there and you pushed him away

it's not ironic, i don't think: KC wz a good singer and hers wz a sad story

mark s (mark s), Monday, 18 November 2002 16:36 (twenty-two years ago)

"KC wz a good singer and hers wz a sad story"

Inarguably, but I don't feel said story was presented in a necessarily sincere manner in "Tunic." I'm not suggesting that Kim Gordon was intentioally MOCKING Karen Carpenter, but to address this issue so blithely ("you look so underfed") and then augment the story with the most tired cliché in the book (that Karen Carpenter is in heaven and has made friends with fellow dead rock stars and formed a band) is beyond trite. That I find it irritatingly distasteful has less to do with any reverance for the Carpenters and more to do with my disgust at Sonic Youth's pretentiousness.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 18 November 2002 16:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Does anyone remember the video for "Tunic"? It had a little bit of crudely rendered animation of Karen Carpenter vomiting, if memory serves me right. On one hand, that's in particularly poor taste (nothing wrong with bad taste, but it has to be done right); on the other hand, I like the song. I really wish they didn't make that video. It makes the song seem completely insincere.

Goo is uneven, and parts seem forced. "Hey, we need a noise track! We're Sonic Youth, dammit!" (imagined origin of "Scooter + Jinx"). "Hey, we need a song where we scream and freak out! We're Sonic Youth, dammit!" (imagined origin of "Mildred Pierce"). Despite the throwaways, I think it turned out well. I remember thinking when it came out that it was all over for them - "Kool Thing" being the first single (hated it at first, can tolerate it now) and signing to Geffen. No, not quite...that would have to wait until Dirty.

Ernest P. (ernestp), Monday, 18 November 2002 17:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Here are the lyrics to the song if anyone wants to argue this out (I'm at work and rushing a bit but I'll come back later):


''[Kim]
dreaming, dreaming of a girl like me
hey what are you waiting for - feeding, feeding me
I feel like I'm disappearing - getting smaller every day
but I look in the mirror - I'm bigger in every way

she said:
you aren't never going anywhere
you aren't never going anywhere
I ain't never going anywhere
I ain't never going anywhere

I'm in heaven now - I can see you Richard
goodbye Hollywood, goodbye downey - hello Janis
hello Dennis, Elvis - and all my brand new friends
I'm so glad you're all here with me, until the very end

dreaming, dreaming of how it's supposed to be
but now this tunic's spinning - around my arms and knees
I feel like I'm disappearing - getting smaller every day
but when I open my mouth to sing - I'm bigger in every way

she said:
you aren't never going anywhere
you aren't never going anywhere
I ain't never going anywhere
I ain't never going anywhere

hey mom! look I'm up here - I finally made it
I'm playing the drums again too
don't be sad - the band doesn't sound half bad
and I remember mom, what you said
you said honey - you look so under-fed

[background voices singing various covers]

[Kim]
another green salad, another ice tea
there's a tunic in the closet waiting just for me
I feel like I'm disappearing - getting smaller every day
but I look in your eyes - and I'm bigger in every way

she said:
you aren't never going anywhere
you aren't never going anywhere
I ain't never going anywhere
I ain't never going anywhere

goodbye Richard - gotta go now
I'm finally on my own - but Dan's got a gig
keep the love lights glowing - little girl's got the blues
I can still hear momma say: "honey don't let it go to your head"''

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 18:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Because of this thread, I listened to the album yesterday for the first time in a few years... and it sounded great! Maybe it's a function of what I'm into these days, but what seemed stupid or trashy to me back then sounds fun and catchy now. I know I'll listen to this album again in the future; don't know if I'll ever sit through all four sides of Daydream Nation again, even if it is their so-called best.

oh yeah, love "Tunic"... I feel there's more tribute than piss-take going on, too...

Sean (Sean), Monday, 18 November 2002 18:45 (twenty-two years ago)

daydream nation has always been mainly lame

mark s (mark s), Monday, 18 November 2002 19:02 (twenty-two years ago)

seeing as it is not uncommon for sonic youth to be influenced by the arts, i credit "tunic" with being under the influence of todd haynes.

experimental jet set (aside from "bull in the heather") is so much more lamer than daydream nation.

gygax!, Monday, 18 November 2002 19:14 (twenty-two years ago)

mark: but it has been remastered no?

Ok so you prob haven't got it but the main quibble that ppl have with it is that the production doesn't do the riffs any favours. It sounds fine to me though i haven't heard it all the way through for a long while (and only in sections).

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 19:18 (twenty-two years ago)

daydream nation has always been mainly lame

Not lame: Teenage Riot, The Sprawl, Eric's Trip, Total Trash, Hey Joni, Candle, Trilogy (Pts. 1-3)

Since that makes up more than half of the album, I'd have to disagree.

o. nate (onate), Monday, 18 November 2002 19:26 (twenty-two years ago)

x poster could easily come back and say: 'that leaves 5 dud tracks nate. not as great as ppl say it is'.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 19:28 (twenty-two years ago)

True, but is any canonized album ever really as great as people say it is?

o. nate (onate), Monday, 18 November 2002 19:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Fushitsusha's 'Double Live' is of course the only exception to this rule nate.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 19:36 (twenty-two years ago)

i nevah heard experimental jetset, but on the plus side i have the todd haynes film on blurry illegal bootleg video!!

mark s (mark s), Monday, 18 November 2002 19:56 (twenty-two years ago)

daydream nation has always been mainly lame
don't know it too well but the tape copy i have never grabbed my attention. teenage riot i especially physically dislike. so maybe for the first time i have to agree with mark s. hooray!

i think my favourite sy album is dirty. i didn't realize how good it was initially (it was my first sy album) though i always loved it. but when i listened to murray street which is a very good effort next to dirty dirty happened to be so much more varied so much more dynamic so much more lively i couldn't believe it.

goo is a very fine record and i don't really get what the other alex is on about. the karen carpenter song isn't pure genius lyricwise but which sy song is? sy is not really about lyrics. they take as lyrics whatever they can get. sometimes it turns out to be funny sometimes it turns out rubbish. i couldn't care less.

and karen carpenter's voice is probably the most beautiful voice i have ever heard.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Monday, 18 November 2002 21:11 (twenty-two years ago)

"the karen carpenter song isn't pure genius lyricwise but which sy song is?"

