I had randomly downloaded 100% and Screaming Skull when I was 15 or 16, but those songs didn't impress me enough to look any further.

A couple years later I started downloading tracks from Daydream Nation (the first one was Silver Rocket), and that's what got me hooked.

I don't remember. Titanium Expose was the one that wanted to make me listen to SY.

it was either kool thing or teenage riot.

100% was the first song I listened to.

i'm pretty sure mine was contre le sexism. it might've seemed a lot weirder if it hadn't been followed by sunday, which was definitely the first hook. i bought dirty and a thousand leaves at the same time. a thousand leaves was my favorite for about a year. i didn't really appreciate dirty until six months ago. usually, my favorite since then is daydream nation.

i dont know, because i was a baby.

...

Euhm Porky,

Teenage Riot was recorded 18 years ago, boo.

100%

porkie obviously doesn't know his sonic youth

i think it was pattern recognition. or something off goo

i got a free compilation CD with a magazine which included death valley 69. this was the first song i heard and i was slightly indifferent to it at first. i gradually grew to dig it quite a lot. then when sunday came out, i saw the video on jools holland and i became obsessed by his band and this video. i requested from my aunt for christmas either a thousand leaves or hello nasty by beastie boys. she got me a thousand leaves.
initially i hated ATL (apart from Sunday). however, i remained fascinated by Sonic Youth and after doing some research, got Daydream Nation next. I was instantly hooked, listened to it every day pretty much. i was 14 and began a uniquely adolescent obsession with sonic youth. i gradually acquired their entire back catalogue. i remember getting dirty and being blown away. first time i heard sister was quite a revelation.. i actually bought EVOL, Sister, and Bad Moon Rising all at the same time.. that was a good day... one day i was skating through edinburgh with a friend when i found a tenner on the street which i used to purchase washing machine. good memories.

bull in the heather

I'm pretty sure the first one I heard was Sunday, back in 1998... I think I saw the debut of the music video on 120 minutes, and kind of dismissed it... being like "This is Sonic Youth?... Sounds like hippies to me..." The creepy, junky-lookingMcaulay Culken sucking face with his girlfriend probably didn't help either.

Then I a friend played me 100% and was like "damn, i recognize this... I know this song... and it rocks..." I then bought every Sonic Youth record, with 1000 Leaves quickly becoming my favorite... Funny how shit works out.

I think it was 'Starpower', probably in Probe Records in Liverpool.

Too right you are.I don't know how but i always think that Daydream Nation was somehow released in 1987 rather than 1988.Whorefrost,yeah probably i don't know my Sonic Youth very well considering that i listened to them more than double the amount of years that you lived.Silly man.

Catholic Block.

Firstly I discovered Sonic Youth, through The Simpsons' Homerpalloza episode (I also discovered The Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails through this episode, which lead to my long love affair with 90's alt-rock, that later through various bands lead me to underground music and indie music, Big Thanks Matt Groening!). The First song I downloaded was 'The Diamond Sea'. I loved it so much I went out and bought 'Washing Machine' the next day. Then someone gave me a copy of 'Dirty' and I thought it was pretty cool, But the moment I heard 'Teenage Riot' I was in love. lol

It was Nevermind (What was It Anyway)... I was at a Virgin Megastore and they got those big screens that play music videos all the day... and they played the Nevermind videoclip... I fell in love with the song, searched it on the Internet for a while... then I realised my mother actually got the album :D So she gave it to me, and I remember I thought it was very strange (remember that at the time I was a Linkin Park fan...)... It was on August 2004... Then I bought every album of the band in a year

The first one I heard was shaking hell, in the back of an old punk's car coming back from a Stiff Little Fingers gig. I hated it then, because I was only young.

The first song I heard and thought, "crikey, this is a bit good" was Sunday.