Sonic Youth: Classic or Dud/S&D?

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upcoming_releases/sonic_youth_-_sonic_life.html

I wasn't so hot on the EP when I first heard it (just post Confusion Is Sex) but it's aged nicely. Will be interesting to see how it's received the 3rd time around.

Hi dlp!

http://rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s409133.jpg

i'm having an argument with a friend who says he doesn't like sy - his argument basically consists of "how many of their songs can you sing? i bet not any" (he is not a luddite, he's into lots of good stuff, but has a real block with certain bands, artier ones i guess). i seem to spend half my life wandering around singing sy songs under my breath but i think i'm a bit too close to it and half the time i'm singing the texture not the tune, if that makes any sense. so... request suggestions for a melody-based sy comp?

i'm not sure if i've already commented somewhere on this thread, but of course classic.

and search pretty much the whole catalogue. at the very least, there's something interesting going on in all the records. don't really bother with the nyc ghosts and flowers thing though

Jaymc made this poppy SY mix for me:

1. Expressway to Yr Skull (1986, Evol)
2. Schizophrenic (1987, Sister)
3. Teen Age Riot (1988, Daydream Nation)
4. Cross the Breeze (1988, Daydream Nation)
5. Kool Thing (1990, Goo)
6. Tunic (Song for Karen) (1990, Goo)
7. Sugar Kane (1992, Dirty)
8. Bull in the Heather (1994, Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star)
9. Skip Tracer (1995, Washing Machine)
10. Diamond Sea (Edit) (1995, Washing Machine)
11. Sunday (1997, A Thousand Leaves)
12. The Empty Page (2002, Murray Street
13. Unmade Bed (2004, Sonic Nurse
14. Reena (2006, Rather Ripped)
15. Incinerate (2006, Rather Ripped)

Hmm, how about Star Power?

(In addition to Jordan's list)

"how many of their songs can you sing? i bet not any" (he is not a luddite, he's into lots of good stuff, but has a real block with certain bands, artier ones i guess).

Is your friend's name Geir Hongro?

heheh! no...

that comp looks good, a good start point anyway, thank you
i had wish fulfilment and my friend goo and madonna, sean and me down too
good?

Madonna, Sean & Me = Expressway To Yr Skull :)

Tis good though yeah.

re: NYCGF is to be entirely avoided. I don't generally adore Lee's foregrounded beat trips, but I think the title track on it is pretty thrillingly built, levelled, and released; the rest of the album is mostly meh or worse, though.

haha i am useless
that's what i get for trying to do 4590 things at once

euh, that mix above is like an amalgam of most of my least favorite SY tracks from those albums. except 'expressway to yr skull,' which is possibly the best poppy song SY have ever done.

i really love their 'hated' albums, experimental jet set and NYCGAF... 'sweet shine' off ejt&ns just floors me every. single. time. kim's singing is sublime.

experimental jet set is sometimes my favourite

Some glorious day I'll have Dirty on CD.

(Somewhat surprised Jaymc's SY pop mix didn't include "Little Trouble Girl!")

I thought this would be about the Daydream Nation Deluxe cd that leaked yesterday.

Other songs I would include as tuneful, well-composed SY tunes (sometimes maybe a bit on the proggy side of SY as opposed to the 'pop' side):
"Candle"
"Dirty Boots"
"Disappearer"
"Wish Fulfillment"
maybe "Disconnection Notice"
"New Hampshire"

(By and large, though, there's not usually a whole lot going on melodically, which may be what emsk's friend is getting at. They have tunes but they're usually very basic ones.)

I made a similar comp for Dominique Leone but I never sent it to him, it went:

1. Intro
2. Teenage Riot
3. Schizophrenia
4. Tom Violence
5. Star Power
6. Eric's Trip
7. Dissapear
8. The Sprawl
9. Candle
10. Mote
11. Shadow of a Doubt
12. Sugar Kane
13. Wish Fulfillment
14. Pacific Coast Highway
15. Cotton Crown
16. Xpressway to yr Skull

basically the most hummable numbers from the 86-91 or so period. And anyone who says they don't write catchy singable songs to me will have to hear some of my singing, and it usually starts with "I went away, to see an old friend of mine..."

I like your comp a lot.

"Green Light" is another song I love that hardly anyone mentions.

I didn't mean for the mix to be a "Sonic Youth goes pop" mix per se, just a good intro to the band for someone who hadn't heard much of them before. By and large, that tended to be pop-oriented stuff.

I did almost put "Star Power" on there, though.

Daydream Nation live next month: SO EXCITED YOU GUYS.

Expressway To Your Skull

Shadow of A Doubt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSc8957FoSQ

Expressway to Yr Skull

or Madonna, Sean and Me

best song ever, especially on vinly, because it goes on forever.

starfield road

Their first EP is an absolute monument in post-punk worthy of rubbing shoulders with PIL in my opinion.

Yes! I feel like one of those arbitrary revisionists who always piss me off, but I swear that first EP is, in hindsight, the best thing they ever did.

worthy of rubbing shoulders with PIL

Glad I've never heard it then.

Shadow of A Doubt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSc8957FoSQ

cool, never seen that before. that's one of my favorite sy tracks