Cop-out argument.

"sy is not really about lyrics."

Strictlly your opinion.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 18 November 2002 21:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I am at home having dinner now. I'm looking at alex's comments and the lyrics and the two don't match up.

alex- ''and then augment the story with the most tired cliché in the book (that Karen Carpenter is in heaven and has made friends with fellow dead rock stars and formed a band) is beyond trite.''

no alex its a tribute: its a lovely image that's being described (Ok so part opf my brain tells me its a tad corny but still). I don't think they treat KC badly.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 21:19 (twenty-two years ago)

You have your interpretation, and I have mine.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 18 November 2002 21:31 (twenty-two years ago)

isn't that ALWAYS the way alex?

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 21:39 (twenty-two years ago)

julio aren't you having SPAGHETTI there!!

mark s (mark s), Monday, 18 November 2002 21:49 (twenty-two years ago)

spaghetti on wednesday and thrusdays. today is rice, curry and fried chicken.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 21:58 (twenty-two years ago)

oh

mark s (mark s), Monday, 18 November 2002 21:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I just finished.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 22:01 (twenty-two years ago)

ah

mark s (mark s), Monday, 18 November 2002 22:05 (twenty-two years ago)

ice cream next.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 18 November 2002 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

"isn't that ALWAYS the way alex?"

Certainly. And, as before, I'm right and you're wrong. Hahahahaha

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 18 November 2002 22:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Overall, Goo = Poo, but some of the indiv. songs are okay ("Dis.," "Tit. Expose," "Mote" [aka THE BEST LEE SONG EVER]).

hstencil, Monday, 18 November 2002 22:34 (twenty-two years ago)

My friend Goo, says "Pee-yoo".

o. nate (onate), Monday, 18 November 2002 22:35 (twenty-two years ago)

i have the todd haynes film on blurry illegal bootleg video!!

I saw it in the theater before it got withdrawn! Am I cool or old?

Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 04:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Wait, don't answer.

Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 04:45 (twenty-two years ago)

happy birthday anyway sean, two days late!!

mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 11:56 (twenty-two years ago)

this thread is good bcz it made me go back and replay SY stuff i have =

Confusion is Sex (1983) YES
Bad Moon Rising (1985) YES
Evol (1986) YES
Sister (1986) YES
Master=Dik (1987) YES
Daydream Nation (1988) YES
Goo (1990) YES
Dirty (1992) YES
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (1994) NO
Made in USA (1995) NO
Screaming Fields of Sonic Love (1995) YES
Washing Machine (1995) NO
Silver Session (For Jason Knuth) (1998) NO
A Thousand Leaves (1998) NO
Goodbye 20th Century (1999) YES
NYC Ghosts & Flowers (2000) NO
Murray Street (2002) YES

the first NO = i lost my job at the wire and wz v.poor and trying to write my book

On a brief listen i like GOO better than DIRTY and both of them way better than DDN and Sistah bettah still and Murray Street best of all. but y'know....

mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 13:07 (twenty-two years ago)

''Master=Dik (1987) YES''

is that an official rec?

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 13:26 (twenty-two years ago)

it's a blast first 12": i just cut and pasted someone else's not v.well organised list and added YESes and NOs

mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 13:31 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...
as if people deny themselves cliches, especially when they're in the grips of something so self-deceptive

Josh (Josh), Sunday, 29 May 2005 09:04 (twenty years ago)

I agree with the pervert that said that Sonic Youth jumped the shark. They have had their moments but are more pretentious than not.

Julio Times 3, Sunday, 29 May 2005 10:19 (twenty years ago)

funny, I assumed when I saw this was revived that it would be about the upcoming Goo reissue.

Al (sitcom), Sunday, 29 May 2005 11:33 (twenty years ago)

EVERYTHING Alex in NYC says on this thread is OTM.

Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Sunday, 29 May 2005 11:48 (twenty years ago)

he doesn't know what he talks about.

Josh (Josh), Sunday, 29 May 2005 16:25 (twenty years ago)

Lee's songs are terrific.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 29 May 2005 17:05 (twenty years ago)

I hate "Mote." Most overrated SY song (by the core fanbase) EVER... well... next to "teenage riot."

The Brainwasher (Twilight), Sunday, 29 May 2005 18:26 (twenty years ago)

i think this album is amazing! i might be blinded by nostalgia, but what the hell...

s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 29 May 2005 19:41 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...
What's the deal with the upcoming deluxe edition?

Goo is my second favorite SY album after Sister.. The first six tracks or so are incredible. It get a little less interesting towards the end.

Can you listen to "Tunic (Song for Karen)" without wincing?

Yes! Her delivery is perfect! She does sound a little like Will Ferrel doing Janet Reno, but "Don't be saaahd / The band doesn't sound half baad."

poortheatre (poortheatre), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:01 (nineteen years ago)

I've been chronicly looking inside the Sonic Youth CD bins hoping that big deluxe looking thing in there is Goo and not Dirty myself. I can't wait.

donut gon' nut (donut), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:03 (nineteen years ago)

Goo is awesome!

gear (gear), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:05 (nineteen years ago)

Does anyone know what the extras will be?

poortheatre (poortheatre), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:07 (nineteen years ago)

I presume B-sides and (HOPEFULLY) the 8-track Goo.

donut gon' nut (donut), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:08 (nineteen years ago)

(as in the 8-track demoes that were sent to Sonic Death fan club members.. not an actual Goo 8-track!.. sorry. although someone should make that shit happen, too.)

donut gon' nut (donut), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:09 (nineteen years ago)

I third all of the Ranaldo love. The goo-era Ranaldo-penned b-sides (that'salotofdashes) were good too (I'm thinking of "wish fulfillment")

jb, Friday, 26 August 2005 21:10 (nineteen years ago)

Very, very awesome. Really want that deluxe edition posthaste.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:11 (nineteen years ago)

Tracklisting (from some french website, so YMMV)

http://www.xsilence.net/news-239.htm#239

CD 1
01 Dirty Boots
02 Tunic (Song for Karen)
03 Mary-Christ
04 Kool Thing
05 Mote
06 My Friend Goo
07 Disappearer
08 Mildred Pierce
09 Cinderella's Big Score
10 Scooter and Jinx
11 Titanium Expose
12 Lee #2
13 That's All I Know (Right Now)
14 The Bedroom
15 Dr. Benway's House
16 Tuff Boyz

CD 2
01 Tunic
02 Number One (Disappearer)
03 Titanium Expose
04 Dirty Boots
05 Corky (Cinderella's Big Score)
06 My Friend Goo
07 Bookstore (Mote)
08 Animals (Mary-Christ)
09 DV 2 (Kool Thing)
10 Blowjob (Mildred Pierce)
11 Lee #2
12 I Know There's an Answer
13 Can Song
14 Isaac
15 Goo Interview Flexi


jb, Friday, 26 August 2005 21:15 (nineteen years ago)

14 The Bedroom

"What do you do when your mom is a skinhead..."

