the Sonic Youth poll for songs with Lee Ranaldo on lead vox

We'll know there when we get there.

There's a sense in which he Keeps The Band Real by reminding them of their boho past.

But yeah keeping it real (ugh) is about the only function his noise bullshit serves (besides disfiguring good songs/albums).

this is some seriously wrong shit, even for ILM!

So it goes.

I give most of the credit for the trippiness of ATL, though.

thanks for letting us know

You're welcome, hoss.

Can't decide between "Mote" amd "In the Kingdom #19" which I love for its cinematic feel.

^this

but I think "the bridge" might be my favorite lee song

oh believe me, there'll be a Lee side projects poll at some point

Oh we believe you!

But yeah keeping it real (ugh) is about the only function his noise bullshit serves (besides disfiguring good songs/albums).

Actually, let me clarify this so Mr. Que doesn't run out of heart pills. I'm really only talking about "Mote" and "Karen Revisited" here. I'm well aware that noise plays a rather, um, crucial role in Sonic Youth. But in those two instances, it diminishes the songs/albums. I think I've made it pretty clear that I love Lee. So, deep breaths.

i think it's wrong to assume that just because Lee sings a SY song that the "noise bullshit" is his

where is the LOVE for PIPELINE?!

not only a great Lee song, but great production and DRUMS.

SY should call their next album "NOISE BULLSHIT"

just a reminder:

who is the best songwriter in Sonic Youth?
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Poll Results
Option Votes
Lee 28
Thurston 24
Kim 14

who is the best songwriter in Sonic Youth?

i think it's wrong to assume that just because Lee sings a SY song that the "noise bullshit" is his

― Mr. Que, Tuesday, July 14, 2009 10:19 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

otm esp because that SY book makes a big deal about how they write all their songs by jamming until the music is done and then deciding who does the vocals. don't know if this was always their process but it definitely has been for all the recent ones.

Pipeline/Kill Time or Eric's Trip.

I love me some Lee. I have a few of his side projects, the tape loopy ones and the DIY bedroom ones. I remember liking the ep on Starlight Furniture Co.

gotta give it up for the solo demo of "Eric's Trip" on the DN deluxe thing-o.

I'm really only talking about "Mote" and "Karen Revisited" here. I'm well aware that noise plays a rather, um, crucial role in Sonic Youth. But in those two instances, it diminishes the songs/albums. I think I've made it pretty clear that I love Lee. So, deep breaths.

― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, July 14, 2009 11:17 AM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I guess I understand this, but not really. I've never been a big fan of the long slow instrumental drift that closes Washing Machine, but a nice little "end of side 1, turn over record" moments no Goo and Murray Street always seemed to work fine for me as part of each album's arc.

Never heard that demo.

I always felt that the extended noise parts on Goo were overdoing it. I know a lot of people feel that way about Daydream, that they could've edited that stuff down and made Daydream a fine single album but it always seemed essential on Daydream, whereas with Goo I find myself reaching for the "next" button.

Dan Selzer beyond OTM! Evol to you.

i think it's wrong to assume that just because Lee sings a SY song that the "noise bullshit" is his

otm esp because that SY book makes a big deal about how they write all their songs by jamming until the music is done and then deciding who does the vocals.

Right but that doesn't negate the fact that conceptually, the noise bullshit is his on those two tracks, esp. since he's the one who's voiced the most discomfort (c. Goo at least) with the band's more songful direction.

all fine and good except Thurston is so clearly a bigger noise fiend in almost every way

Right but that doesn't negate the fact that conceptually, the noise bullshit is his on those two tracks, esp. since he's the one who's voiced the most discomfort (c. Goo at least) with the band's more songful direction.

― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, July 14, 2009 10:39 AM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

uh it does negate that fact, the noise can't be his if the band writes it by jamming. also it's weird that he supposedly has concerns about the move towards songs since he's written some of the songiest songs on their albums in the past 10 years or so. "walkin' blue" is the most traditional thing on the eternal for example.

So what, I'm lying now? And look up the word "conceptually" when you get a chance.

pipeline/kill time, followed closely by hey joni

I'm not saying you're lying, I'm just saying sometimes there's a difference between what someone says and what someone does.

"Karen Revisited". The moment when he/they should "Karen" the first time, after the "ask me if I care" bit, seals it for me. I love emo SY an awful lot, perhaps because detached SY dominates their oeuvre and so the emo moments stand out.

guys are you ready for me to blow your minds? ready? Paul wrote "Helter Skelter"!

