Is Bad Moon Rising a concept album?
 

I was wondering this last night when I was listening to Bad Moon Rising, the band described it as their 'Americana' album, profiling American society in 1985. Certain tracks like Society is A Hole do go a long way to explaining this, whilst others bare apparently no relation to these grandiose themes.
If Sonic Youth adopted the typically punk-rock scorn of stadium prog acts like Pink Floyd and Genesis, surely they'd want to steer away from this. However, if anyone gives a flying turtle fuck what Ben Weasel thinks, Sonic Youth and their fellow No-Wavers were punk-rocks answer to prog rock. What do you guys think?

Why?

Good point, good point. I guess because the concept album was so claimed by prog rock, if they'd not want to associate themselves with prog rock, they'd not release a concept album. Also, generally the asthetics of punk-rock dictated that the over-considered and the downright pretentious was the enemy.

I don't think it was made as a concept album, but there's a special atmosphere all over the album that maybe makes this "concept album" thing relevant. I don't know. I just listen to the music...

Ah, so you think theres more than 1? What other SY albums do you consider concept albums? I have to disagree with you though, I don't think each track bleeding into the next one or a consistent atmosphere makes this a concept album, this album has both of those things, but that just makes it a damn good suite of music. A concept album by my understanding almost has a purpose, something it tries to deal with and describe, elements of which are dealt with in each track...

i was wondering about the same thing.

Na, sorry, I still think Bad Moon Rising is the only Sonics album that might possibly be a concept album, MAYBE Daydream too though.

Its interesting that 1000 leaves is your favourite, thats my least favourite, and Sunday is the track that saves it for me (though the video is pretty damned nausiating).

the concept is 'this is fucking great'

Actually I think a concept album is really when the band focus on one idea on the creation of the songs. For instance, Liars' "They Were Wrong, So We Drowned" that was entirely constructed around witches stories. There... I don't think it's the case.
But yeah, hypertonic is right, in this sense The Whitey Album is almost a concept album.

Exactly.

This thread reminded me of this. Courtesy of Toothpastefordinner.com. Forgot about the Whitey Album, suppose it could be, couldn't it.

i know this might seem like a stretch, but washing machine has a concept kind of vibe. the instumental sound of becuz, unwind, washing machine...

isnt WM the song about the future?

p.s. explain the Sonic Nurse concept idea

I've never thought..... or even considered it a concept album.... I think think concept albums for the most part are lame - though i may make one if i ever do music in the future... I always liked the songs kindo bleeding each other making the whole thing one. Who cares - it's good shit... get what you want out of it... just don't kill anyone!

I can enjoy a good concept album.
I believe all of Cursive's albums are concept albums.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Well, it 'aint their version of "Operation Mindcrime"...

Bad Moon is probably their most linked together album and it certainly can be (ought to be!) listened to as one big song/suite, but if you actually look at most of their albums that's the case. Certainly they were starting to go that way with Confusion is Sex and then they fully realized it with Bad Moon. But then Evol has the concept of breaking what had become known as Sonic Youth into chunks of pop songs. Sister clearly has a lot of PKD related themes running through it, and Daydream Nation is about, you know...

And so on.

The classic definition of an art rock "concept album" was a record that was essentially the soundtrack to a narrative story. So Bad Moon Rising is not that. It does, however, heavily imply that type of thing without really being it. It's like Eno's record Music for Films is to an actual movie soundtrack.

Virtually all the Sonic Youth albums are concept albums, just some more so than others.

Their albums wouldn't be good if they were concept albums being that the only band who has EVER relased a good concept album is Pink Floyd..considering that from Dark side on, all of their albums were concept albums (and i am not counting anything after the wall because the final cut was basically waters solo, and after that w/o waters they are nothing)

mike watt?

contemplating the engine room?

nels cline > david gilmore

fuck david gilmour! roger waters is behind it all. david gilmour just happens to be a competent enough musician to execute roger's plans.

I don't consider Sonic Youth a concept band and I don't consider any album a concept album apart from the sound that they are experimenting with (i.e. the spawling guitars of DN).

Also I don't like concept albums. They're ridiculously pretentious in my eyes.

I find that if there's a major theme running through an album, just like any other piece of work, it seems to be more cohesive and well-thought-out, rather than pretentious. stronger, more consistent. like a real piece of work, just like if you were to put together a book of various authors' work, short stories or something, they should all relate to each other. different peoples' perspectives on the war in iraq, or the vietnam war, or more broadly war in general could make a book. not allen ginsberg's thoughts on sex and hunter thompson's thoughts on the american dream and timothy leary's thoughts on drugs and ann coulter's thoughts on religion all rolled into one. that doesn't make sense. no flow.
concept albums are like it has a purpose rather than being a jumble of shit cobbled together. however there are some really terrible concept albums out there. you've got to back it up with the music.

How are concept albums (in general) pretentious?

I just don't get that....

...

Also, if Sonic Youth titled BMR as a concept album, then it would be so.
If you can find a reason in your own mind to call it a concept album with whatever theme you interpret for the album, then once again, you could consider it a "CA".

With that said, I think the answer really can be determined by each listener's idea of the album.

It's the same idea as coming up with an explanation for a piece of absract art. That's how I see it.

zen arcade is the best concept album ever made.

BMR has a concept. It's fuckin scary.

I just find them showy and a poor medium for intellectual expression. I prefer the music being the focus with the lyrical matter being supportive through a counter melody rather than the other way around. Then again, I employ a strict definition of a concept album. I hear Zen Arcade called a concept album but I don't see it. Sometimes I wonder if fans just become so romantically attached to an album that they start attributing some intellectual value onto the music as a whole. Like the idea of progressive rock, why does it have to progress in order to be good? Why do the lyrics need to express some story? Can't an album share a cohesive sound and a similar themes without being a hidden epic poem?

But then again I'm good at ignoring the lyrical concept if the lyrics themselves don't get in the way of the music so if SY called BMR a concept record, I just wouldn't see it and like it for what I hear.

But like I said from the beginning, this is my opinion and I know that there are people that are excited by the idea of concept albums, etc. That's just not me. Give me the music, make sure the immediate lyrics aren't painful, and make the melody work.

I love that album but I don't hear the concept. Sure I hear themes but it is too all over the place for me to make sense of it.

You'll do well here

i just read somewhere that it's about a kid that leaves home and everything. then he find out it's a dream and the last song is suppose to represent that or something.

even if it's not a concept album, it's still the best concept album ever.

No you're spot on Uhler. That's exactly what it's about.

Yeah, I know what it is suppose to be about and I hear the theme but the whole bookending dream intro/outros allows them to ponder and move into different subjects like the Hare Krishna song. I suppose Zen Arcades nonlinear path helps me to not let the story get in the way.