RR is a continuation yes, but a marked improvement.
I guess it all comes down to songs, though. Unlike Sonic Nurse and Murray Street, there's not a single moment of RR I don't like.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 13 February 2009 17:07 (fifteen years ago) link
I'd say SY's 00s output is more enjoyable than their 90s output.
Rather Ripped was enjoyable, cruisin in the car summer tunes in way that I can't say about the bulk of their output. That's a good thing.
So yay to The Eternal.
― Brooker Buckingham, Friday, 13 February 2009 17:11 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah maybe this is just a personal preference thing...to me the best of SY's later records are the ecstatic instrumental sections of 7+ minute jams like "Rain On Tin"...i don't really look to them for shorter, peppier songs with "hooks," although they did excel at those at one point earlier in their career.
― some dude, Friday, 13 February 2009 17:14 (fifteen years ago) link
the Blender article did mention one song on The Eternal being 8 minutes long, though, so there'll be at least one surefire jam for me.
― some dude, Friday, 13 February 2009 17:15 (fifteen years ago) link
rather ripped is fukkin great
― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Friday, 13 February 2009 17:16 (fifteen years ago) link
btw this seems like a good candidate for another IMM tribute album
yay more SY summer jamz
― sleeve, Friday, 13 February 2009 19:39 (fifteen years ago) link
03 Leaky Lifeboat (for Gregory Corso)
^this is just so "sonic youth" it makes me puke haha
― Yo, I just copped dat brand new Manity Kane cd. (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 13 February 2009 19:57 (fifteen years ago) link
(loooooooool at the username)
― Lots of praying with no breakfast! (HI DERE), Friday, 13 February 2009 20:02 (fifteen years ago) link
xp lol yes
some dude, i'm with you, i think the 00 epics surpass the 90 epics. listened to RR the other day and i like most of it, but it's not very memorable.
looking forward to this a lot, for mark ibold and the thurston remarks mentioned about the "freedom of being on a indie label again"
― sonderangerbot, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:03 (fifteen years ago) link
whoever called goo/dirty songs "sketches" for what SY are up to now = insane i/t brane. i think they're making very pleasant music these days, and the laid-back jams are exceptional, but the songwriting is much less interesting & memorable. plus i miss the jagged, angsty, headfucking rockaroll shit (but that's just me)
― contenderizer, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Wonder if they'll sell more now that they're on Matador? Would not be surprised.
― tylerw, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:15 (fifteen years ago) link
Cover reminds me a lot of Imperial Wax Solvent.
― Kyle Clewett (bassace), Friday, 13 February 2009 20:16 (fifteen years ago) link
..which is good
― Kyle Clewett (bassace), Friday, 13 February 2009 20:17 (fifteen years ago) link
painting is cool, regardless of whose ass hairs it incorporates, but the "framed by white text in black stripes" thing doesn't work for me. i mean, it looks okay, solid design, but it's also kind of dull/flat/ordinary.
but i can't decide. there's also something very satisfying about it.
― contenderizer, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:21 (fifteen years ago) link
There was talk elsewhere of it being in a similar vein as Michael Gira's Young God art (up until recently, anyway). I can get behind that, but I would've gone another way with the typeface.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:23 (fifteen years ago) link
xpost don't you mean sASStisfying?
― Mr. Que, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:23 (fifteen years ago) link
johnny fever OTM - basic design is very similar to OG young god house look, but less 80s clenched, foursquare. more i look at it, the better i think it'll look LP size, and the only problem i'm having is the big-on-top, small-at-the-bottom thing
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj242/donaldparsley/swanssndtrks.jpg
― contenderizer, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:39 (fifteen years ago) link
young god = better font
i like the font sy used for washing machine, though
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:42 (fifteen years ago) link
young god font = more "correct", but almost too much so. effect is right on, but kinda inert, too. washing machine font was perfect, but mostly cuz it was a picture of a font. i'm starting to think i like use of a more questionable font, makes the final result less stable, more indeterminate
― contenderizer, Friday, 13 February 2009 20:47 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm surprised there isn't a band called FONT yet (despite the lack of googleability).
