Porky, that is my favorite song. I really love it. Now that you say that it makes it even more special to me.

Yeah, it's become my alternative gay anthem too. It makes me feel safe so that I don't have to parade myself on the streets dressed like a barbie doll.

I always thought the underlying references in Andogynous Mind were pretty obvious......you gotta fight, to free your mind.

I'm right there with those that say "Starfield Road" should have been allowed to be finished! That's the case with the whole damn album though. They were trying way too hard to connect with the "indie rock kids" anb be Guided By Voices, and even name-checked that in every interview.

I think a big part of why Washing Machine is so awesome is that they realized they didn't get any more successful for doing essentially edit versions of real Sonic Youth songs and releasing that. So they went back to finishing the songs and we got "Diamond Sea" and "Washing Machine" for it. "Starfield Road" could have been a song like one of those.

I like most of the songs on EJST&NS, but I've never gotten into it as a completed album. I've also been really annoyed from the get go that Sonic Youth's arguably least experimental album (at least until Rather Ripped) has "Experimental" as the first word on the cover!

I dunno, I always loved that starfield rd is what it is, so sweet, so brief, it would kill it to drag it out any longer, and lets not forget that in accordance with relativity a second can easily be a decade and vice versa, so in a way it already is ten minutes long, to access this experience, simply find a way to really not enjoy the song and then it will begin to elongate until it seems to stretch into infinity, or, scratch your record (or cd) just so, to create a skip/loop which will recreate the same effect without you having to go through the tricky emotional journey of finding a way to loathe what is, in essence one of the sweetest moments they ever did wax. shame they never play it live no more.

I've always liked this album.

I think this is probably SY's most underrated album. I see it as some others here do as a transitional album. SY were moving away from the straight ahead produced rock of Dirty and venturing out to new areas.

Experimental Jet Set introduces alot of features that would be put to better use on Washing Machine. They start getting more strange and atmospheric using more of their pedals to create textures instead of riffs. A few of the songs on Experimental if put to a longer length would fit in perfectly with WM.(like Self Obsessed, Starfield Road, Bone)

This album brings sonic youth back to messing with that raw noisy sound again. They had given up trying to "get commercial" and started going back to their senses and roots. Ironically the record had one of their biggest singles "bull in the heather".(which i still dont understand is about)

Can someone please explain to me how exactly Experimental Jet Set is an experimental album?!

Ironically the record had one of their biggest singles "bull in the heather".(which i still dont understand is about)[/quote]

Bull in the Heather is not really about anything. Obvioulsy Kim's role is of playing a helpless submissive female. And how she waits for the Bull, which could be any testosterone laden man. Its more of an observation of American gender roles etc.

"betting" is just a refrence to the inevitable of the man prouncing so to speak.

My impression is that is more rooted in female based themes than scathing of male\manness that is evident in her other lyrics...

The clever title seemed to fit in with the era of other titles such "Hole" or "Pretty on the Inside".

I think distinctions should be made between "MASTERPIECES" such as DDN, Washing Machine or Sister or blah
and "COOL " SY LPs such as Sonic Nurse, Murray Street , and EJSTANS, in fact.
True it lacks any EPIC moments, but that's not what it's about
I think the forthcoming biog / book about SY will tell that they wanted to break from accusations of selling out (which i think are stupid as I personnaly LOVE EACH release for its inner qualities (DIRTY is not pretty but it's MASSIVE; GOO is not EPIC but it's SINGULAR and quite radical imo)

So i don't need to reassess this album, it's cool and pretty, filled with melodic finds and aerial moments, I really LIKE this album VERY MUCH.

Another point is it's very akin to the Pavement sound i like or even Sebadoh at times. I like the fact that it could be considered as a meeting point especially in 1993/1994, epitome of that indie sound i cherish, golden era.

+

Kegmama once sent me a vinyl copy (are they all blue vinyl or...?)of this very LP, which happily sits on my shelf ;That made my day at the time, thx again;
love the artwork, very Pavement -ish too


nuff said
yes i used capitals

Can someone please explain to me how exactly Experimental Jet Set is an experimental album

Out of SY's album output

Yes, compared to SY's output this is one of the least experimental albums, along with Dirty and Rather Ripped. Theres always some degree of experimentation of SY records, and compared to many of the incepid generic indie rock bands out there I'm sure this album might sound like it landed from another planet. But compared to SY's catalogue, this is a collection of well crafted short pop songs, nothing more.

