try hanging a picture straight without nails........

try sonic youth without double s beat attack

nuff said

Very few drummers have become legends, in facts they're only two : Max Roach and Steve Shelley...

what you have to understand is that when you write experimental ROCK music you have to have a fucking great drummer to pull everything together cohesively, and to do it outstandingly, which steve shelley does. he is a fucking awesome drummer, and noone else could fill his sonic shoes

Yes, he's the best.


Pitchfork Fest is the best performance of Daydream Nation so far, in my opinion. (I haven't listened to that second Roundhouse show yet.) Lots of nice comments in the thread; I like jennthebenn's post too.

Steve Shelley, mediocre? No seriously, listen to Theresa's Sound-world (for instance), then you'll come. Steve isn't the best drummer technically speaking, but he totally ROCKS because he's really not just the rythm... there's much more in his game, in my opinion.

this is the dumbest thread ever.

steve has one of the most distinctive drumming styles of any drummer. you can tell a sonic youth song by whatever technique it is that he uses (i'm not a drummer, but i can tell his sound.)

aside from the fact that, as everyone has previously stated, he IS one of the nicest people in the entire world, why anyone would criticize him for essentially not being "cool enough" to be in the band is beyond me. if you're not at band practice or a part of the creative process yourself, you have no idea what he brings to the table in those terms. i could personally give a shit whether he's "experimental" enough of a human being or musician. if lee, kim and thurston didn't think he added something, he wouldn't be in the band.

i heard steve has a skin disorder where his feet are no longer covered in skin, but scales.

I've had the pleasure to meet Steve a few times before shows, and he's always been really friendly and warm. Less importantly, I think he's an excellent drummer.

Actually, I prefer to call people who play drums "drummists."

very nice.
all i know is that he is the greatest drummer of all time, and he doesn't wear a watch.

question: how do you keep up with time without a watch?

answer: you are steve shelley!

Yeah, I agree. He holds it down. Had it been anyone els, their sound would be far too unorganized. Of course (this is beyond obvious), it would not be Sonic Youth.

Actually, I prefer to call people who play drums percussionists.

He discovered and was the first to record Chan Marshall. Not only that, but was actually a member of Cat Power for the first 3 albums.

That alone earns him my love (SY aside).

That's just my opinion but I don't think Cat Power are that important.

there is a reason why he plays for them, though. they wanted him to play for them and they were one of his favorite bands.

for his drumming mad skills- listen to the beat on Nevermind (What was it Anyway). synchronicity that i was listening to it when i saw this thread and this song has some of my favourite drum sounds of all time on it.

s.

i think Steve's a great drummer, & so do a lot of other people apparently. He's awesome... and he's seemingly a really sweet guy as well. What more could anyone ask for???

When I took a friend to see them a few years ago in Newtown, he thought the best thing about them was Steve ("He's a bloody good drummer!") but he felt that the others were just going through the motions.

he's definitely an awesome drummer. you should listen to his drums on Non Site #3 on Lee's Amarillo Ramp. its very unique to me and it definitely fucking grounded Lee and Thurston's guitar feedback spiel. i was listening to it the other day and was just surprised by it. and it was all improv if i remember.

i met the guy in hoboken at one of thurston's show. great guy. very friendly. im just glad i told him that im a HUGE fucking fan. not of sonic youth but of steve shelley.

I love that quick break he gets in Pipeline/ Kill Time.

I can't think of too many other major rock musicians who have been around so long and yet have so little known and confirmed about their personal life! I mean, someone mentioned seeing him with a woman; I remember back in the '80s and early to mid '90s, it was almost automatically assumed by every fan I met that he was gay!

^ I wish.