sonic books
 

i know there's been a couple (or 3?) books about sonic youth out over the last year or so, and i remember 1 of them being very highly rated by you lot, and the others not so much.
Which one was the good one? Was it Goodbye 20th Century?

Cheers

"Goodbye 20th Century" by David Browne--good

"Psychic Confusion" by Stevie Chick--I haven't read this, but a lot of
folks I respect on here say it's pretty mediocre

thanks!

Confusion is Next is really good, but it does cut off at Experimental Jet Set since it came out in '94 IIRC.

"Goodbye 20th Century" by David Browne is your best bet

The Sensational Fix book is another must-have.

i learned a lot from goodbye 20th century

Goodbye 20th century FTMFW.

Goodbye 20th Century is good.

It's shit

The "Daydream Nation" 33 1/3 by Matthew Stearns is garbage. That series
is hit and miss by design and well, that book sailed way left. Or right. It
sailed in a direction away from its intended target, ok. Its trajectory of fail leaves one awestruck.

You forgot to mention a great book called "No Setlist." It's not a biography of Sonic Youth, but a tour diary from one of their top fans.

Oh yeah, I saw a pic of Lee Ranaldo with that book.

Thanks again
how do you become one of their "top fans"? Is there a league or something? Or playoffs?
does it depend on how much rep you get on here?

goodbye 20th century
+1

No, you just have to see a hell of a lot of their concerts.

true. i dont suppose a book about me seeing them at the forum a few weeks back and brixton a few years ago would be especially interesting...

will definitley be getting goodbye 20th century, and might have a look at no setlist too

Goodbye 20th Century and No Setlist are easily the best.

I like Confusion is Next a lot and generally find it more inspiring than Goodbye 20th Century but far less informative. Goodbye sometimes felt like a bit of a slog and the enjoyment I got from it did at times rely a a bit too much on my thoughts about Thurston and Kim as people rather than the band in general. It is packed with info though.

I stopped reading Psychic Confusion about midway through.

the 33 1/3 Daydream Nation book is, as jennthebenn mentions, almost jawdropping in its badness. Borderline unreadable but at times almost enjoyable in its wrongness. Psychic Confusion was just dull.

No Setlist is a fantastic book. Obviously very different to the others but wonderful nonetheless.

There's also the Sonic Life book which is ok and comes with cd/7" depending which edition you buy.

Also, if you can locate one on Ebay, "I Dreamed of Noise" is definitely worth
your money. Came out around the same time as "Confusion is Next," all
black and white pics, all band member quotes with no real authorial voice.