This album is still bad. The songs sound like they were written in 10 minutes. :/

mmm
expermiental....
it is not
isn't that supposed to be an ironic title
he he
experimental = cf SYR
no?

I always relate it to Brian Molko although Placebo weren't around when this album was released.

I really like EJST&NS, my favourite songs are Sweet Shine, Bull in the Heather, Starfield Road, Screaming Skull and Bone.

BORING

dull songs

dull dull toss off musical "ideas"

sonic youth's nadir

Yup. There's different US (on DGC) and European (Geffen) pressings though.

Winner's Blues alone as the opening track makes this an epic album for me. I definitely do not see this album as a transitional album. If so, then every album is. How else to you get from EJSTANS to ATL without having Washing Machine? That doesn't mean that Washing Machine is a transitional album.... I'm surprised to hear that this album sucks or is boring to some. I couldn't say that for any Sonic Youth album. Man, my favorite song at the moment is Quest for the Cup. For me lately, nothing can beat listening to this song on full volume and just jumping up and down, acting a fool.

ive nevr been blown away by it. i need to hear it again. the past few days i have been revisiting so,e SY that i havent heard in ages, like the destroyed room and washing machine. EJS is next on that list.
and i dont understand the dirty hatin'. it is one of my favorites. almost every song completely rocks on it. it was the first SY album that i got, and it took me ages to get them but it completely opened up my mind to a new degree of sounds and rythm and experimentation-theresas sound world, 100% wish fulfillment, shoot.
and the instrumental part where theu play really fast on chapel hill was so mindblowing to me.

I think Jet Set is suppossed to sound "bad". "bad" is an artistic quality...

I listened to EJS... for the first time recently. I didn't like it much... Probably my least favourite out of all the albums I've listened to. It's an alright album, but when it's compared to other SY albums, it's nowhere near as good.

Rob's above post amended for the masses.

sarramkroppppeepeee

how can you say that the rockin tunes on rather ripped are worse than the dull, lifelesss, un-inspired tepid bathwater that is EJST&NS? shiiiit

I'd have to ask you, young man!

It needs to be said again.

Bull in the Heather is such a fucking masterpiece. Listen to any one part of that song by itself and it doesn't sound right, but listen to the whole thing together and it's unbelievable.

I can't listen to bull in the heather without picturing my "bull" in kim deal's or kim gordon's "heather"

i think it's their best 90's record. even better than a thousand leaves.

between EJST&NS, Goo, Dirty, A Thousand Leaves, washing machine, goodbye 20th century, made in the USA, I would definitely put EJST&NS as dead fucking last in their 90's output.

this has always been one of the few youth ablums i dont like and never listen too, along with goo, dirty, and rather ripped.

ןout of their 90's output id either put goo or dirty as #1 then either washing machine or ATL, then this (not including SYR, and i dont know NYCGAF that well

get out of my head and stop stealing my thoughts and experience!

Experimental jet set is my least favorite album by SY along with Dirty which has good parts here and there (I totally agree^, that part on Chapel Hill is practically the only reason i listen to Dirty) but the album altogether still kinda blows.

They are good but im just not feeling them at all most of the time.

I prefer this album. It has Androgynous Mind. One of my favorite songs ever.

i thought made in the usa came out in 88 or 89. i don't know if i count goodbye 20th century as an official release. if so then i think that would be their best of the 90's. i think i may like ejst&ns the best because the first sonic youth song i heard came off the album and it was one of the first i bought. i would listen to it over and over again in middle and high school. just like black flag, it got me through some tough times when i was an awkward skater teenager with no friends.

i still think dirty is the worst album, but that's not saying it's a bad album. it's actually quite good, but it's a bad sonic youth album. same with goo and rather ripped. not bad albums, just bad sonic youth albums.

I think it might have been recorded in 86, or around then. The CD was released in the 90's.

oh ok. i knew the cd was released in 93 or 94, but i wasn't sure about the record.

Psychic Hearts does blow. I like Trees Outside the Academy though

Ahhhh the album that got me into Sonic Youth.

Not even joking... BMG music club baby! doesn't get any more punk.

EJTNS has always been one of my favorites. Sometimes NYC or DDN pass it up, but I still love it.

However, it must be said that my reasons are as much nostalgia as they are actual reasons. I have far more memories connected to this album than almost any other album period, SY or not.

I like the album, some trash on it, but all in all it's pretty good.