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

And now the fun begins. 43 people voted for a whopping 182 songs. I'll start counting them down from Monday. But first, let's get those side polls out of the way...

LEAST UGLY ALBUM COVERS

3. (tie)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Evol.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/Sonic_Youth_Goo.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Sonic_youth_sister.jpg

(these covers received 2 votes each)

2. (tie: 6 votes each)
http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ORG042_SonicYouth_BadMoonRising.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ac/Murray_Street_(album).jpg

1. (8 votes)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/SonicYouthDaydreamNationalbumcover.jpg

yay results! thank you, archcarrier!

maybe 'least ugly' put people in mind of certain criteria, but honestly i don't think any list of best SY album covers shouldn't include Washing Machine

Sadly, it received just one vote, just like A Thousand Leaves, Confusion Is Sex, Goodbye 20th Century, Sonic Nurse and The Whitey Album.

But honestly, of all my favorite bands Sonic Youth has the highest gap between quality of music and quality of album design.

FAVORITE SIDE PROJECTS, SOLO WORK AND COLLABORATIONS:

Honorable mentions:

1 point:

• Glacial - On Jones Beach
• Lee Ranaldo - Ambient Loop for Vancouver
• Lee Ranaldo - Dirty Windows
• Lee Ranaldo - Scriptures of the Golden Eternity
• Lee Ranaldo - Amarillo Ramp (For Robert Smithson)
• Moore/Dietrich/Sauter - Barefoot in the Head
• Thurston Moore (solo)
• Wylde Rattz

2 points:
Can - 'Spoon' (Sonic Youth remix)
Ciccone Youth
Free Kitten
Free Kitten - Sentimental Education
Free Kitten - Unboxed
Glenn Branca - The Ascension
Kim Gordon, DJ Olive and Ikue Mori - SYR 5
Lee Ranaldo - East Jesus
Loren Mazzacane Connors, Jean-Marc Montera, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo - mmmr
Thurston Moore and Nels Cline - In-store

3 points:

• Chelsea Light Moving
• 'I Love You Mary Jane'
• Kim's Bedroom
• Two Dollar Guitar - Burned And Buried

4 points:

• Lee Ranaldo - From Here to Infinity

3. (tie; 5 points)

• Dim Stars
• Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

2. (tie; 6 points)

• Lee Ranaldo - Between the Times and the Tides
• Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy

1. (13 points)
http://img.noiset.com/images/album/thurston-moore-psychic-hearts-album-artwork-16513.jpeg
Thurston Moore - Psychic Hearts

One of these days I'm gonna do some kind of thread or comprehensive guide to SY side projects, there's a gold mine of stuff not even voted for here

Hm. Guess I should own Psychic Hearts.

It's kind of beautiful -- while the band was on hiatus and his wife at home with their new daughter, he went and made basically an album-length meditation on femininity womanhood and female heroes like Patti and Yoko

My favorite side prjects/collaborations don't appear to have been counted.

Wow, I didn't know Branca compositions that Thurston and Lee happened to play on count as Sonic Youth side projects. I might have given a vote to one then.

Psychic Hearts REALLY doesn't hold up for me, as much as I loved it in high school. Interesting that it still seems so popular here.

i think it's popularity is relative -- it's just by far the highest selling/highest profile side project, major label solo album released by the most visible member of the band during their mainstream peak years. not that it isn't good.

Shit, just a few posts in and already an error (hey, it's an ILM poll, what else is new?)
Here are EZ Snappin's votes:

• Shonen Knife f. Thurston Moore - "Butterfly Boy" (3 points)
• Pussy Galore - Sugarshit Sharp EP (2 points)
• Lee Ranaldo - Scriptures of the Golden Eternity (1 point)

As long as my votes count for the real thing all the side stuff is gravy!

Are there SY members on that Pussy Galore EP?

Bob Bert

http://i.imgur.com/yWLqzbl.jpg

lol/poor Steve

Goddamnit, why don't I check that stuff BEFORE I throw it only? Moderator, please remove that first image!

http://i.imgur.com/bvoFwNB.jpg

haha

http://i.imgur.com/poHIxrd.jpg

(and I really hope that that's Jim...)

Lol some dude = good dude.

Couldnt vote in the favorite member poll, just didnt feel right but Steve is def one of the great rock drummers of the last 25 years

i voted for steve and my name is not william, i demand a recount

ha oh n/m i had only looked at the first img

http://i.imgur.com/QTELgw4.jpg

ha, nice reveal. Thank goodness some dude's vote for Steve is saving us from an awkward Stalinized band photo. (Unless I dunno Jim Sclavunos ousts Kim.)

http://i.imgur.com/2uEyZNI.jpg

Wow, I remember in the 90s, Lee was often the fans' choice. Seems like it's still the case.

Are people able to distinguish Thurston's and Lee's playing on the albums? I assume that most of the more traditionally melodic lead parts are Lee but otherwise, I can never tell by listening. Not like listening to, I dunno Clapton and Allman or Metheny/Scofield.

Phh. I shouldn't say this here but I struggle to distinguish between their voices sometimes.

I always thought Lee had the noisy parts!

Speaking of Lee:
http://i.imgur.com/vXaGuhI.jpg

I always thought Lee had the noisy parts!

They both do plenty of noisy parts, though. Some of the most 'out' stuff is Lee, you're right, e.g. the 'antennabox' on "Antenna" or the prepared guitar on "She's in a Bad Mood". But Thurston also did prepared guitar on the first two albums and played the guitar with a drumstick (iirc?) on "Burning Spear". In any live stuff I've seen, they both do plenty of the Hendrix-style feedback. I thought most of the parts that sound like 'normal' rock lead guitar solos were Lee though? The "Pacific Coast Highway" solo is him, right? "Purr" sounds like it's split up. Even that's not too reliable, though: doesn't Thurston play the solo on "Washing Machine"?

Thurston has some pretty distinctive strumming rhythms that make his stuff stick out pretty often, a lot of time in those riffy sections Lee has more of the 'lead' lines. but there have definitely been times when i visualize one or the other playing particular parts, but then i see them play the song live and i had it totally backwards.

You guys don't deserve Steve.

The lead guitar parts on "Chapel Hill": those are Lee?

xpost Fripp/Belew on 80s KC is another example where it's really easy to distinguish the guitarists.

the huge gap in votes between thurston and kim is pretty funny, wonder what it would've looked like before that elle interview ran

You guys don't deserve Steve.

Even you didn't vote for him!

I didn't vote for a favourite band member btw. I almost never have a favourite member of a band, most especially with a band like this where the ensemble playing is so much the point (to the point where we have trouble identifying which guitarist is playing what).

I didn't vote, I did a list but I am a little too shy.

I voted in this poll, like the band, have most of their records...but I find Thurston & Kim insufferable. anytime I read anything that those said, or hear them talk, I want to throw their records in the trash.

honestly i don't think any list of best SY album covers shouldn't include Washing Machine

― seanpennderizer (some dude), Saturday, May 11, 2013 1:39 AM (9 hours ago)

Sadly, it received just one vote, just like A Thousand Leaves, Confusion Is Sex, Goodbye 20th Century, Sonic Nurse and The Whitey Album

― ArchCarrier, Saturday, May 11, 2013 1:41 AM (9 hours ago)

all of which are less ugly than all of the 2nd and 3rd place finishers, w/the possible exception of bad moon rising.

(lol, just noticed some dude's handle)

Seriously? I don't at all see the appeal of the Washing Machine and ATL covers.

http://i.imgur.com/Cm4HUkG.png

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GA9bBKSpL.jpg
10. Dirty
(25 points, 7 votes)

washing machine cover is clean, simple & rather clever, imo.

ATL cover is awfully a bit heavy-handed, but well-designed, texturally interesting. plus i like marnie weber.

http://991.com/NewGallery/Sonic-Youth-Confusion-Is-Sex-277107.jpg
9. Confusion Is Sex
(26 points, 8 votes)

^ my favorite SY cover, that and sav's "death valley 69" drawing

(we are counting down ALBUMS now, not COVERS :)

http://sleevage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/sonicyouth_record.jpg
8. Washing Machine
(27 points, 9 votes)

http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/019/238/0001923899_500.jpg
7. Sonic Nurse
(29 points, 12 votes)

Steve is my second favourite band member, if that helps him sleep at night.

http://criticalmassesmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/badmooncover.jpeg
6. Bad Moon Rising
(33 points, 10 votes)

too low.

http://www.drawuslines.com/wp-content/themes/tma/images/bg/Murray-Street.jpg
5. Murray Street
(34 points, 13 votes)

too low

figure goo's up next?

Nope.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6qkdbcy2N1rxa0n6o1_500.jpg
4. A Thousand Leaves
(35 points, 12 votes)

dang! slap me silly. okay w this though.

Goo is right where it belongs, at 11 or 12.

yup. it's my least favourite of their albums.

Huh. Surprised at A Thousand Leaves placing so high.

If I were voting 100% based on how good the albums sounded to me when I was listening over the past week, I might have voted for Murray Street (or POSSIBLY Sonic Nurse) over Evol, despite some of the reservations I mentioned on the other thread.

xposts There was a lot of love for ATL on the first thread. It doesn't hold up that great for me on the whole, despite a lot of good ideas and some excellent moments. I didn't end up voting for a single song from it.

