POLL YR. IDOLS: The official SONIC YOUTH voting thread!

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/img/music2/sonicbucks.jpg

So, it's been more than a year and a half since I signed up for this baby, and here we are. High time to put more than 30 years of glorious guitar noise in order.

You can vote for up to 30 of your favorite SY songs. Only music released under the name Sonic Youth is eligible for this poll, so no side projects, solo albums or collaborations! (I've got 276 unique songs by them in my Foobar library at the moment, so that should keep you busy enough.)

The system:
Your number 1 gets 40 points, #2 36, #3 33, #4 30, #5 27, #6 25, down to 1 point for your number 30. Please number your entries or at least state clearly the order of your list.

The side polls:
* Your top 5 favorite SY albums
* Your top 3 favorite side projects, solo albums or collaborations
* Your favorite band member
* Their least-ugly album cover

The deadline:
* Thursday, May 9th. (Time zones don't matter: if it's Friday in your little corner of the world, you're too late to vote.)
* Please send your ballots to SonicYouthP✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧

I'll try to roll out the results for the side polls over the weekend of May 11-12, and then do the official countdown on Monday through Friday.

Is everyone smart enough to fill in the blanks of the e-mail address? Damn robots...

Daydream Nation is winning the album cover poll, no contest, right?

I've been considering whether Bad Moon Rising may be the best recently.

(best album, not cover)

So, the Whitey Album is not eligible?

Damn, you got me there. All right, The Whitey Album is eligible.

Yes! 'Into the Groovey', say hello to my #1 position!

(not really though)

oh maaaan i didn't realize this was coming up so soon! alright!

thank you for doing 30 songs instead of 20 or something btw!!!!

Whoa.

I look forward to seeing what people like from the latter years. I've heard most of it but aside from a handful of cuts I never latched onto it like I did with the 80s material.

For Your Consideration, part 1: Genetic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBMJx4H8NZY
Best B-side ever?

It's my favorite song from that era of SY, for sure.

"Ghost Bitch" is one seriously underrated deep cut imo.

VOTED!

I'm going to admit that I never completely understood why "Genetic" was so beloved by fans. It's a nice tune but it doesn't seem like a standout Ranaldo track to me.

I'd take any of his album cuts from that era over "Genetic".

yeah "Genetic" will definitely be on my ballot. i like it way more than "Wish Fulfillment" or "Mote" or w/e.

my favorite obscurity, which isn't even on youtube, is "Blink," recorded for the 1999 film Pola X, which i became obsessed with as an mp3 before it was finally collected on the Destroyed Room comp years later. i even asked Steve Shelley about it on one of the handful of occasions i met him, and he kinda shrugged and said something about how they just improvised it one day and then fedex'd it off to the producers of the movie.

Ballot sent.

ha i could so easily send mine right now but i want to savor a week of having an excuse to listen to a ton of SY

It was easy for me since nothing on my ballto came after 1988.

I only voted for 20 tracks instead of 30—a decision I may regret when the rollout happens—but I didn't want to water my ballot down with things I only kinda like (like "Genetic") just to boost them. Get in on your own merits, good songs!!!

EZ and Johnny, got both your polls.

Cool. I voted for 20 as well.

By the way, EZ: I was listening to your number 1 at the exact moment your mail came in!

Nice!

It's been my favorite Sonic Youth tune for roughly 25 years.

Egad.

I only voted for 20 tracks instead of 30—a decision I may regret when the rollout happens—but I didn't want to water my ballot down with things I only kinda like (like "Genetic") just to boost them. Get in on your own merits, good songs!!!

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, May 1, 2013 3:53 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is why you take a few days to listen to the albums again because OF COURSE sonic youth has more than 20 great songs

Does anyone have any favourites from the SYR series? "Anagrama" is one standout. Maybe "Six for New Time" also?

this is why you take a few days to listen to the albums again because OF COURSE sonic youth has more than 20 great songs

This is surely true, but I vote subjectively and not objectively.

xp: Two of my favorites are
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpSi9b61fPE
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abfsef9OPOw

"Anagrama" is def on my ballot

Don't sleep on "The Neutral" from Rather Ripped. Possibly my favorite Kim-sung SY track of all.

i just listened to "Genetic" on Spotify and was alarmed to hear the track start when the drums kick in on the Dirty reissue, because on the 100% single i've always known the song from it opens with a few bars of just guitar before the drums/vocals come in, and i really do not like the change, wtf.

