stuff that nobody voted for (82-00):...Stalker...Starfield Road
If I'd voted, "Stalker" would definitely have gotten a vote and "Starfield Road" probably would have gotten squeezed off the list at the last minute.
But "Within You Without You" would have been top 10, and not just because it's the song where I "got" Sonic Youth--I also think it's a perfect cover, honoring what's great about the original while making it completely their own. And the descent-into-squall middle section is right up there with "Silver Rocket."
― Hideous Lump, Saturday, 18 May 2013 04:02 (ten years ago) link
forgot to include "the destroyed room", another b side from the same periodSomeone did vote for 'The Bedroom', which is the same song.
― ArchCarrier, Saturday, 18 May 2013 06:28 (ten years ago) link
Great work ArchCarrier, really enjoyed getting back into SY this past couple of weeks.
My ballot:
TRACKS1. The Diamond Sea2. Candle3. Shadow of a Doubt4. Disappearer5. Hey Joni6. 'Cross the Breeze7. Unmade Bed8. Tom Violence9. Sugar Kane10. Disconnection Notice11. Wish Fulfillment12. Catholic Block13. Mote14. Expressway to Yr. Skull15. Incinerate16. Stones17. Silver Rocket18. Kissability19. Stereo Sanctity20. Beauty Lies in the Eye21. The Empty Page22. Genetic23. Tunic (Song for Karen)24. Sunday25. Peace Attack26. The World Looks Red27. Skink28. Rain King29. Pipeline/Kill Time30. Theresa's Sound-World ALBUMS1. Evol2. Daydream Nation3. Sister4. Sonic Nurse5. Goo
― Gavin, Leeds, Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:19 (ten years ago) link
Just had a look at the big 80s poll where "Schizophrenia" placed second, and there's really any discussion there either - uh, so, why is it an obvious #1 / what lifts it 200-ish points above the rest of their catalogue? I've only recently gotten around to listening to Sister, and there's a bit of disjunction between the title/reputation and what it actually sounds like.
― etc, Saturday, 18 May 2013 12:04 (ten years ago) link
I think it's kind of a unique song in their catalog in many ways -- Steve playing mostly toms (and i think the snare off on the snare drum?), it has this kind of minimal melodic sound of a lot of their slower songs but it's kind of fast and propulsive, one of the only songs where Thurston and Kim alternate long sections of each doing lead vocals, also has a completely different tone and sound from the album that follows. plus there's some possible autobiography in the lyrics (but it was Kim's brother, not sister, that was schizophrenic), but generally the story is kind of vague and eerie.
― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Saturday, 18 May 2013 12:11 (ten years ago) link
Strikes me as a tighter version of a few threads from evol: descending melodic line like Tom Violence, spooky Kim vocal like Shadow, psych-ending like Expressway. When I first heard it (when it came out) it seemed like they were just firing on all cylinders on that track.
― dlp9001, Saturday, 18 May 2013 12:56 (ten years ago) link
some dude otm. most of the things i said about "shadow of a doubt" apply here: it's creepy, sexy, mysterious and radiantly beautiful. a perfect pop song that doesn't at all resemble the conventional image of such a thing. i fell in love with it the first time i heard it, and my affection hasn't faded a bit over the years.
― controversial vegan pregnancy (contenderizer), Saturday, 18 May 2013 12:59 (ten years ago) link
i def understand how it might be hard to get into the track when it's hyped as their ultimate moment, but its tight otherworldliness totally blew me away when discovering it in my teens
― da croupier, Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:00 (ten years ago) link
one way you know it has some surreal romantic weight - m83 totally jacked the climax for "don't save us from flames"
― da croupier, Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:01 (ten years ago) link
daydream nation was just a perfect sndtrk for the election of Bush I.... i remember listening to it on a Walkman daily as i strolled down 8th Avenue to work.
Ranaldo is also my fave band member.
