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

i'm the cocker on the rock!

http://www.boomerpdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Joe+Cocker++Dance1.jpg

I should've voted for "Brave Men..."

whoa, looking through gerhard richter's wikipedia page, this section:

Sonic Youth used a painting of his for the cover art for their album Daydream Nation in 1988. He was a fan of the band and did not charge for the use of his image.[citation needed] The original, over 7 metres (23 ft) square, is now showcased in Sonic Youth's studio in NYC.
!!!

― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Friday, May 17, 2013 6:28 AM (1 hour ago)

I forgot who was questioning the wealth of Sonic Youth but that one painting alone may be worth 8 figures fwiw.

"Candle" strikes me as the sort of tune that most other bands would have played acoustically.

xpost

it's unclear (at least from that wiki) whether or not they own the painting or if it's just on extended loan from richter, though. but yeah, i assume if it was sold it would easily get 10 million+.

I love "Candle" within the context of the album, but somehow it suffers in comparison when I single out the songs for something like this. It was a late cut, but I just couldn't consider it over the other songs from DN that made my ballot. I get that comment about it leaning towards acoustic territory, it really is unique in feel on the record for me, the only song that doesn't seem to be trying very hard to be much more than a good song, which it assuredly is.

Also, glad that "Brave Men Run" placed pretty high (was my #11), such a great opening to that album. The transition from the intro into the song proper is just crucial SY to me, gets me excited for the record every time.

If people haven't heard it, "Brave Men Run" on the Smart Bar live disc is amazing.

always thought "candle" was a relatively boring song. good, but no standout.

me too, but then again Daydream Nation has never been a favorite. I only voted for one song off of it.

^yeah I kind of agree with this, jagged main riff notwithstanding

Apologize, making up for missing the early part of this phase of the run down. Great run of songs, even the ones I didn't vote for I felt bad about cutting (was sure they would crack the top 25 though).

In regards to this: Rain on Tin needs more defenders, that shit is perfect

I completely agree, was my #4. I have lobbied for it plenty, but will add a few thoughts. In particular, I totally get this sentiment:

"rain on tin" = a decent late period sy tune, w/ a mid-song, half-power reminder of what they used to do on the reg without batting an eye

But I also disagree. Not trying to single out Contenderizer at all, I would think that there are a lot of folks who agree with him, but to me there is nothing half-power or "decent" about it. I find it to be an example of a band operating on a supremely high level, and indeed one they would not have been likely to achieve without all of the experimentation they went through from EJSTNS to NYCG&F. I see it as the culmination of an extremely fertile period (with a lot of lows counterbalancing the highs) but the payoff is essentially a song like "Rain On Tin". To me it is joyous, surprising (well, especially the first time I heard it), really well crafted, and pretty singular in their catalogue as it existed up to that point. It is so comfortable in its own skin, which maybe doesn't sit so well with some folks, but the craft and ease with which they pull it off in no way diminishes the forward momentum and, to me, totally crushing group dynamics within the song/performance. I guess it just changed my perception of what kind of excitement SY could give me forever, and made me reexamine and appreciate those albums that preceded and of course those that directly followed it largely cause of its mightiness. Lastly, it just really set me down the road of thinking that there may never be a band like Sonic Youth again, and perhaps they are utterly singular even now, in regards to maintaining a quality and consistency to their catalogue over as long a stretch of time as they have. They never stopped putting out records that didn't suck (in my opinion of course, but at this point I at least like to love every damn one of them) for pretty much 30 years, which is truly just nuts.

Btw I was the #1 vote for "Rain On Tin"

The follow-up to that last thought is that "Rain On Tin" wasn't just a last gasp at being great, I think each album after Murray Street has some great shit on it too, certainly great for a bunch of folks well into their 40s and 50s who never really stopped putting out records. "Rain On Tin" was just the tipping point that got me thinking that they may just keep rolling along forever making good to great records that I wouldn't be able to ignore. Sad to be honest that that may not be the case.

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/010.jpg
10. Theresa's Sound-World
Dirty, 1992
(378 points, 20 votes)

yessssssssss

another song that really benefited from professional knob twiddling

My #3! Completely amazing song.

...to me there is nothing half-power or "decent" about it. I find it to be an example of a band operating on a supremely high level, and indeed one they would not have been likely to achieve without all of the experimentation they went through from EJSTNS to NYCG&F. I see it as the culmination of an extremely fertile period ... but the payoff is essentially a song like "Rain On Tin". To me it is joyous, surprising ... really well crafted, and pretty singular in their catalogue as it existed up to that point. It is so comfortable in its own skin, which maybe doesn't sit so well with some folks, but the craft and ease with which they pull it off in no way diminishes the forward momentum and, to me, totally crushing group dynamics within the song/performance. I guess it just changed my perception of what kind of excitement SY could give me forever, and made me reexamine and appreciate those albums that preceded and of course those that directly followed it largely cause of its mightiness. Lastly, it just really set me down the road of thinking that there may never be a band like Sonic Youth again...