"YOU FUCK HER!"

"...you write a song about her."

Possibly the greatest conversation ever held at a UCI theater or venue.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:20 (nineteen years ago)

(Anyway, this is good to know *not* to sell that "Dirty Boots" single with the live cuts on it...)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:21 (nineteen years ago)

*CLAP CLAP* GARÇON! LE DELUXE GOO, S'IL VOUS PLAÎT!

donut gon' nut (donut), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:21 (nineteen years ago)

I sold it, but backed it up. (phew!)

Also, I mean, SHAKEYMO is on that track playing the key role, Ned!

donut gon' nut (donut), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:22 (nineteen years ago)

Also, I mean, SHAKEYMO is on that track playing the key role, Ned!

Wait, was that him? I'm amazed!

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:25 (nineteen years ago)

I remember reading that a long time ago on here and getting a kick out of it... I've never heard the track, though. I thought he was yelling, "You [Thurston] fuck her [Kim]!!" I like it better this way.

poortheatre (poortheatre), Friday, 26 August 2005 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

More love for "Disappearer" here. That song finally made me invest in Goo at 15, as I decided I needed more of what had sounded like beautiful, massive, dense amplified folk music ("Dirty Boots" had also piqued my interest for similar reasons, after the fun but not quite essential "Kool Thing"). Swirly non-singles like "Mote", the kinda touching "Tunic" and "Cinderella's Big Score" didn't disappoint either. So, pretty classic based on teenage impact alone.

Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Saturday, 27 August 2005 00:36 (nineteen years ago)

Goo was SY's last great album.

Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Saturday, 27 August 2005 00:39 (nineteen years ago)

Unlike Alex, I really dig "Tunic." My interest turned to love when it played over the Maggie Cheung catburglar sequence in "Irma Vep."

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 27 August 2005 00:41 (nineteen years ago)

*CLAP CLAP* GARÇON! LE DELUXE GOO, S'IL VOUS PLAÎT!

i just had to come back and say that this has been making me laugh all night..

poortheatre (poortheatre), Saturday, 27 August 2005 01:41 (nineteen years ago)

i heart goo. esp. side 1. not a dud on there.

side 2 is redeemed by titanium expose.

"it was all whirlwind, heat and flash. within a week we'd killed my parents and hit the road."

xero, Saturday, 27 August 2005 02:30 (nineteen years ago)

"Nothing.. Lipstick.. A little blood."

poortheatre (poortheatre), Saturday, 27 August 2005 02:33 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...
MERCI! MERCI!

(I just picked up Goo deluxe tonight. This is fucking great. The 8-track version of the album slays. A nine-minute "Blowjob (Mildred Pierce)".)

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 08:22 (nineteen years ago)

Byron mentions "The Bedroom" being recorded at Irvine Meadows. Is he mistaking UC Irvine Crawford Hall for Irvine Meadows in the liner notes? Or was this when Sonic Youth opened for Neil Young & Crazy Horse there?

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 08:25 (nineteen years ago)

Well just for a 9-minute Mildred Pierce, I will have to pick this up..

Baaderonixx and the choco-pop babies (baaderonixx), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 08:31 (nineteen years ago)

Goddamn, this might be my favorite Deluxe Edition release ever... the only ones that rival it are Rick James's Street Songs and Donna Summer's Bad Girls. And I haven't cracked at the Bob Marley ones yet. (I'm talking specifically about the Deluxe Edition line by name, not just any deluxe edition release.)

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:09 (nineteen years ago)

I am pleased with all this news.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:12 (nineteen years ago)

The liner notes are really fun to read, too. Byron Coley and Mark Kates do the honors. Lots of fun stories about the making of the album, ramping up to DGC, etc. wanting to call the album Blowjob? initially, and not getting to.. That's too bad, actually.

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:21 (nineteen years ago)

From Blowjob to Goo sounds right.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:35 (nineteen years ago)

Goo should have been Goo! really.. because from Blowjob? to Goo! would have been even better... Or better yet. Q: Have you not blowjob? A: You have Goo!.

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

(sorry.. sub-custosian at best.)

(custos, i keed i keed)

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

Are these any different 8-track versions that were available on the Goo Demos CD?

gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:41 (nineteen years ago)

I never had the original one. The real Sonic Youth fans are going to have to delurk to answer this one...

..but I'm guessing they are the same ones, but remastered. Also, there are two "Lee #2"s. There's the 8-track version, and the studio version, which I'm guessing was slanted for a B-side, but never got used. Which makes sense as "Lee #2" is a complete departure.. very pleasant and poppy. It's another secret reason to get this.

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:50 (nineteen years ago)

It's too bad that Lee only got one track on Goo, thinking about it. At least it was one fucking motherlode of a track, though.. possibly his best.

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:53 (nineteen years ago)

Doesn't he sing "Mote" as well as "Disappearer"?

Sundar (sundar), Friday, 16 September 2005 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

Thurston sings "disappearer"

The Brainwasher (Twilight), Friday, 16 September 2005 17:44 (nineteen years ago)

My world no longer makes sense.

Sundar (sundar), Friday, 16 September 2005 17:57 (nineteen years ago)

i just sold my old copy of Goo in anticipation of this one.

gear (gear), Friday, 16 September 2005 20:36 (nineteen years ago)

I was positive that Lee sang Mote as well...has never sounded like Thurston to me.