― ballin' from Maine to Mexico (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:02 (ten years ago) link
of the 20x or so times i saw em play, first was on a bill w/ the Minutemen i think
― ballin' from Maine to Mexico (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:04 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzPsMalV8ns
first hearing the shift at 3:28 was a real "oh no you didn't" moment
― da croupier, Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:04 (ten years ago) link
I go back and forth w "Schizophrenia"; when I first got into SY and couldn't find anything earlier than DN at the record stores in the malls, it was def a quality older cut. But as I became more exposed not only to their catalogue, but to more music in general, I kind of thought of its uptempo hookiness as sort of bland. But some time in the last couple of years I watched the performance of it at the beginning of The Year Punk Broke, and that reinstated some of that initial strangeness of the song for,me. But I still left it off my ballot...
I do think that as hooky guitar rock goes, it has a really interesting structure--it has no chorus, which is weird, but weirder still is how easy it is to almost forget that, how complete it feels without one--and really builds and develops in unusual ways. The instrumental , which is most of the song, is put together so that the melody/noise ratio is carefully modulated, so as to ratchet up or dissipate tension as needed. The song doesn't seem longer than it is or shorter, but with the amount of stuff they do and ideas they pack in there, it feels like it should be longer. And again, all of this moves so effortlessly that it is easy to take it for granted, as in my aforementioned sniffiness about the song. Taken apart, the diff't components of the song feel very left-field, but put back together, it makes perfect musical sense. But then, that's p much late-80s SY in a nutshell...
― smartphones - the government's secret weapon against ILX (Drugs A. Money), Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:07 (ten years ago) link
i like the idea of hearing schizophrenia as "bland uptempo hookiness"
― da croupier, Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:11 (ten years ago) link
oh man did morbs vote? would wanna see that ballot
― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:11 (ten years ago) link
xpost like it's their "that thing you do!"
my first exposure to several of their '80s classics was the performances in The Year Punk Broke and i sorta wish it wasn't, don't think that's the best way to hear those songs
― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:12 (ten years ago) link
anybody confused by thurston's future midlife crisis needs a supercut of his bits from that
― da croupier, Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:14 (ten years ago) link
cutting off his bits is not the answer, i don't think
― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:18 (ten years ago) link
hiyo
― da croupier, Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:20 (ten years ago) link
― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Saturday, May 18, 2013 8:11 AM (13 minutes ago)
I don't think he indulges in such piffle as the artist polls.
― What makes a man shart fire? (WilliamC), Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:26 (ten years ago) link
I do think that as hooky guitar rock goes, it has a really interesting structure--it has no chorus, which is weird, but weirder still is how easy it is to almost forget that, how complete it feels without one--and really builds and develops in unusual ways. The instrumental , which is most of the song, is put together so that the melody/noise ratio is carefully modulated, so as to ratchet up or dissipate tension as needed. The song doesn't seem longer than it is or shorter, but with the amount of stuff they do and ideas they pack in there, it feels like it should be longer. And again, all of this moves so effortlessly that it is easy to take it for granted, as in my aforementioned sniffiness about the song
OTM. Also, it's worth emphasizing that none of the sections ever come back again after they move on to something new, which is what makes it possible for them to fit so much into 4 minutes! Often, that sort of thing could lead to a really messy composition but they manage to make everything flow in a way that feels organic.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 18 May 2013 15:10 (ten years ago) link
Ha, that film put me off Sonic Youth for years - a friend's girlfriend put it on for a group of us, this was in about 1995 when we were in our total grunge backlash phase, we couldn't have been less interested. I've still not seen in full.
― Gavin, Leeds, Saturday, 18 May 2013 15:32 (ten years ago) link
I think that was my first exposure to them too.
I saw it in 1997 and was already a fan. At the time, I was almost embarrassed by how dumb Thurston acted and thought the live footage of Sonic Youth was pretty unininspiring except for "Expressway". I thought they were being total asses when they had a chance to do something great for a wider audience, out of sheer arrogance and contempt. Later I thought they were maybe just nervous and awkward about suddenly being on a big label and being in front of bigger audiences than they were used to. After the discussion of T&K's wealth on the other thread, I've been thinking that they were phoning it in for a quick cash grab when it came to things like this and half-assed compilation cuts.
