let's talk about steve
 

i know it's strange but... sometimes i think steve is too mediocre, i mean his work in sy. thurston, lee, kim are all looking for some more experimental sound but steve just seems to act someone out of them.

i don't know.

Steve rules all......remember that.

you mean, he is drumer, so he controls the rhythm? or something else... tell me please

Steve is the hidden star of Sonic Youth. The loveliest rock star in the world ever.

I wish he was my brother, or uncle or something.

I think Steve is not interested too much in improvised music, but you can't say it's too mediocre. He worked with lots of artists, he's running a record label and a venue in New Jersey. I really like him, seems to be a very friendly, nice guy and for sure is a great drummer.

EDIT: Does anybody know if Steve is married or have kids?

^
When you think about it, bearing musical tastes in mind, it's amazing that Steve is in SY. I mean, yeah, he loves his Gang of Four, etc, but he also seems to love a lot of singer-songwriters, and you just don't expect that from the drummer in Sonic Youth.

i think steve is out of most of sy fans' view

What I'm trying to say is that Steve Shelley is God.

(without Steve we are nothing)


Words fail when talking about Steve.

ive never thoght of that steve is so great in your minds
hmm... i just have listent to sy for several months, so.

I think Steve is amazing. Pay attention to the drums on songs like "Pattern Recognition," or "Exressway." The shit's nuts.

And I mean, with Lee & Thurston experimenting, he's the one keeping the shit grounded. It's exactly what the band needs from a drummer.

Also, he pre-empted the Harry Potter fashion by like 10 years. Check out the insert from MADE IN USA... ha.

amazing drummer--probably the only thing about sonic youth that can
be truly called "underrated" after 25 years is steve's drumming.

ive ever compared steve with the drummer which was in sy in their early period (i dont remember his name). at that time i thought that drummer was special with his rhythm

Jim Sclavonos & Bob Bert were the two drummers prior to Steve.

thx
so which of them played in confusion is sex?

bob bert played on "making the nature scene" and "i wanna be your dog"; sclavunos did the rest.

actually confusing...

dont forget about richard edson who played drums on the first ep.
if it comes to improv stuff i think steves drumming is a big part of those recordings... the way he plays on syr3 is unbelivable..
but not just that..
so im pretty sure hes into that sort of stuff.

you are wrong. there could be no sonic youth with out steve, just listen to sonic death to prove it. further, without steve to organize the chaos, there would just be annoying guitar noises all the time, no music to speak of.. just my opinion.

also, steve is the only genuinely kind hearted person in the whole group. For that reason alone, he gets my praise, for kindness is more important than skill.

I saw one of the Roundhouse gigs, and if i could play that set 3 nights in a row at whatever his age is i'll be a happy man.

1) There was Sonic Youth long before Steve Shelley joined the band
2) Steve Shelley doesn't appear on Sonic Death

I don't really understand the purpose of criticizing Steve Shelley. He fits in and has fit in with Sonic Youth perfectly and I couldn't really imagine SY without him.

I guess he meant Sonic Death lacked a drummer like Steve.

Well to me he's actually the driving force of SY.

don't forget, steve loves his ass some sade too! you can even see him in the crowd on one of her live dvd's. i think steve and lee (and jim when he was w/ them) are the nicest and most approachable members of the band. the first time i met him i felt like we should have been in a bar drinking and telling jokes. and lee's always down to chat. steve really is a fucking awesome drummer too.

Steve rules. Seriously, he is one of the best drummers alive. He doesn't need to show off all the time like other drummers who just play fast all the time. People always think fast drummers are good when in fact any hgh school (even middle school) drummer could do that shit. Steve makes his parts fit perfectly into the song. Sometimes the songs sound better with more basic sounding beats and sometimes with crazier ones. Just listen to Pattern Recognition. That song is one of my favorite drum songs; there is so much variation.

Even so, the dude is like a fucking metronome. He is so spot on and solid. After all, that's what drummers are for; keeping the beat. If a drummer can't keep the beat then he/she is useless.

