Is Washing Machine underrated?
 

I put it on last night and went all the way through. I must say, WS is defiantly one of my favorite records, totally in the top three. I haven't seen a lot of positive talk of it though. Any other lovers? Or at least share why you think its not up to snuff. (You'd be crazy though! How can you top The Diamond Sea, Skip Tracer, and Washing Machine??)

Washing Machine is incredible. When I first purchased it, No Queen Blues was my absolute favorite, which I find so weird now. It's a great song, don't get me wrong, but in comparison to the other tracks, it's not a standout. I could go on and on about each song as I'm sure others could, but I'll just say a few things:

I wish Becuz and its coda were combined.
The Diamond Sea isn't even in my top 5 for the album (although the first breakdown is beautiful).
Saucer-Like is my favorite tune.
Panty Lies rocks.

I don't think it's underrated as a whole, though I think some songs on it might not get the recognition they deserve for various reasons. For example, I think the title track is, musically, SY's best song ever. But the vocals.. yeeeeeah. Not my thing.

Panty Lies used to be my least favorite SY song but the guitar riffs are amazing.

In fact, the riffing on that album, as a whole, is incredible. Some of the weirdest riffs ever.

Really? I love Kim's vocals on Washing Machine. Panty Lies is great as well, and your right about it being screwed up, even for SY. Every single chord is diminished to hell.

No poll? YES. Is it their best? No. But "No Queen Blues," "Becuz," "Diamond Sea," etc. C'mon.

Hey Mr. 5800 posts, you feel free to put up a poll. Ill just chill over here with all 9 of mine. :)

YES!!!!!

It is my favorite of all SY records, or any record ever for that sake. It has a certain undiscribable mood unlike any other SY record. And over ten years after I first heard it I still hear new things EVERY single time. Despite it being the record I´ve heard the most times of any. There is so much going on. So much details like in ATL & NYCG&F (maybe Nurse & Murray Street too to a lesser extent.) that I dont find in their new records. Rather Ripped & The Eternal is so flat in comparison.
Im not gonna hear new things every time in RR in ten years.

Layers upon layers. A much bigger spectrum of guitar noises than nowadays too. Thats why the start of Antenna seems a bit cheap, because they come from this stuff. So many of the sounds were "How the fuck do they do that?" upon first(and later) hearing(s).
The wahwah solo/noise/freakout on Becuz is somewhere inbetween pure noise and a melodic solo. I love the way the noise is much more incorporated in the music than "here comes the noise part" type thinking.
The noise parts are so well thought out! Not just the "we have to put a noise part in here because thats what people expect" but the noise is there because it serves the music and vice versa.

The crossfade in the Washing Machine song "here´s a quarter go put in the washing machine..." and then it evolves into the fuzz harmonics riff, wow. Goosebumps.

I could go on and on.. The end of Junkies Promise. The weird intro solos on Saucer-Like and No Queen Blues. There is so much that is not present in their music anymore. I really miss how the music and noise worked together . Sonically this record is so rich!

I have to respect what they do nowadays, but I feel what they do now is just a tiny percent of something that is/was/should be/could be so much bigger.

Listening now. I forgot the amazing guitar interplay in Unwind from ca. 2:32 onwards.

Wow, I totally agree with you that WS has some incredibly diverse and wonderfully bizarre sounds in it, and sounds unlike any other record I own.

The freaky, empty intro to Skip Tracer. Thurston's voice on Diamond Sea, and the lyrics themselves? Almost every song has kind of a creepy, warped feel to it. None of the rhythms seem quite right, and all of the guitar work is just haunting and unsettling. Music doesn't get better.

Guess this record gets more love then I thought! Great.

Though I like their new stuff as well. RR wasn't my favorite, but it was better than some other stuff they've put out, and I totally enjoyed The Eternal as well, better than all the hate its gotten.

Underrated? I don't think so. i like this album alot!

You've got 9 polls?

That's a lot of work for a girl.

It's my favorite SY album. I'd say it's pretty underrated after seeing a lot of pretty average grades for it in that "rank yr SY albums out of 10" thread or whatever. I'm not going to bother waxing poetic about it since Newfoundland already nailed it, but yeah, amazing album.

I think they get a lot of nice pretty and skronky guitar sounds on it.

But in many ways I feel emotionally detached from the music when I listen to it, with the exception of he Diamond Sea, which is why I don't count it among my favorites.

I have no idea why itèd be underrated. Itès always been one of my favourite SY records. Itès very exciting and energetic and has great songs. I thought it was appropriately titled because itès like they were putting all their earlier and later sounds together and swirling them around.

