Sonic Youth new album "Rather Ripped"

and i'm alright with that...

no, really. it's fine.

Mmmm. Lord Alfred, it is rather similar to recent works. They didn't pull a KidA. Hence my "holding pattern" thoughts. And in addition to the recent style, the songwriting and playing and lyrics are also on the same high level, or maybe better once I spin it 10x. Or something like that. Dude.

I think I'm going to have to go give Murray St. and Sonic Nurse another chance. To me, that stuff seemed boring, but I never actually gave them more than 1 impatient, disappointed listen each (if that). With A Thousand Leaves, they really lost me as a die-hard fan, and I haven't really cared again until this album.

yup. actually "a thousand leaves" is the last sy record that i've liked (despite that cheesy phaser effect they used throughout). "rather ripped" starts off pretty good but the rest seems sorta meh.

It is. Not only that, but I have impacted fecal matter which is also rotting. The only thing that seems to help is carving an X on my chest and allowing the sun's rays to penetrate my blood in the evening. Go figure.

I actually like the second half of RR better. To me, the first half is a really good warmup, and when Turquoise Boy begins, we are really rolling, Baby! Gave it spin #7 tonight, and I think it is even better than St and Nurse!

-- Q('.'Q) (ï¿...), June 17th, 2006.

if there's any word to describe sonic youth's use of guitar effects, it's anything *but* cheesy.

I also liked NYC Ghosts & Flowers, at least at the time.

I find Rather Ripped to be a lot better than Sonic Nurse.

no, he's right, the phaser on ATL and the early SYRs is totally cheesy. if they stopped using it because it was lost in the great gear theft of '99 then good riddance. Darren's definitely not the only one who loves ATL, though, that was a big album for me at the time.

wtf are you talking about?

Rather Ripped = 51 minutes
Murray Street = 46 minutes
NYC Ghosts & Flowers = 42 minutes

i was with you through "brilliant" and maybe even through "songs," but "contre le sexisme" is easily one of my most-skipped tracks ever. in my head, 'ATL' starts with "sunday" (and is one of my fave SY albums from then on).

what are the 2 bonus tracks called?

I've listened to this in its entirety twice now and I like it. Someone further up the thread mentioned how immediate it is and I agree - these songs stick in your head.

Can't wait for the December All Tomorrow's Parties now...

After sitting with this thing a week (I held out for actual release), I'm really liking it.

Yes. Catchy, memorable, and quite good. A real treat.

I'm not following the person who says without the 2 bonus songs it would be 40min etc. It is 51min without those songs, and the bonuses make it longer, right?

I Love Rather Ripped. Gets better every spin.

That said I am looking forward to seeing them in Seattle next week.

heh, I think that was Sonic Youth's intent with this album.

Yeah, it's their most sugary & addictive album to date, definitely.

Built To Spill seems like they tried a "hey, let's make a BTS album" with Ancient Melodies From The Future.. however, something really annoyed on this album...

OTOH, Rather Ripped does anything but annoy.

Nothing wrong with that, just kind of "meh" when expecting Sonic Youth.

Of course, I've been kind of apathetic to them for the past decade, so please take that into consideration. Some people liked YLT's "Summer Sun" as well. To each their own.

damn how did i miss that?

I was thinking about it and Sonic Youth are kind of the indie Rolling Stones - had a solid run that helped define an entire sound, and then are routinely lauded with "return to form" critical response, regardless of the general indifference to the album a few months down the road. They consitently get 4 star reviews, only to have those same "masterpeices" mauled in a future 4 star review (revisionist thought on "NYC Ghosts & Flowers" is a prime example). The Stones, from Steel Wheels on, have also had that same universal addulation and retro-mediocrity cycle. Both are still very solid live acts - I try to see Sonic Youth when I can, even though I haven't particularly cared for anything after "Experimental Jet Set".