I also think Steve made SY a lot better when he joined. Before, the drummers were more experimental, but Steve came in and changed that. Lee, Kim, and Thurston still kept experimenting while Steve gave the songs structure. On a lot of songs, the guitars are just raging, but in the back, Steve and sometimes Kim are keeping a beat and rhythm to make the songs more structured.

1) you seemed to have missed my point entirely.
2) you missed my second point, which I believe Tom Curtain explained for you.

yeah but sonic death ain't that great anyways though.

whoa, back up a bit here.........

whats with the steve bashing????? steve is a phenomenal drummer, steve is also one of the nicest and most friendliest human beings that have ever breathed oxygen. genuinely interested in fans and instantly approachable.

yeas there were drummers before steve but obviously they didnt work out! btw, jon sclavounos is now a bad seed so he did ok! steve wasnt on sonic death... so fuckin what....... steve joined prior to evol and has stuck around for 20 odd years so maybe for some he is not hardcore enough to be classed as a proper member....... total bullshit. stop being so fucking mean and stupid, steve is the member of the group that posts most regulary on here (well mark is catching up) so remember that........

if you still dont like steve... listen to chapel hill and try to replicate it yourself! the drum part that is!!!!!! sorry if my example isnt obscure enough for you or old enouigh for you but i stand by it!

I think most peoples idea of "Sonic Youth" is Thurston Lee Kim and Steve, he has been on all of their best albums in most peoples opinon, and the momentum of songs like Cross The Breeze and Chapel Hill and Pattern Recognition and Catholic Block and etc etc etc, if it was just Noise without rhythm i think most people wouldnt bother listening.

I think this thread should be turned into a Steve Shelley appreciation thread.

that was my point exactly!

"Its got Steve Shelley in it!"
MYY NEW HOUSSSSSE

Steve is probably the best rock drummer around the world. And he's my fave drummer for sure. If you can't relate to my words, I wonder why do you listen to SY in the first time?

he's amazing and his skills can't be touched. and he's a wonderful person.

Steve is fantastic. I felt so connected to him during the Pitchfork Daydream show. He was just on point... delivered the goods. I think Jenn talked about how he held together songs that might have fallen apart like "Total Trash". I generally watch him and Thurston equally during a show because they interest me the most.

And of course, he's so wonderful a person to meet. He always gave me at least ten awkward minutes (my fault not his) to ask questions and try to make myself seem cool. He understood my fanboy obsessions, and though I wouldn't act like that anymore, he was truly considerate and made me feel welcome.

I hate to gossip, but I remember seeing Steve with a woman frequently. I don't think he's married, but his arm candy is one hot tamale!

Steve is such an underrated drummer, it's sad actually. Two of my favorite drum tracks of his are on Stereo Sanctity and Pipeline/Kill Time.

He's a fantastic drummer. if you don't like him you don't know who bangs the drums or you don't know what drums sound like. Call the ambulance.

Steve brings the rock to the table. Without him, most would be hard pressed to even call Sonic Youth rock in the first place.

His style is a wonder. Some of my favorite Steve moments are Dirty Boots live & Ono Soul.

The crashes & breakdowns would be nothing without him. He manages to avoid most rock Classic Rock breakdowns. Has any classic rock drummer even thought about changing up their patterns?

Manages to pull a major punch for a smaller gentlemen too. (like me)

Kudos Steve..

This thread has some of the most WRONG viewpoints i've ever seen expressed on this board.

Steve is the best member of SY.

I agree with those who recognize Steve's important contributions. He's the engine! And to say that he doesn't jive with their experimental side doesn't make sense to me. He plays guitar on Hydros 3, he's all over the SYR records, and he definitely leaves rhythm behind altogether a number of times. Ironically some of his best stuff is on the less percussive songs: That "Pola X" song on Destroyed Room, Hoarfrost, stuff like that where he can barely be heard, but if you focus on it there's a lot to take in. Mega-props to Steve. And I think I remember reading in an interview with him and Lee that he is married w/ kid(s).

I know this is random and insignificant, but I love how in "What a Waste," there's that part during the instrumental where he plays the rhythm one way the first time (delaying the second 2 beats), then the next time plays them all straight. When I'm smoking weed and playing air drums, it gets me every time!