Sonic Youth Gossip - closer to '...' (about new album)

Sonic Youth Gossip (http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/index.php)

- Sonic Gossip (http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/forumdisplay.php?f=3)

- - closer to '...' (about new album) (http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/showthread.php?t=27626)

Quote:

Originally Posted by uhler

i think she should sound more like the kill yr idols ep.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dead-Air

I think it's highly unlikely they would go back to the early '80s sound(s), because they are not those people anymore. I wouldn't want them to pretend to be in their late 20s and early 30s, because they aren't and it would be embarrassing for them and for us.

That doesn't mean they can't rock, or be noisy, but it does mean they can't hide that they know a hell of a lot more about musicianship than they did then. Also their "the world is going to end soon" angst (which Thurston was pretty seriously vocal about in '84-'85) has been replaced by "the kids are going to be in college soon..." Personally, I think that both world perspectives can produce interesting art, but the one can't pretend to be the other without seeming like Metallica's Some Kind of Monster. Thankfully SY have always spared us those sort of mid-life crises.

I don't want them to recreate any album from their past. If there's a moment in recorded history I'd like to see replicated, it would be when they made Washing Machine.

Not that I want the new album to be another Washing Machine, I just want them to break free and be Sonic Youth like they did then. That album came on the heels of their most obvious attempts to "make it" in the "alternative rock" world (i.e. Dirty and EJST&NS), and while I don't hate those records I do hear the concessions to MTV 120 Minutes and indie rock cred all over them. Washing Machine is awesome because they finally seemed to realize that they weren't going to follow Nirvana to the charts. So they might as well write songs as long or as noisy as they felt like. Of course they were still totally melodic and catchy through most of the record, but there is this overwhelming sense of freedom that there hadn't been at those levels since the signed to DGC.

So now they've left the majors all together, and they are primed for freedom again. I don't want to begin to tell them how that freedom should be. Sure, I hope it's considerably edgier than Rather Ripped. I even think it will be, because why the hell wouldn't it? But I don't want them to rewrite "Death Valley '69" I want the new rock!

nice.

there is a certain amount of harkening back to an older sound unintenionally due to their own catalogs of guitar tunings

the first example of this was on Nurse, when particularly Thurston used GGDDD#D# on a couple of tracks like Pattern Recognition, which is also used for songs like Brother James, Bull in the Heather, etc so there is a "SY Sound" certainly based on that principle

the new Track "Mars" sounds like it is using tunings held over from some of the DDN tracks they had playing the last 2 years, so in that sense there is an air of Déjà vu

Dead-Air is pretty right on.

time to break out the drum machine! SYNTH POP RECORD GOOOO!

Quote:

Originally Posted by to.w

a bit of Dirty, a bit of Evol + some more noise

SAYIN'

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

skronk

YES

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dead-Air

Not that I want the new album to be another Washing Machine, I just want them to break free and be Sonic Youth like they did then. That album came on the heels of their most obvious attempts to "make it" in the "alternative rock" world (i.e. Dirty and EJST&NS), and while I don't hate those records I do hear the concessions to MTV 120 Minutes and indie rock cred all over them. Washing Machine is awesome because they finally seemed to realize that they weren't going to follow Nirvana to the charts. So they might as well write songs as long or as noisy as they felt like. Of course they were still totally melodic and catchy through most of the record, but there is this overwhelming sense of freedom that there hadn't been at those levels since the signed to DGC.

So now they've left the majors all together, and they are primed for freedom again. I don't want to begin to tell them how that freedom should be. Sure, I hope it's considerably edgier than Rather Ripped. I even think it will be, because why the hell wouldn't it? But I don't want them to rewrite "Death Valley '69" I want the new rock!

ok. you've convinced me. i join your cause.

At this point I think Dead-Air has reached all of our hearts with his ideas for the new albums.

It would be cool if they choose to have that kind of continuity they had in "Bad Moon Rising" again. One song ends with the intro of the next one, that would truly be a cool gimmick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVOLghost

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i was j/king lol.

I'm listening to Dirty last time, I haven't for long time. and I'm wondering why this powerfull, energic and 'clear' with great thurston voc's, kim in few too, had gone? (many ideas) I mean experimental jet set is a little weak after this album. second album is A Thousand Leaves, which I'm listening often last time. I'd like when they will cross up this two.

Quote:

Originally Posted by waltermcphilp

time to break out the drum machine! SYNTH POP RECORD GOOOO!

that's what i'm talking about!

Quote:

Originally Posted by uhler

i was j/king lol.

:( I love Kill Yr. Idols.:(

Quote:

Originally Posted by mil_pl

I'm listening to Dirty last time, I haven't for long time. and I'm wondering why this powerfull, energic and 'clear' with great thurston voc's, kim in few too, had gone? (many ideas) I mean experimental jet set is a little weak after this album. second album is A Thousand Leaves, which I'm listening often last time. I'd like when they will cross up this two.

Well a couple of the songs were written for Joe Cole....(100% and JC) Jc is a super awesome Kim song. I love it so much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVOLghost

:( I love Kill Yr. Idols.:(

me too, but i think they should do something else.

They should just do soft rock.

I think Dead=Air is right also... that said I can imagine it being a lot like Rather Ripped but I'm thinking probably with a lot more noise or odder angles. The band seemed really into that material when I saw them last year, was it? so I'd imagine it'll be a refinement or like extention of that kind of vibe.

As long as it's noisy and aggressive it'll all be fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dead-Air

But I don't want them to rewrite "Death Valley '69" I want the new rock!

Yes. A new Death Valley '69 is what I need.

I would be very happy just to be surprised...

Quote:

Originally Posted by toxic johnny

I would be very happy just to be surprised...

Exactly.