KOOL THINGS The Sonic Youth Listening Club. FINAL THOUGHTS start at post 2431

Starting the album now and it’s so sinister that I vaguely want to do a Wizard of Oz + DSOTM type thing and install Half-Life so I can play it with this album on in the background instead of any ambient music.

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I’ve got a catholicSpinhead Sessions block!

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this is pretty good i think? the first two tracks are the most interesting, like how it settles into a pattern of the guitar in the right channel holding down the main theme and the guitar in the left channel just fucking around, and the recurring ideas all the way through. it’s also interesting how they’re tightening up songwriting-wise on the main albums and using stuff like this to explore their ambient noise side as well. Scalping is the best i think, it does summat a bit different to the rest of the record.

not surprised there’s less chat this week :grinning:

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I’ve really enjoyed it on every listen.

Equally I feel weird about the idea of giving it a really high score because it doesn’t really have any particular SY feel, I like it more because I really like that sort of ambient stuff with an overtone of dread. I mean that’s why I regularly listen to the Chernobyl and Joker soundtracks.

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Liked the first 2 tracks then it becomes an excercise in tedium - worst of the bunch so far.

not going to bother doing best tracks for the weird stuff, doesn’t seem in the spirit. it’s more of a whole vibe right?? anyway

score out of 10 for Spinhead Sessions

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0 voters

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I like Spinhead, gave it a few listens this week. I think it defies expectations (or mine anyway) a bit in that it obviously has aspects of that distinct SY sound but doesn’t veer off into the abrasive SYR style as you might expect. Is quite pretty and atmospheric in places. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it but made me think it would make a good alternative soundtrack to Paris, Texas. There’s something quite windswept and dusty about it.

Feels a bit slight I guess but not everything needs to be an epic.

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Bored the snot out of me

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(Forgot to post this in Bad Moon Rising week, ffs)

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Actually not as abstract or noisy as I was expecting: although obviously there are no songs, there is melodic playing and Steve keeps things rhythmically locked. Definitely a minor entry in the catalogue, but tbh I really like that this is just some casual rehearsal jams: rather than being part of an overall concept or structure, this is just what it sounded like to be in Sonic Youth one afternoon in 1986, no more no less.

Highlight for me was the Gordon Freeman rap verse.

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Listen, I’m just glad you posted it

Hey Gordon, are you gonna liberate us Vortigaunts from Combine oppression?

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I thought the lines about smoking weed at work on High Mesa were a bit on the nose, but hey, he’s having fun with it.

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Some SYR tracks aside - for me instrumental SY is a really boring slog. It’s always this formless, thin improv that goes in one ear then out the other. It’s odd, considering the Glenn Branca background, but I don’t think SY have ever done anything interesting when it comes to the weirder releases. For a band that’s associated with noise music, whenever they do more textural work it’s always really limp and bland. Don’t even get me started on some of the solo Thurston stuff.

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Where the Sonic Youth’s at ?

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I seem to recall one time we saw SY live they played Schizophrenia which is, you know, fine but all you really want to hear live is Catholic Block, innit? One of SY’s best ever songs.

I recall years ago they used to do mixtapes on their site of live stuff and one opened with a an incredibly fast, raw live version of Catholic Block that was just amazing. I sent it round to my mate and got an email back an hour later saying he’d been having a terrible morning at work but that version of Catholic Block had set him right.

Is this the one where you can apparently hear another album underneath the recording?

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Im not playing Sister until I know for certain thats the album we’re playing today - because Im half worried you’re going to surprise drop a forgotten Sonic Youth Talk Show album or something

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We’re good:
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@andyvine isn’t going to be a master-dik today :wink:

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WTF IS MASTERDIK

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Tune in next week!!!