― grandavis, Friday, May 17, 2013 8:25 AM (3 minutes ago)

great post! i don't feel half as strongly abt "rain on tin", obv, but i'm glad you got/get that much out of it. maybe that sounds snarky, but i mean it sincerely, treeship style. for me, the equivalent late-period SY jams are "hits of sunshine" (to an extent), "i love you golden blue" and "turquoise boy": songs that couldn't have been produced by an earlier version of the band, that redefine and reinvigorate their art for the new century, and that stand confidently with their best, imo.

Thanks Contenderizer, you sum it up much better than I did (and way more succinctly). It really is cool that SY does the same thing for so many folks with completely different songs as their "example" of what gets them there.

"Theresa's Sound World" is a great example of why I think that Kim Gordon is a great bass player. So simple but just perfect in the way her lines carry the song forward.

The slides she does are always something I find to be super-cool.

My number 1!
http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/009.jpg
9. Mote
Goo, 1990
(401 points, 21 votes, 1 #1)

just flew in from dreamland, and boy am i on fire

maybe my favorite SY lyrics, interspersed w baffling gib

"Mote" is one I don't quite understand the supreme love for (granted I voted for it at #22). The lyrics are cool, sure, and I guess that is a big appeal, but musically it never did nearly as much for me as other Lee songs. Anyone feel like summing up their love for this?

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/008.jpg
8. Kotton Krown
Sister, 1987
(412 points, 21 votes, 2 #1)

Theresa was in my top 10! Rad rad tune!

re: Mote, for years and years I always thought it was, "I am Alice, that cute child" instead of "I am airless, vacuum child" but Mote is kind of the bridge between early Lee and late Lee...

xp Kotton Krown was in my top 15!

Nice to get a couple 90s tracks in the top 10 before the mid/late 80s onslaught sets in. "Mote" is fine but def not Lee's best song by a long shot.

Mote is their least-subtle Dinosaur Jr tribute. Borrows heavy elements from Mascis (verses) and Barlow (chorus).

It's an accessible blend of classic rock and alt-rock.

Oops duh I forgot the obvious 90s track still to come

Is Kotton Krown the only song where T&K sing in unison?

Interestingly the top 10 will have closing tracks from 4 albums. They sure knew how to end a record.

Wonder if "Cotton Crown" will be the only top 10 song I didn't vote for?

Had no idea that "Creme Brulee" was so loved

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/007.jpg
7. Death Valley '69
Bad Moon Rising, 1985
(415 points, 23 votes, 1 #1)

the only time I ever took their early death porn seriously

Not sure I voted this one high enough at #12, but of course figured it would be a lock for top 10. Another song that I prefer live versions of, despite the lack of Lydia Lunch. Album version just isn't as ferocious though.

album version is plenty ferocious though

"Mote" is fine but def not Lee's best song by a long shot.

― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Friday, May 17, 2013 9:04 AM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Mote is their least-subtle Dinosaur Jr tribute. Borrows heavy elements from Mascis (verses) and Barlow (chorus).

It's an accessible blend of classic rock and alt-rock.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, May 17, 2013 9:05 AM (13 minutes ago)

contrarywise, it IS lee's best song by a long shot (my #3 vote), and "genetic" is their least-subtle/interesting dino jr trib

Lonely panda girl singing baout Death Valley 69

http://www.melson.nl/ILM/sypoll/006.jpg
6. 'Cross the Breeze
Daydream Nation, 1988
(463 points, 23 votes, 1 #1)

Big surprise.

I WANNA KNOW

xp kotton krown was my #9, still a great song, i love its sluggishness and how it slowly embraces cacophony in the second half before getting back to the theme. the first three minutes must be about the most tuneful on sister.

'Cross the Breeze is the DN track I voted for. Just such a massive and relentless song, by far the best on Daydream Nation.

My #5 and highest (exclusively) Kim song! Musically this song does almost everything I like about SY in one song. Just love the progression of it.

And yeah, totally relentless! Never seems like a 7 minute song to me.

I took a look into the hate
It made me feel very up to date

it's hard for me to say exactly why "mote" hits me so hard. in part, it's the soft cloud of vocals and gtr fuzz/production wrapped around this furious percussive maelstrom. the energy of it is so intense, it pins my ears back every time i hear it, and i can't think of another sy track where the integration between musical & lyrical suggestion is so tight & evocative.

i often think of evol having this quality of a warm, half liquid bundle of fur and flesh wrapped around a thicket of twitching razors. you hold it in your hand, and it feels soft, soothing, bruised in a way, but also gentle. every once in a while, though, a blade will whisper out and cut you. the feeling of the album is of having something like in your body always - purring, aching, cutting.

"mote" is similar, but also very different. it's soft, yearning, almost comforting, but inside is this furious engine, a rocket blasting through the haze. it's like tripping for the first time: beautiful but overwhelming, awesome, a bit scary. the drumming is incredible. and it's hook after hook after hook. shit, maybe it should have been my #1.