which sonic youth?

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which one?

Poll Results

OptionVotes
lee 44
thurston 37
kim 30
steve 18


plax (ico), Sunday, 26 April 2020 15:21 (five years ago)

jim!

reggie (qualmsley), Sunday, 26 April 2020 15:22 (five years ago)

O'Rourke has the best solo output so yeah, him.

knowing for certain the first touch of the light will finish you (fionnland), Sunday, 26 April 2020 15:30 (five years ago)

Lee

J. Sam, Sunday, 26 April 2020 15:48 (five years ago)

Kim, duh.

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Sunday, 26 April 2020 15:49 (five years ago)

^ x2

knife sharpening tips (gaudio), Sunday, 26 April 2020 15:50 (five years ago)

Kim

clap for content-providers (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 26 April 2020 15:51 (five years ago)

Thurston obv

the grateful dead can dance (anagram), Sunday, 26 April 2020 15:52 (five years ago)

lee

i am a horse girl (map), Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:14 (five years ago)

bob bert deserves an honorable mention

i am a horse girl (map), Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:17 (five years ago)

Kim wins for longevity.

billstevejim, Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:37 (five years ago)

richard edson is the true and correct answer!

sknybrg, Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:42 (five years ago)

Ciccone

pomenitul, Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:43 (five years ago)

our lord and savior jesus christ is the real answer

billstevejim, Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:43 (five years ago)

jim is such a boring challenging opinion please. voting kim obviously, this is clearly the only correct answer.

plax (ico), Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:45 (five years ago)

kim is the only one who 'gets' sonic youth

plax (ico), Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:45 (five years ago)

Edson -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ5jchmvkFQ

Maresn3st, Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:50 (five years ago)

https://vdsqrecords005.bandcamp.com/album/vdsq-solo-acoustic-vol-5-12-string-meditations-for-jack-rose

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Sunday, 26 April 2020 17:11 (five years ago)

lee

let me be your friend on the other end! (Karl Malone), Sunday, 26 April 2020 17:12 (five years ago)

^v good solo acoustic 12-string album by Thurston
xp

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Sunday, 26 April 2020 17:13 (five years ago)

i can't stand thurston moore

global tetrahedron, Sunday, 26 April 2020 17:16 (five years ago)

Lee and Jim, voted Lee

herds of unmasked cletuses (WmC), Sunday, 26 April 2020 17:17 (five years ago)

jim!

― reggie (qualmsley)

which one?

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 26 April 2020 18:20 (five years ago)

Bob Bert

Stevolende, Sunday, 26 April 2020 18:20 (five years ago)

Oh I thought this was gonna be 80s vs 90s vs 00s. Which would be really difficult!

last updated a group of five done twelve times ago (geoffreyess), Sunday, 26 April 2020 18:28 (five years ago)

i cannot decide this

methinks dababy doth bop shit too much (m bison), Sunday, 26 April 2020 18:39 (five years ago)

I feel a little better about the "Jim" answers now that I imagine them being votes for Sclavunos.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Sunday, 26 April 2020 19:08 (five years ago)

steve

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 26 April 2020 19:08 (five years ago)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JHRTxSY_EwQ

Boring, Maryland, Sunday, 26 April 2020 19:13 (five years ago)

The episode of Homicide with Richard Edson and Bruno Kirby is a great SY deep cut.

bryan, Sunday, 26 April 2020 19:50 (five years ago)

Steve

change display name (Jordan), Sunday, 26 April 2020 19:56 (five years ago)

What do you guys think of his drumming? I've seen the criticism made that he relies on the same groove for almost everything. (This would also not be an unfair cop wrt Thurston's playing; maybe why global hates him?)

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Sunday, 26 April 2020 20:27 (five years ago)

it’s such a good groove tho

He is married to Brogmus, Linda. (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 26 April 2020 20:28 (five years ago)

Kim wins for longevity.


Yep. The only one still putting out work that I’m digging tbh.

Thurston has become a punching bag and I think it’s kinda silly if you actually dig SY. More of his DNA in the band than anyone else’s.

circa1916, Sunday, 26 April 2020 21:41 (five years ago)

Thurston.

The Corbynite Maneuver (Tom D.), Sunday, 26 April 2020 21:52 (five years ago)

My favourite songs are generally Thurston's so Thurston

Saxophone Of Futility (Michael B), Sunday, 26 April 2020 21:57 (five years ago)

don't rate any of them tbh!

calzino, Sunday, 26 April 2020 22:05 (five years ago)

I think Steve's drumming is deceptively simple and actually super intentional, tasteful, and in the pocket. There's clearly a reason they all keep hiring him for their solo projects when they could go with anyone.

change display name (Jordan), Sunday, 26 April 2020 22:07 (five years ago)

I hate these kinds of polls in the same way that I hate the Cheers poll. Be real, a vote for anyone but Thurston is a vote for Cliff Claven over Sam Malone.

This Guy Fawkes (Yelploaf), Sunday, 26 April 2020 22:13 (five years ago)

here is my evidence for steve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev4n7Bkn5QA

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 26 April 2020 22:13 (five years ago)

^^^ my fav SY song of all time

methinks dababy doth bop shit too much (m bison), Sunday, 26 April 2020 22:34 (five years ago)

good call on rain on tin. steve is really great on that.

sknybrg, Sunday, 26 April 2020 22:51 (five years ago)

I know this is a very basic thing to say but SY didn’t really gel until Steve joined. His drumming style is basically a fourth guitar voice that meshes perfectly with the other three. One of my favourite drummers, kin to Klaus Dinger and I didn’t see anybody giving Klaus shit for having one dominant groove mode.

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Sunday, 26 April 2020 22:55 (five years ago)

Lee is free.

earlnash, Sunday, 26 April 2020 23:10 (five years ago)

this looks good, haven't listened yet (via Raymond C)

https://sonicyouth.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-los-angeles-1998

zoomer death circus (sleeve), Sunday, 26 April 2020 23:29 (five years ago)

i was there! i remember thinking it was a boring show actually — but I was 19 and didn't know shit. the tape is awesome.

tylerw, Sunday, 26 April 2020 23:41 (five years ago)

anyway, this is a band that is wayyyyyyyy more than the sum of its parts.

tylerw, Sunday, 26 April 2020 23:43 (five years ago)

^^^ otm

methinks dababy doth bop shit too much (m bison), Sunday, 26 April 2020 23:57 (five years ago)

My favourite songs are generally Thurston's so Thurston


Yeah, I was upping Kim upthread, but I ultimately picked Thurston for this very reason. Also Psychic Hearts the song is one of my favorite jams of all time.

circa1916, Monday, 27 April 2020 00:11 (five years ago)

His solo work is generally most consistent with what I like in Sonic Youth.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Monday, 27 April 2020 00:38 (five years ago)

Psychic Hearts the song

that track really is fantastic, his finest moment in some ways, more lyrically direct than a lot of SY tunes

zoomer death circus (sleeve), Monday, 27 April 2020 01:38 (five years ago)

Kim is good. Lee is good. Steve is good. Thurston's kinda too much. Jim probably shouldn't count.

