attention SONIK YOUTH freaks geeks and devotees: a book u need 2 read

currently reading this. intro is kindof embarrassing w/ discussion of itunes categories. nothing snarky to say abt the rest, yet

Mark, any useful remarks from the band (or writer) on their nineties career? Very curious.

I've been on a big streak of rock bios lately, so I am definitely buying this next chance I get.

Stevie Chick of this parish (on and off) has also published a bio on 'em just now so WAR OF THE BOOKS. (But I figure they're both great.)

I'm reading it now and diggin' it.

Looking forward to this. I know Matos liked it. Surely it's better than the Alec Foege book, right?

A lot richer than the Alec Foege book, which stopped at Experimental Trash Jet Set & No Star.

didn't mean to slight Stevie's book, which I haven't read or seen a copy of. might not be out in the US.

any useful remarks from the band (or writer) on their nineties career?

lotsa really juicy stuff about 'the grunge era' is all I can say w/o spoiling.

would this be interesting if you don't really listen to or know that much about sonic youth?

I can't imagine how a book about them would be. They're probably one of the most drama-free bands ever, especially for one whose story involves intra-band romance and various accusations of selling out, and I'd only read something lengthy about them for little breadcrumbs of info and insight about the music itself.

Jordan, I like how you've been flirting with being a Sonic Youth fan for a while now (you're always popping up on SY threads and mentioning the mix I made you) but haven't quite committed yet. :)

ha, i know, right? i like the hits but i'm not really interested in noize/improv/spoken word bullshit, so maybe our current relationship is better than moving in together.

The thing is that there's not a whole lot of noize/improv/spoken word bullshit on the proper albums, aside from the occasional beatnik Lee or Kim lyric or feedback-heavy outro, a lot of that stuff is relegated to side projects or SYR-type releases. The albums, indulgent or artsy as they sometimes may be, are generally pretty heavy on fully composed song structures w/ vocals.

given how low drama they are it's a pretty fascinating book, or it was for me. browne does a good job of creating peaks/valleys in the narrative and creating the impression that their ascent WASN'T inevitable.

also: didn't know lee was ever THAT ready to quit! didn't know before why exactly jim left.

uh ... why did Jim leave?

Because his presence added nothing?

Just a guess. Haven't read the book yet.

"Because his presence added nothing?"

um, I hope you're kidding, although I'm sure you're not. O'Rourke era live SY was way better than other recent incarnations, as he's a far superior bassist than Kim and allowed her to go back to guitar.

I haven't read the book either and don't plan to, but O'Rourke has a history of intensely exploring things and moving on after a few years. possibly the book chalks up his leaving to 9/11 and its direct impact on him, which I'm sure there's some truth to, but it also fits in with his general career path to date.

haha I totally forgot O'Rourke was ever in the band and thought we were talking about Jim Sclavunos.

also didn't O'Rouke join the band shortly before 9/11 and leave several years after?

I thought you meant Sclavunos, too. I guess he left to join Bad Seeds?
Manage dancing girls? What's that guy do again?

um, I hope you're kidding, although I'm sure you're not. O'Rourke era live SY was way better than other recent incarnations, as he's a far superior bassist than Kim and allowed her to go back to guitar.

I actually found Kim to be far more risk-taking in her approach to the bass than Jim. He approached it the way a bass player would. Nothing inherently wrong with that, just that I found it somewhat deadening.

hmm, except I'm pretty sure O'Rourke barely played bass before SY.

He's the bassist on (among other things) Smog's Red Apple Falls.

yeah, he's done a million things, but he was never primarily a bass player, so when you say "he approached it the way a bass player would", it strikes me as odd.

did JO'R ever give SY the tape-edit treatment like his work on Brise Glass?

yeah, he's done a million things, but he was never primarily a bass player, so when you say "he approached it the way a bass player would", it strikes me as odd.

Just saying that, in contrast to Kim's largely unorthodox approach to the bass, his struck me as highly orthodox.

ok, fair enough, but it worked for me. I'm not a fan of the records (in almost any SY phase, to be honest), but the live shows I saw with O'R were pretty satisfying.

another reason O'Rourke left SY (and largely stopped making music at the same time, he's now an aspiring filmmaker in Tokyo) is his frustration with the increasing ubiquity of MP3s. maybe his greatest love was creating dense, nuanced production, and I know he got pretty frustrated because he felt like it was pretty pointless to do that if people weren't going to hear it.