It's the Macaulay Culkin effect.

ATL would sit just outside my top 5.

Notice the jump in points:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RD8fe3qwL.jpg
3. Evol
(71 points, 20 votes)

Notice the jump in points:

yeah, wow. but otm.

p.s. i like goo

Dirty is so underrated ;_;. #3VOL is my number one but Dirty had the most songs on my ballot

I'd put Goo over Dirty but I think I'd have difficulty arguing with any order of the top 9 (or the top 9 I'm now boldly assuming), I can definitely understand why each would be a favourite for someone.

http://eil.com/Gallery/188066b.jpg
2. Sister
(91 points, 29 votes)

And of course
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4gDLlfzH6WM/UPYRFhoElUI/AAAAAAAABoE/UM7TFoVK5Tc/s1600/sonicyouthdaydreamnatio.jpg
1. Daydream Nation
(107 points, 30 votes)

Goo is better than any of the albums that came after it - they never fully recovered after the Dirty nadir. Kim's post-Goo voice is mostly intolerable with few exceptions.

Voted Kim fave member to help liberate her from male, white, corporate oppression. Always liked her songs best. Can't stand Thurston and Lee's bad beat poetry songs are overrated.

Never got the praise of DN cover. Voted BMR. EVOL cover is better than DN.

Full album results:
01. Daydream Nation (107 points, 30 votes)
02. Sister (91 points, 29 votes)
03. Evol (71 points, 20 votes)
04. A Thousand Leaves (35 points, 12 votes)
05. Murray Street (34 points, 13 votes)
06. Bad Moon Rising (33 points, 10 votes)
07. Sonic Nurse (29 points, 12 votes)
08. Washing Machine (27 points, 9 votes)
09. Confusion Is Sex (26 points, 8 votes)
10. Dirty (25 points, 7 votes)
11. Goo (23 points, 10 votes)
12. Rather Ripped (8 points, 4 votes)
13. Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (7 points, 2 votes)
14. SYR9 (5 points, 1 vote)
15. (TIE) Smart Bar Chicago 1985 (4 points, 1 vote)
15. (TIE) Sonic Youth (4 points, 1 vote)
17. Kill Yr Idols EP (3 points, 2 votes)
18. (TIE) NYC Ghosts & Flowers (2 points, 1 vote)
18. (TIE) Sonic Death (2 points, 1 vote)
18. (TIE) The Whitey Album (2 points, 1 vote)
21. (TIE) Goodbye 20th Century (1 point, 1 vote)
21. (TIE) Hits Are for Squares (1 point, 1 vote)
21. (TIE) Silver Session (For Jason Knuth) (1 point, 1 vote)
21. (TIE) SYR3 (1 point, 1 vote)
21. (TIE) The Eternal (1 point, 1 vote)

Alright, that's it for today. I'm taking a break tomorrow, but check this space on Monday for the results of the song poll.
Good night, everybody!

Lee's bad beat poetry songs

more obvious during the Geffen era but he becomes more graceful sometime after Washing Machine.

Kim's post-Goo voice is mostly intolerable with few exceptions.

disagree, but i was asking earlier where she acquired the strangled whisper/scream voice that, imo, only really becomes a problem on ATL. and yeah, she started doing that on dirty: "shoot", "drunken butterfly", "orange rolls". but i love those songs! and she's done good work post-dirty. i like her on experimental and washing machine, count a few of her sonic nurse and rather ripped tracks among SY's best.

man I am wondering if you just hate ATL's pacing, where Kim's aggro noisepunk is allowed to completely disrupt the beatific calm the other two are cultivating, rather than Kim's aggro noisepunk in and of itself (which to me doesn't blot out the autumnal groovejamz but just inverts their beauty/noise ratio, and offers interesting counterpoint, but I've made this case before blah blah blah...)

(that was to contenderizer, btw)

very interesting/weird album results -- maybe people were voting strategically for underrated stuff or something? that's what i did -- my ballot was Murray St/Jet Set/Sonic Nurse/Sonic Death/The Eternal because i figured the '80s studio classics didn't really need my vote. in any event now i feel bad for stuff like Goo and Confusion now, those albums are pretty central to the band's identity and catalog.

i wonder if this means A Thousand Leaves tracks will do super well? i kind of assumed it'd just lodge a couple songs into the lower reaches of the poll. how many are we doing anyway, top 50?

"Lee's bad beat poetry songs"

more obvious during the Geffen era but he becomes more graceful sometime after Washing Machine.

― A deeper shade of lol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, May 11, 2013 1:24 PM (1 minute ago)

yeah, poetry can be a problem w SY. i'm rarely bothered by lee's poetry styles because they worked so v well early on: "in the kingdom", "pipeline/kill time", "me & jill". as a result, even when he makes me wince ("skip tracer"), i'm likely to give him a pass.

thurston sometimes bugs the crap out of me though. i don't believe he has much invested in most of what he says. that works great for goofy nonsense like "mary-christ" and "youth against fascism", but it makes vocal sections of "wildflower soul" and the "hits of sunshine" intolerable.

there's a story in "Goodbye 20th Century" about how Steve finally snaps w/r/t Thurston's habit of forgetting/making up lyrics when they played live, yelling "they're YOUR songs! you WROTE them!!!"

when they played "Wildflower Soul" live Thurston would stop singing even sooner than he does on the record and just focus on the jam.

Ha, "Small Flowers Crack Concrete" was his lyrical nadir. I was going to say that whatever you think of Lee's beat poetry, it's better than Thurston's.

"Hits of Sunshine" is all about Moore's faux stoner impersonation (BLOOZE AND HAY-KOOOO)

man I am wondering if you just hate ATL's pacing, where Kim's aggro noisepunk is allowed to completely disrupt the beatific calm the other two are cultivating, rather than Kim's aggro noisepunk in and of itself

i'm not sure why i single out kim's ATL tracks as notable failures, given that i like roughly similar stuff on earlier and later albums. maybe it is, as you say, the uncomfortable contrast between T & L's blissed-out hippie vibes and kim's artpunk harshness.

still, i can't escape the sense that the musical support she's getting is halfhearted at best. "orange rolls" and "arthur doyle" at least wash the monkey wrenching down with dumb-catchy riffs. i also miss the personality and offhand wit of stuff like "quest for the cup" and "washing machine".

love the Kim Gordon tracks. she always brings the seething, wounded viciousness that drags the band back to NYC, back to urban decay, squall, desolation, desperation. her tracks can be embarrassing and shrill and harsh, but she still cracks the coolness and detachment of the band's later autopilot years w/ a ragged delivery that brings a missing element of urgency.

still, i can't escape the sense that the musical support she's getting is halfhearted at best. "orange rolls" and "arthur doyle" at least wash the monkey wrenching down with dumb-catchy riffs. i also miss the personality and offhand wit of stuff like "quest for the cup" and "washing machine".

I like "Orange Rolls" but for me, "Contre le Sexisme" and "Heather Angel" >>>>> the rest of the songs you mention.

well said! xp

also, "Female Mechanic" rules.

Yeah, that one too.

I'd probably love a whole album that was like the KG songs on ATL, actually.

the day last week that i listened to nothing but Kim songs was really enjoyable.

I don't know where to put this so I'm putting it here.

Brief descriptions of my Sonic Youth shows:

EVOL tour, 7/19/86 (I am 19):
Indianapolis, IN @ Hoosier Ballroom

http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/cc/071986.html

Hot summer in Indiana. I was fully on board with EVOL and had been really fanatical about the band since the fall of 85 when I got turned on to BMR. Word came that they were playing in Indianapolis at a venue called the Hoosier Ballroom. I drove up with some older people from the community radio station, a couple of friends my age, and the kid brother of one of my roommates. Everybody under 21 had to be paired off with a "guardian" who of course pretended to be an older brother or whatever. All the minors also had to have food on the table in front of them at all times. Despite what the link says, Dinosaur did not open - there were two local bands. Probably 30 people there. I have a flyer, but just found out my scanner is outdated.

The band was in prime form. A year or two later I found a zine interview where they explained that they had done mushrooms the night before, which they claimed was unusual and changed the vibe of the show. I remember "Death To Our Friends", screwdrivers in guitars, Kim's hair all in her face, Thurston screaming. I've talked to a few of the friends I went with over the intervening decades, and we are all still blown away by how good it sounded, as well as the performance itself. A hurricane of sound.

SET LIST:
Tom Violence
White Kross
Shadow of a Doubt
Starpower
Death to our Friends
I Love Her All the Time
Flower
Green Light
Brother James
Kill Yr Idols
Expressway To Yr Skull
--
World Looks Red
(no existing recording known)

Sister tour, 4/25/87 (I am 20):
Oberlin, OH @ Hales Gym

http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/cc/042587.html

Three friends and I drove to Cleveland to participate in a No Business As Usual anarchist demonstration, and to visit one guy's girlfriend, who went to Oberlin. As a bonus, the weekend included the WOBC annual music festival, and one of the events was Sonic Youth and Big Black on campus (it was $6). I remember more about the demo and the weekend in general than the show, but it was one of those shows where they played a ton of stuff from a not-yet-released LP (in this case, Sister). In addition to what the link says, they also played the Ramones medley for the encore which made me freak out and jump up and down a lot. I have clearer memories of Big Black playing than SY - it was right before Headache came out. There were maybe 200 people? Lots of students. I also have a flyer for this show.