So Bob Bert it is.

charlie brown from outta town (GM), Monday, 27 April 2020 04:51 (five years ago)

xp to Psychic Hearts

Kinda the ultimate punk rock love song. In the grander, universal sense of the word love. One of the very few SY related tracks that gets me emotional.

circa1916, Monday, 27 April 2020 05:21 (five years ago)

Lee does all my favorite songs

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Monday, 27 April 2020 05:29 (five years ago)

i can't really stand Thurston Moore either, at least his personality, what happened with Kim, his embarrassing behavior in the Year Punk Broke....but he is still responsible for most of the Sonic Youth highpoints if you look at their entire career.

akm, Monday, 27 April 2020 14:27 (five years ago)

Some prime irritating Thurston in The Year Punk Broke, but some saving moments too.

*going at a bowl of soup*

“I need this elixir of... skinhead violence"

circa1916, Monday, 27 April 2020 15:31 (five years ago)

Lee saved them from becoming too much of the Thurston and Kim show and helped them become a much more rounded, venerable group as a whole (dodgy beat poet stuff aside)

Plus, his tunes and guitars etc

Master of Treacle, Monday, 27 April 2020 18:40 (five years ago)

Amazing setlist on this one. Don't know if I'll shell out for any of these when there are plenty of good live shows on Youtube but a p good listen: https://sonicyouth.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-brooklyn-2011

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 03:46 (five years ago)

(also via Raymond)

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 03:46 (five years ago)

I saw that 98 tour in Toronto with the same setlist. I think they were very consistent with the setlist on that tour. I've heard "boring" from other people but I really enjoyed them all the three times I saw them.

(That 2011 Brooklyn show is probably one I'm most likely to shell out for if I do tbc! i'm already reconsidering, listening to it on good speakers now.)

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 03:51 (five years ago)

Disappearer popped up on my playlist tonight, it was good

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 05:07 (five years ago)

three weeks pass...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Monday, 25 May 2020 00:01 (five years ago)

i'm voting for steve shelley because hey, let's face it: drummers are cool.

also the one time i got to see them was on 4 july when they were touring rather ripped and all throughout the set, steve and lee had some sort of side banter going completely off mic and steve just kept bursting out laughing every time lee walked over, leaned in, and said something. it was very endearing.

Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 25 May 2020 00:43 (five years ago)

this is a band that is wayyyyyyyy more than the sum of its parts

100% truth. That said, I'm voting Kim for the vocal on "Shadow of a Doubt," though I could just as easily vote Thurston for preaching the free jazz gospel to indie rock dorks in the 90s.

but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 25 May 2020 02:04 (five years ago)

I think Steve's drumming is deceptively simple and actually super intentional, tasteful, and in the pocket. There's clearly a reason they all keep hiring him for their solo projects when they could go with anyone.

― change display name (Jordan), dimanche 26 avril 2020 17:07 (four weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

Never responded to this but, yeah, thanks, that's cool and makes sense. He does sound effective and distinctive to me.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Monday, 25 May 2020 04:26 (five years ago)

As much as I love the tonal chaos, SY really snapped into focus for me when Steve joined. I'd say his control over the dynamics of their songs is my favourite thing about the band.

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Monday, 25 May 2020 04:41 (five years ago)

i remember seeing lee renaldo in the photographers zone all through one ATP--sonic youth were playing, i mean, he wasn't just randomly there--but he looked like he was a camera nerd in a way that i also found suggested endearing things about him

the ghost of tom, choad (thomp), Monday, 25 May 2020 11:20 (five years ago)

Kim is way cooler than Thurston, but they are both too rich art school for me to really relate. Lee by comparison seems a bit more approachable and I have never really remember reading an interview with Steve.

earlnash, Monday, 25 May 2020 11:50 (five years ago)

kin to Klaus Dinger and I didn’t see anybody giving Klaus shit for having one dominant groove mode.

Here's Steve actually being Klaus for Michael Rother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp3Nt1xWjjE

Steve gets my vote for running Smells Like Records and actually tracking down Lee Hazlewood and somehow convincing him that people wanted to hear his records again.

Elvis Telecom, Monday, 25 May 2020 13:42 (five years ago)

Thanks, kind of surprised that he pulls off that motorik beat so well. I just realised that Hallogallo is probably a variation of Halligalli ("Halligalli machen", to make noise, to throw a party).

walking towards the sun since 2007 (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 25 May 2020 14:37 (five years ago)

Kim is way cooler than Thurston, but they are both too rich art school for me to really relate. Lee by comparison seems a bit more approachable

Iirc, Ranaldo got a visual art degree like Gordon did (although his was from a state school), while Moore dropped out of college after a quarter semester and worked in a doughnut shop but, yeah, Ranaldo's family background was more blue-collar. Doubt that Moore grew up especially rich, with his Dad drifting between jobs and then dying when he was a teenager.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Monday, 25 May 2020 14:55 (five years ago)

Good discussion, good points all around. Voting Thurston, the art not the artist I ftw, in this case at least.

Spocks on the Run (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 25 May 2020 14:57 (five years ago)

Voted for Thurston as well.

pomenitul, Monday, 25 May 2020 15:00 (five years ago)

A friend of mine one time went to some non-SY gig where Steve was on it and told me that he "couldn't keep a beat," or maybe "wouldn't" which kind of prejudiced me again him for a long time, but he seems to be the perfect drummer for this band though. Use to see Lee driving his old Mercedes Wagon near City Hall and probably would enjoy hanging at with him the most if it came to that, theoretically at least, but not going to let that sway me.

Spocks on the Run (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 25 May 2020 15:01 (five years ago)

Found used copies of Kim’s Body/Head records and snatched them up happily. Struggled through them several times and I have decided they’re not for me. Similar feeling to their SYR series. I liked the idea of free range Sonic Youth but the listening experience is actively irritating.