(allmusic lists an empty stub for a "World" band called Font. But no history = no exist. That's all I could find)
― System Jr. (Mackro Mackro), Friday, 13 February 2009 20:51 (fifteen years ago) link
washing machine font was perfect, but mostly cuz it was a picture of a font.
i was referring to the font used for the spine, track titles on the back, etc. i like the font because of it's "less determinate" quality.
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:10 (fifteen years ago) link
iirc (don't have a copy of Washing Machine handy), it was just Helvetica Light or some variation thereof.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:17 (fifteen years ago) link
^ this. it's another perfectly serviceable and totally correct font that doesn't inject any tension into the design
― contenderizer, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:24 (fifteen years ago) link
topics discussed on ilm threads, in order of most frequent:
1) sociology2) poll position placement3) hipsters4) strawmen5) hipster strawmen6) links to blogs7) cover art8) font9) music
― memo from norv turner (omar little), Friday, 13 February 2009 21:26 (fifteen years ago) link
lol
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:28 (fifteen years ago) link
10) bacon
― Mr. Que, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:28 (fifteen years ago) link
yes, it's surprising there isn't more discussion of music in this thread about an album that hasn't been released yet
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 13 February 2009 21:28 (fifteen years ago) link
actually, my post had nothing to do with this particular thread and more to do with ilm threads in general, hence my not calling it "topics being discussed on this sonic youth thread"
― memo from norv turner (omar little), Friday, 13 February 2009 21:30 (fifteen years ago) link
sorry i got confused because you posted it in this sonic youth thread
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 13 February 2009 21:31 (fifteen years ago) link
i don't really know why i'm defending this shit, i hate ilm as much as anyone
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 13 February 2009 21:32 (fifteen years ago) link
1) sociology: hipsters2) poll position placement: tbd3) hipsters: check4) strawmen: hipsters5) hipster strawmen: check6) links to blogs: countdown...7) cover art: goatse8) font: "indeterminate"9) music:
― contenderizer, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:32 (fifteen years ago) link
here's #6.............http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2009/02/12/coming-june-9-sonic-youths-the-eternal/
― Mr. Que, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:35 (fifteen years ago) link
10) gear whinging that discussing the author, audience, social context, creation, or packaging of a piece of music isn't really talking about the music maaaan
― some dude, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:38 (fifteen years ago) link
that's #11
― memo from norv turner (omar little), Friday, 13 February 2009 21:40 (fifteen years ago) link
do keep up
my bad
― some dude, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:40 (fifteen years ago) link
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/simpsons/images/thumb/6/6b/ItchyScratchyLemonade.png/250px-ItchyScratchyLemonade.png
― memo from norv turner (omar little), Friday, 13 February 2009 21:41 (fifteen years ago) link
i like their earlier fonts better maaaan
― eman, Friday, 13 February 2009 21:42 (fifteen years ago) link
CALOTO, as opposed to CALBOTI
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Friday, 13 February 2009 22:42 (fifteen years ago) link
"‘The Eternal’ features many firsts for a Sonic Youth album, including a number of shared vocals between Kim, Thurston, and Lee...
Intrigued. Always loved "Kotton Krown" for the co-vocals and wondered why they never tried it again.
(Could it be that harmonies are for pussies?)
― Hideous Lump, Saturday, 14 February 2009 04:43 (fifteen years ago) link
I wonder if they mean songs where all 3 sing lead? because there are plenty of songs where both Thurston and Kim sing lead, Thurston and Lee both on "Unwind," and a lot w/ all of them singing in unison (especially on NYC Ghosts).
― some dude, Saturday, 14 February 2009 04:47 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm looking forward to hearing this. They've had a great run as of late. They make better records in the 2000s than they did in the 1990s. If we were to chart their decades/album career path on a graph, it would be a V shape.
― kornrulez6969, Saturday, 14 February 2009 04:57 (fifteen years ago) link
Since it will be said, I'll be the one to say it: I hope 'Poison Arrow' is the ABC cover. I love that song.