SET LIST:
Catholic Block
Tuff Gnarl
Pipeline
PCH
Stereo Sanctity
Cotton Crown
Schizophrenia
White Kross
Beauty Lies in the Eye
Hotwire my Heart
Ramones medley, maybe other songs?
(audience recording exists)

Daydream Nation tour, 12/10/88 (I am 22)
Charlottesville, VA @ Traxx

http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/cc/121088.html

Got my heart broken right after graduating from college, six months later I took a leave of absence from my dead end pizza job and went to stay with my folks for like six weeks, feeling sorry for myself. I even ended up staying later than I had planned because of this show. Happy Flowers and B.A.L.L. opened. The band was totally burnt out, it was like the second to last gig on the DN tour. Show was good, and like the link implies they did in fact open with "The Sprawl". But I remember the set being a bit short, and they got sloppy near the end. Kramer was passing a bag of wine through the crowd and there was a big chaotic tired jam for the encore (see link). I have a really shitty walkman recording of this show somewhere. Maybe 150 people?

SET LIST:
Cross the Breeze
The Wonder
Hyperstation
Teenage Riot
Hey Joni
Rain King
Kissability
Brother James
Eliminator Jr
Silver Rocket
I Wanna Be Yr Dog => Jumpin' Jack Flash jam

Goo tour, 8/4/90 (I am 23)
Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's

http://sonicyouth.com/history/con-set.html

Jesus, I barely remember anything about this show. Thurston had some goofy hat on and Kim was giving him shit for it, I think? We had driven a couple of hours to get there. There were WAY more people than at the Traxx show I had seen less than two years before, it was more like a big concert hall show. 500 people, maybe? Recorded and bootlegged.

SET LIST:
Tom Violence
White Kross
Dirty Boots
Tunic
Titanium Expose
The Wonder
Mote
Cinderella's Big Score
Kool Thing
Mary Christ
Catholic Block
Kill Yr Idols
(bootleg release as 'Energy")

Pre-NYCGAF tour, 9/5/99 (I am 33)
Seattle Center Arena, Bumbershoot Festival

http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/cc/090599.html

Well look at that, my memory is bad - they played 'She Is Not Alone", not IDID as I thought in the voting thread. Like I described there, this was almost entirely an instrumental set - another "work the songs out on tour before recording" gig. Kim played a lot of guitar. The (hordes of) mostly younger kids were confused, restless, and started leaving about halfway in. The Master Musicians Of Jajouka did NOT open, they played a different set later that night with Lee Ranaldo. This was in an 8,000 seat mini-stadium. There's at least one AUD recording.

SET LIST:
Free City Rhymes
Renegade Princess
Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)
Small Flowers Crack Concrete
Side2Side
StreamXSonik Subway
She Is Not Alone
NYC Ghosts & Flowers
--
Lightnin'

Next chance I had to see them was on the Nurse tour, I think, but I didn't wanna go up to Portland with a friend. Oh well, looks like I missed my last chance!

Oddly, I saw them do a show in NYC sometime around DN I think where there was a spiel about a hat, I think Kim's in that case. I wonder if there was a SY hat thing...

awesome post, sleeve, jealous that you saw those

I saw the same Daydream Nation show as sleeve, about a month earlier. Found some footage on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeyjIZPrH9g

It was the last live show I'd see for more than 15 years. I was 27, and after almost a decade of doing nothing but, it wasn't fun anymore. Not Sonic Youth's fault, although I can see where their particular style might have fit well into something that was going to happen with me sooner or later anyway.

awesome post, sleeve, jealous that you saw those

^^^

cosign. EIII and I tried to see them on the EVOL tour at Maxwell's in Hoboken but we were turned away at the door. we got lost on our way home and ended up taking, like, fifteen different buses in ever-tightening concentric circles around Jersey City in the cheap urban-interzone version of After Hours. NJ Transit was prob. just fucking w/us b/c EIII puked all over the train on the way up.

wow, thanks for that tour, sleeve! i wish my show memory were half as detailed. hell, even a third would be an improvement...

yeah, great post sleeve, thanks so much for taking the time to share that!

Sister ALMOST beat Daydream Nation! Sigh.

Amazed tbh

anyways, here is not a bad way to spend an hour. I posted it on Facebook, but it is probably appropriate here too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QZAETFJ3a8

loving these Youtubes, thanks folks! That brief 2-minute clips thing clemenze posted seems significantly more focused than I remember them being at the show I saw.

is there any official concert footage available other than their stuff on The Year Punk Broke?

sleeve, there's the excellent gila monster jamboree vhs documenting a show from 85 in the mojave desert

http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/vid2.html

STOKED

Wow, they have the energy and intensity of a metal band in that 1987 show. Very different from the dazzling precision of the Murray Street tour (or the relatively blase ATL tour).

I kind of feel like I'm watching Krallice.

yeah, for the first four songs or so, I was like, "okay, yeah, shoegaze" and then it turned into something quite a bit more fierce...!

haha this is great. "this song is called 'Sister'...::plays unaccompanied guitar for a few seconds, stops:: oh, Steve, you wanna start it?"

dangit, i wanna watch these, but am beat. maybe i will watch them psychically while i sleep.

that sounds like a good premise for a pk dick book to be adapted into an sy song

do contendroids dream of electric guitars?

^underrated display names ship won't use

Everybody ready?
http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/song_results.png

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/100.jpg
100. Secret Girl
Evol, 1986
(50 points, 4 votes)

woah, top 100!

question: are you gonna do a Spotify playlist of the songs in the countdown as we go, or will you leave that for someone else to do? (i'd volunteer myself, but i'm gonna be working a lot this week and probably wouldn't update it very promptly)

I don't use Spotify, but I'm sure someone else will volunteer.

Also, I'm not going to post YouTube videos with the entries, but I highly encourage everyone to post relevant clips!

Secret Girl had such a huge impact on me.

Ha, I wonder if I gave "Secret Girl" half its points. I've always loved it. All the percussive sounds in the first half are them whacking muted guitar strings with a lot of reverb, right?

xpost

OK, watching a couple of live clips, I think they were playing with a tape. Does anyone know the source? A horror film soundtrack? Actual sound collage?

Yes! Secret Girl made it! Voted for it.

IMO Secret Girl >>> Providence

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/099.jpg
99. Saucer-Like
Washing Machine, 1995
(52 points, 3 votes)

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/098.jpg
98. Paper Cup Exit
Sonic Nurse, 2004
(55 points, 4 votes)

ATL was the first SY album I disliked. I even gave the CD away. I like "hoarfrost", "sunday" and "hits of sunshine" but the album was a bit of a chore for me to listen to. I guess I should listen to it again, its been a long while. Whats is it that everyone loves about it?

"Saucer-Like" is a good song that always kinda gets lost in the shuffle for me, nice to see it get a little shine

If PCE made it, Lee is going to rampage the poll.

Sweet that "Saucer Like" made it - that was one of my votes.

It took me to cotton to ATL and I never really LOVED it - there were a few songs I liked way more than others, and I remember transporting for and catching overlap with SYR songs. It never became a real favorite overall, but it's special in the sense that a) it dropped during the summer I stayed I'm my college town, between junior and senior years, b) I saw SY touring it and they were great, and c) the killer moments on it, like some of the gently psychedelic tilts on "Sunshine," are absolutely sublime even now.

NYCG&F is the first/only SY I sold almost back almost right away.

I thought ATL was amazing the first time I heard it (I can remember I'd just got a new stereo at the time and it was one of the first things I played) but after a few listens the handful of annoying filler tracks started to grate. I still think it's a pretty good album because the highs are really good but it's not first-tier SY by any means. I'd probably put it on a par with Washing Machine.

Really surprised Goo didn't make the top ten albums.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/097.jpg
97. Computer Age
The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young, 1989
(57 points, 4 votes)

(whisper it) Washing Machine is actually maybe my favourite SY of the albums I've heard (Evol / Daydream Nation / Dirty / WM / A Thousand Leaves / Murray Street / Sonic Nurse).

Washing Machine contains both my favourite and least-favourite SY songs.

WM is like 80% great, which is a winner in my book - it made my top 5 albums ballot

I think I like how bass-driven it feels. Someone said upthread that it carried over some of the "bluesy" quality of EJST&NS - is that an accurate description? Maybe i should check that album out.

Love that cover of "Computer Age"; v.appropriate for SY's uh curation instincts or w/e that they'd cover off Trans before the 80s had ended.

I'm a pretty sporadic fan of SY but I voted "Computer Age" super high (#3?). Waaaaay better than the original, it seems built for SY: Moore's voice on the sing-songy "weeks and months & years" parts is my favorite vocal of his, against the squall.

Yeah, without your vote it would have been #130 or so.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/096.jpg
96. The Neutral
Rather Ripped, 2006
(58 points, 4 votes)

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/095.jpg
95. Pattern Recognition
Sonic Nurse, 2004
(60 points, 5 votes)

i'm loving the photos!!!

"Pattern Rec" was one of my votes, one of the few tracks from that album that i actually love

did we ever do a pavement poll like this one?

it was one of the first, actually: PAVEMENT • TRAX • POLL rEsULtS!!!