Cow_Art, Monday, 25 May 2020 16:39 (five years ago)

Steve. The rest are pretentious, in various degrees

nostormo, Monday, 25 May 2020 17:51 (five years ago)

yah its sonic youth. vote kim 2020

plax (ico), Monday, 25 May 2020 19:20 (five years ago)

Good poll. Midway thru Hits of Sunshine in the pre-dusk rays. Gen X Fab Four indeed

llurk, Monday, 25 May 2020 23:18 (five years ago)

I didn't vote for Lee, but I hope to see some votes for him!

stop torturing me ethel (broom air), Monday, 25 May 2020 23:49 (five years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 00:01 (five years ago)

129 votes, heh. ILM stays true to its roots.

pomenitul, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 00:04 (five years ago)

Oh man, Lee!

stop torturing me ethel (broom air), Tuesday, 26 May 2020 00:14 (five years ago)

Lee only won because of the breakup

calstars, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 00:24 (five years ago)

idk he was always my fave

sleeve, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 00:32 (five years ago)

Lee is free.

― earlnash, Sunday, April 26, 2020 4:10 PM (four weeks ago)

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 26 May 2020 01:24 (five years ago)

Lee is kinda corny, sorry.

circa1916, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 02:14 (five years ago)

i thought he was going to be third so i voted for him but kim is actually my favorite

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Tuesday, 26 May 2020 03:17 (five years ago)

Nice version of "Karen Revisited" here: https://sonicyouth.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-cabaret-metro-chicago-il-2002

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Tuesday, 26 May 2020 04:02 (five years ago)

v disappointed in you all

plax (ico), Tuesday, 26 May 2020 07:08 (five years ago)

i thought he was going to be third so i voted for him but kim is actually my favorite

there you see that tactical voting really is the worst...

walking towards the sun since 2007 (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, 26 May 2020 09:33 (five years ago)

they're all corny

The Cognitive Peasant (ogmor), Tuesday, 26 May 2020 11:26 (five years ago)

Corn is part of what makes them great.

stop torturing me ethel (broom air), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 13:44 (five years ago)

sonic corn

methinks dababy doth bop shit too much (m bison), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 17:27 (five years ago)

just listened to Kim's solo album again, so good

Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 17:40 (five years ago)

steve (i love the first two records but he's so important! he focuses the band!) > kim ("shadow of a doubt" alone means kim > thurston) > thurston > lee

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 29 May 2020 16:12 (five years ago)

though this thread reminded me that i've never listened to every sonic youth album so i'm just gonna go through the whole discography

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 29 May 2020 16:13 (five years ago)

WHERES JIM?!

flappy bird, Friday, 29 May 2020 17:31 (five years ago)

he doesn't count

sleeve, Friday, 29 May 2020 17:32 (five years ago)

if you listen to bad moon rising and liars' they were wrong so we drowned right in a row do u get automatically inducted into a satanic coven

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 29 May 2020 17:46 (five years ago)

Which Jim?

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 29 May 2020 17:49 (five years ago)

O'Rourke surely

soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 29 May 2020 17:53 (five years ago)

which SY albums haven't you heard?

i think The Eternal might be the only one i've never heard in full

Karl Malone, Friday, 29 May 2020 17:56 (five years ago)

haven't heard any of the '90s records that aren't goo, have spent so little time with sister that i still don't really know it + rather ripped (love "incinerate" never heard the record) and the eternal

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 29 May 2020 17:58 (five years ago)

(xxp) Sclavunos

Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Friday, 29 May 2020 18:00 (five years ago)

xp OMG Brad you are gonna flip over Dirty and Washing Machine

sleeve, Friday, 29 May 2020 18:08 (five years ago)

lol I was just doin a Turrican throwback, of all things... missed this poll but would've written in Jim, Murray St is my favorite

flappy bird, Friday, 29 May 2020 18:08 (five years ago)

xp oh nice! you've got some really good ones to dig into

Karl Malone, Friday, 29 May 2020 18:08 (five years ago)

Holy shit yea Brad I bet you'll love Washing Machine

flappy bird, Friday, 29 May 2020 18:08 (five years ago)

Thousand Leaves is really nice

Jet Set was my first one and I'm pretty nostalgic for it honestly.

reggae mike love (polyphonic), Friday, 29 May 2020 18:10 (five years ago)

BRAD

j., Friday, 29 May 2020 18:44 (five years ago)

this is what you get for listening to all those other records instead of these other records

j., Friday, 29 May 2020 18:49 (five years ago)

lol

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 29 May 2020 18:49 (five years ago)

i gotta be real sometimes i don't think music gets any better than evol

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 29 May 2020 18:50 (five years ago)

Evol and Sister are the peak afaic

Mambo Number 5 was a number one jam (Noodle Vague), Friday, 29 May 2020 19:00 (five years ago)

Not that everything has to be a peak, there's lots of good stuff as they meander along from there

Mambo Number 5 was a number one jam (Noodle Vague), Friday, 29 May 2020 19:01 (five years ago)

this is what you get for listening to all those other records instead of these other records

new board description

sleeve, Friday, 29 May 2020 19:53 (five years ago)

Washing Machine is a 68 minute tribute to the phaser pedal. it's a beautiful thing.

flappy bird, Friday, 29 May 2020 20:11 (five years ago)

Evol and Sister are the peak afaic

^^^

pomenitul, Friday, 29 May 2020 20:12 (five years ago)

each and every 90s record is great fuiid

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Friday, 29 May 2020 20:40 (five years ago)

even be here now?

||||||||, Friday, 29 May 2020 20:45 (five years ago)

NV otm

I like pretty much all their albums. never really got into EJSTNS apart from the single tho, not that I hate the rest of it. map almost otm

Colonel Poo, Friday, 29 May 2020 20:53 (five years ago)

i gotta be real sometimes i don't think music gets any better than evol

Same :/

weekly shopper helper (Drugs A. Money), Friday, 29 May 2020 21:38 (five years ago)

I remember playing Sister to a football hooligan idiot friend in the late 80's and he said: they sound like a hippy guitar version of new order, not bad. he was probably onto something there!

calzino, Friday, 29 May 2020 21:49 (five years ago)

Literal hippie guitar version of New Order:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXJnKf4bBEU

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Friday, 29 May 2020 22:18 (five years ago)

sister is just non-stop evidence for me picking steve in this poll. "catholic block"! the end of "tuff gnarl"!