Byron Coley's notes actually irritated me, especially the bit at the front that was more or less saying "IF YOU NEVER HEARD THE ROCK BEFORE YOUR EARS SUCK NYAH NYAH ROCKIST ROCKIST BTW PEEPS OK".

Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 20:44 (nineteen years ago)

just noticed sonicyouth.com has free mp3s of the live b-sides of the "Dirty Boots" cd single. One of their best releases in my opinion.

Old School (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 20:57 (nineteen years ago)

It's pretty great Alex in NYC was talking about Black Dice back in the '02. I stand by my 3 year old assessment upthread.

gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 21:04 (nineteen years ago)

Lee does sing "mote"

from this site
http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/new.html

Line-up:
Thurston - guitar
Kim - bass
Lee - guitar/vocals
Steve - drums/percussion
J. Mascis - backing vocals
w/ additional percussion by
nick sansano & don fleming

Christopher Costello (CGC), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 21:10 (nineteen years ago)

The nine-minute "Mildred Pierce" and the "I Know There's An Answer" cover are great, the rest is...well, pretty unnecessary.

More annoyingly, I got a copy with fucked-up liners that repeat pages several times and leave others out. It's possibly intentional but definitely irritating.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 21:14 (nineteen years ago)

Goo's better than Dirty.

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 21:18 (nineteen years ago)

DN, Goo and Dirty are all about equal for me these days.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 21:28 (nineteen years ago)

Byron Coley's notes actually irritated me, especially the bit at the front that was more or less saying "IF YOU NEVER HEARD THE ROCK BEFORE YOUR EARS SUCK NYAH NYAH ROCKIST ROCKIST BTW PEEPS OK".

Well, at least, this time, there seems to be more quotes from the band in his liner notes, which is what I was primarily interested in... Wasn't into his Deluxe Dirty liner notes... especially after giving Dirty a good listen, and confirming it sounded like a constipated Goo, but not in a good way.

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 22:59 (nineteen years ago)

If/when I finally get the Dirty special edition, I can see myself listening only to the bonus disc.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:01 (nineteen years ago)

As for your fucked liner notes, Dr. Bill, I'll double check, but I didn't notice any problems like that with mine. Maybe you should consider going back and getting a new copy if you still have your receipt?

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:03 (nineteen years ago)

I'd sound far too pathetic doing it to make it worthwhile.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:56 (nineteen years ago)

As for your fucked liner notes, Dr. Bill, I'll double check, but I didn't notice any problems like that with mine. Maybe you should consider going back and getting a new copy if you still have your receipt?

Seconded...no such repetition in my booklet. Just irritation.

Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:12 (nineteen years ago)

(Lee does sing "Mote". It's "Disappearer" that I was confused about.)

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 22 September 2005 01:19 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, the 8-trk demos ARE the Sonic Deth Goo Demos versions...
which i think make a good case for seeing how SY went from Point A (daydream) to Point B (goo/dirty). you can see how the song writing was changing into more focused territory but still pretty well wrapped in a gauzy layer o' fuzz/noize.

eedd, Thursday, 22 September 2005 10:58 (nineteen years ago)

Just wanted to speak up for the SY fans who lost interest after EVOL. There was the occasional flash of subsequent brilliance ("Schizophrenia", "Mote") but the sustained dark-dream-undertow was lost to the sands of time... it's odd that a band that was so important to me in '86 now is closing in on a 20 year losing streak. Jesus I'm old.

Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:15 (nineteen years ago)

What was the last SY album you bought, Edward?

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:18 (nineteen years ago)

Actually purchased with my hard earned money?
Master Dik

Listened to and/or owned a copy?
Daydream Nation
Whitey Album
Goo (actually listened to this quite a bit in some weird sado-masochistic ritual fashion)
Dirty
Experimental Jet-Set Trash and No Star
SYR1 / SYR3
Sonic Nurse

Have sampled songs here and there from other releases but have heard nothing to disprove my theory. Also saw them live a couple of times in the late 80s / early 90s.

Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:32 (nineteen years ago)

Any one of SY's '88-'92 albums >>>>> the rest of their non '88-'92 catalogue combined

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 22 September 2005 17:12 (nineteen years ago)

Edward somewhat OTM... Excellent taste and curating ability aside, Sonic Youth has yet to release an album on the scale of anything like Daydream Nation since. Goo was definitely the beginning of that slide.

gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 22 September 2005 17:21 (nineteen years ago)

Here's my SY "phase" breakdown

* Sonic Youth (1982)
* Confusion Is Sex, Kill Yr Idols (1983)
* Bad Moon Rising, EVOL, Sister, Master-Dik 12", Ciccone Youth (1985-1988)
* Daydream Nation, Goo, Dirty (1988-1992)
* Experimental Jet Set, Trash, And No Star, Washing Machine, A Thousand Leaves (1994-1998)
* NYC Ghosts & Flowers, Murray Street, and Sonic Nurse (2000-2004)

(The SYR series is its own parallel universe, though not completely unconnected. I left off some other odds and ends here and there like Silver Sessions (for Jason Knuth) for brevity.)

I did this because my appreciation of each "phase" (as I broke it down here) sways up and down in varying degrees. Sometimes, I want to listen to Sonic Nurse.. other times, I just want to here "Inhuman" REALLY fucking loud.

This probably speaks very highly of the band, if my opinion of the albums wavers up and down all around the catalog, all the time. I can't think of too many other bands where I'll revisit and revise my opinion on a band's oeuvre like that.

Currently, I'm re-appreciating the 1994-1998 phase... I don't see this as a sliding scale from the previous one at all! In fact, while it may have been a departure from Dirty, Experimental, etc. is a pretty damn stellar album, better than Dirty by miles -- I say this now of course.

donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Thursday, 22 September 2005 17:45 (nineteen years ago)

Ahh 'Goo'... The kind of album that only really makes sense if it hit you as a teen and without which teenage-dom would have been so much poorer.
Listening to the Deluxe version, I remember that being 16 can be the most awesome thing in the world.