"Pattern Recognition" smokes

I hope I Love You Golden Blue gets in.

"The Neutral" one of mine. So is "Paper Cup Exit."

i am kicking myself for missing that pavement poll

praying "Becuz" places somewhere in the top 100

i'm loving the photos!!!

― Beatrix Kiddo (Raymond Cummings), Monday, May 13, 2013 5:41 AM (12 minutes ago)

yeah, me too. nice work, ac.

Pattern Recognition is the first one of mine to place. One of the songs I rediscovered while listening to the albums the last couple of weeks. I think at the time Sonic Nurse was released I kept going straight to "Unmade Bed" and thus never gave this one a fair chance.

cannot forgive the word "coolhunter". will fight to the death. i cringe at it like the "what becomes a mirrorshade most?" line in g-force. cyberpunk not kind to SY.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/094.jpg
94. Little Trouble Girl
Washing Machine, 1995
(60 points, 6 votes)

i didn't vote for this, but nice to see it's getting respect. dug it heavily at the time of WM's release but ultimately there's something "gimmicky" about it, which is (maybe) why it didn't rate my ballot in comparison with the rest of the discography.

"Little Trouble Girl" is a song i always kind of overlook as not a particular favorite but when i actually listen to it and think about it i'm like damn, that is a unique song. so many Kim Gordon songs nobody else in the world could have written.

i think kim will win this tracks poll, and handily.

didn't vote for "little trouble girl" but i do love it. almost a lullaby, if a creepy one.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/093.jpg
93. Anagrama
SYR 1, 1997
(60 points, 8 votes)

- Murder Jeans

Hearing "Slow Revolution" for the first time - lovely, lovely song.

woohoo "Anagrama"!

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/092.jpg
92. In the Kingdom #19
Evol, 1986
(62 points, 3 votes)

didn't vote for that, but very glad it's here.

kinda excited to revisit all the songs on this i haven't bothered to hear in years

Man, missed a lot here already. Glad the rollout starts at 100! Already a few on here I was sad to cut, so glad others threw them a vote ("Saucer-like" in particular).

I think "Paper Cup Exit" is a great song, only one here I voted for though it wasn't super-high on my ballot. Don't think it is too surprising that most of Lee's songs will place, cause he really doesn't have that many. Less opportunities for them to get lost in the shuffle (i.e., I had a lot more opportunities to say to myself that a particular Kim or Thurston song had a better equivalent on an album).

"Anagrama" is hitting the spot right now.

Yeah, I that is my favorite SYR song/jam. If I hadn't decided to ignore all SYR records for my ballot it would have made it.

Little Trouble Girl & Kingdom 19 = songs I like a lot but didn't vote for. So, hooray!

considered putting Anagrama super high on my ballot, but in the end it got pegged back to 26th place. still, a little surprised that it didn't fare better.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/091.jpg
91. (TIE) The Wonder
Daydream Nation, 1988
(63 points, 3 votes)

Awesome picture.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/090.jpg
91. (TIE) Dude Ranch Nurse
Sonic Nurse, 2004
(63 points, 3 votes)

fuck yeah. "dude ranch nurse" is one of the late-period tracks i really regret cutting. super catchy and not a little sad.

but i have to call the oblig "too low!" on "in the kingdom". #14 on my ballot and the first of my votes to show.

yes! didn't think this one would make it. The other song from Sonic Nurse I voted for.

"Dude Ranch Nurse" is one of the songs that originally turned me off of Sonic Nurse, and I am not really sure why now. Just wasn't buying that album when it came out, seemed like weaker rehashes of stuff they had done more successfully on other albums (as I stated above already I guess), but when I listen to it these days I just hear them using the vocabulary they had developed in new ways, i.e., casually throwing in a lot of changes, turnarounds, and little moments and jams into each song. Just a really well-crafted and textured record. I can see why almost every song on Sonic Nurse would get a vote as someone's favorite on the record. I didn't vote for "Dude Ranch Nurse" but am not sad to see it place above one of the songs I voted for off of it.

Well, not really "new" ways, but they seemed to be stringing the vocabulary together pretty effortlessly in a good way, for me it makes the record flow really well and not drag at all.

Yeah Kingdom deserved better, was pretty high on my ballot

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/089.jpg
89. She's in a Bad Mood
Confusion Is Sex, 1983
(64 points, 6 votes)

Think this was a casualty of a hasty ballot for me. Glad it placed, but maybe too low?

I remember cutting this one because I already had 4 other songs from this era, I agree that it is probably too low.

Amazing track. The dissonance is almost terrifying. According to Chris Lawrence's page, the prepared guitar is actually Thurston, not Lee. My mistake there.

good, but not a full-on favorite. okay w the placing, as long as the early stuff gets decent representation in the higher rungs.

So this is the Thurston/Lee rhythm/lead division I tend to expect when I can distinguish them at all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N0jNLvd7Ds

I spent so much time on the later records that I completely forgot about tracks like 'Bad Mood'. It's too bad, because it's awesome - in the literal sense of the word.

Cheers to the other 5 voters who had their wits about them to help place 'Bad Mood' in the Top Ninety

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/088.jpg
88. Reena
Rather Ripped, 2006
(64 points, 7 votes)

I voted for Dude Ranch Nurse and Reena. Kim seems to get all the best songs on the recent albums.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/087.jpg
87. (TIE) Stones
Sonic Nurse, 2004
(72 points, 6 votes)

Wow, four songs off of Sonic Nurse already placed, with at least a couple of more to show I am sure.

really nice range of tracks so far

Mark my words - "Rain on Tin" in the top 25

lol listening to Stones right now, one of three Sonic Nurse tracks I wish I wouldve voted for

I'm already starting to worry that The Eternal got the shaft :(

Nah

One of you is right :)

Lol

Feel like Rather Ripped and The Eternal were getting a fair amount of love in nominations thread, but I guess a whole lot of stuff was getting love. Not that surprising to see a lot of the later stuff show up at this point, wonder how much will crack the top 25 though.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/086.jpg
87. (TIE) Genetic
'100%' B-side, 1992
(72 points, 6 votes)

TOO LOW!!!

Thought "Genetic" was going to be a sleeper hit ....

Sorry Lee, did not vote for it (above the other songs of yours I voted for).

When they moved more towards a traditional rhythm/lead setup in their later days, I sometimes hoped they'd go whole hog and actually play more 'real' guitar solos. I think "Stones" could work interestingly with a Verlaine/Lloyd-style solo instead of that repeated melodic phrase.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/085.jpg
85. I'm Insane
Bad Moon Rising, 1985
(74 points, 4 votes, 1 #1)

Kudos to whoever #1ed this song.

Listening to "Stones", I'm rethinking that, actually.

I didn't vote for "I'm Insane" but it's awesome, yeah.

Hah cool!

Kudos indeed!

EZ Snappin to thread!

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/084.jpg
84. NYC Ghosts & Flowers
NYC Ghosts & Flowers, 2000
(79 points, 6 votes)

Lol

They kinda fucked up when recording that, lotta instruments falling out of sync in a bad way. Cool epic Lee jam though.

Honestly I'd have dug NYCGF way more if there'd been little to
no singing

The album not the song

I voted for it! Love it, partly from live performances I saw of it I guess, but I always liked that record fine.

They kinda fucked up when recording that, lotta instruments falling out of sync in a bad way.

OTM. Was pretty grand live.

I never noticed that, and I love that song. It was my number 5.

I mean, with something like this, it can be hard to tell if it's intentional so it may be best to give the benefit of the doubt.

I had it pretty high, mid-ballot somewhere. Partly love it cause of just how miserable the reception of this record was as well. A defiant fan boy's enthusiasm or something like that.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/083.jpg
83. Androgynous Mind
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, 1994
(80 points, 4 votes)

Really? This?

On my ballot!

That's actually one of the tracks I kind of enjoy from that album.

If one of the voters (not Alfred) hadn't put it at 2(!!), it would have barely made the top 100.

These tunelets MAKE the album imo

xpost to self: not that it would make my top 75

Ha, actually, who knows what would happen if I actually sat down and listed 75 Sonic Youth songs?

I didn't vote for this, but I approve this placement. It's a great song

I voted for androgynous mind, it's catchy

"Waist" is another one of these tossed-off punky songs that I can enjoy.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/082.jpg
82. (TIE) Flower
Bad Moon Rising, 1985
(81 points, 6 votes)

That's not on the original album, right?

Nope

I don't know if I voted for "Flower"! I hope i did

everything's falling in very sensibly. "genetic", "i'm insane", "androgynous mind" and "nyc ghosts & flowers" = good tracks that tend to get overlooked in favor of the classics, but not top 50 material imo.

"flower", otoh, deserves a lot more fuck love. like, for instance, i should have voted for it.

xp That's why I wanted to do a top 100 - too many songs that would otherwise get overlooked.

"I'm Insane" way too fucking low. My number one SY tune since I first heard it in 1990.

Yeah, nothing yet has seemed "too low" to me for the most part other than maybe "(She's In A) Bad Mood" and "Flower".

Sorry EZ

"Androgynous Mind" is not a particular favorite but it's good to see some Jet Set love. For a while Eddie Vedder used to throw some lyrics from it into improv tags in Pearl Jam shows!