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 30 May 2020 14:39 (five years ago)

<3 the drums on sister, so ferocious

methinks dababy doth bop shit too much (m bison), Saturday, 30 May 2020 15:32 (five years ago)

Yeah, that one and Dirty are the ones where his drumming stands out most for me.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Saturday, 30 May 2020 16:18 (five years ago)

revisiting daydream nation, a record i've had a history of misunderstanding. i can't remember if it was my first sonic youth record or my third—i definitely rented murray street and sonic nurse from the library next to my high school, but i might not have bought daydream nation until i was in college? i was pretty unprepared for the particular way in which it—lol—sprawls, losing itself in long bleary tangles, wading out into lakes of sound and dragging back something gnarled, while also often sounding distant and ghostly, the guitars all kind of having that opaque glow of shapes of color in a frosted window pane. it just didn't really work the way i wanted a record to work. anyway i smoke weed and i get it now, but also i like... grew up, i think, and grew into it. they're totally on fire through the whole thing. where the kim, thurston, and lee songs seemed to inhabit related yet kind of distinct sonic worlds on evol and to a lesser extent sister, daydream nation the first record on which they sound like one mind... bending. (bad moon rising also sounds like one mind but like a totally cursed mind)

it's also occurring to me this time around that the best non-kim songs are "hey joni" and "candle," also the trilogy is so cool

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 30 May 2020 21:04 (five years ago)

ok steve on dirty icwym but if someone just made a compilation of the kim songs off sy (partic the major label blowup years) it would be by far their best album. like a better bongwater.

plax (ico), Saturday, 30 May 2020 21:08 (five years ago)

please be aware i don't say this lightly

plax (ico), Saturday, 30 May 2020 21:09 (five years ago)

hahaha OK noted, yeah I like Bongwater a lot

sleeve, Saturday, 30 May 2020 21:09 (five years ago)

times are fucking weird & i worry about my daughter who lives out in minneapolis. and then for some reason today i decided to listen to all the sy albums from "goo" onward (cuz really, i never played them as much as the earlier ones) and man THEY ARE FUCKING GOOD!

— Byron Coley (@ByronColey1) May 30, 2020

brad this guy is COPYING you

j., Sunday, 31 May 2020 01:04 (four years ago)

lol

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 31 May 2020 01:06 (four years ago)

jet set is great imo! it has held up really well. even the filler is killer.

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Sunday, 31 May 2020 01:10 (four years ago)

my favorite thing is how depleted "total trash" sounds after the noise breakdown

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 31 May 2020 13:55 (four years ago)

also when that one guitar turns into a cello in "hey joni"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 31 May 2020 14:00 (four years ago)

i'm hearing the whitey album for the first time and it's incredibly fucking sick

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 31 May 2020 14:45 (four years ago)

raving to "macbeth" rn

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 31 May 2020 14:46 (four years ago)

oh yeah, that shit rules, like Neu formed a noise rock band

sleeve, Sunday, 31 May 2020 14:58 (four years ago)

The Whitey Album remains my favourite of their records!

flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, 31 May 2020 15:24 (four years ago)

Also a big fan of Rather Ripped and Sonic Nurse, really great albums

flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, 31 May 2020 15:24 (four years ago)

Always thought of the Whitey Album as a jokey throwaway and mostly dud-ish. It does seem to get a lot of love here so maybe I should go back to it. Do like "Macbeth".

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Sunday, 31 May 2020 15:46 (four years ago)

it also has the best version of "Making The Nature Scene"

sleeve, Sunday, 31 May 2020 15:48 (four years ago)

Rly?

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Sunday, 31 May 2020 15:52 (four years ago)

Kim Sonic is my favorite of the Sonic Youths

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Sunday, 31 May 2020 15:57 (four years ago)

wouldn't that be the sonics youth

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 31 May 2020 15:59 (four years ago)

sonic youth is both the singular and plural, like deer

methinks dababy doth bop shit too much (m bison), Sunday, 31 May 2020 16:02 (four years ago)

this is correct, continue

plax (ico), Sunday, 31 May 2020 16:05 (four years ago)

Les Sonic Youth

flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, 31 May 2020 18:16 (four years ago)

No, they're young siblings and Sonic is the surname. The Andrews Sisters, the Chemical Brothers, the Sonic Youths

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Sunday, 31 May 2020 20:18 (four years ago)

Les Sonic Youth

― flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, May 31, 2020 11:16 AM (two hours ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s55WC-qkQa4

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 31 May 2020 20:30 (four years ago)

I love their goofy covers, that's a great one

sleeve, Sunday, 31 May 2020 21:39 (four years ago)

Ramones medley is also all-time

#IWASTHERE

sleeve, Sunday, 31 May 2020 21:40 (four years ago)

my favorite part of the whitey album is when whodini's "five minutes of funk" rears up in "two cool rock chicks listening to neu"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 31 May 2020 22:55 (four years ago)

Wow that cover rules, thanks for sharing, I love that song to begin with

I just listened to White Flag's cover of "Wuthering Heights" from the same compilation and now I want to bury that band in a bog

flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, 31 May 2020 23:23 (four years ago)

This might be my favourite of their covers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2ovGHzvuWw

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Sunday, 31 May 2020 23:49 (four years ago)

Yes, that's a beaut.

Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Sunday, 31 May 2020 23:56 (four years ago)

That's cool. Just looked it up and it led me to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5BxKIeP6WM

Ernani and the Professor (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 1 June 2020 00:01 (four years ago)

goo was my fav sonic youth album in college, it just seemed to tighten up what they were doing on daydream nation in the perfect way. this is still true even though it is no longer my favorite sy album. "mote" is my favorite lee song and my favorite sy song ever and makes me sympathetic to the ppl who voted for him in this thread, but if "mote" weren't there this would be yet another sy album where kim delivered the best song, which is "cinderella's big score"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 1 June 2020 16:26 (four years ago)

i also would not rate goo over daydream nation now

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 1 June 2020 16:28 (four years ago)

it's so fuckin good though still. hook city

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 1 June 2020 16:28 (four years ago)

ok i'm listening to dirty for... it can't be the first time, but i also can't remember ever making my way through the whole thing

anyway, steve is a fuckin monster on "drunken butterfly"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 1 June 2020 17:12 (four years ago)

WHAT'S YR NAME

Kim has some amazing songs on Dirty IMO.

call mr zbow that's my name that name again is mr zbow (Craig D.), Monday, 1 June 2020 17:41 (four years ago)

