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

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47. Pipeline / Kill Time
Sister, 1987
(158 points, 10 votes)

That is way, way, way too low. wtf you people.

Always thought "Kool Thing" was fun, but am perfectly happy that SY morphed into the kind of band that could write a song like "The Empty Page". I guess for me SY stopped being a band that I needed to be fun, or rocking, or edgy at all really. I just put on "Sister" (or "Hold That Tiger"), "Bad Moon Rising", or any number of other stuff of theirs that fits that bill, but these days I love the textured and measured approach of the later records. There is just great playing all over the place.

OTM. I was going to write a post about how I much prefer subtle Sonic Youth to 'fun' Sonic Youth these days, but it sounded kind of corny.
Also agree with the 'too low!' for 'Pipeline'. Of the 9 Lee songs on my ballot it was second-to last, but still within the top 20.

Gotta side with Alex on empty page

Yeah, I get that. Basically I am OK being a little corny, and for SY to get a little corny too.

I did not vote for "The Empty Page" btw, prefer other songs from that record and that period, but I like every song on Murray St at the same time. That record was a huge revelation for me, loved it when it came out and still do.

"Pipeline" did deserve a little better. Too many good songs on "Sister", and from that period. Just couldn't find room for it on my ballot.

xp you may have a point there concernig the good playing of the instruments but over-all there are much more "serious" sy songs than light and bouncy ones. there is only one kool thing but there are dozens of empty pages. and i still enjoy kool thing after all those years.

Yeah, pipeline/kill time could've been higher, was one of my votes

I would have thought that "Kool Thing" would place WAY higher than "The Empty Page", and would have placed it so myself if I had had more votes. Just sticking up for "The Empty Page" as not being lame or boring in my book. I agree that "Kool Thing" holds a special place in the catalogue, I just don't like it as much these days. If I was at a party and wanted to play an SY song though, "Kool Thing" would be at the top of the list perhaps. I would hope that people broke out in the Hal Hartley dance and that everyone had a better night for it for sure.

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46. Halloween
Bad Moon Rising, 1985
(159 points, 10 votes)

I'd say this is just right

Halloween is not on BMR, it was the b-side to Flower (or are we just listing things as how they show up on CD reissues now)?

You're right, I made that same mistake earlier with 'Flower'. Consider it corrected.

Gotta say I would take "Flower" over "Halloween" (i.e., not sure why this placed so much higher), but "Halloween" is a weirder/more singular song.

I like "Kool Thing", but my enjoyment of it is inextricably bound up with early '90s nostalgia. It's about as zeitgeisty as SY ever got, but it's kind of their "Shiny Happy People" so I can see why some people might hate it.

yeah, seems strange that "halloween" beat "flower". both good songs tho.

agree that "pipeline/kt" should have been much higher. then again, only #16 on my ballot, so i can't complain too much.

Voted for 'Empty Page', I'd forgotten how good it was until I relistened to Murray Street the other weekend. Features my favourite SY bassline too.

i had BMR playing once in HS and my brother's friend pronounced "hallowe'en" the worst song he'd ever heard

xp i like the weird, slightly spooky atmosphere of halloween but as a song it is a failure. there is almost nothing happening in it and this non-happening is even repeated all through it. it reminds me of the andersen tale of the emperor's new clothes. the best bit maybe the coda which is just a fade-out of some pretty low-key noise.

XP: Hah, my best friend in high school said almost the same thing when I played 'Flower': "I really don't like this."

aargh what the hell is happening, why are Hits and Halloween not in the top 15 aargh

alex you have the same criticism every time, "nothing happening", that is very subjective and I disagree completely.

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45. Washing Machine
Washing Machine, 1995
(169 points, 11 votes, 1 #1)

"Empty Page" is pretty good, but if that's the highest-placing track from "Murray Street" I'll be very disappointed.

Aw, come on!

45th?!?

I voted for it! Though my placing at 27 may not have helped that much, sorry. Love it, but had a stack of Kim songs rated higher.

Washing Machine was a late cut for me, a little too Royal Trux-y for me.

Guys, there are 44 insanely great songs still coming up. There's no need to scream 'TOO LOW!' every time. They are all too low.

'Rain on Tin' is still to come I'm sure, I'd also really like to see 'Disconnection Notice' place (xposts to o.nate).

I had it at #8

I don't know, I think saying "too low" is fully appropriate, the polls would be no fun if people didn't care. Hopefully people will also think that some of those 44 songs aren't so hot.

I forgot my smiley at the end of that post.

They are all too low.

haha otm but I am still gonna cry over the placement of Hits, it is a masterpiece imo, all time top ten SY for me.

Hah, fair enough! And yeah, I fully hope to be overly excited and bummed out by the placement of some stuff. I had "Hits" at 25 btw, so not sure I really helped that one too much either. Wouldn't have remembered to rate it at all though if folks didn't campaign for ATLeaves as much as they did though. My happiest rediscovery of this whole poll for sure.

Fair enough is in reagards to the smiley face.

'Rain on Tin' is still to come I'm sure, I'd also really like to see 'Disconnection Notice' place (xposts to o.nate).

It'd be nice to see those, also "Karen Revisited" and "Sympathy for the Strawberry". I guess "Empty Page" is about my 5th favorite on that album.

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44. (TIE) Skip Tracer
Washing Machine, 1995
(172 points, 11 votes)

Kinda higher than I thought it would be actually. I voted for it, but did not expect this much support (and would think that this one may have made some most hated songs ballots as well).

love "kool thing", and yeah, it is the single most danceable/party-ready SY track. catchy & memorable, too. agree abt initial disappointment at the lameness of chuck's contribution (not his fault, i expect), but in the long run, that doesn't bother me at all.

still, it's not a standout personal favorite.

can't complain about "washing machine" being too low, as i didn't vote for it, but what the fuck, TOO LOW! some days it's my favorite thing on the album, some days it gets the #2 slot. when i was putting my ballot together, i was really feeling "the diamond sea".

I first heard "Kool Thing" on one of those MTV 120 Minutes comps. Good times.

the solo after Kim says "and I looked up" in WM is possibly my favorite SY moment - I think somebody noted this part earlier. I could live without the first three minutes of the song itself though.

yeah, it's like the entrance exam

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44. (TIE) Beauty Lies in the Eye
Sister, 1987
(172 points, 11 votes)

Hmmm, is every song on "Sister" going to place?

everyone except the cover and there's a possibility that might show

rmde @ 'youth against fascism' placing so high

Can't really believe that "Beauty Lies in the Eye" placed this high. So many better Kim songs. I get that it is a beloved record (and lol yeah 44 isn't THAT high) but still, many Kim songs already placed that are better than this.

Wow, ILM really likes Washing Machine.

KG's sloganeering can make me wince sometimes. Nothing against feminism, of course, but I think the way it's expressed in "Kool Thing" and "Flower" is pretty dumb. I don't mind either but I'd like "Kool Thing" better if it were more just about being fun and bouncy. It's a highlight live, though. Cool metal riff. I definitely prefer "Hallowe'en" to "Flower", partly for this reason. It's got a great atmosphere and pleasant groove and the breathy vocals still really work for me.

Sund4r, sit down beside me.

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42. Karen Koltrane
A Thousand Leaves, 1998
(172 points, 12 votes)

I actually like "Swimsuit Issue" works better by making its point with more specific situations: "I'm just here for dictation/I'm not your summer vacation" is pretty great.