― Dr. Joseph A. Ofalt, Saturday, 14 February 2009 05:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, I've been waiting all day for someone to make that totally obvious comment. Sonic Youth and ABC, peas and carrots.
― some dude, Saturday, 14 February 2009 05:13 (fifteen years ago) link
"Anti Orgasm" is the track Kim Gordon will sound like she's being fucked, right?
― Shin Oliva Suzuki, Saturday, 14 February 2009 15:17 (fifteen years ago) link
Rather Ripped mostly just sounded like ordinary MTVU-ish shaggy guitar pop to me, but not done especially well. Doesn't have most of the elements I like about SY (or about shaggy guitar pop!). With some exceptions, I generally don't think that straightforward pop/rock songs showcase the band's strengths (which IMO do not include tuneful singing or songcraft in any traditional sense).
Sundar, who else would you nominate? I mean I guess it all depends on how broadly you define "Sonic Youth-style band," but still, I feel like for all their influence they're still in a category fo their own.
It certainly depends, and I'm probably pretty broad (to a point many would find silly) with my definitions, but I pretty much think that most artists working with any of the ideas SY work with are doing more interesting things with them right now. For psychedelic indie sludge, I'd rather listen to Oneida or Dead Meadow. For Branca-ish guitar meltdown in a rock context, I'd rather listen to a Mick Barr project. For epic shoegazing, I'd rather listen to Alcest or Caina. For finely crafted avant-guitar compositions that still rock, I'd rather listen to the Nels Cline Singers; Bill Frisell for ones that are more pretty than rocking, etc. I'd probably even find, say, Deerhoof a more interesting band now.
Sonic Youth do have their own idiosyncratic sound despite all this though, even if it's just a product of their limitations.
(I'm probably burnt out from listening too much for too long, honestly.)
― Sundar, Saturday, 14 February 2009 16:46 (fifteen years ago) link
so do live versions of any of the new songs exist anywhere?
― Beatrix Kiddo, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 18:44 (fifteen years ago) link
I remember when I was younger being such an obsessive SY newsgroup/mailing list nerd that I heard a bunch of live recordings of the A Thousand Leaves and NYC Ghosts songs before the albums were out, and ended up being really unsatisfied with the studio recordings for that reason (or maybe not just for that reason? I still don't think those albums feature particularly good performances/production even when I like the material). I'm kinda glad I've been hearing the last few albums in more of a vacuum where I can take them on their own terms.
― pour some suggban on me (some dude), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 18:50 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm so stoked that Mark Ibold is now an official member of Sonic Youth; it's like your dopey uncle finally passing the bar or something.
― Beatrix Kiddo, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 18:57 (fifteen years ago) link
the fahey painting is ok but the cover design is pretty shitty imoit looks like goatselol do you guys realize that it's supposedly from a series of painting fahey made with his butt?― some dude, Friday, 13 February 2009 16:14 (nine years ago) Permalink
it looks like goatse
lol do you guys realize that it's supposedly from a series of painting fahey made with his butt?
― some dude, Friday, 13 February 2009 16:14 (nine years ago) Permalink
for whatever reason this factoid has lodged itself in my brain but i see like no evidence of it online. is it true?
― circa1916, Monday, 7 January 2019 19:38 (five years ago) link
SY made this album with their butt!!
+67 upvotes; -11 downvotes; 2 fp's
― i stan corrected (morrisp), Monday, 7 January 2019 20:25 (five years ago) link
i read that elsewhere as well but haven't been able to track down info anywhere xp
― global tetrahedron, Tuesday, 8 January 2019 07:59 (five years ago) link
interesting article from Simon Reynolds on the artist as consumer re: The Eternal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/apr/07/sonic-youth-underground-influences
― Dan S, Saturday, April 11, 2009 10:26 PM (eleven years ago) bookmarkflaglink
i still dn really know what they're doing here but at least this SR review has this virtue (for all his frequent sniffy undercutting of records just not to his taste that he's found theses to indict them with), that he identifies something for them to be doing:
So The Eternal is literally a self-portrait of the artists as consumers.
― j., Wednesday, 8 July 2020 05:34 (three years ago) link