"swimsuit issue," "drunken butterfly," "orange rolls, angel's spit," "shoot," "jc," all hits

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 1 June 2020 17:44 (four years ago)

dirty: too long, yet every song kicks ass so who cares

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 1 June 2020 17:45 (four years ago)

rating individual band members seems pretty pointless but i did always love steve's drumming. it was obvious lee was going to win since he's the george of SY and hence the "cool" vote ("he only has one or two songs per album but actually ... they're the best songs"). i wonder if these people also think the joe lally songs are better than the ian and guy songs.

na (NA), Monday, 1 June 2020 17:46 (four years ago)

i am still the most otm re dirty, let me see if i can find my post

j., Monday, 1 June 2020 17:51 (four years ago)

the production is also so good, all the songs sound so sharp and about as pop as they could be

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 1 June 2020 17:54 (four years ago)

For however creative you may think Sonic Youth is, I'm still puzzled why they named the album "Dirty" after the first single from their previous record was named "Dirty Boots"... or maybe the galaxy-brainers think it's like Houses of the Holy in reverse?

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Monday, 1 June 2020 18:34 (four years ago)

"on the strip" -> "chapel hill" -> "jc" -> "purr" is my favorite run on the record, incredible, thurston and kim at the peak of their powers

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 1 June 2020 18:45 (four years ago)

xp I think to match the Mike Kelly art? not sure tho

sleeve, Monday, 1 June 2020 19:44 (four years ago)

absolute best kim performances, vicious and totally confident

most production presence

biggest dumbest drums

sickest noises

most urgent riffing

best lee song?

CLOUD JAMS

i believe anita hill

'radio' songwriting fits in rather than sticking out

fat alt-rock bass

this is the best SY album forever

― j., Tuesday, July 8, 2014 7:49 PM (five years ago)

me otm

j., Monday, 1 June 2020 23:07 (four years ago)

haha yeah the "fat alt-rock bass" is such a good look on this record

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Monday, 1 June 2020 23:25 (four years ago)

I’m a sadass daydream nation partisan, idk what’s wrong with me. that album just vaporizes everything in sight.

brimstead, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:06 (four years ago)

so much beauty... I should probably own sister

brimstead, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:07 (four years ago)

wow j. you were and are otm

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:24 (four years ago)

<3 for the love for dirty

methinks dababy doth bop shit too much (m bison), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:41 (four years ago)

SY were on such a roll from Evol to Sister, Daydream Nation, Goo, Dirty

Dan S, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:44 (four years ago)

wow experimental jet set is like the anti-dirty, i kinda love it for that alone

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:47 (four years ago)

Jim O'Rourke added a *lot* to Murray Street and Sonic Nurse

Kim has always been the most interesting component of the band though imo

Dan S, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:53 (four years ago)

xp lol it is totally the anti-Dirty, good call

sleeve, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:59 (four years ago)

I guess they all were important to the whole

Dan S, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 00:59 (four years ago)

"on the strip" -> "chapel hill" -> "jc" -> "purr" is my favorite run on the record, incredible, thurston and kim at the peak of their powers

Chapel Hill is my fave undersung Dirty track, incredible sections everywhere

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 01:05 (four years ago)

haven't thought about Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star in a long time. I remember reading that 'Experimental' 'Jet Set' 'Trash' and 'No Star' referred to the members of the band, but I can't find the reference now

Dan S, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 01:07 (four years ago)

Sister / DN / Goo are like one unfuckwithable quadruple album, and Murray St / Sonic Nurse are their abstract cerebral second peak.
I have spoken

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 01:33 (four years ago)

agree, would include Evol

Dan S, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 01:35 (four years ago)

Steve going nuts in the middle of Chapel Hill justifies the DGC move alone.

Dirty is their brattiest album, which generally speaking suits Thurston and Kim’s sensibilities over Lee’s; “Wish Fulfillment” as a lone track makes sense in this context but this (self imposed?) marginalisation of Lee is a detriment to Experimental Jet Set (a couple of Lee tunes would have worked wonders alongside ‘Winner’s Blues’, ‘BITH’ etc)

Master of Treacle, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 01:39 (four years ago)

not self-imposed, he almost quit the band because they wouldn't put "Genetic" on the album, see the Goodbye Twentieth Century book for details

sleeve, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 01:48 (four years ago)

lee otm

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 02:18 (four years ago)

i had to spend a little time with it to totally wrap my head around it, but experimental jet set is really good! kim, once again, completely rules it

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 June 2020 15:07 (four years ago)

it's prob their scariest and most sinister album since evol

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 June 2020 15:09 (four years ago)

that is an excellent observation, agreed

sleeve, Friday, 5 June 2020 15:11 (four years ago)

I found the songs on Experimental... much more catchy and palatable after Dirty. It was like a retreat to a comfy indie zone after the full frontal assault of grunge sonics and wrecked vocals.

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Friday, 5 June 2020 15:44 (four years ago)

that sounds backwards dude

j., Friday, 5 June 2020 17:22 (four years ago)

Some promising new stuff up on their bandcamp today, including live sets from Yugoslavia in '85 and '87, Irvine in 1990 and Brixton Academy in 1992.

soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 5 June 2020 17:27 (four years ago)

Why are the Lemonheads & Superchunk referenced in "Screaming Skull"?

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 5 June 2020 17:35 (four years ago)

i was wondering that too

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:01 (four years ago)

also uh... wow. fuckin washing machine

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:01 (four years ago)

xxp idk they were friends and contemporaries? lotta namechecking in that one iirc

sleeve, Friday, 5 June 2020 18:12 (four years ago)

oh Brad I am so happy that you get to bask in the glory of Washing Machine

sleeve, Friday, 5 June 2020 18:13 (four years ago)

Were their records not found in the SST Superstore?

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:18 (four years ago)

"washing machine" -> "unwind," my god where has this album been all my life

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:28 (four years ago)

Does that mean you haven't heard "The Diamond Sea"?

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:39 (four years ago)

@sleeve: I don't think that "Screaming Skull" is a positive song, exactly... feel like it has a snarky arch tone (I should mention that Dave Markey gets a cowriter credit on the lyrics on this song).

SY (& Husker & Dinosaur &c.) were beyond unhappy with SST/Ginn for not paying them for their record sales and then opening a retail store on the Hollywood Sunset Strip (pretty damn far from Lawndale).

I also am under the impression SY and the Lemonheads were friends at all. Even the Pat mentions feel like digs as well (although he joined Nirvana very soon after this song).

