SY & traditions
 

Last four years I have listened SYR3 in the midsummer night. Last night I change this "tradition" in listening SYR6 instead of 3. Both fit very well into my feelings of midsummer night.

A little details: Kim has vocals on every SYR except SYR1 & SYR9. Thurston has only one vocal in SYR4, Lee has none. I think there is no reason why this is so.

Every year, on Halloween, I listen to Halloween.

I have no traditions what comes to listening to music, but in christmas I usually pick up Steve Reich or John Zorn's Masada albums and listen to them...

Every time I make an omelette I listen to the 2nd side of DDN.





I've never made an omelette.

My musical tradition is to play every bit of music I own from a musical artist when they pass away.

When Marc Sandman died I played all Morphine's records back to back.

When Curtis Mayfield died I did the same thing.

I have been doing this for about 12 years now.

I dread the day any SY member dies, not only because I will terribly miss them and what they do, but because I will have to take a week off of work to listen to everything I own by them, back to back.

Bobby Blue Bland passed away just this weekend. I have a blues comp on LP with him in it and an old Chess LP of Bobby Bland and I will listen to those tonight.

It is a tribute on my part for the hours of enjoyment they give me.

Sonic Youth = 24:16
Confusion is Sex = 35:40
Bad Moon Rising = 37:33
Evol = 39:09
Sister = 42:49
Daydream Nation = 70:47
Goo = 49:23
Dirty = 58:45
Experimental Thrash JS&NS = 47:30
Made in USA = 42:17
Washing Machine = 68:17
SYR1 = 22:35
SYR2 = 28:30
SYR3 = 56:18
A Thousand Leaves = 73:36
SYR4 = 105:42
NYC Ghosts and Flowers = 42:18
SYR5 = 48:44
Murray Street = 45:37
Sonic Nurse = 62:48
SYR6 = 65:31
Rather Ripped = 51:53
SYR7 = 41:08
SYR8 = 57:32
The Eternal = 56:25
SYR9= 58:08

I didn't even include their EP's, Side-Projects and Solo stuff...

or the deluxe editions with tons of extra crap!

Hey, I love their extra crap:o

I like to listen to A Thousand Leaves on Sundays. It's the absolute best day to listen that album. And not just because of the song that happens to share a title with that day of the week.

I am still scarred by watching dipshit Macualy Culkin making out with his gross girlfriend in that video.

As am I. They completely ruin the video.

every year the first day it feels like fall- i drive around dirt roads and listen to bad moon rising

YES! BMR is the best Fall/Autumn album there is!

It truly is! The music and cover art both!

I listen thousand leaves in autumns. And about that passing away of the artists, I listened yhe whole Captain Beefheart-discography soon after his passing.

My only SY tradition was to go see their record-release shows and parties here in LA, but alas, I can't seem to do that anymore now can I ;)

The SYRs are jams and pre-versions of later album material which always seems to be collaborative. Thurston and Kim somtimes actually switch songs before recording the album, but Lee, all his tunes seem to be solidly his tunes, both lyrically and musically. So maybe Lee's tunes aren't part of that creative process that has been the SYRs?

I think this isn`t totally correct. Maybe at first SYR`s meaning was to be pre-versions of album material, but already in SYR3 they seem to change direction to the total experimentalism. And in SYR4 there is just art music from other composers. Then came Kim´s collaboration. After that they started to release earlier experimental performances. So I think the meaning of SYR is just to release out-of-normal-album stuff, kind of too experimental stuff to the normal albums. Why there isn´t any Lee´s vocals, that´s mystery to me, because he´s doing vocals in his very experimental solos. Thurston´s experimental solos very rare include vocals, am I right?

And that´s Lee´s part isn´t also right. I think for example Mote has made by Thurston & Kim mostly, but Lee sings it. I think they do songs very collectively in SY.

i've always wanted a list of who wrote which lyrics

the songs are all collaborative (i think murray street was more thurston but generally the music is all collaborative) (i think, i'm never there when they write, but its what i've read) (so it must be true)
but the singer isn't always the lyricist

i assume that Lee writes his own lyrics but i think i read that thurston writes for kim too

Every year, on Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style Day, I listen to Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style.