You can trade it for John's "Good Night."

whoa, I thought motley crue wrote "helter skelter"

xxpost

But the most pressing question is who writes your posts.

http://images1.cafepress.com/product/99684311v20_150x150_Front.jpg

Difficult but I think I'll go with 'Slip Tracer'

can I just say that I always thought the "it's 1963, it's 1964, it's 1957, it's 1962" part of Hey Joni reminded me of the Richard Mguire comic in one of the Raw books where the date keeps jumping forward and backward, the one that was a big influence on Chris Ware's "Lamp"

it's funny when they do it live and he throws out a completely different set of random years, tho

Joni Mitchell's so old that there's no record of a birth certificate, remember.

gonna wait till the day before and see which of my faves doesn't have an outspoken supporter

i really like his delivery of the phrase "new york city ghosts ... and ... flow ers ..."

i'm aware it might be seen as a bit cornball

lee's "bad Beat poetry" is better than anyone else in the band's "bad Beat poetry"

― thomp, Tuesday, July 14, 2009 12:37 AM (20 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Well, no: Moore sticks to slogans-plus, while Kim filters Germaine Greer through back issues of Artforum.

― My name is Kenny! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, July 14, 2009 12:39 AM (20 hours ago) Bookmark

i actually wrote a post kvetching about how "Beat poetry" is sort of grabbed at as a descriptor for er 'wide-eyed and/or sweary spoken word possibly mentioning sex and/or drugs'. i wouldn't want to deny that he has bad poetry moments, but he seems like to 've read, you know, probably all of the new american poetry, and not just part iv

taking skip tracer, cuz i voted for it:

"the girl started out in red patent leather / very I'm-in-a-band"
"borrowed and never returned : emotions, books, outlooks on life"

- these are

i) not particularly good as poetry
ii) not particularly Beat, i think, as poetry
iii) pretty good, actually, as spoken word song things

haha 'skip tracer' is a burroughs reference isn't it n/m

Ranaldo writing lyrics based on Bishop or Merrill poems would probably meet my standards

(xpost)

i'll take ranaldo over beck or whatever else was on the alt-rock charts during the 90s.

As far as lyrics go (for Lee and for Thurston) I really want someone to expand on the Kim Fowley influence, 'cause to my ears there are just *huge* similarities between 70's Fowley and teh SY. Xgau drops the reference to Fowley being a big influence like it's common knowledge, but damned if I've ever read anyone flesh that out.

Anyway, Hey Joni's spoken bits end up reminding me an awful lot of the spoken part of the otherwise dissimilar "Love Is A Game" by the evil Mr. F.

Xgau didn't mean that musically, though. He meant that they both ripoff the consumer with bad music and/or bullshit repackagings.

I always thought that, but the way Fowley's lyrics read is actually crazy similar to SY's.

hey, I love "Bubblegum"!

I love all of Outrageous.

The ones I love are Sunset Boulevard and International Heroes. Anyway, lyrics to Fowley's "Blow Up" (for example) are totally SY compatible. They could cover it and nobody would know it wasn't an original.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

felt like throwing "Skip Tracer" a vote today

good song!

"Kick it!" (Hey Joni)

even on "Hoarfrost" I thought at first that Moore sang it.

His solo records have been outstanding. It doesn’t sound anything like Sonic Youth. It’s much more melodic. Almost like classic rock.

Crazy that "Genetic" only ended up with 2 votes. It was on the My So-Called Life soundtrack (which should be polled!)

he grew up as a deadhead xp

Great Lee video (we need that SYR with Nels Cline!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVMo4F2H0dY

"Wish Fulfillment" is such a sad song. Like something Thalia Zedek would have written.

Skip Tracer is so good.. the production on Washing Machine is stellar, I never really recognized its shortcomings (lack of bass?) ... i didn't realize Lee had such a strong presence on Unwind, it's not so obvious / apparent. a friend of mine once recorded (himself singing) a short parody of Ranaldo's vocal delivery--it's pretty spot on. Haven't kept up with Lee's recent output, he seemed to get a bit hackneyed (similar to Thurston), recycling bits of his old recordings for some of his more recent free-form sound work, but i can't really speak on the recent song-based stuff

Eric’s Trip made me think about music a little differently when I heard it in high school - like, I’d heard a few Somic Youth songs, and had even seen them live at this point (touring Murray St at a festival), and I got that they incorporated noise, but what I’d heard was the jams in the middle of songs (or just slamming their guitars against the amps during Karen Revisited). Eric’s Trip was the first song I’d heard where the noise seemed to actually propel the song, and it didn’t conform to the way I thought about proper songwriting at all, but I immediately loved it.