Superchunk was kind of in a different universe at this point as well, I was a college DJ at the time and was got way more play/energy out of "On The Mouth" than "Experimental Jet Set" which I felt was kind of a compilation of tossed off/throwaway songs (except for Bull).

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:42 (four years ago)

should read: "were NOT friends at all"

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:43 (four years ago)

Does that mean you haven't heard "The Diamond Sea"?

― Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Friday, June 5, 2020 11:39 AM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

not knowingly! only song on this record i've heard before is "little trouble girl"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:44 (four years ago)

WHAT

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:49 (four years ago)

if I had to pick a single album that showcases nearly all their strengths it would be that one

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:50 (four years ago)

"Unwind" is the prettiest SY song, imo

Al that's interesting about the superstore, I knew the SST hate but not that detail. makes more sense now.

sleeve, Friday, 5 June 2020 18:55 (four years ago)

oh wait i totally have heard "the diamond sea" lol. maybe not in its entirety

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 June 2020 19:28 (four years ago)

yeah i've definitely only heard the radio edit before!!!!!

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 June 2020 19:43 (four years ago)

o u sweet summer child

j., Friday, 5 June 2020 19:46 (four years ago)

Washing Machine is great and feels like a transition point to the more abstract era of A Thousand Leaves, Goodbye 20th Century and NYC Ghosts & Flowers.

Dan S, Friday, 5 June 2020 21:52 (four years ago)

my interpretation of the eras of sonic youth

1982-1985 presentation
1986-1993 creation
1994-1997 consolidation
1997-2001 abstraction, SYR
2002-2004 improvisation

all of them are pretty great

Dan S, Friday, 5 June 2020 22:24 (four years ago)

my interest in SY I think ends after 2004. it felt to me that Rather Ripped and The Eternal just went over old territory, but I will revisit them at some point

Dan S, Friday, 5 June 2020 22:36 (four years ago)

really can't believe washing machine

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 6 June 2020 01:26 (four years ago)

someone should've just given me this record when i was trying to get into sonic youth in high school

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 6 June 2020 01:26 (four years ago)

it and Dirty were my gateways and still my faves

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Saturday, 6 June 2020 01:32 (four years ago)

this band has too many great albums

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 6 June 2020 01:42 (four years ago)

here’s a quarter
go put it in a washing machine

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Saturday, 6 June 2020 01:54 (four years ago)

Dirty was the first I heard and it knocked me out. I never really heard it as some kind of pop or sellout move. Washing Machine was my favourite album by anyone for a few years starting from the time it came out. The whole thing doesn't really stand up as a catalogue peak anymore for me but I do still think "The Diamond Sea" is one of the best things they ever did. I almost envy being able to hear these for the first time.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Saturday, 6 June 2020 02:33 (four years ago)

Still love the single art for some unknown reason
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81sIAh9UWVL._SL1200_.jpg

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Saturday, 6 June 2020 02:56 (four years ago)

DSea was great the first time I heard it. Never need to hear it again

calstars, Saturday, 6 June 2020 03:20 (four years ago)

pleasantly surprised at how the discussion on this dumb pool turned out

plax (ico), Saturday, 6 June 2020 23:47 (four years ago)

1982-2004 years were a supernova, not likely to see the same again

Dan S, Sunday, 7 June 2020 00:08 (four years ago)

just figured out that lee's songs rule mostly for what he brings out in the band as opposed to what he brings to the table

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Sunday, 7 June 2020 00:08 (four years ago)

someone should've just given me this record when i was trying to get into sonic youth in high school

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 6 June 2020 2:26 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

ha washing machine was the album that got me into sonic youth in high school

just sayin, Sunday, 7 June 2020 10:53 (four years ago)

were you that chunky kid with the t-shirt

i will FP you and your entire family (rip van wanko), Sunday, 7 June 2020 11:49 (four years ago)

That kid died last year :(

Charging for Brewskis™ (morrisp), Sunday, 7 June 2020 17:00 (four years ago)

shelley's drumming on the syr stuff is uniformly awesome

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 7 June 2020 17:05 (four years ago)

SYR2 is my jam

I hate 3

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 17:06 (four years ago)

Ha, 3 might have been my favourite, unless it was 4.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Sunday, 7 June 2020 17:08 (four years ago)

I really liked 3 it was kind of a gateway for me into weirder stuff. But I haven’t listened to it in a long time.

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Sunday, 7 June 2020 17:15 (four years ago)

I find it painfully unfocused, especially compared to 1 & 2.

also I dislike Jim O'Rourke intensely and think he was bad for the band overall

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 17:24 (four years ago)

(as a member, maybe not as a producer)

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 17:25 (four years ago)

I’m not a huge SY fan but you know what totally rules?

SILVER SESSIONS

brimstead, Sunday, 7 June 2020 18:32 (four years ago)

S

brimstead, Sunday, 7 June 2020 18:33 (four years ago)

oh yeah that one is good

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Sunday, 7 June 2020 19:56 (four years ago)

this era was when i was in high school and had a friend who was obsessed with sonic youth so heard all these odds and sods

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Sunday, 7 June 2020 19:56 (four years ago)

i'm curious about why sleeve doesn't like jim o'rourke

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Sunday, 7 June 2020 19:57 (four years ago)

Whoa, same. "Dislike intensely" even. What brings on these intense feelings sleeve?

Le Bateau Ivre, Sunday, 7 June 2020 20:29 (four years ago)

I just don't like him! his songwriting leaves me cold, his experimental stuff is pretentious, he smokes too much, and he fucked with one of my favorite bands. probably just still bitter that I bought SYR3 new with high expectations.

the only good stuff he did was with Illusion Of Safety imo

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 21:01 (four years ago)

see also: weird creepy obsession with Japan

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 21:02 (four years ago)

like, everything I read in Goodbye 20th Century made me think "wow I would hate this person if I met them IRL"

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 21:03 (four years ago)

you know why he left SY right? it's in Kim's book.

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 7 June 2020 21:11 (four years ago)

Wait what

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Sunday, 7 June 2020 21:13 (four years ago)

hmm I read it but I forget

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 21:16 (four years ago)

we all get one popular ILX artist to hate, it's the rule

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 21:17 (four years ago)

Thurston left Kim for Jim's then-girlfriend (who herself got divorced & married & divorced again to other unrelated people during this process).