Last one for today...
http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/081.jpg
82. (TIE) 100%
Dirty, 1992
(81 points, 6 votes)

RECAP:

100. Secret Girl (50 points, 4 votes)
99. Saucer-Like (52 points, 3 votes)
98. Paper Cup Exit (55 points, 4 votes)
97. Computer Age (57 points, 4 votes)
96. The Neutral (58 points, 4 votes)
95. Pattern Recognition (60 points, 5 votes)
94. Little Trouble Girl (60 points, 6 votes)
93. Anagrama (60 points, 8 votes)
92. In the Kingdom #19 (62 points, 3 votes)
91. (TIE) The Wonder (63 points, 3 votes)
91. (TIE) Dude Ranch Nurse (63 points, 3 votes)
89. She's in a Bad Mood (64 points, 6 votes)
88. Reena (64 points, 7 votes)
87. (TIE) Stones (72 points, 6 votes)
87. (TIE) Genetic (72 points, 6 votes)
85. I'm Insane (74 points, 4 votes, 1 #1)
84. NYC Ghosts & Flowers (79 points, 6 votes)
83. Androgynous Mind (80 points, 4 votes)
82. (TIE) Flower (81 points, 6 votes)
82. (TIE) 100% (81 points, 6 votes)

<3<3<3 the 100% pic

very surprised that 100% does not do any better. there is so much happening in those 150 seconds, the song takes so many turns. i like my sonic youth when they come to the point and do not jam...

well Flower should be about 50 places higher, but I did my part and voted it up pretty high. I'm Insane would be in my top 40.

Spotify playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/gcwright/playlist/5n1D8eMZlFwx8Rf8xBjOWR

Yeah, "Flower" was a late cut, think I regret it a little. Seems like a single vote woulda helped out quite a bit.

i forgot about "flower" until nearly the end (didn't have a copy handy for some dumb reason). thought abt making last minute space for it on my ballot, but figured it'd do fine w/out my help.

^ blame this guy

Hey Gavin, thanks for the playlist! I've been jamming the bottom 30 all day, it's a great listen so far.

I didn't even forget about it, just made some hasty decisions right at the end.

Cannot be stressed enough that 182 DIFFERENT songs were voted for, so a lot of good stuff is going to have pretty low point totals. Pretty cool that the band can have so many appreciated songs. Will also be interesting to see when the point totals start to rise significantly.

First comment was in re "Flower" placement

If we'd done a top 50 countdown, i'd be sitting here the whole time waiting for "Flower" and "100%" to show up

"Schizophrenia" #1, "Teenage Riot" #2?

#1 better be Ca Plane Pour Moi or I'm going to cry.

I'm betting teen riot number one though I voted for nothing off that record

"Schizophrenia" was the highest-ranking SY song in the 80s heavy rock poll.

"Teenage Riot" may well be my least-favourite song on Daydream Nation.

I'm really shocked that 100% came here. My first exposure to Sonic Youth and placed in my top ten. I think I also gave Paper Cup Exit a fair percentage of its points I reckon. Good stuff so far, awesome images.

#1 better be Ca Plane Pour Moi or I'm going to cry.

― scintilla (seandalai), Monday, May 13, 2013 2:25 PM (30 minutes ago)

butt shit, i completely forgot! probably wouldn't have voted for it anyway, but it would have been nearly as hard to cut as "my new house".

dead 2 me

don't wanna hear no sounda you

(ooh woo ooh ooh)

Love the Flower pic.

i missed that one, but otm

i think "Schizophrenia" is pretty much a lock ("Teenage Riot" may have the edge in the general public but "Schiz" seems to be by far more popular among people with 30 favorite SY songs). most likely next competitor is "Expressway," although do I dare to dream of a "Shadow Of A Doubt" or "Eric's Trip" upset?

i forgot to submit my ballot but "flower" would have been in my top 7.

I for one got off the wagon (at least temporarily) upon hearing "100%". (Something of a "Judas!!!!" moment as a schoolkid, LOL.) Listening to it for the first time since the '90s, I'm finding it no less cringeworthy.

I don't get that Nag! - why? can you explain more? I first fell in love with SY with the 100% and Sugar Kane CD singles which I played to death - even more so than Dirty itself.

Is Sugar Kane a surprise number one chance?

xp

never got the love for that song myself, although It does do the brevity thing really well as Alex mentioned. I'd rank it as one of Dirty's weakest tracks - and I like that record way way more than most people seem to.

I really should have voted for Sugar Kane.

"Sugar Kane" was the last song i cut from my ballot, just had a lot of Dirty on there already.

i feel like it should be pretty plainly obvious why "100%" is divisive, just based on its essential differences from most of their songs or even most of their singles or album openers.

Yeah, at the time, the shiny production of much of Dirty came as a shock and the singsongy-ness of "100%" was irritating. Came across as a unabashed, if failed, attempt to make a, er, party anthem, with lyrics that are just screwed-up enough to be bad-ass. These are rather cornyindief*ck/"I hate fun" sort of reasons, admittedly, but I can't shake it off in this instance. :)

Right. Well I was 15 when 100% came out so maybe I was the target audience. I don't really hear lyrics much a lot of the time so despite hearing the song a thousand times I couldn't really say what it is supposed to be about. It sounded cool and squally to me then and still does now.

Confusion is Sex and Bad Moon Rising came much, much later for me and I guess I do love that sound more now. But yeah, y'know, the first time and all that.

Man, Thurston's vocal melody on "Sugar Kane" really brings down an awesome musical track for me. Psych classic otherwise.

maybe that's why it didn't make my cut, never thought about it that way.

No. Oh god, I don't want to be That Guy on this poll.

I actually enjoy "100%" for what it is though, although I'd never rank it as a favourite track by any stretch. Maybe both songs are equally sing-songy? I dunno. Just a good noisy hard rock tune. It's one song where I actually like some of Thurston's lines: "It's hard to believe you took off/I always thought you'd go far", "I've been around the world a million times/And all you men are slime".

xpost to self

i respect "100%" more after learning it's about Joe Cole but by that measure "JC" is still a much better song

Those are pretty memorable lines, 'strue (XP). And yes, "JC" is extraordinary. My only Dirty vote.

Just trying to transport myself back to 1992. I figure "100%" was spoiled by a 18 months of really digging "Disappearer": "early 90's Thurston songs sound like that," my teenage mind must have decided. "Dense and hauntingly beautiful, man. Get with the program."

For some reason, I always think of "Disappearer" as a Lee Ranaldo song. But no.

i've been a fan since bad moon rising, and i can assure you with some confidence that "100%" and "sugar kane" are both GREAT. could easily see either being anyone's favorite sonic youth tune. "100%" is smart, weird, sad and it kicks buckets of ass. "sugar kane" is as groovy and sexy as thurston ever got, plus the hook & central riff are incredible. i think people (some people, not you) reject them cuz they're too catchy, too big & clean, too successfully pop. those qualities aren't what i generally come to SY for, but vig got the balance right on dirty, imo.

not that i voted for either...

For some reason, I always think of "Disappearer" as a Lee Ranaldo song. But no.

― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, May 13, 2013 5:57 PM (31 minutes ago)

"theresa's sound world" is the one that always strikes me as a lee-but-not-lee song

there are Thurston songs that i think of, in the parlance of TM himself in The Year Punk Broke, as 'indie guitar swing,' and "Sugar Kane" is prob their best indie guitar swing song.

if SY were television, "disappearer" would be their "venus"

Otm, Disappearer is easily my favorite Thurston song

100% is great but I watched the video for the first time in ages last week and HOLY COW it is so 1992 fashion it is insane. Dirty Boots is pretty hysterically grunged out too

That was a big part of the point with "Dirty Boots", wasn't it?

was it entirely tongue-in-cheek? The stage dives are hilarious but I didn't totally get the sense it was knowingly so

Oh, I didn't think it was tongue-in-cheek but I think it was pretty deliberately meant to celebrate alt/grunge culture.

So yeah, no, it probably wasn't meant to be hysterical.

yeah 'dirty boots' vid was conscious valentine to a particular moment in the culture ('sugar kane' vid was also but there's some definite tongue in cheek there, whereas 'dirty boots' is pretty unabashedly romantic albeit not humourless).

I could easily imagine some young kid who got into SY post-ATL being blown away but how GRUNGE the 100% video is, not to mention that the stars are spike jonze and jason lee. People who came in with like Murray Street and then went and bought Daydream might not realize how ur-90s they got

by how

I was the voter who put "Androgynous Mind" at #2, and I do like it a lot but honestly not #2 a lot. I was just trying to ensure it made the countdown.

Disappointed that Goo and Rather Ripped missed out on the top ten album results. I HATE ALL OF YOU.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/080.jpg
80. Sweet Shine
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, 1994
(81 points, 7 votes)

Fuck yes my #4!

Also, Jason Lee got his start in the 100% video, right?

Don't know, but the only thing that video is missing is a Free Tibet poster, lordy

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/079.jpg
79. Providence
Daydream Nation, 1988
(82 points, 4 votes)

Fantastic images with this rollout.

<3 "Providence" but forgot to vote for it when doing a last-minute ballot; one of the tracks that inspired Noisy or Ambient 80s US Indie Tracks. Have some friends who'll take any opportunity to yell out "Thurston! Watt! Thurston! I think it's ten thirty, we're calling from Providence, Rhode Island. Did you find your shit?"