Baaderonixx and the hedonistic gluttons (baaderonixx), Wednesday, 28 September 2005 09:13 (nineteen years ago)

Do I really need the Deluxe version? or is my original copy just fine?

meister, Wednesday, 28 September 2005 10:52 (nineteen years ago)

its my first sonic youth album, but i remember being 13 and confused as to whether i should be impressed or disgusted by what i heard. like, "this is COOL? this sounds kinda bad."

i think goo's a really spotty, flawed album. its got great moments and then really really horrible moments -- which is kind of what's ultimately great about it. from what ive read about the recording process, it seems like they just went hog crazy with the advance form DGC. they set up mics in all corners of the room, the mixes were lousy, they did what they could to salvage it.

maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 28 September 2005 11:15 (nineteen years ago)

Do I really need the Deluxe version? or is my original copy just fine?

I bought the vinyl version of the deluxe edition, largely because Goo was the only SY album I didn't have on vinyl, so I can't say if the CD sounds radically different than the original, but I didn't notice any major changes. The drums on "Dirty Boots" sounded a lot better, but that could also be due to the format. The live version of "The Bedroom", which I did have on vinyl prior to this, sounded better on the Dirty Boots EP, however.

That said, there's an interesting mini-essay by the guy that helped put together the deluxe edition, and all the sonic renovations they made, here: http://www.sonicyouthmedia.com/alt-main/goopop.html

Vic Funk, Wednesday, 28 September 2005 12:13 (nineteen years ago)

Vic, thank you for the link. Pretty much answers all the questions and then some.

I guess I should download those UC Irvine live show Mp3s while I can, if they are improved.

donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Wednesday, 28 September 2005 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

Goo is patchy, inspired, inconsistent and brilliant in places. It was the perfect introduction to Sonic Youth. In my last year of junior high school this record kicked my ass like very few before or since, and began a long-standing love affair with a great band which continues to this day.

J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Thursday, 29 September 2005 00:53 (nineteen years ago)

Well, I also just got the big Goo deluxe vinyl. I'm all gooey.

donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Thursday, 29 September 2005 05:11 (nineteen years ago)

I read the discography in Confusion is Next last night, and now I'm wondering why they didn't include their cover of Beefheart's "Electricity" on the deluxe edition. Were two Lee-sung bonus tracks ("I Know There's An Answer" and "Lee #2", in addition to the "Mote" demo) deemed enough from him, did they forget aboot it, or was it recorded during the timeline that will be covered on the Daydream Nation set?

Vic Funk, Thursday, 29 September 2005 10:42 (nineteen years ago)

eight years pass...

It's a testament to the writing on this album that the band, per the deluxe edition, probably could have released the songs in demo form and folks would have been cool with that. And SY likely would have "broken through" just as well.

Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 22 April 2014 16:13 (eleven years ago)

two years pass...

This is the only SY album I really like. I've tried and tried with Daydream Nation and can never get further than a few songs in.

Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:15 (eight years ago)

How many others have you tried?

FWIW I think "Washing Machine" is now the correct point of entry for this band.

Tim F, Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:36 (eight years ago)

Goo is a very good album tho.

Tim F, Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:37 (eight years ago)

i could never get into daydream nation either but i had a huge goo phase

who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:37 (eight years ago)

goo my fav

nxd, Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:41 (eight years ago)

Sister and Sonic Nurse are the correct entry points.

The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:47 (eight years ago)

Also good albums

Tim F, Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:49 (eight years ago)

Goo and Rather Ripped are the two I will listen to front to back. I go in search of particular tracks on all the others.

Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:53 (eight years ago)

I've dabbled in SY. I bought Rather Ripped when it came out and remember enjoying it. Every so often I have a rummage around in their back catalogue and try a random album. Often I'm put off by the fuzziness and lack of low-end, although I get the point, but black metal usually fills that frequency for me better than indie-noise. Now I come to think of it, my first intro to the band was Experimental, Jetset... which I got out the library when I was quite young and was confused by. I haven't heard Washing Machine or Sonic Nurse, but I hear they're good.

Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Tuesday, 29 November 2016 13:15 (eight years ago)

It's not my favorite anymore, but honestly EVOL was the entry point for a whole lot of people in the 80s, and I think it's probably a good place to start. My current favorite is NYC Ghosts and Flowers, so not saying anything about quality in hindsight, but the larger world (of music geeks) discovered Sonic Youth via EVOL and the Ciccone Youth single, and it only seems proper to respect that.

dlp9001, Tuesday, 29 November 2016 16:39 (eight years ago)

Love Evol, hate that Ciccone Youth thing.

Spiritual Hat Minimalism (Sund4r), Tuesday, 29 November 2016 17:10 (eight years ago)

My sonic youth love has always been dirty. Their punk album. The long tracks always make me think of the 60s and grateful dead etc. That's not what i like (about this band). Yes it was the first abum i ever heard by them. There is this theory about sy that you love the first album you heard the most..

it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Friday, 2 December 2016 23:25 (eight years ago)

Sister and Sonic Nurse are the correct entry points.

It was Dirty for me.

a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Friday, 2 December 2016 23:56 (eight years ago)

Dirty was the first I heard (and it blew me away). I still love a lot of it but I wouldn't rank it as my favourite. It actually struck me as a new kind of psych/prog rock when I first heard it as a teenager!

I've been working through the albums chronologically (obv with other things in between) since I started reading KG's book this week. Just hit play on Goo (90s cassette) now. Love "Dirty Boots" so much.

Something I've been thinking about is the extent to which the often-criticized out-of-tune singing might actually be necessary/appropriate over the intentionally detuned guitars, although I do think that their intonation as vocalists is less controlled/deliberate than their intonation as guitarists.

Spiritual Hat Minimalism (Sund4r), Saturday, 3 December 2016 00:22 (eight years ago)

EVOL is the shit, dl. Creamy genderfucked lunacy. Absolute high point of "indie rock" imo

sushi and the banh mis (Drugs A. Money), Saturday, 3 December 2016 08:03 (eight years ago)

washing machine was my intro... what can i say it worked

just sayin, Saturday, 3 December 2016 10:54 (eight years ago)

Kind of funny how they start to just sound out of tune when you overdose on them for a week.