Did someone at Geffen honestly think that Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr had anything to do with punk breaking?
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 18 May 2013 16:11 (ten years ago) link
Maybe it's better than I remembered though.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 18 May 2013 16:13 (ten years ago) link
i mean the title of the movie was definitely tongue-in-cheek, and picked out before it ended up being kind of true. don't think DGC was very involved with the movie at all, i kind of imagine if Nevermind and everything hadn't happened they might not have bothered putting out the VHS.
the goofiness of the movie and of their '90s half-assed compilation cuts seems very of a piece with Thurston's Master Dik-era goofiness, that's one place where i feel like major label money didn't change them at all.
― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Saturday, 18 May 2013 16:34 (ten years ago) link
That makes some sense. Honestly, I don't remember it that well. Maybe I'll watch it again.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 18 May 2013 17:02 (ten years ago) link
fave tracks (1-30)
the diamond sea
starpower
wildflower soul
shadow of doubt
total trash
skip tracer
kill yr idols
disappearer
the sprawl
brother james
green light
the burning spear
sugar kane
karen revisited
kotton krown
pattern recognition
expressway to yr skull
catholic block
teen age riot
dirty boots
schizophrenia
tom violence
mote
macbeth
stereo sanctity
death valley ‘69
hey joni
little trouble girl
rain on tin
into the groovey
fave albums
evol
washing machine
sister
daydream nation
murray st
fave album cover - goo
fave band member - lee renaldo
side projects
thurston moore - demolished thoughts
free kitten - sentimental education
lee renaldo - scriptures of the golden eternity
― balls, Saturday, 18 May 2013 21:08 (ten years ago) link
Sentimental Education was a wild record
― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Saturday, 18 May 2013 21:11 (ten years ago) link
in the choose-yr-own-aesthetic-adventure narrative of SY’s career, here’s this month's preferred arc (would like to know who else slotted Inhuman at #1, but I'm not sure I need to ask):1) Inhuman2) Death to our Friends3) Brother James4) Shadow of a Doubt5) Brave Men Run6) Schizophrenia7) Death Valley ‘698) I Dreamed I Dream9) Flower10) Starpower11) Society is a Hole12) Kill Yr. Idols13) She’s in a Bad Mood14) Protect Me You15) Making the Nature Scene16) Shaking Hell17) I’m Insane18) Beauty Lies in the Eye19) Pacific Coast Highway20) Macbeth21) Youth Against Fascism22) JC23) Fire Engine Dreams24) Loop Cat25) Side2Side26) Panty Lies27) Peace Attack28) The Neutral29) Jams Run Free30) What A Waste
1) Confusion is Sex2) Bad Moon Rising3) EVOL4) Kill Yr. Idols5) Sister
band member: KGcover: BMR
― Hellhouse, Saturday, 18 May 2013 22:50 (ten years ago) link
oh yeah my top 5 albums were
1. Sister2. Sonic Nurse3. Washing Machine4. Goo5. EVOL
Big drop between 1 and 2
― da croupier, Saturday, 18 May 2013 22:55 (ten years ago) link
sleeve, there's the excellent gila monster jamboree vhs documenting a show from 85 in the mojave deserthttp://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/lp/vid2.html― today's tom soy yum, mean mean thai (Spectrist), Sunday, May 12, 2013 5:37 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Holy shit, this is fantastic (on you tube)
― Iago Galdston, Sunday, 19 May 2013 00:07 (ten years ago) link
Croup!!! Sonic Nurse!
― A deeper shade of lol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 19 May 2013 00:11 (ten years ago) link
I'm still baffled by White Kross not making the top 100 when everything else from Sister placed so high. Makes absolutely no sense to me.
