#21

My favourite record of theirs is Murray Street. Is this one of those hot takes the young people enjoy?

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#22

Don’t think it’s a particularly contrary position. Sister’s a better album but Daydream Nation has better tracks: Hey Joni & 'Cross the Breeze in particular.

“I shouldn’t laugh… haha”

Personally I find something to like in virtually every era of Sonic Youth and I love the progression you can hear over the course of the first 10 years or so. No problem at all with anyone not liking something but “bad/lazy songwriting” sets off my Mojo Klaxon pretty heavily.

I’m genuinely interested to hear who “certain bands” are.

Remenber that time there was a South Bank Show special about them?

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#23

You probably weren’t following the other thread :grinning:

Yeah, maybe I was a little harsh, but a lot of the time it feels like he’s throwing dissonant progressions at the wall and hoping something sticks. It doesn’t seem like if someone were to ask him, “why did you make this decision at X:XX in this song” that there would be an answer for it in many cases. Their music for the most part strikes me as just being there, and I wish it weren’t because on paper they’re a band that I should love. Maybe the best way to put it is that it doesn’t feel carefully crafted but at the same time doesn’t have that out of control electricity that comes with spontaneity either.

I did like a lot of his 2014 solo album though, musically at least.

#24

I support this opinion.

#25

I used to love Dirty when it was released but really gone off it. However the 10 inch colour vinyl singles are pretty lovely.

Goo and DY I always state as my favourites but I need to go back to things like Sister.

#26

I like pretty much all of them but Bad Moon Rising is still my favourite I think

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#27

I pretty much got into Sonic Youth immediately as soon as I listened to Daydream Nation for the first time. Pretty much already decided I liked them after hearing the opening song, Teen Age Riot. Also helped that I had previously heard of them through bands they influenced like Radiohead, and the iconic album cover (which was on the Simpsons episode with Smashing Pumpkins) - which is why I chose to listen to them. Can’t imagine any other album being a better entry point.

Sister is good as well but I’m glad I listened to Daydream Nation first. As for EVOL, I haven’t even properly got into it yet. I don’t think those albums are as accessible (or as good, but I’m not really a full Sonic Youth fan).

#28

Goo and Dirty. Goo was my entry into SY. Remember John Peel playing Dirty Boots before the album came out, really nothing like a typical SY song or album but I doubt I’d have been ready for the earlier stuff as a 15 yo. Really liked The Eternal and Rather Ripped. Nobody mentions Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, is that because no one likes it or can’t be arsed to spell it?

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#29

JAGgers need to take note from these guys. Make it seem effortless.

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#30

I guess that’s just their approach, it’s more about discovery than craft, they come up with weird tunnings, find the areas where it chimes find other areas of dissonance and then work it into something, seeing how melodies fit or clash against that backdrop, in doing so coming up with things that would be difficult to write from a more planned/crafted approach(not saying they are completely uncrafty probably takes a lot of skill to weave it together). My main problem is most their songs are so meaningless, thurston Moore and his rhyming dictionary (ranaldo’s are always good though), and despite their exploratory/experimental approach, the end result is often a very similar sonic wallpaper

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#31

I’m pretty sure if they could have afforded a full set of tuning forks, they’d have been able to write some pretty great tunes. It’s a shame, cause they always seemed quite talented, otherwise.

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#32

They were clearly creatively talented. I mean, they did a lot of things I would never have thought of. I always thought it was like they got into the wrong thing though, if you know what I mean. Like maybe in a parallel universe they took up pottery and made these wild wacky pots that people thought were groundbreaking. Or fingerpainting, something like that. I just don’t think music was the best fit.

#33

That’s pretty much how I feel too, but to me it feels like instead of sorting through those discoveries and assembling the good ones into a cohesive album equal to or greater than the sum of its parts, they keep and present everything indiscriminately. There’s a certain energy / focus / purpose in those first few songs on Daydream Nation where they show the capability, which makes them all the more frustrating to me.

And spot on about his lyrics, they were killing me each time I tried his latest solo album.

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#34

Did you just reply to yourself agreeing with yourself?

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#35

No I didn’t

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#36

Favourite sonic youth song

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#37

Shit band, no tunes.

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#38

Reckon if someone did one of those neural network simulated music things based on sonic youth it would probably be indistinguishable from the real thing (except for with better lyrics)

#39

I’m definitely on board with your suggestion re: regarding the finger painting. I should imagine each member of the band could make quite the living, travelling to tourist hotspots and setting up competing finger painting caricature stalls.

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#40

yeah this is my favourite SY phase. i’d even include the jammier stuff on Rather Ripped

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