Spiritual Hat Minimalism (Sund4r), Saturday, 3 December 2016 14:16 (eight years ago)

Anything SY (discounting the SYR) after 1986 is basically a refinement on EVOL (not an improvement on, imo although YMMV)

BMR points to EVOL but lacks the tunes n noise structure of the latter that would basically set them up for the next 20 years

Master of Treacle, Saturday, 3 December 2016 15:37 (eight years ago)

one year passes...

i remember being 13 and confused as to whether i should be impressed or disgusted by what i heard. like, "this is COOL? this sounds kinda bad."

oh to be able to recover that teenaged feeling

j., Thursday, 4 January 2018 02:31 (seven years ago)

two years pass...

30 years old today, was it ever polled?

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 26 June 2020 18:35 (five years ago)

My favorite Sonic Youth album.

Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Saturday, 27 June 2020 03:13 (five years ago)

Just listened to and half-watched the videos from the Corporate Ghost DVD. What stands out rn is that the sound of it is really good: naturalistic but really clear and full, with a satisfying crunch in the guitars. There's almost a lightness in the way the songs zip along tunefully and groovily. I don't entirely disagree with some of the criticisms of the lyrics of "Tunic" upthread.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 June 2020 04:19 (five years ago)

https://www.spin.com/2020/06/dont-give-me-your-soul-the-oral-history-of-sonic-youths-goo/

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 27 June 2020 09:39 (five years ago)

First album of theirs that I ever listened to and loved as a 14-year-old crusty hardcore punk kid. Totally changed my life...

but when I listen to it now, there are only a few really good tracks on it...though I will say that it contains Lee's finest moment in the band, afaic, with "Mote."

blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Saturday, 27 June 2020 16:25 (five years ago)

It's the weakest of their mainstream trilogy

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 27 June 2020 16:35 (five years ago)

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2176/9085/products/Steely_Dan_2048x2048.jpg?v=1569111560

X-Prince Protégé (sonnyboy), Saturday, 27 June 2020 16:37 (five years ago)

two months pass...

Listening for the first time in ages, and I think this might be as good as "Daydream Nation." The songs and arrangements are really strong imo and the hooks bigger, and underscoring both it starts with "Dirty Boots." And then goes right into "Tunic (Song for Karen)." And there are so many great twists and turns, like that brief major key(ish) break in "Cinderella's Big Score" or the megaphone-mic in "Mote" or the total shriek-and-noise explosion at the end of "Mildred Pierce" (which may be as abrasive as they get), or "Mary-Christ," which reminds me of "Tony's Theme" by the Pixies ...

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 27 August 2020 21:57 (four years ago)

one year passes...

Good and strong on tonight’s listen.

The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 22 July 2022 22:24 (two years ago)

Seriously, I don’t know why this record hasn’t gotten as much play as others of theirs with me.

The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 22 July 2022 22:25 (two years ago)

I think that when they come back in on the main riff sped up on "Titanium Expose" is a really exciting. I love that part.

earlnash, Saturday, 23 July 2022 23:31 (two years ago)

I bought this CD when it came out. I doubt I listened to it a half dozen times.

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Saturday, 23 July 2022 23:33 (two years ago)

Something about "Mildred Pierce" is like a perfectly tuned engine to me (and weirdly it's their only song in standard tuning). I think "Disappearer" is my overall favourite, followed closely by "Tunic".

assert (matttkkkk), Sunday, 24 July 2022 02:01 (two years ago)

two years pass...

So the album cover design is a meme I’ve seen on t shirts
I have the steely Dan one. today I saw a Harris /waltz. So dumb

calstars, Saturday, 29 March 2025 17:22 (two months ago)

A Mulligan and O'Hare/Sonic Youth mashup. pic.twitter.com/TkY1WkfAa6

— Stuff_By_Mark (@The_Ren1981) December 29, 2021

Overtoun House windows (aldo), Monday, 31 March 2025 13:13 (two months ago)

Reading the thread in full and absolutely baffled by the hate for Tunic! But you can't go back in time and argue with people from 20 years ago.

Etherwave, Monday, 31 March 2025 13:27 (two months ago)

only one way to find out

Tracer Hand, Monday, 31 March 2025 13:38 (two months ago)

Reading the thread in full and absolutely baffled by the hate for Tunic! But you can't go back in time and argue with people from 20 years ago.

― Etherwave, Monday, March 31, 2025 6:27 AM (thirteen minutes ago)

yeah it's wild. "Tunic" is the best song on the album, maybe top 10 (5?) SY songs for me.

imperial frfr (Steve Shasta), Monday, 31 March 2025 15:04 (two months ago)

For what it's worth, I *COMPLETELY* take back my horrible dismissal of "Tunic (Song for Karen)" in my question, here. Totally uncalled for. I was a terrible person.

Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 2 April 2025 15:02 (two months ago)

it happens to the best, and also the worst, of us

Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 2 April 2025 20:45 (two months ago)

if Lee would have written a better ending to Mote then that would have been my favorite song on the album. Now it just kinda goes nowhere for a while at the end.

StanM, Wednesday, 2 April 2025 21:38 (two months ago)

I find that quite a few great SY songs end terribly

Ste, Thursday, 3 April 2025 08:21 (two months ago)

Haha amazing - I didn't even have to pick a fight with 20 years ago. Isn't it amazing how time can change your mind on music like that?

This album wasn't my introduction to Sonic Youth. But I think it's one of those records that gets the balance between pop and noise absolutely perfect.

Etherwave, Thursday, 3 April 2025 08:25 (two months ago)

This album was my introduction to Sonic Youth. I got it as part of one of those Columbia House club deals: 7 CDs for a penny or something like that. It was a while before I heard their earlier stuff.

o. nate, Thursday, 3 April 2025 13:21 (two months ago)

August 21, 1990, Tower Records SF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX7gDRcAWtM

imperial frfr (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 8 April 2025 18:15 (two months ago)

Blowjob?

encino morricone (majorairbro), Wednesday, 9 April 2025 05:28 (two months ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi_1krnCvRE

Blood On The Knobs, Wednesday, 9 April 2025 14:06 (two months ago)

^ SY at their most "rawk!"

Blood On The Knobs, Wednesday, 9 April 2025 14:06 (two months ago)

yeah that's pretty great

Ste, Wednesday, 9 April 2025 15:05 (two months ago)

i was at that tower records parking lot show. people threw bagels at the band at one point.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Thursday, 10 April 2025 12:32 (two months ago)

*OOOOF* is GOO ever pretentious! Are you kidding me? Can you listen to "Tunic (Song for Karen)" without wincing? Kim Gordon should be slapped with a large, frozen sea-bass for that.

nope.

