Post SY... Where to Start...
 

It's been A LONG time since I've posted on here. As much as I still love the band / back catalogue / their history, I sort of stopped paying attention to what they were up to once they split up.
But in 2018 I am REALLY missing this band being around... Upon listening to a Spotify playlist called "This Is Sonic Youth", it seems there is a lot of music each band member has been actively releasing since the split.

So my question is, where to start? The only things I've bought since the Eternal are the vinyl reissues (I finally own ALL their albums on vinyl!), oh and Kim's autobiography.

good question and a hard one. so, you have not got the last Thurston´s and Lee´s album? both are brilliant, especially Thurston´s last one is bit SY like, or would you prefer go into more experimental waters?

Check out Kim Gordon and Bill Nace's Body/Head.

The most recent Lee and Thurston song based records have been their most well received by fans and critics

hey welcome back!

Yeah to echo, the T and L albums from 2017 were both super strong.

Um um. I really liked the Chelsea Light Blinking album from a couple years ago.

I have to admit that I was better at keeping up w/ the solo output when the band was still active. :(

I actually was just reminded that I never even picked up that Kim/Thurston/Yoko album from several years back!

I really liked the Body/Head releases. They were fresh noise.

I have not enjoyed Thurston's releases. he has a, frankly, shit ear for melody, something that was greatly helped by Lee Ranaldo. Chelsea Light Moving is like listening to your old uncle trying to act like Joni MItchell.

I have not enjoyed the Lee ranaldo releases either, but I have not given them as much of a listen as T's stuff.

I find that Kim is the only one who is a die-hard experimentalist. T wants to write somewhat anthemic rock music, and Lee wants to write soft, acoustic-themed, singer-songwriter crap. I much preferred both these guys when they were in the midst of exploding skronk and noise.

That's just me though.

what?

it is boring on top of boring trying to be something which is ultimately boring and pointless

Thanks everyone, I've never bothered with Thurston's solo material, however, I heard a few songs from both The Best Day and last years album and really liked them, I'll definitely be grabbing these, they did indeed sound like SY.
I'll also check out Lee's album too, I had no clue about that.

I think Kim’s work with bill nace is the best stuff to come out after the split. Thurston’s duo with John moloney was really good while it lasted. They were called “caught on tape”. SYR9 and the spinhead sessions LP are also great.

oh yeah I was assuming he had heard the post-breakup SY material. Smart Bar is f'ing fantastic as well.

yea, Thurston's solo shit is childish. Always has been. Lee's mellowed out, but his lyrics are still good and so is his guitar work.
Body/Head is definitely worth checking out.

I wish they'd do one more SY album. They could crucify T on record and get it over with. Fuck you T.

you might be wondering: well hey, what about Steve?

Well, besides his drumming on Lee and Thurstons solo efforts, he's been pretty active in other projects too. Most noteworthy to me are the albums he recorded with Mark Kozelek aka Sun Kil Moon, and especially the two Mark and Steve made together with Justin Broadrick aka Jesu.
Especially live this was a fantastic combination. See e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwMNoNiOpzY
(and if you look very good, you can find me standing in front ;) )

speaking of Steve, I have to mention Spectre Folk (Steve Shelley, Pete Nolan, Mark Ibold, Aaron Mullan) Vol. 4, which is really good and them doing The Fall covers set on WFMU, which is brilliant too.

Caught on Tape Duo is good skronk and Spinhead Sessions is a must have.

post kim SY is best.
 

I agree with this 100%

Maybe wishful thinking but I hope someday Lee will create something more SY style again, like his track with dutch band The Daydream Fit:
https://thedaydreamfit.bandcamp.com/...k-city-tonight

I was spinning my copy of Genetic and it made me cry because that one song is better than anything on Dirty (which was the LP where T out-argued Lee to not include it in the tracklist. Guess he had to include the boring and pedantic and too-on-the-nose "Youth Against Fascism"), and better than anything T has put out since the SY-dissolution. I think it has overtaken my fave SY song spot from Mote.

had not heard that. I like it very much.....

The body/head stuff is really good, and I liked the track Kim did with J Mascis.

Lee’s solo records are very good imo, though I haven’t heard electric trm yet. I dig that he’s bringing other influences in and has this late sixties Nuggets kinda vibe. Different than SY and he’s old solo work (that is fantastic).

T’s stuff is less exciting to me. I’ve always felt SY was greater than the sum of its parts. Everyone involved was obviously very talented and brings their own artistic sensibility to the table and it’s that combination that was so magic about SY.