I haven't listened to SYR2 in so long! Should do something about that.

this is a playlist i made a year or two back of favorite songs from the post-1996 era:
http://open.spotify.com/user/alshipley/playlist/02Xjint4osEtM4Q3OQdSD7

Good list! Reminds me that I really have to start listening to Rather Ripped again. I don't think I've listened to that album since it came out.

Excited as hell to vote in this one, and I'm going to take time to give long listens to the ones I'm less familiar with. The side polls are going to be fun too.

Arch, thanks for getting this one rolling on zero notice.

Sure, no problem! I do hope someone will volunteer to do the Cocteaus poll though, because I've been listening to them a lot this week.

(BTW, William, do you still have that Excel file to keep track of the ballots?)

Yeah, I posted it to Google Docs a few months ago -- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmhW_PgsyKKodGZkUi14NV9mYUZ2bUhyV29QU3hBV3c

Just save a copy so that the original is there for future polls.

Some dude, do you have a tracklist for that Spotify playlist?

Does anyone have any favourites from the SYR series? "Anagrama" is one standout. Maybe "Six for New Time" also?

― EveningStar (Sund4r), Wednesday, May 1, 2013 8:04 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"Having Never Written a Note for Percussion" on Goodbye 20th Century.

xp: You can see all titles when you click on 'See more tracks'
xp: Thanks, William!

Yeah, I posted a YouTube link for that one a little earlier. I always felt it was a direct influence on 'NYC Ghosts & Flowers', which is the best song on that album.

Possibly my favorite Kim-sung SY track of all.

Feel there's a North Korean dictator pun waiting to be let out there.

Canadians still can't access Spotify.

xpost lol

Oh, I see. Here's the list:
01 - Wildflower Soul
02 - Reena
03 - What We Know
04 - Incinerate
05 - Jams Runs Free
06 - Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style
07 - French Tickler
08 - Unmade Bed
09 - NYC Ghosts & Flowers
10 - Blink
11 - I Love You Golden Blue
12 - No Way
13 - Hoarfrost
14 - Rain On Tin
15 - New Hampshire
16 - Turquoise Boy
17 - Free City Rhymes
18 - Malibu Gas Station
19 - Karen Koltrane

It's still Thursday!

yeah, US west coasters got another couple hours, and that includes a bunch of regular posters

therefore, fuck it, i'm revising & resending my ballot. you can ignore it if you want, ArchCarrier. i'm good either way and don't want to make your job any harder than it has to be.

nevermind. it'll never be perfect, and what's done is done.

as you were

although I have sent my ballot, as a West Coaster I would plead for leniency wrt late ballots.

oh man i listened to this show on a WEBCAST on REALAUDIO at the time and it sounded so fucking good. the reason i'm really bitter about NYC Ghosts is that the instrumental live versions were really promising and then the lyrics totally dragged it down.

― seanpennderizer (some dude), Thursday, May 9, 2013 9:20 PM

I have an audience-recorded (not by me) boot of this, PM me if u want but I bet there are better recordings from that tour out there.

i dunno i don't necessarily feel like i need to hear it again but thanks for the offer!

Sorry, I hadn't realised there was that much of a time difference between Europe and the US!
Of course you can still vote!!

I now see that if you're lucky enough to be in Hawaii, you still have another FIVE HOURS to finalize your ballot.

West Coaster here, the deed has been done, submitted. Hardest of the single artist polls so far without question, I mean brutally, comically impossible.

i'm going to put in a vote in about an hour's time. very tough going, given that there are several albums i haven't listened to in a very long time.

Hardest of the single artist polls so far without question, I mean brutally, comically impossible.

Imagine if it had been the usual 20 instead of 30.

that might have been easier, tbh, cuz i'd have gone in prepared to slit throats

I don't own anything before BMR and still don't own NYCG&F so it wasn't too difficult throwing two or three tracks per album.

20 would have been pretty hard imo.

Feel a little unenthused about my ballot, way more interested to see what everyone else voted for. As stated, comically hard, though I think I surprised myself a little and certainly like every song on my ballot a lot. Had a helluva time relistening to all the albums though. Gonna relisten to the last 4 today actually. Hope we get close to 50 ballots ....