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 14:23 (two months ago)

As in I disagree! VOCIFEROUSLY!! Glad you have changed your mind on this too, Alex.

This is one of my least-fav SY records - I feel like Dirty does the big rock thing more interestingly/viscerally. But there are still great songs on it - the second half is stronger than the first, to me, but Tunic and Mote are my favourite songs off it.

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 14:25 (two months ago)

yah the fact it's bookended by Daydream Nation and Dirty always makes me forget about it

a (waterface), Thursday, 10 April 2025 14:28 (two months ago)

Much prefer Goo to Experimental Jet Set, Washing Machine, Thousand Leaves, The Eternal

Ward Fowler, Thursday, 10 April 2025 14:33 (two months ago)

Jet Set and Washing Machine are two of my absolute favourites, tbh, though I know I'm firmly in the minority on the first, at least.

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 14:41 (two months ago)

that tower records vid is fantastic, thanks for posting.

tylerw, Thursday, 10 April 2025 14:46 (two months ago)

oh i love Jet Set, Bull in the Heather is such a great video too. And if I've gleaming date information correctly from both Kim and Kathleen's biographies the video was quite possibly shot in the week that Cobain took his life.

Ste, Thursday, 10 April 2025 14:49 (two months ago)

Always interesting for me to see SY experts like stevie having a wildly different canon to mine!

Ward Fowler, Thursday, 10 April 2025 14:52 (two months ago)

At this point I think I've been through the cycle of having almost every sonic youth album be my favourite at one time or another (I think the only exceptions are NYCG&F and the last two)

silverfish, Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:18 (two months ago)

Always interesting for me to see SY experts like stevie having a wildly different canon to mine!

tbh my canon shifts all the time! and I feel I have violently subjective sy loves - like, I think the title track to NYCGAF is one of the best things they ever did (and don't get me started on how great Rather Ripped is)

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:35 (two months ago)

I've at least liked every album since 1987.

the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:35 (two months ago)

and I'm a fan of those mid '00s releases, some of their richest work imo

the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:35 (two months ago)

my current holy trinity is Bad Moon Rising, Washing Machine, Murray Street. But that will change.

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:36 (two months ago)

I definitely couldn't choose just one.

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:36 (two months ago)

I've at least liked every album since 1987 1985.

Just a remarkable catalog, consistently great records. There's not one I dislike.

better than ezra collective soul asylum (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:41 (two months ago)

I think the title track to NYCGAF is one of the best things they ever did

I think that one and the opening track are both amazing, it's the whole middle of the album that doesn't quite work, though I don't hate it

silverfish, Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:49 (two months ago)

it's the only one I am not positive I've ever listened to all the way through. I will rectify that tonight.

I'm also weirdly unfamiliar with the last album; listened to it a fair amount on release I guess, but haven't revisited it in recent memory.

Bad Moon through Experimental is just an incredible run of exceptional albums to me.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Thursday, 10 April 2025 15:56 (two months ago)

...and yet Washing Machine is better than anything since Daydream Nation.

imperial frfr (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 10 April 2025 16:10 (two months ago)

I think the title track to NYCGAF is one of the best things they ever did

We're agreed on that and I like the whole alb. When I saw that get a fairly hostile reception doing their 'modern classical' thing at the South Bank, they encored with a very powerful fuck you version of NYCGAF that I would like to have a boot of.

Ward Fowler, Thursday, 10 April 2025 16:14 (two months ago)

when I saw THEM

Ward Fowler, Thursday, 10 April 2025 16:14 (two months ago)

ooh you know I think I did once have a boot of that

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 16:18 (two months ago)

several hard drives ago tbh

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 16:18 (two months ago)

may be mixing it up with mp3s of the gig with spiritualised at rfh

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Thursday, 10 April 2025 16:20 (two months ago)

My favs right now are Washing Machine, Sonic Nurse and Sister. But this could change any given day.

Marty8501 (Marty Innerlogic), Thursday, 10 April 2025 17:52 (two months ago)

Washing Machine is my latest love, No Queen Blues might be most played on my spotify.

Ste, Thursday, 10 April 2025 18:16 (two months ago)

i confess that washing machine and 1000 leaves are albums that I never fell in love with, despite liking them just fine. Probably need to give them more listens.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Thursday, 10 April 2025 19:23 (two months ago)

1000 Leaves can be hard work for me - the opening track is a slog - but when it catches fire, like on Sunday or Wildflower Soul - it is brilliant. Still unconvinced by Hits Of Sunshine, but it makes more sense as I become more Dead-friendly. Some fantastic work by Kim - French Tickler, Ineffable Me - and Snare Girl and Heather Angel end the record so well.

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Friday, 11 April 2025 07:05 (two months ago)

goo is my favourite sy

nxd, Friday, 11 April 2025 08:51 (two months ago)

I saw sonic youth 4 times (1993, 1993, 1995, 2008) and the 1995 date was sooooooo good, leagues ahead of the others, the only time when they sounded like I wanted them to live

so i have a real soft spot for experimental jet set and washing machine cos those tracks ruled at that gig

Cognosc in Tyrol (emsworth), Friday, 11 April 2025 09:32 (two months ago)

First time I saw them was 95 and The Diamond Sea split my skull open and made wonderful things happen

conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Friday, 11 April 2025 09:35 (two months ago)

Also saw Sonic Youth four times, and the end-of-the tour show was leagues ahead of the other three early-tour gigs.

Theracane Gratifaction (bendy), Friday, 11 April 2025 16:10 (two months ago)

Goo was the first SY album I waited for and bought on release. Like a lotta folks, I was caught up in the hype for Daydream Nation — not least by the huge article in … was it “Guitar Player” mag? “Guitar for the Practicing Musician”? I thing it was “Guitar Player” — the biggest article I’d ever seen on a single artist, going deep into their tunings & such. I was already drifting towards indie rock, but this yanked me straight over the edge and I never bought another Dokken record again.

dentist looking too comfortable singing the blues (hardcore dilettante), Saturday, 12 April 2025 16:11 (two months ago)

First time I saw them was 95 and The Diamond Sea split my skull open and made wonderful things happen

― conspiracitorial theories (stevie), Friday, April 11, 2025 4:35 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

YES

Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 12 April 2025 16:17 (two months ago)

two months pass...