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 7 June 2020 22:33 (four years ago)

ohhhhh right, ew

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 22:36 (four years ago)

halfway to a noway

j., Sunday, 7 June 2020 22:49 (four years ago)

loooool

sleeve, Sunday, 7 June 2020 22:49 (four years ago)

Bad two-timing

call mr zbow that's my name that name again is mr zbow (Craig D.), Monday, 8 June 2020 01:44 (four years ago)

it would be so nice
if you weren't here

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 8 June 2020 02:42 (four years ago)

*why I don't want to know anything about the personal lives of the artists whose music I like

Dan S, Monday, 8 June 2020 03:28 (four years ago)

it would be so nice
if you weren't here

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, June 8, 2020 4:42 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

LMAO

Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 8 June 2020 07:41 (four years ago)

lmao silver session is fucking amazing

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 13:39 (four years ago)

jury's out on whether i think "invito al ĉielo" works really well or is just ok for what it is, but i love "hungara vivo" and "radio-amatoroj"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 14:22 (four years ago)

'Invito al ĉielo' is my favourite of the SYR series! And while on side projects etc, don't sleep on their 'In The Fishtank' ep w/ The Ex and ICP (Instant Composers Pool, not the insane pool of juggalos)

Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 9 June 2020 14:37 (four years ago)

i'm prob not in the same space to appreciate free noise jams as i was in college

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 15:00 (four years ago)

"radio-amatoroj" essentially splits the difference between free noise jamming and the more straightforward motoriky jamming they were doing on syr2 which is why i like it a lot

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 15:19 (four years ago)

time for a thousand leaves!!!! i've heard a lot of things about this record and none of them give me any idea of what to expect lol

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 15:25 (four years ago)

Challop maybe but to me that's always been "less focused Washing Machine" for the most part

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 15:33 (four years ago)

uhhhhhh i can't believe i've never heard "sunday" before

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 15:42 (four years ago)

or "wildflower soul" which is strongly hinting at what they were going to achieve on murray street

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 15:56 (four years ago)

uh this record is fucking awesome. kim's songs are occurring on a different planet from our own

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 16:07 (four years ago)

Washing Machine was the last one I truly loved, and my interest rapidly trailed off as they entered the Jim O'Rourke years. I probably should revisit these and see how I feel now.

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 16:12 (four years ago)

uh this record is fucking awesome. kim's songs are occurring on a different planet from our own

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 16:07 (forty-five minutes ago) link

yeah i feel like kim's creativity really took off in the 90s like she matured into this really beautiful, still wild, complex thing

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 16:57 (four years ago)

HITS OF SUNSHINE

sleeve, Tuesday, 9 June 2020 17:11 (four years ago)

heresy maybe but a thousand leaves has my favorite lee songs since "mote"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 17:40 (four years ago)

he really shines on nycg+f too

crystal-brained yogahead (map), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 17:41 (four years ago)

i've listened to it four times in a row today and there's v little doubt in my mind that a thousand leaves is my new favorite sonic youth album

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 22:59 (four years ago)

it forecasts the o'rourke records perfectly while also being its own weedy thing. like daydream nation it's a record where i can feel their ideas of what they can do expanding

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 23:06 (four years ago)

also i loved hearing "the ineffable me" and thinking "wait have i heard this song before?" because it's the same riff from "slaapkamers met slagroom"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 23:07 (four years ago)

"hits of sunshine" is just an amazing adventure through details. i mean it as a compliment when i say it reminds me of the doors lol

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 June 2020 23:39 (four years ago)

I never put my finger on which 60s band it sounded like. I think that's it.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 00:12 (four years ago)

three weeks pass...

sonic youth ranked, no syr:

a thousand leaves
murray street
sonic nurse
daydream nation
washing machine
dirty
evol
sister
goo
bad moon rising
whitey album
nyc ghosts & flowers
rather ripped
experimental jet set, trash and no star
the eternal
confusion is sex

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 16:31 (four years ago)

which order?

plax (ico), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:10 (four years ago)

best to least best

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:19 (four years ago)

Confusion is Sex way way way too loW

soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:21 (four years ago)

'murray street' is definitely of of their best, if not the best, really.

Nourry, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:30 (four years ago)

it was my favorite before i finally heard a thousand leaves

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:38 (four years ago)

thousand leaves is pretty much the ultimate collision of sonic youth: hip arch noise collagists + sonic youth: four people who've spent a lot of time stoned listening to different performances of "dark star"

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:41 (four years ago)

i can't agree with EVOL or Sister in the middle like that but i don't read Brad's lists to agree :D

i have no scampo and i must scream (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:42 (four years ago)

also they're a band that released a ton of amazing records that are basically all as good as each other. like from bad moon rising on up my list is hair-splitting

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:50 (four years ago)

Brad is a thoughtful poster and I’m sure he could justify each placement but that ranking is o_O. Whitey album is dead last and I like it, even. A better approach may be to rank by decade.

‘80s:
Daydream Nation
Sister
Bad Moon Rising
Evol
Confusion is Sex
Sonic Death
S/T

‘90s
Washing Machine
Dirty
A Thousand Leaves
Goo
Experimental, Jet Set...

‘00s
Murray Street
Sonic Nurse
NYC Ghosts and Flowers
Rather Ripped
The Eternal

Yelploaf, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:56 (four years ago)

i havent heard a thousand leaves but the rest of brad's list tracks pretty well with the ones i like so maybe i should

ciderpress, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:01 (four years ago)

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0t5-VRGPT4OMDoZBcy_WSgxaQ

Yelploaf, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:02 (four years ago)

also they're a band that released a ton of amazing records that are basically all as good as each other

yeah i think a lot of SY favouritism is "first introduction"

Daydream is still weaker than often claimed tho lol

i have no scampo and i must scream (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:04 (four years ago)

my pronouns are they/them btw yelploaf

i feel like my ranking is pretty explicable! sorry confusion is so low, i just like bad moon rising so much more that i don't feel the need to go back to it almost ever

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:04 (four years ago)

Daydream is still weaker than often claimed tho lol

― i have no scampo and i must scream (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, July 1, 2020 12:04 PM (twenty-six seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

i would've agreed with this before i did the discography run. idk, it just finally hit me

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:05 (four years ago)

Noted, Brad. Thank you. I’ll agree with the ‘first introduction’ theory, too. My first was Goo and I bought every subsequent album on its release date. My fandom is not without its reservations but they’re forever lodged in my teenage heart as sign posts from which to explore. I would love to revisit the discography unclouded by sentimentality.