"Providence"! too low. my fav Daydream Nation song, & my #4. love that guy's accent, & the dissolution of the sound, like a candle burning out

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/078.jpg
78. Rain King
Daydream Nation, 1988
(82 points, 6 votes)

'Rain King', awesome - took me a while to realise how good that one is, it sounds huge

Rain King is killer. I think this was my highest Lee track

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/077.jpg
77. Ghost Bitch
Bad Moon Rising, 1985
(84 points, 4 votes)

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/076.jpg
76. Death to Our Friends
Evol, 1986
(85 points, 3 votes)

Yeah, I don't have much to say about these songs either. I have a hard time recalling what they sound like by looking at their titles. Unlike the next one, which is one of my favorite pop songs ever. I had it at number 7.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/075.jpg
75. Chapel Hill
Dirty, 1992
(87 points, 6 votes)

Is it me or is it a slow day? :)

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/074.jpg
74. (TIE) Into the Groove(y)
The Whitey Album, 1988
(88 points, 5 votes)

Just early, man

Also, you know, Daft Punk + Vampire Weekend keepin heads occupied

You mean there are people listening to other things than Sonic Youth?

It's gratifying to see Dirty getting so much love up I'm here (though I didn't vote for Chapel Hill it's a great song)

Yeah. I'm actually listening to VW RIGHT NOW

Bad Moon Rising and the 2nd half of EVOL are definitely difficult for me to think of in terms of individual songs (apart from the closing tracks on both).

'Chapel Hill' was one of the many Dirty tracks I ended up reluctantly cutting. I think it really benefits from where it's sequenced on the album, it works really nicely there.

Ditto re BMR - I've only had it on tape, and listening to it in the car it felt like one long shitty mood in a grimy bedroom in 1985

I'm CUMIN HOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMME

79. Providence
Daydream Nation, 1988
(82 points, 4 votes)

TOO FUCKING LOW!!!

was really happy to be able to vote for "Sweet Shine" in this, i always neglect it on mixes of fav SY songs because of the stupid hidden track

nice to see "Death To Our Friends" make it, always been one of my favorites on Evol but didn't vote for it.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/073.jpg
74. (TIE) Cinderella's Big Score
Goo, 1990
(88 points, 5 votes)

Just missed my ballot

same here! it crushed me to cut it, tbh.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/072.jpg
72. Macbeth
The Whitey Album, 1988
(89 points, 6 votes)

I never had much use for the Whitey Album, but I have to say 'Macbeth' is great.

"Into the Groove(y)" waaaaaaaaay too low! It was my #2 iirc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZC9Xxg2r4&sns=em

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/071.jpg
71. Jams Run Free
Rather Ripped, 2006
(89 points, 7 votes)

ooh! unexpected!

TOOOOOOOOOO LOW

"Jams Run Free" is one of those fun 'Kim sings Thurston's lyrics' songs, like "Starpower" and "Ineffable Me"

are those Moore's lyrics? I don't have the credits.

ooh I'm glad my extremely high placement of Death to Our Friends paid off, and Ghost Bitch was my #2 fuiud

I'm kicking myself for leaving "Ghost Bitch" off my ballot. Huge mistake, pure and simple.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/070.jpg
70. Free City Rhymes
NYC Ghosts & Flowers, 2000
(94 points, 8 votes)

Yeah, I don't have much to say about these songs either. I have a hard time recalling what they sound like by looking at their titles.

all I have to do is look at those titles and the songs start playing in my head in their entirety but I was 16 when evol came out and it stove my head in but good so

Yay, Free City! My only vote from NYCGF

Fuck, how are we already at 70??? Arch, I assume that you are in Europe? Not a big deal, but that would explain the lack of comments/action here perhaps.

Good run of songs here. Love "Providence" to death, though it is hard to consider it a song sometimes. I was sure I voted for it, but somehow I forgot??? Would have liked to see it place higher.

Was really bummed to cut "Cinderella's Big Score", as there are times when I listen to that song and still get chills after all these years. For some reason I reached my Kim quotient and just decided my ballot didn't need it. My love for Sonic Youth largely revolves around their ability to insert absolutely crushing events into a song (few bands actually thrill me or take me on a journey within a song, for lack of a better term, like SY), and the trajectory of the really tense intro/buildup in "Cinderella's Big Score, leading to the rocking "verse" is pretty righteous, but then it gets to the breakdown: the pretty harmonics and descending melody with Kim speak-singing is great, but when Kim stops singing and they hyper-strum the same descending melody/riff I just grin from ear to ear EVERY DAMN TIME. Just inexplicably great to me.

Yeah that song is such a beautiful rollercoaster ride. Great fusion of Daydream-era epic vibes and the kind of oncoming grunge-era influences.

"Free City Rhymes" is my biggest TOO LOW moment so far

Definitely a fan of "Free City Rhymes", but I went with "NYC Ghosts & Flowers" as my one song from that record. Somewhat a toss-up, but the latter hit me harder this time around. (If I did this poll 10 times there are only about 10 songs that would make every one of them). The guitar interplay on "Free City Rhymes" is particularly cool for SY in my book, love the extended pointillistic approach for a lot of it.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/069.jpg
69. Superstar
If I Were a Carpenter, 1994
(97 points, 5 votes)

voted for both "rain king" and "Macbeth", so fuck yeah. the former was my first DN favorite (like "stereo sanctity" was my first sister fave) and still occupies that slot most days. a hurricane of bricks. whipcream, phonecall, breakdown, rain king fist.

love "macbeth" for the haunted house (almost) funk, not something i really expect of SY, but it grabs my whole mind and presses it into a tiny corner every time i hear it.

"sweet shine" and "into the groovey" just missed my ballot. kind of wish i had voted for the former. alfred otm: "I'M COMIN' HOME, MOMMA!"

Yeah, "Sweet Shine" almost snuck onto my ballot as well. That is a heavy moment for sure and a really good album closer.

"free city rhymes", "jams run free", "cinderella's big score" & "ghost bitch" not among my favorites. but w/e, you got your sonic youth, i got mine.

ack, "superstar" photo SO CUET!

I really like "Superstar" but decided to skip covers for my ballot. There have been days though where all I wanna hear is "Ca Plane Pour Moi" as played by SY though, as in I want it to be the soundtrack to my day. Maybe a hangover from the montage at The Louvre from "European Vacation" or some shit, but really it is a supremely joyous blast. If anyone hasn't heard it give it a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZkKK_GZ8qU

Seems like Thurston just makes up a lot of the lyrics, and I think he actually sings "Don't wanna hear no Sonic Youth", but who knows?

These pictures rival the ones for the results of the Pavement poll for inspired brilliance...

Hah yeah, and not a Jaguar or Jazzmaster in sight.

you could make a really nice playlist/comp of sonic youth cover versions (songs covered by SY, i mean).

"is it my body" is their only real failure, imo. seems as though it would be perfect, esp for kim, but they completely butcher it.

I only realised when researching for this poll that Thurston sings most of Ca Plane Pour Moi in random English phrases!

http://m.soundcloud.com/nofancy/sonic-youth-jams-run-free

Seriously, this is like an orgasm

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/068.jpg
68. Tokyo Eye
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, 1994
(100 points, 5 votes)

I only realised when researching for this poll that Thurston sings most of Ca Plane Pour Moi in random English phrases!

― scintilla (seandalai), Tuesday, May 14, 2013 8:38 AM (4 minutes ago)

wham bam lost his eyes she's so horny bongos faze i'm a born listen come a whiskey come a deeda dada tada toi, fruit a leevitatee deeda inna jar, ooh say in a flash ooh OOH ooh ooh, i got to laugh

and shit yeah, "tokyo eye" is such a jam. cannot play that shit loud enough.

R.E.M. makes its way in there at some point.

Xpost "Ca Plane Pour Moi"

voted for "Superstar" high; this'll sound corny but in 94 it was ~important~ for me to hear covers of "cheesy" (by "punk" standards) artists (REM was playing "Wichita Lineman" live that year too)...helped open my mind again (nb I was 20 at the time)

TOKYO EYE! That was really high on my ballot, just an amazingly unique use of rhythm and dynamics even within the SY catalog. Has the source of the cymbal crash sample/toy ever been identified?

EJS was one of the last old SY albums I bought, and it consistently surprised me.

Tokyo Eye is fantastic, think I voted for it.

Yeah, "Experimental ..." was so much better than I remembered it, can't believe I had left that record alone for so long. I had really blunt/incomplete memories of the songs for some reason, relistening opened up all kinds of subtleties that I had forgotten about. "Tokyo Eye" is definitely a cool song and a welcome curveball in their catalogue.

Isn't that cymbal just Steve with a lot of filters on it?

It's such a SPARE record, that's why - so stripped back.

My picks from that album were Screaming Skull and Quest...

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/067.jpg
67. Making the Nature Scene
Confusion Is Sex, 1983
(106 points, 7 votes)

Also, the obvious shock of hearing "Winner's Blues" as the first track on the record immediately following the general heaviness of "Dirty" kinda confused me at the time. I immediately did a U-Turn and went and bought all of the old SY records I didn't own yet (that I could find) instead of dig into "EJSTNS". Think I actually liked "Winner's Blues" and "Bull In The Heather" the most at the time, but yeah, decided to hit the back catalogue for a while pretty much immediately.