35 today

mookieproof, Friday, 27 June 2025 00:17 (yesterday)

what a great thread to revive, real taste of the old school here

ን (nabisco), Friday, 27 June 2025 00:21 (yesterday)

Coco turns 31 on Monday.

imperial frfr (Steve Shasta), Friday, 27 June 2025 00:43 (yesterday)

Never liked this album, and this was the only time I ever saw SY live (on the Neil Young tour), but I'm listening to the demos on the deluxe edition now and they sound very much like Sonic Youth songs. So I guess it was the blandified major label production/mastering that put me off.

Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Friday, 27 June 2025 01:26 (yesterday)

totally. IIRC they released those demos as a fan club CD, and then remixed? remastered? them for the deluxe edition reissues. when the deluxe came out it was like, wow these sound really great! something about the regular album always had an off sound to me as well and I'm generally ok-to-delighted with cost no object 80s/90s productions. there's something sort of.... placed in a psuedo-surround space about the mix? as if the whole thing was run through one of those 90s bookshelf stereos with presets for "Jazz Club", "Stadium"... etc...

encino morricone (majorairbro), Friday, 27 June 2025 07:54 (yesterday)

To me it doesn't sound much different from "Daydream Nation". IMO "Dirty" is the one where they kinda fucked up the sound.

o. nate, Friday, 27 June 2025 13:37 (yesterday)

"Daydream Nation" and "Goo" both produced by same guy. On "Dirty" they brought in Butch Vig.

o. nate, Friday, 27 June 2025 13:38 (yesterday)

I used to love this album in the 90s, but put it on sometime in the last year and couldn't really stand listening to it, I guess it's the mastering/mix that felt oppressive but I was somehow immune to this when I was younger? Or maybe it sounded better on the cheap boombox I used back then?

I will check out the demos on the deluxe edition (which I actually own on CD, but not sure I ever bothered listening to the demos)

silverfish, Friday, 27 June 2025 13:53 (yesterday)

IMO "Dirty" is the one where they kinda fucked up the sound.

weirdly I love the way Dirty sounds, though it is an outlier in their catalog with regards to that, very bright

silverfish, Friday, 27 June 2025 13:56 (yesterday)

I kind of like that aspect of it, really sharpens the guitars.

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 27 June 2025 13:59 (yesterday)

I always thought it sounded a bit harsh, even when I wasn't an old fogey.

o. nate, Friday, 27 June 2025 14:04 (yesterday)

Recalling now how excited I was to learn in the advance hype that Chuck D was gonna be on it, then so disappointed he didn't actually rap. In retrospect, probably a good move!

Primrose Cash Po (bendy), Friday, 27 June 2025 14:06 (yesterday)

"Daydream Nation" and "Goo" both produced by same guy.

Goo was mixed by Ron Saint Germain, whose credits are extremely wide-ranging but who goes for a big, polished sound.

Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Friday, 27 June 2025 14:31 (yesterday)

Funny, I always thought the albums he worked on, at least the ones I am most familiar with that he produced, sound kind of dull and muddy. Thinking Bad Brains, Living Colour, lotta hard rock stuff. Badmotorfinger sounds awesome, though.

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 27 June 2025 14:39 (yesterday)

Last time I listened to Goo on headphones I heard all sorts of overdubs and studio tricks I'd never noticed before.

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 27 June 2025 14:40 (yesterday)

The mix is lusher and the vocals sound better recorded on Goo than DN (they had a lot more money to spend on the recording) but to me they still sound more similar than either vs. Dirty.

o. nate, Friday, 27 June 2025 14:57 (yesterday)

Interesting to see complaints about the sound/mastering/mix when the problem with it is that the songs aren't good.

j.o.h.n. in evanston (john. a resident of chicago.), Friday, 27 June 2025 15:03 (yesterday)

yeah Goo and Daydream sound more similar to each other than any pair from SY's first 10 or so albums. both great imo even if there's very little room for debate as to which is better.

some dude, Friday, 27 June 2025 15:39 (yesterday)

Interesting to see complaints about the sound/mastering/mix when the problem with it is that the songs aren't good.

RONG

czech hunter biden's laptop (the table is the table), Friday, 27 June 2025 16:23 (yesterday)

Dirty Boots, Mote, Disappearer, and Mary-Christ are all excellent, with Mote being Lee’s best SY track afaic.

the album does go downhill after Midred Pierce but yknow.

czech hunter biden's laptop (the table is the table), Friday, 27 June 2025 16:25 (yesterday)

oh man I love "Cinderella's Big Score" and "Titanium Expose," those are like Daydream Nation-scale epics to me

some dude, Friday, 27 June 2025 18:12 (yesterday)

“What do you do when your mom’s a skinhead?”

Dirty Boots rulez

Cow_Art, Friday, 27 June 2025 18:38 (yesterday)

love titanium expose. i didn't realize they made a video for it lol.

five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 27 June 2025 18:42 (yesterday)

I remember someone here imagining that Goo was the sound of SY trying as hard as possible to sell out and basically failing. I always liked that reading.

eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Friday, 27 June 2025 20:07 (yesterday)

yeah Goo and Daydream sound more similar to each other than any pair from SY's first 10 or so albums. both great imo even if there's very little room for debate as to which is better.

― some dude,

DN is one of my least favorite SY albums and imo the biggest sacred cow in their oeuvre
i honestly prefer goo, disappearer is almost top tier plus tuff boyz from the deluxe reish has some delicious input jack abuse

doe on a hill (Deflatormouse), Friday, 27 June 2025 20:22 (yesterday)

I love Mote. Like a gothy Dino Jr?

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 27 June 2025 20:31 (yesterday)

huh I guess I need to check out the deluxe version

this rec is good but I like at least a half dozen of theirs way more

sleeve, Friday, 27 June 2025 20:36 (yesterday)

this is a great sounding album IMO

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Friday, 27 June 2025 22:27 (yesterday)

DN is one of my least favorite SY albums and imo the biggest sacred cow in their oeuvre

how so?

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 27 June 2025 22:44 (yesterday)


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