I just thought maybe Kim is the only one who can make lyrics spontaneous. But on the other hand, are SYRS just spontainly made? Or do they at least made some plan what they´re going to play?

I think SYR albums mostly improvised jams which they seem to have quite often and those ones that sound great are going to be released. The only exceptions are SYR4, SYR5 and SYR9. Basically SYR is their channel for releasing experimental stuff.

I hope there's gonna be plenty of new Sonic Youth releases in the future. I've understood they have massive archives of jams, gigs and other stuff waiting for to see the light.

What I mean to my earlier comment is do they just put record button down & start to play or do they plan what they´re going to play? There are electronics for example SYR3 & SYR6, so I think they´re pre-thinking they´re going to put certain sounds into the jams. And of course in SYR6 there are those films parts that direct also their playing. And I don´t think SYR1 & SYR2 material is from the first takes, I think they´ve played those themes before. I think SYR7 1-side & SYR8 are pure improvisations.

I've always thought jamming is their way to throw in ideas which eventually turn to be songs after several rounds of jamming and reworking those ideas. So that's why they record every rehearsal. I think that in the beginning those jams were not supposed to be released until someone listened tapes again and thought that hey, this sounds great! Maybe there have been some discussion or maybe not. I'm pretty sure that SYR1 & SYR2 are taken from some part of this iterative process, so they're not the first takes, but also not completely same songs than earlier takes. That's how I see it.

Good point! We've all heard Thurston trying to improvise lyrics on any given early version of a song (and sometimes beyond the early stage..), it's not pretty. Kim has more success with spontaneous vocal delivery/imagery.

Some songs are pre-conceived (Anagrama, Tremens, the Proud Marie portion of Slaapkamers, Stil, J'accuse Ted Hughes, possibly Agnes B?), some are trimmed down from larger improvisations (Improvisation Ajoutee, SYR3), some are live things with specific conditions (films in SYR6, timed entrances/exits in 8). I suspect much of SYR9 was at least mapped out before recording. Of course SYR4 was interpreted from the scores they worked out with Winant.

Every time I read this thread I mean to go listen to SYR7 and keep forgetting..not this time!

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Chris Lawrence again.

It´s very interesting to hear that also SYR3 is part of the larger improvisations (I think SYR9 is also?). After my last comment I also realised that there is that timing of entrances/exists in SYR8 that of course direct that improvisation.

I haven´t heard Thurston improvising lyrics. Are them on some bootlegs or live recordings?

he does some freestyle in the Year Punk Broke

Ok, I haven´t seen it (only some parts from youtube). Maybe I should watch it someday wholly.

Look for those June '88 Daydream shows...or Chapel Hill in "Blues Scale" (which you should watch AFTER you watch TYPB in its entirety!)

He never seemed to get Theresa right either...

Where can I find those shows? Youtube? Please share a link...

Ok, thanx! I have been these days very lazy to watch anything (I listen music instead), but I try someday.

Here Finland is very beatiful autumn (all those colourful sunrises, -sets & leaves in the trees). I just listened a thousand leaves and it sounded as great as always!!! I really love my life this moment...

same... i play and read some biography. it's kind a morbid feeling.

I do some crazy air guitar when there's the crazy part on Becuz.
Even when i'm driving my truck.
Dangerous.

Winner's Blues. Once a week, while either driving or at work I listen to this song. Usually more than once.

I listen to bad moon rising so much during the last few months of each year. Also i think dirty is a great album to listen too in the late fall.

Sounds great & funny!

Winner´s Blues is one of my fav SY songs too. I really loved that song when I put on Experimental first time, but the rest of the album was disappointment at first. It took me many years to start to love the whole album (I think it was some year in 2000-decade).

I listen to The Diamond Sea whenever I'm feeling nostalgic