^ fucking CLASSIC. did not vote for it, but damn glad to see it get the nod here. love the conceit, the city as nature, organic humanity an "unnatural" intrusion on its pattern. much more appealing that contemporary artists who worship an idealized vision of untainted nature from the comfort of urban apartments/suburban homes.

xp re: making the nature scene

"Making The Nature Scene" was a late cut for me. Classic for sure. Really glad that I got to see this song live, it is a powerful live experience.

To say the least.

It took the Ciccone version for me to realize it's one of their most rhythmically driving early songs

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that one person secifically voted for the Ciccone Youth version. I'm too lazy to look it up now - was it you, some dude?

sPecifically obv.

I see now that it was Sleeve.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/066.jpg
66. Drunken Butterfly
Dirty, 1992
(107 points, 7 votes)

YES xp

I love the Ciccone Youth version so much!

ooh I also voted for Drunk Butterfly

It always surprised me to learn "Drunken Butterfly" had a video and was one of their most played live songs. Not really a standout in any context, but it kinda bangs.

I think I ended up putting this at #2 on my ballot. Dirty was my first sonic youth album and this is the song I played the most way back then.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/065.jpg
65. Kissability
Daydream Nation, 1988
(108 points, 7 votes)

You will not believe where I got that image from.

Holy shit, how the hell did that come up?

Also, "Kissability" rules! Fucking love that guitar solo.

"Kissability" definitely deserved better. Being such a concise, controlled song buried in the back half of a woolly epic has kind of kept it hidden in plain view, I think.

way, way behind as usual these days, but Flower slipping completely through the cracks is rong, so xxxxp to sleeve:

well Flower should be about 50 places higher

yeah, Flower is a R&RHoF klassik in the secret fuck-off category. upthread Contenderizer mentions the lack of musical support Gordon fights against on some later SY tracks, but Flower ramps entirely around her flaying vox, which take only three minutes to track an unfolding idea from a jagged, unsettled thought to an interior mantra, words mumbled under breath, rude shit said at parties, a spit slogan, and then a brief interlude of civil discourse f/ the common creep (look at that shit on yr wall, man) before exploding back into personal rage that’s cornball but riveting punk towering monumentally over skinhead nation. Ranaldo and Moore lay down a ratcheting shitstorm of static, but I love how the tune structurally references hip-hop and grabs yr throat w/ so little - at 0:58 the reverb that pops the vocals, the snare drop at 1:53, the one-note bassline that unexpectedly lurches at 2:00, the free-falling drum dropout at 2:56 that injects vertigo into the upward ascent (all v. inspiring to a young, guitar-mangling Hellhouse w/ minimal skillz, but really a testament to the exhilarating belligerence barreling straight down the middle). notable also f/ weaving so many key SY strands – dissonant feminism, anthemic demolition, emotional politics, psych agitation, dreams into violence. outstandingly rude and OTT then and now, and glaring at 82.

Damnit Hellhouse, don't make me feel even badder about leaving it off! (good post otm etc....)

Uggh, the correct word is "worse"

bit surprised to see Drunken Butterfly so low, but also realising that Sonic Youth have an awful lot of good songs.

from wayyy upthread:

100% is great but I watched the video for the first time in ages last week and HOLY COW it is so 1992 fashion it is insane. Dirty Boots is pretty hysterically grunged out too

― da croupier, Monday, May 13, 2013 10:26 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That was a big part of the point with "Dirty Boots", wasn't it?

― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, May 13, 2013 10:33 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

was it entirely tongue-in-cheek? The stage dives are hilarious but I didn't totally get the sense it was knowingly so

― da croupier, Monday, May 13, 2013 10:36 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh, I didn't think it was tongue-in-cheek but I think it was pretty deliberately meant to celebrate alt/grunge culture.

― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, May 13, 2013 10:39 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So yeah, no, it probably wasn't meant to be hysterical.

― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, May 13, 2013 10:40 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah 'dirty boots' vid was conscious valentine to a particular moment in the culture ('sugar kane' vid was also but there's some definite tongue in cheek there, whereas 'dirty boots' is pretty unabashedly romantic albeit not humourless).

― balls, Monday, May 13, 2013 11:06 PM (Yesterday)

Female lead in Dirty Boots video is wearing Nirvana t-shirt + video was released about 6 months prior to Nevermind so careful with that revisionism...

my god: I forgot to vote for "Kissability."

great post, hellhouse, cheers

i dig both "kissability" and "drunken butterfly", but am cool w not voting for either

like so so many other kim tracks, "kissability" seems as though it deserves to score high on lyrics alone. i place at least equal emphasis on tunes/rocks/jams, though, and on that level, it doesn't floor me.

not, at least, as much so as several other DN tracks

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/064.jpg
64. The World Looks Red
Confusion Is Sex, 1983
(108 points, 8 votes)

You know, similar to Hellhouse (i.e., his statement about the musical approach on Flower being "all v. inspiring to a young, guitar-mangling Hellhouse w/ minimal skillz"), seeing SY perfom "100%" on TV when Dirty came out was a real revelation for me. I hadn't seen them live at that point, but the general artlessness and simplicity of the approach (hit a couple of notes in unison and then freak out between the notes) was super influential and freed me the hell up. I never really worried about being "good" at guitar again (for better or worse).

Oh man, the Letterman dogpile was the first time I saw them perform live. Thought they seemed like the worst band ever, but I wised up later.

Yeah, not even sure I processed it fully, but I had become a fan and was totally mesmerized by some of the guitar on Goo etc., so to see them just going for it like that erased a lot of the negative experiences I had had trying to play guitar and watch folks my age pull of pretty accomplished shit on guitar. It gave me license to be bad, as long as I was bad in an interesting way! (I could not even play barre chords or anything, so even watching punk bands and shit made guitar look hard to me for some reason.) Probably misguided in retrospect, but still, I learned to focus on finding a sound and milk a few notes I liked and not overthink it so much partly because of that experience.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/063.jpg
63. Protect Me You
Confusion Is Sex, 1983
(110 points, 6 votes)

That was in my top 5 or close.

The kind of counterpoint between the guitar and bass parts on "Free City Rhymes": I can't think offhand of another rock band that has done something quite like that. Thurston's vocal melodic line is a bit more ambitious than what he usually does too.

"Death to Our Friends" and "Drunken Butterfly" are two that would probably make my top 50. "Ghost Bitch" is amazing imo. Top 10. I think I get from that what other people get from "Flower". (Not that I dislike "Flower".)

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/062.jpg
62. Incinerate
Rather Ripped, 2006
(113 points, 10 votes)

Only thing I voted for from the last two song-based albums. Just an infectious guitar pop tune.

clearly my fave from "rather ripped". it flows so smoothly, absolutely stunning song and not very typical for sonic youth. almost too sweet.

Something about the guitars reminds me of the Stones. Not sure exactly why.

Guitars + drums?

"Incinerate" is gorgeous – and, yes, it reminds me of "Factory Girl" a bit, no?

Last one for today. Everybody's watching Eurovision anyway. Tomorrow we'll cover numbers 60-41.
http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/061.jpg
61. Unmade Bed
Sonic Nurse, 2004
(114 points, 10 votes)

RECAP:
100. Secret Girl (50 points, 4 votes)
99. Saucer-Like (52 points, 3 votes)
98. Paper Cup Exit (55 points, 4 votes)
97. Computer Age (57 points, 4 votes)
96. The Neutral (58 points, 4 votes)
95. Pattern Recognition (60 points, 5 votes)
94. Little Trouble Girl (60 points, 6 votes)
93. Anagrama (60 points, 8 votes)
92. In the Kingdom #19 (62 points, 3 votes)
91. (TIE) The Wonder (63 points, 3 votes)
91. (TIE) Dude Ranch Nurse (63 points, 3 votes)
89. She's in a Bad Mood (64 points, 6 votes)
88. Reena (64 points, 7 votes)
87. (TIE) Stones (72 points, 6 votes)
87. (TIE) Genetic (72 points, 6 votes)
85. I'm Insane (74 points, 4 votes, 1 #1)
84. NYC Ghosts & Flowers (79 points, 6 votes)
83. Androgynous Mind (80 points, 4 votes)
82. (TIE) Flower (81 points, 6 votes)
82. (TIE) 100% (81 points, 6 votes)
80. Sweet Shine (81 points, 7 votes)
79. Providence (82 points, 4 votes)
78. Rain King (82 points, 6 votes)
77. Ghost Bitch (84 points, 4 votes)
76. Death to Our Friends (85 points, 3 votes)
75. Chapel Hill (87 points, 6 votes)
74. (TIE) Into the Groove(y) (88 points, 5 votes)
74. (TIE) Cinderella's Big Score (88 points, 5 votes)
72. Macbeth (89 points, 6 votes)
71. Jams Run Free (89 points, 7 votes)
70. Free City Rhymes (94 points, 8 votes)
69. Superstar (97 points, 5 votes)
68. Tokyo Eye (100 points, 5 votes)
67. Making the Nature Scene (106 points, 7 votes)
66. Drunken Butterfly (107 points, 7 votes)
65. Kissability (108 points, 7 votes)
64. The World Looks Red (108 points, 8 votes)
63. Protect Me You (110 points, 6 votes)
62. Incinerate (113 points, 10 votes)
61. Unmade Bed (114 points, 10 votes)

Spotify playlist

Man, the Top Fifty will be fun.