Yelploaf, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:14 (four years ago)

thousand leaves is pretty much the ultimate collision of sonic youth: hip arch noise collagists + sonic youth: four people who've spent a lot of time stoned listening to different performances of "dark star"

finally someone nails why I'm not that into A Thousand Leaves for the most part

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:18 (four years ago)

it’s AMAZING THOUGH

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:21 (four years ago)

finally someone nails why I'm into A Thousand Leaves for the most part

tylerw, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:22 (four years ago)

I’d wager that Lee is the only member who rates the Dead (and smokes pot).

Yelploaf, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:24 (four years ago)

i would've agreed with this before i did the discography run. idk, it just finally hit me

trying with DN is an every few years ritual with me

like i said, i'm not disagreeing. it feels like it *ought* to click

i have no scampo and i must scream (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:26 (four years ago)

I’d wager that Lee is the only member who rates the Dead (and smokes pot).

― Yelploaf, Wednesday, July 1, 2020 12:24 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

well thurston’s really good at giving me the impression he’s a deadhead anyway cf. “wildflower soul,” “rain on tin,” “dripping dream”

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:32 (four years ago)

thurston is also a huge deadhead. i remember reading a long article about the dead in Arthur that he wrote.

not sure about the others.

time is running out to pitch in $5 (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:40 (four years ago)

Daydream Nation was my first SY and had a huge impact on me but EVOL has been my favourite for a long time now.

I should revisit A Thousand Leaves - when I first bought it I thought it sounded amazing on this one particular EQ preset on the stereo I'd just got but that died about a week later and somehow I was never able to recapture the listening experience.

Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 19:57 (four years ago)

daydream nation is my favorite by far... I just don’t get that same warm buzzy vibe and urgency from the others idk. probably cuz I heard it first.

brimstead, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 20:41 (four years ago)

As a dilettante who only got into them way late, I think Rather Ripped is sick. :)

change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 20:48 (four years ago)

rather ripped is sick! i hated putting it so low

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 20:52 (four years ago)

the kim songs are especially good(, they said about every sonic youth album ever)

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 20:56 (four years ago)

thread proved its point when Kim didn't win

i have no scampo and i must scream (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 20:58 (four years ago)

"thurston is also a huge deadhead. i remember reading a long article about the dead in Arthur that he wrote."

Not in Arthur. We ran more than one piece for the (um) Dead-curious, Thurston wasn't in any of them.

jaywbabcock, Thursday, 2 July 2020 02:10 (four years ago)

haha, my mistake! i'd say i swear i remember reading it, but i trust you :)

in that case, i withdraw my proof of thurston's deadheadism. but i do agree with the points upthread that he demonstrates their influence musically, at least

time is running out to pitch in $5 (Karl Malone), Thursday, 2 July 2020 02:27 (four years ago)

EVOL was my first Sonic Youth and I still think it is one of their best, it will always be special to me. Kim was key

I like that Brad rates the later SY albums

Dan S, Thursday, 2 July 2020 02:29 (four years ago)

re Daydream Nation, the back-and-forth reverie of "you're it, no you're it" and then the blast of guitars is one of the best moments ever

Dan S, Thursday, 2 July 2020 02:54 (four years ago)

ever since I had my revelation about Lee he will always be the lowest of the sonic youths, still cool tho

k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Thursday, 2 July 2020 03:00 (four years ago)

BMR was my first and still my fave, so yeah

sleeve, Thursday, 2 July 2020 03:44 (four years ago)

i've been listening to Sonic Nurse pretty heavily the last few days, giving it solid listens for the first time in quite a while. absolutely in love with the main guitar progression in "Dude Ranch Nurse" (e.g. during "let the action begin, again"). it's such a simple line, but it sounds so good, a little shambolic but natural and human, like feeling your way down a staircase with a hangover.

time is running out to pitch in $5 (Karl Malone), Saturday, 4 July 2020 16:51 (four years ago)

I WAS AT THIS SHOW FUCK YEAH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9xGU_cNGbs

sleeve, Saturday, 4 July 2020 16:54 (four years ago)

sick show!!

time is running out to pitch in $5 (Karl Malone), Saturday, 4 July 2020 17:22 (four years ago)

it was like a god damn hurricane

sleeve, Saturday, 4 July 2020 17:31 (four years ago)

saw them every year after that up through Goo, but this was the pinnacle

sleeve, Saturday, 4 July 2020 17:31 (four years ago)

Such a July band. I think both times I saw them were in July.

geoffreyess, Saturday, 4 July 2020 23:46 (four years ago)

If Leaves and Goo were swapped I could basically be made to agree with that ranking. When I say I love Sonic Youth, '02-'04 SY is generally at the forefront of my mind.

geoffreyess, Saturday, 4 July 2020 23:48 (four years ago)

^ this guy's 'pop' / 'punk' / 'experimental' concepts are crude tools but he writes a lot

j., Wednesday, 8 July 2020 05:15 (four years ago)

Such a July band. I think both times I saw them were in July.

So true, saw them on July 10th, 1993 at the Loreley festival and they were amazing. New Order was so shit in comparison.

walking towards the sun since 2007 (alex in mainhattan), Thursday, 16 July 2020 16:03 (four years ago)

I saw their last show before all their OG gear got stolen on July 2, 1999:

She Is Not Alone
Schizophrenia
Bull in the Heather
Starfield Road
Eric's Trip
French Tickler
The Ineffable Me
Karen Koltrane
Free City Rhymes
Renegade Princess
Sugar Kane
Teenage Riot
Shadow of a Doubt
Tom Violence
Brother James

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 16 July 2020 16:05 (four years ago)

they have so many fuckin songs, how do they remember them all

methinks dababy doth bop shit too much (m bison), Thursday, 16 July 2020 16:07 (four years ago)

Whenever they forget, they can just slide into a feedback drone for a few minutes until they’re ready to bring it back

The GOAT Harold Land (Karl Malone), Thursday, 16 July 2020 17:01 (four years ago)

A Thousand Leaves got me into Daydream Nation, and I still love 3/4ths of it ("Hoarfrost" is my favorite Ranaldo song ever). As much shit as I give him now, Christgau's unbending enthusiasm for ATL helped me "get it" in 1998-1999.

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 July 2020 17:06 (four years ago)

My ranking: https://humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2019/10/05/ranking-sonic-youth/

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 July 2020 17:08 (four years ago)

xxxp Thurston had a lot of trouble remembering lyrics, some very funny stuff abt this in Goodbye 20th Century

sleeve, Thursday, 16 July 2020 21:02 (four years ago)


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