― kornrulez6969, Sunday, 19 May 2013 00:41 (ten years ago) link
i cut "white kross" fairly early on and never looked back. it's a classic, no doubt, but not any moreso than most of the rest of the album. my favorite attack-mode track from sister = "stereo sanctity", and i felt i had SY as a noise-punk force of nature p well covered elsewhere w "kill your idols" & brother james".
― controversial vegan pregnancy (contenderizer), Sunday, 19 May 2013 02:46 (ten years ago) link
overall, i'd call it luck of the draw more than an outright dismissal
― controversial vegan pregnancy (contenderizer), Sunday, 19 May 2013 02:48 (ten years ago) link
yeah nearly every sister track made it so would guess its absence is due more to ppl putting a limit to how many tracks from sister they'd vote for than any judgment on the track itself. would guess w/ a different voting scheme in place, one where say ppl ranked every single sonic youth track it would've placed in top 100. curious what albums had the most ballot representation, if there were any ballots w/ no tracks from sister or daydream nation, etc. i know there were stones ballots that didn't have any exile tracks.
― balls, Sunday, 19 May 2013 03:14 (ten years ago) link
Great answers re: "Schizophrenia", cheers. The Kim/Thurston vocal tradeoff def. feels more organic than "Teenage Riot"'s prelude/main act structure (maybe reinforced by them skipping Kim's parts when they play it live) - Sister also has "Kotton Krown" which has unison-y vocals, and I guess a similar appeal (not really knowing Sister's rep, I would've guessed "Catholic Block" would have come in second, though I guess both that & "Silver Rocket" didn't place as highly as my expectations).
This cover is great btw:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ZXr9uAolI
― etc, Sunday, 19 May 2013 04:26 (ten years ago) link
Trawling around the 'net looking for Sonic Youth covers - combination of SY's sounds being hard to easily replicate & SY's lyrics often sounding really, really dumb when not carried by Kim/Lee/Thurston's attitudes or w/e mean it's slim pickings - the Faint & the Go! Team provide game reinterpretations of "Mote" & "Bull In The Heather" respectively, Cat Power's "Schizophrenia" sounds exactly as you'd imagine it, the Elf Power "Kotton Krown" turns the freakout into a 60s quasi-raga ... I'm quite taken with this alt-country "The Diamond Sea" by Cuff the Duke:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbE9nTMrnXU
― etc, Sunday, 19 May 2013 08:30 (ten years ago) link
Gutted, can't seem to find the Young@heart Choir version of 'Schizophrenia' on YouTube.
― Gavin, Leeds, Sunday, 19 May 2013 10:56 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDUOpcic0jE
― ILE Wet Treeship Night (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, 19 May 2013 13:08 (ten years ago) link
I was at a wedding over the weekend so missed the end of the poll - very interesting. Of course, if you asked me now it would be an entirely different list; does anyone actually have a favourite SY song? Anyway, here's my ballot:
1. Washing Machine2. The Diamond Sea3. Wish Fulfillment4. I Love Her All The Time5. Shadow Of A Doubt6. Expressway To Your Skull7. Hoarfrost8. Schizophrenia9. Beauty Lies In The Eye10. Kotton Krown11. Mote12. NYC Ghosts & Flowers13. Kill Yr Idols14. JC15. I Love You Golden Blue16. She Is Not Alone17. Skip Tracer18. Shaking Hell19. Wild Flower Soul20. Green Light21. Antenna22. Walkin Blue23. Radical Adults lick Godhead Style24. Slaapkamers Met Slagroom25. Unmade Bed26. Sweet Shine27. Blink28. Genetic29. Sympathy For The Strawberry30. Anagrama
Five Favourite Albums1. A Thousand Leaves2. Sister3. Evol4. Dirty5. Washing Machine
Favourite Sides etc.1. lee Ranaldo - From Here To Infinity2. Thurston Moore - Psychic Hearts3. Lee Ranaldo - Dirty Windows
Favourite Band Member: Lee
Least Ugly Album Cover: Murray Street
― the so-called socialista (dowd), Monday, 20 May 2013 09:34 (ten years ago) link
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.
grandavis sounding presidential here
― j., Friday, May 17, 2013 5:20 PM (37 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
lol read it aloud in an Obama voice
― trick paddy pollars (some dude), Friday, May 17, 2013 9:58 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Hah, this is great. If you guys knew how far my speaking voice was from "presidential" and Obama-like it would be even funnier.