Makes me a little sad that we've probably seen the last of the post-2002 records now

- 7 of my top 30 have placed.
- i don't think all the other 23 will be in te top 60. 20 would be a lot.
- my highest up till now was "into the groove(y)" which i had on #4.

Makes me a little sad that we've probably seen the last of the post-2002 records now
You sure? ;-)

btw i am just listening to syr5, the kim gordon plus that japanese chick plus dj olive album and it is pretty good, i think i have never really listened to it. i think it beats "psychic hearts" easily as best side-project. it is quite varied with lots of interesting rhythms.

I'd definitely take it over Psychic Hearts but I never really felt like KG was adding that much to it. I'd much rather listen to Mori's own work.

I would think there are quite a few post-"Murray St" songs still to place, but I guess we'll see. "100%" the only song to place so far that I would have thought was much more highly regarded for some reason (though I didn't vote for it), so it will be interesting to see when stuff I consider to be "hits" start showing up. Cool spread of songs so far for sure.

Or listen to her with Zorn or Douglas.

xpost

xp she is adding her voice which is quite a lot. plus a little guitar.

Oh, I know. What I mean is that I don't think the music benefits that much from KG's contributions.

"100%" is the only single from the Geffen years that leave me cold.

for many years i had the poster of 100% on the door to my cellar room. i bought it after an open-door concert in 1992 or 1993 when they played the lorelei festival near the rhine. new order were there as well but compared to sonic youth were ridiculous.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f1/Sonic_Youth_100_percent.jpg/220px-Sonic_Youth_100_percent.jpg

open-air concert

4 of mine have placed. Don't know if that means I'm very with the majority or against. I also haven't had much to say besides "I like this song, but didn't vote for it" or (occasionally) "I voted for this song", so I've mostly been keeping mum.

(Oh, and thanks for reminding me about Eurovision)

3 of mine have placed, including my #1 ("I'm Insane") and my #4 ("Making the Nature Scene").

Only 3 of mine so far as well, curious to see what might not make the cut.

xp sonic youth & eurovision? am i the only who finds that these two go together as well as cats and water? eurovision is everything i hate about popular music. the music is annoying rubbish, the show is terrible stupidity. to me it is pure hype, nothing else. total delusion.

6 of mine have placed. Looking at my ballot, I'm thinking that most of my songs will place, I'm mostly with the majority I think, except for a couple of odd personal favorites (I don't think many sonic youth fans like "the ineffable me" or "shoot" as much as I do).

I'm wondering where my #1 is going to place. It's one of those songs that rarely seems to get mentioned among the best sy songs, but that I'm sure pretty much everybody likes, though maybe not as much as me.

Six of mine have placed so far - four of them in the last five entries! Nice run there.

Nothing from Sister, Murray Street or The Eternal has placed yet right?

Listening to 'Rain King' right now, that little chuggy riff it goes into at 3:14 is so great.

Hey, you're 'alex in mainhattan' not 'Alex in NYC'. I think I'm well past the age where I can say 'x is everything I hate about popular music' without any irony. :)

that's a strange argument. should i start loving eurovision because i am old? that doesn't makes sense to me. the older i get the more difficult i get concerning music. the percentage of the music around me which is awful rises and rises. and i don't hink it is the declining quality of the music which is surrounding me. the reason is probably that i get more and more picky with each year. the probability that eurovision will ever be my bag is close to zero. without irony. ;-)

Oh, I'm not interested in arguing the merits of Eurovision (at least not here). It's fun, I find it hard to get worked up about 'manufactured music' etc. Anyway, my highest was Unmade Bed at 25.

Six of mine have placed this far

Makes me a little sad that we've probably seen the last of the post-2002 records now

― society is a lol, it makes me j/k to my friends (some dude), Tuesday, May 14, 2013 12:19 PM (1 hour ago)

would put good money on "turquoise boy" and "i love you golden blue", perhaps in the higher reaches. even odds on "rats" & "reena".

o wait, "reena" already showed. splash one

92. In the Kingdom #19
78. Rain King
72. Macbeth
68. Tokyo Eye

only four of mine so far, but i'm sure the rest are in the pipeline somewhere. i have faith in you people.

Rain on Tin is coming, I can feel it

but not tonight. i am a little biased concernng it. it is not a bad song but it is too much noodling and doesn't come to the point. it is about 4 minutes too long. definitely too repetitive and missing out in the variety department. still one of their top 60 songs i'd say

it is about 4 minutes too long.

That's half the song!

Alex that song is PERFECT length, not an ounce of fat

Finally home from my long weekend in Nashville -- looking forward to catching up on this thread and the Spotify playlist.

Rain on Tin is coming, I can feel it

― Beatrix Kiddo (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, May 14, 2013 2:21 PM (36 minutes ago)

oh yeah, no doubt. perhaps "karen revisited" and "disconnection notice" too. but murray street isn't quite "post-2002".

Glad "Making The Nature Scene" placed; always got some sort of "Dhalgren"/Kathy Acker vibe off it.

Thought "Kissability" would have placed waaaaaay higher; for some reason thought it was one of the top Daydream Nation canonical picks due to how well it works as a song as well as, uh, sonically.

I don't really know grunge-era SY that well, but chucked "Drunken Butterfly" on my ballot due to how much of a live centerpiece it was the few times I saw SY perform in the 00s - Kim pulled off some amazing pogoing-meets-Stevie-Nicks-twirling kinda moves when she wasn't singing.

Oh snap

Somehow in my mind MS is 2003

But yeah, the RR and Eternal probably won't figure into further results (nor will anything post 2002)

I believe I voted for 8 tracks so far: "Secret Girl", "In the Kingdom #19", "I'm Insane", "Flower", "Into the Groove(y)", "Cinderella's Big Score", "Making the Nature Scene" & "The World Looks Red".

Most salient lesson so far: I could do with a copy of Rather Ripped round the haus.

^ good list

Voted for all of these:

100. Secret Girl (50 points, 4 votes)
89. She's in a Bad Mood (64 points, 6 votes)
77. Ghost Bitch (84 points, 4 votes)
70. Free City Rhymes (94 points, 8 votes)
63. Protect Me You (110 points, 6 votes)
62. Incinerate (113 points, 10 votes)
61. Unmade Bed (114 points, 10 votes)

I thought of something: "The Diamond Sea" obv wasn't part of AG's 80s rock poll. Could it upset "Schizophrenia"?

That was "Stairway" for fans in the 90s iirc.

Ha, I wonder if the Kim-Thurston LOVE IS DEAD split has caused a slight recoil from "The Diamond Sea". Too scared to listen to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover of it, how is it? Always thought Beat Happening's "Indian Summer" was the indie "Stairway", heh.

Voted for these:

97. Computer Age (57 points, 4 votes)
93. Anagrama (60 points, 8 votes)
87. (TIE) Genetic (72 points, 6 votes)
84. NYC Ghosts & Flowers (79 points, 6 votes)
67. Making the Nature Scene (106 points, 7 votes)
66. Drunken Butterfly (107 points, 7 votes)
65. Kissability (108 points, 7 votes)
64. The World Looks Red (108 points, 8 votes)

i dont think anything i voted for has shown up yet which makes sense cuz everything i voted for is super awesome so obv lots of other ppl voted for it too

im going to be mildy disappointed if teenage riot doesnt win this

Etc, you may be onto something there.

For me the issue is Thurston's vocal. When I was younger I dug it - the yearning, the dreaminess, the starry eyed wonder, etc.

That was when I was 18. At 36 I wish TM would shut up and let the music do the talking.

Re diamond sea

It's like 90% instrumental. (Only made the middle of the ballot btw, and nostalgia was pushing it that high.)

Etc, you may be onto something there.

About "Indian Summer" or the impact of the breakup? Because the former was a joke, right?

That 10% vocal was enough to keep it off of my ballot.

I had 'Unmade Bed' really high on my ballot — number five, I think. I was surprised I wasn't the only one that voted for it, honestly. The rest of my top five are probably pretty standard picks.

Lot of other stuff I voted for has already showed, as well. Seven things so far, if I'm recalling my ballot accurately.

man it's nice to hear "Chapel Hill" again, I always forget how good this song is because it's not in the sweet spot of very favorite Dirty songs.

i always figured "Unmade Bed" would do decent because it was the lead single off a well regarded album, and also just really good. feels like a 'lullabye'-ish "Diamond Sea"-style later Thurston song that's just nice and short and perfectly structured.

I wish "Chapel Hill" had a better chorus.

Al otm

When I reviewed SN I made that same point about "Unmade Bed"

Nothing from Sister, Murray Street or The Eternal has placed yet right?

― Gavin, Leeds, Tuesday, May 14, 2013 4:11 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

nothing from A Thousand Leaves yet either. kind of wondering if it'll have a really minor presence in the tracks poll relative to the #4 rank in the albums poll.

Sister, on the other hand, will probably have every song but "Hotwire My Heart" in the top 50, which is pretty badass.

Hits and Wildflower will place for sure