#201

Yeah this completely. I was commenting in the Nina Simone HGATR used the piano in ways that you didn’t see very often in rock and SY were the same with guitars - they were more percussive and used it as a base for textural layering rather than just stacking melodies that a lot of bands end up doing with 2 leads etc. Exceptional composition.

5 Likes
#202

So many good records and side projects that even all the rubbish bits dont matter.

That said, i’ve never really got into daydream nation and find teen age riot overplayed and overrated. :man_shrugging:

2 Likes
#203

True, but it’s sonically a lot more ‘accessible’ than earlier albums, at least to my ears.

#204

teenage riot and dirty boots are probably the two most radio-friendly, can see why they’re sadly overplayed in trendy t shirt shops and stuff

1 Like
#205

TWO bassessess

1 Like
#206

Dirty was the first album of theirs I heard when I was 13 and living in the US, so that will always be a favourite due to it being the first one I got into. Experimental Jet Set came out when I was still living there, but didn’t enjoy it as much, so went backwards instead.

There’s a feeling I can’t quite describe to how a lot of the songs from the late 80s/early 90s sound. Songs like Disappearer, Candle, Hey Joni, The Sprawl, Tunic etc. All those interwoven arpeggios and motorik drums. It’s kind of claustrophobic and unsettling, but there’s something warm and comforting there too. I probably listen to albums from that period more than any others.

As mentioned before, they really made me look at playing the guitar in a different way. Before then I thought shredding was where it was at, but after realising I didn’t really have the patience (or the will) to play like Steve Vai I just started fucking around with tunings and odd chord shapes.

I went off them a bit as the 90s wore on and I got more into punk and hardcore, but Sonic Nurse got me interested again so went back and re-discovered all the 80s stuff all over again.

In short, I fucking love Sonic Youth and have been listening to them all day.

3 Likes
#207

One of their best off one of their worst

5 Likes
#208
5 Likes
#209

Such an amazing intro that

#210

His songs are my fav too. Often blends melody, groove and texture really well.

3 Likes
#211

There’s some really good stuff on Rather Ripped, but some occasionally quite bad lyrics that make them sound really middle aged. One of the bonus tracks on the CD I have is absolutely terrible

#212
3 Likes
#213

Lee is very much the Secret Weapon

2 Likes
#214

My favourite Kim songs all seem to come from Experimental Jet Set. I already mentioned Dcotor’s Orders earlier, but these are also up there with her best imo


#215

Top marks for doing a Peel session where they played nothing but Fall songs

3 Likes
#216

Iggy and Kim dueting I wanna be your dog :heart:

1 Like
#217

I think The Eternal is pretty underrated, but not sure if that’s just because it came out before I was going to see them for the first time so I absolutely rinsed it.

2 Likes
#218

Usually I read the entire thread before posting, but today I’m going to catch up afterwards and hope I’m just repeating what others have said.

Sonic Youth is a 1.5/5 band with 5/5 branding skills. They have a true gift in hiding their lack of songwriting abilities and effort behind an obnoxious wall of cool and under the guise of experimentalism. They’re a generic opening level band who rode a wave of weaponized indie snobbery (that they helped create and embarrassingly cling to in their old age) to a place in the canon. Writing underdeveloped or purposeless songs doesn’t make you experimental. It makes you bad.

In general their music leaves me very cold (and can be pretty cringe inducing at times when they go into spoken bad poetry mode). There’s not only an overall lack of emotion, but a lack of attention to detail - I can’t imagine them agonizing over decisions or carefully mapping out the little things that can truly elevate a song. To me, they’re the antithesis of artists like Billy Corgan, Neil Young, Elliott Smith, and Isaac Brock - when you listen to those artists, you know exactly why they made the music they did. You can feel it. I’ve never listened to a Sonic Youth album and come out with an idea of why they’re making music or some underlying emotion or purpose driving things.

It’s a shame too because I really did want to like them, and when they can be bothered to try they do have the ability to write a great song. The first 4 songs of Daydream Nation are legitimately fantastic and would suggest a 5/5 band with an ability to churn out classics (I was so excited the first time I got to the end of Cross the Breeze), but that turned out not to be the case. I don’t know if it was a lightning in a bottle situation or if they never put in similar effort again (aside from a few random songs scattered throughout their discography, like Orange Rolls Angel’s Spit for instance).

When it comes down to it, they just don’t have the songs or albums. 1/5.

5 Likes
#219

Oooh… cheeky.

#220

13 Likes