Yes. Sort of. Maybe not around here, but at large - definitely.

Perhaps I should clarify. I felt that you were more entitled to put up a poll, as you have over 5000 posts and I have 10 now. More people would participate in a poll coming from a much more experienced member of the board. Thus, leading to a better poll.

It's an amazing album. It's probably my second favourite SY album.

It's probably my favorite of SY's 8 post-Dirty records. I might even prefer it over Dirty and Goo.

In my top three along with Daydream Nation and Sister.

Listening to it in my car right now. Excellent record.

I, too, wish Coda was attached to Becuz.

Becuz is great, Unwind is great, Skip Tracer is great, The Diamond Sea is great, Little Trouble Girl is great, the title track is great... it's all great. Except maybe Panty Lies, but even that's grown on me.

Panty Lies is one of their most creative songs. i used to HATE this song. but now it's become one of my favorites..

I don't know...if you ask me, I think Washing Machine is overrated. I've probably said this before, but I have to be in a particular mood to want to listen to that album. I think it's because it starts off so loud and rockin' but then hits a lllloooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg low-key phase from the tail-end of the title track, through Unwind, and then gets too mellow for its own good with Little Trouble Girl, before picking up again with No Queen Blues, which is kinda catchy (the chorus is, anyway) but for whatever reason I can't really say it "rocks". Then Panty Lies hits; a relatively upbeat song, but it's also very quiet for a "faster" song. The last three songs are all high points, but by then the damage is done.

Most of the time I'd rather listen to Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, which if you think about it, is kinda like a harder, more accessible Washing Machine...

I like the mellow. =(

Aw, don't be sad...

I like mellow music too, but I've got to want to listen to it. I don't like having long mellow stretches in albums...kills the momentum IMO.

Here's my ideal album mood chart:

1. Upbeat, anthemic
2. Slower, but still pretty hard
3. Faster than 2, but softer in the end
4. Quiet, introspective
5. Longer song that starts out light, then gets heavy
6. Mid-tempo number with lots of dynamics
7. Fast and agressive
8. Lightweight, but harder/heavier than 4
9. Upbeat
10. Epic
11. Mellow

I'm not saying the ideal album should have 11 songs, that's just a list of the moods I think an album should cover, in the order they should cover them.

It's a good album, but not band's greatest one. There's a plenty of great songs in that album, Becuz, Washing Machine, and The Diamond Sea for example. Those three songs make Washing Machine a good album for me.

There's also a few not so good songs and maybe one of their worst songs (Panty Lies). Those lower my rating of the album a little bit.

I think it's overrated. Along with Goo, probably my least favourite. I also don't like the Diamond Sea. However, the title track is one of my favourite Kim songs.

It's no secret that WM is my favourite record ever by anyone.
completely lifechanging.

Yea, I agree. The first time I heard Washing Machine it completely changed the way I viewed music and it also allowed me to really appreciate Sonic Youth's earlier stuff for some reason. I still think Skip Tracer is seriously one of the greatest songs ever written by anyone. Washing Machine has a great instrumental part in it. Saucer-Like, Panty Lies, No Queen Blues, holy crap.
I need to listen to that album right now.

"Washing MAchine" was basically the first Sonic Youth song I really liked... and the vocals just strike me as hilarious.

10/10

It was the first Sonic Youth record I've ever heard and is still one of the top two SY albums in my chart (alongside Evol). With only one weaker track (No Queen Blues) it's unbelievably coherent and still exciting to listen to, after all these years.

As mr. Moshe said, 10/10.

In my opinion, I think Washing Machine is somewhat seen as a turn-off because of the opening tracks. I don't think the first 3 tracks are album-worthy. I don't know if I've even listened to them more than a couple times. Once you get to the title track and beyond, it's literally some of SY at their best, but man, what's up with those 3 tracks. It set's a bad tone for the rest of the album.

I still remember getting it the day it came out and the disappointment by the time I got to track 3. I wonder if those first tracks kinda killed it's potential to be hailed one of their best?

Are you kidding? "Becuz" must be one of the best album openers of all SY albums.

^^I agree
becuz is also one of the best kim songs I think

I don't give a fuck, why everybody thinks you should shut up....



sums it up really..... 2nd best sy record ever released....

I love Washing Machine and had no idea that it might be underrated. It certainly seems to be a winner with most of the SY fans I've spoken to over the years.

The Diamond Sea is one of my all-time favorite SY tracks, to be honest.

how can washing machine be overrated? i don't know ANYONE in real life that's even heard the album