It is pretty tough to re-read some of my comments sometimes. There are very good reasons I do not write about music much, and glad there are so many others here that do it well. Going to still be listening to a ton of SY for the next week or so.
― grandavis, Monday, 20 May 2013 15:28 (ten years ago) link
Speaking of which, for all you "Mote" fans check out this live version from 2004 (with O'Rourke), which smokes! Band is totally feeling it. Segues in a really fast and pretty good "New Hampshire". They were so good live on this tour, wish I had seen them more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi_1krnCvRE
― grandavis, Monday, 20 May 2013 15:30 (ten years ago) link
I was away over the weekend as well. Cool roll out - Diamond Sea is way too high:
1.. Disintegration Notice
2.. Sugar Kane
3.. Silver Rocket
4.. Teenage Riot
5.. Superstar
6.. Paper Cup Exit
7.. Rain On Tin
8.. Schizophrenia
9.. 100%
10. Death Valley 69
11. Expressway To Yr Skull
12. Starpower
13. Stones
14. Total Trash
15. Inhuman
16. Cotton Crown
17. Eric's Trip
18. Cross The Breeze
19. Candle
20. Hot Wire My Heart
21. Reena
22. I Love Her All The Time
23. Shadow Of A Doubt
24. Antenna
25. Tom Violence
26. Ghost Bitch
27. Poison Arrow
28. Do You Believe In Rapture?
29. The Diamond Sea
30. Genetic
― kraudive, Monday, 20 May 2013 17:15 (ten years ago) link
yeah as the poll went on i was like "Diamond Sea doesn't need to be in the top 10 but i can understand it" to "hmm wow top 5" to "top two? get the fuck outta here"
― yeeznuts (some dude), Monday, 20 May 2013 17:23 (ten years ago) link
Disintegration Notice?
― ILE Wet Treeship Night (Drugs A. Money), Monday, 20 May 2013 17:32 (ten years ago) link
i didn't think i was going to make diamond sea my number one but for some reason it felt right, possibly because i can't help but hear these ballots as setlists and #1's a closer
― da croupier, Monday, 20 May 2013 17:46 (ten years ago) link
Missed the grand finale as well, but caught up to the thread and love how it turned out, especially since "fan faves" like Cotton Crown and PCH and Theresa's Sound World all cracked the top 20. Always felt Theresa was a classic from the first time I heard it, glad to see others feel similarly. It really benefits from the sleek production, in the same measure that Inhuman works with its swampy, humid production. I've rated that as my #1 for years, it'll never change. It totally sounds like steam rising off of an overworked mesh of gears to me. I think I read somewhere that someone spilled a can of Coke on the masters for Confusion is Sex, and ever since then I've loved hearing it all as a rotten, sticky mess. Certainly my fave LP of theirs by a mile. Happy to see Lee is Free almost make the top 100!
inhumanhyperstationthe diamond seaschizophreniatotal trashshe's in a bad moodi love her all the timethe sprawllee is freepchbrother jamesprotect me youshadow of a doubttitanium exposemadonna sean and me (aka expressway to yr skull)eliminator jri dreamed i dreamthe world looks redcotton crownsociety is a holethe bedroom (aka the destroyed room)providencebeauty lies in the eyeteen age riotsugar kanemacbethjcsweet shinetheresa's sound worldtunic
― today's tom soy yum, mean mean thai (Spectrist), Monday, 20 May 2013 18:03 (ten years ago) link