It's funny, I remember being let down by "Sonic Nurse" when it came out, cause it seemed like everything on it was a rehash of "Murray St." but not done quite as well, but I returned to it a few years ago and man it hits the spot now. As Contenderizer notes, the solo on "Unmade Bed" is awesome, and there are a ton of moments on the record like that. Very consistent record too.

"Dripping Dream" = serious jam

"sonic nurse" is the only album after dirty which sneaked into my album ballot. the production/sound is a bit too clean for my ears but the songs are top notch.

Feel like I cheated somewhat, but I skipped the album portion of the ballot completely. I know that Bad Moon and Murray St. would have found a way on there, but then after that I can make too many arguments for any of 6 or 7 of them and just couldn't do it.

"Sonic Nurse" is one I am going to play for years and years though, as the older I get the more I dig it, for one reason or another. Feel similarly about "A Thousand Leaves". Kind of more in line with my general listening habits at this point in my life than "Sister" and "Evol".

Ha, there's no such thing as too clean in my books.

Did anyone vote for anything on the debut EP?

I voted for Burning Spear. I Dreamed I Dream was a late cut.

yeah I voted for one xp

xp "the burning spear" is on the s/t debut, so i suppose i am not the only one who has.

Ditto on both counts.

I voted for 2 if you count the live stuff on the reissue.

Did anyone vote for anything on the debut EP?

― Raymond Cummings, Friday, May 10, 2013 9:47 AM (55 minutes ago)

Yes, ranked pretty high iirc.

I did vote for IDID

Is it kosher to talk about what you voted for prior to the poll's results? I can't remember what the board policy is...

I voted for at least one song from each album (or corresponding b-side/non-album material).

That's all I'm willing to divulge.

Kind of takes the fun out of it to name specific tunes.

Ok jeez withdrawn

"Carouselambra" was my #1.

any Geffen-reissue bonus tracks included in album tally

CIS: 2
BMR: 3
EVOL: 3
Sister: 3
Daydream Nation: 3
Goo: 3
Dirty: 4
EJSTNS: 3
Washing Machine: 2
ATL: 2
Murray Street: 1
Sonic Nurse: 1

I voted for 3 each from Sister, Daydream, Dirty and Jet Set, 2 from Goo, 1 each from every other full-length, and 6 songs from EPs/singles/SYRs/etc

Confusion is Sex: 3
Bad Moon Rising: 3
“Flower/Hallowe’en” single: 1
Evol: 4
Sister: 2
Daydream Nation: 4
Goo: 1
Dirty: 1
Washing Machine: 1
SYR3: 1
SYR4: 1
NYC Ghosts & Flowers: 1
Murray Street: 3
Sonic Nurse: 3
Rather Ripped: 1

*covers eyes, steps away from thread*

80s: 11
90s: 14
00s: 5

SY: 2
CIS: 3
BMR: 5
EVOL: 4
SIS: 4
DN: 2

CIS: 2
BMR:1
Evol: 3
Sister: 5
DN: 4
Goo: 3
Dirty: 3
EJTNS: 3
WM: 2
ATL: 2
NYCGF: 1
MS:1

Note that I had never paid attention to anything after washing machine until this poll.

Listening again for this made me realise I haven't really ever spent enough time with Bad Moon Rising or Confusion Is Sex enough to love them. I now think I will adore them both. I was in Soho today trying to buy vinyl for each with no luck. I'm looking forward to listening to them in a grumpy and dark mood in the future.

These polls are odd. I find I listen to so much of the relevant artist in order to make a poll that I'm kinda burnt out on them to really appreciate the roll out. The only exception to that was the Bowie one. I can listen to Bowie forever.

Don't post when you're drunk. You can't write.

Nah, it's cool, I understood you.

Did anyone vote for anything on the debut EP?

sir yes sir

I was in Soho today trying to buy vinyl for each with no luck.

yeah, i've been meaning to pick up confusion is sex. i understand that it was remastered for geffen's recent vinyl reissue, but that version hasn't appeared on CD yet.

CIS: 3
BMR: 4 + 1
EVOL: 5
SIS: 5
DN: 5
GOO: 2
DIRTY: 4
WM: 1

karen koltrane was the only post 95 song i considered voting for but i quickly discarded it.

Results!

who didn't vote for theresa's sound world?

You'll find in a few short days... :)

find OUT