― sleeve (sleeve), Thursday, 22 June 2006 04:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― CDDB (Dan Deluca), Thursday, 22 June 2006 04:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:38 (seventeen years ago) link
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".
― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Thursday, 22 June 2006 10:30 (seventeen years ago) link
SY really needs to get some better oldies in the setlist before I see them in August! I'm super glad that they are doing "Brother James" regularly since that is the #1 song on my list of SY songs I've never seen live, but jeezy creezy can they just give "Drunken Butterfly" and "Eric's Trip" a rest finally?
― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Thursday, 22 June 2006 11:41 (seventeen years ago) link
― XD (eman), Thursday, 22 June 2006 11:48 (seventeen years ago) link
I can't think of any major critic besides Christgau who lauded NYC Ghosts & Flowers
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 22 June 2006 11:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 22 June 2006 11:53 (seventeen years ago) link
"NYC Ghosts and Flowers finds the quartet exploring rock's outer limits with renewed zeal. The album expands on the autumnal pensiveness of 1998's A Thousand Leaves."
and:
"NYC Ghosts and Flowers comes as a reminder of not only how far Sonic Youth have traveled but how high they can still reach."
Matt Hanks wrote in his Amazon review:
"Sure, you could say that NYC Ghosts & Flowers is the group's best record since Daydream Nation--what's a new Sonic Youth album without such an assessment?--but to do so would deprive them of their greatest achievement. No longer fashionable or influential, Sonic Youth persist in the strength of their own passions. They matter to themselves. To hell with everyone else."
Maybe "NYC Ghosts" is the exception that proves the rule (though I seem to recall horrible panning like Pitchfork's as more the exception than the rule) - the general path of "best since Daydream" and then irrelevancy is strikingly strong.
― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Thursday, 22 June 2006 12:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 22 June 2006 12:30 (seventeen years ago) link
But I'm an old-school SY apostate - I was disappointed by Goo and Dirty (I stand by an old statement that "Youth Against Fascism" is the most horrendously embarrassing thing they have done or could ever do) and just don't see the need to be completist with their work. The last 15 years or so they have put out a series of good albums that I see absolutely no need to own or listen to on more than a perfunctory level.
It seems the fate of most acts that extend beyond a decade or so - they have such a defined sound that infintesimal variations on that are what any subsequent albums devolve towards.
― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Thursday, 22 June 2006 12:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― San Diva Gyna (and a Masala DOsaNUT on the side) (donut), Thursday, 22 June 2006 13:48 (seventeen years ago) link
I'm not clear as to how this can really be a "stage" unless you mean "the stage where they make one last great album and then start to suck ass"
― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Thursday, 22 June 2006 13:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 22 June 2006 14:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― Kurius (Uri Frendimein), Thursday, 22 June 2006 14:09 (seventeen years ago) link
-- San Diva Gyna (and a Masala DOsaNUT on the side), June 22nd, 2006.
Nice reasoned response. I listened to this album, as I've listened to every SY album, with the hope that it will grab me like it did oh so many years ago. I haven't given up on the band at all - like I said, I still see them live when I can. Just because I think they are repeating themselves with minor variations doesn't mean I don't like them.
What a sad state of affairs when you can't comment without following some party line - I'll give it a try: "Rather Ripped rather rocks! NY Times & Klusterfuck and Hornsby sux. XGAU XGAU XGAU!!!!"
Can I play now?
― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Thursday, 22 June 2006 15:12 (seventeen years ago) link
note the WHINE tags i put in there for comic effect.
i was actually making fun of the discourse of the old-timers vs. new-timers at the expense of the new timers this time, even if i'm sorta in both camps, and i have no idea why you threw in XGAU XGAU XGAU, but whatevs.
― San Diva Gyna (and a Masala DOsaNUT on the side) (donut), Thursday, 22 June 2006 16:10 (seventeen years ago) link
The XGAU bit was just aimed at the tired old canards that seem to be the primary stock and trade of this message board. My own weak attempt at humor.
I'm an old-timer who wants to be rejuvanated - I SO want to be blown away by each and every SY album, and instead come away accepting that what they're doing, though very well done, has none of that ol' pizazz. My loss, most likely.
― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Thursday, 22 June 2006 16:20 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 22 June 2006 17:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― Eppy (Eppy), Friday, 23 June 2006 16:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― CDDB (Dan Deluca), Friday, 23 June 2006 16:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― mts (theoreticalgirl), Friday, 23 June 2006 17:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― San Diva Gyna (and a Masala DOsaNUT on the side) (donut), Friday, 23 June 2006 17:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Friday, 23 June 2006 18:01 (seventeen years ago) link
alb is ok, too
― marc h. (marc h.), Friday, 23 June 2006 18:53 (seventeen years ago) link
But "Super Horny 19 Year-olds" is a great album title.
― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Friday, 23 June 2006 19:22 (seventeen years ago) link
and now everyone knows why i work at a university. you know, for the "benefits".
[chillax dudes, im totally joking.]
― mts (theoreticalgirl), Friday, 23 June 2006 23:31 (seventeen years ago) link
― Darren Skuja (Darren Skuja), Saturday, 24 June 2006 06:30 (seventeen years ago) link
― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Saturday, 24 June 2006 11:50 (seventeen years ago) link
― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Saturday, 24 June 2006 12:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― Josh Love (screamapillar), Saturday, 24 June 2006 12:50 (seventeen years ago) link
I still stand up for Heathen.
― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 24 June 2006 12:51 (seventeen years ago) link
― Josh Love (screamapillar), Saturday, 24 June 2006 12:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 24 June 2006 12:59 (seventeen years ago) link
Anyway - I love NYCGF and 1000 Leaves too. Oh fuck, I love them all. But let's just focus on the 150-ish minutes of music that is Murray-Nurse-Ripped: Tell me again that this is boring, uninspired, nowhere near the brilliance of Daydream Sister Moon, etc etc etc, and I think I will puke forthwith. 150min of Great Fucking Tuneage it definitely is!
Ripped - what is your favourite track (or least yawny bit, whatever the case may be)? I fucking think Turquoise Boy ranks with fucking ANYTHING they ever did.
Oh yeah - Some Girls - that was the one.
― Darren Skuja (Darren Skuja), Tuesday, 27 June 2006 06:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 27 June 2006 12:10 (seventeen years ago) link
Fuck I love this CD.
― Darren Skuja (Darren Skuja), Tuesday, 27 June 2006 15:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Tuesday, 27 June 2006 17:07 (seventeen years ago) link
― held tony (held tony), Tuesday, 27 June 2006 23:53 (seventeen years ago) link
I understand the comments regarding long songs. Rapture especially seems like it wants to burst forth into instramental jam heaven, but is henceforth restrained. However, I think the restraints are a charm on this cd, rather than a frustration.
― Darren Skuja (Darren Skuja), Wednesday, 28 June 2006 19:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― Christopher Costello (CGC), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 00:46 (seventeen years ago) link
question for anyone that saw the Rather Ripped tour -- when they did played "Or" live, did they have an acoustic guitar onstage? I was gonna write that "Massage The History" on the Eternal tour was the first time they regularly featured an acoustic guitar on tour but then i realized i never saw a Rather Ripped show so i don't know how they did "Or."
― some dude, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 03:02 (twelve years ago) link
Saw 'em in Seattle as mumbled upthread and...I don't remember? Excellent show but I can't recall them busting out an acoustic guitar for that.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 03:29 (twelve years ago) link
good record, not as good as SN, bring back jim o'rourke
― markers, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 03:42 (twelve years ago) link
thurston played acoustic on one track when i saw them last year, but it wasn't "Or" i think it was something from The Eternal.re: markers' comment, i think people overestimate o'rourke's influence on those SY records. not that he didn't have an effect on the sound (probably mainly from the mixing side of things) but to assume that o'rourke came in to a band that'd been together 20+ years and took over strikes me as off-base. i think murray st./sonic nurse would've been strong records even if he wasn't in the band at the time.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 14:53 (twelve years ago) link
agreed but they were better than either album that preceeded or succeeded them
― WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 31 May 2011 16:00 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, i'd agree with that, but just assuming that o'rourke wsa the main catalyst for that seems like ... an assumption.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 16:02 (twelve years ago) link
I'm interviewing Thurston in a few hours. Please think of an absolutely killer question for me to ask him. Thanks.
― PG Harpy (Doran), Tuesday, 31 May 2011 16:04 (twelve years ago) link
i don't know if he's been asked a million times now, but i'd be interested in hearing about how his move away from NYC (where he founded one of the quintessential NYC bands) to the "country" has informed his songwriting/musical outlook.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 16:17 (twelve years ago) link
Kudos for the good idea of including free mp3 download when you bought the vinyl.
― Latham Green, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 16:20 (twelve years ago) link