Why is NYCG&F regarded as one of their best?
 

Like I'm genuinely interested. I've never seen the appeal in it. Only thing I ever hear on it is "the title track is Lee's best song", yet that song kind of bores me. What is it about the album that you enjoy, for anyone who is in love with it?

i love the mood of the album. it has 2 of my favourite songs on it. it has a beautiful abstract quality. i love the way that i hated it for ages, then one day picked it up again and it all clicked. i love the way that it sounds like no other band i know of. it has an amazing cover!
it is also one of the only albums which i enjoy every song, every time i listen to it. Not even a thousand leaves or even washing machine has that

This is a bizarre question since I've heard more people speak ill of it than in favor.

Are you referring to the general Sonic Youth fanbase or just the SYG?

Meh, to me its sonic youth losing what made them different from the other bands of their ilk, and that's actual song-craft. Sonic Youth put brilliant melodies and/or really hard, rocking riffs within a noisy and raw setting.
NYCG&F is, to me, a not-as-good shift to emphasis on the noisy side, which is great, but when they try to put it in song context as they do here, its just kind of annoying. Thurston's lame lyrics and annoying delivery don't help much... but the real thing with this album is that it sounds like you have a band that's neither here nor there, and isn't commited to what they usually do.
The same way Rather Ripped's shift towards the song and melody and dismissal of experimentation and noise was off-putting to some, the shift from experimental yet listenable song song structure to just experimental with song tacked on is off-putting to others.
I love it when Da Yoof get radical and make sheer noise and/or experiment/jam with different sounds and structures, but that just doesn't work too well when you try to put those elements into the setting of a bland rock song that just comes off as a pretentious mess.

Death poems for the living gods of America.


I love NYCG&F's lyrics.

NYCGF is like the last full studio album where SY had something fresh to offer, from 1000 leaves to echo canyon studio to SYR series and goodbye 20th century; possibility to improvise.

i love it caus its their best. simple. i couldnt explain, but i try:

1. the sound of the guitars. its electric, but you always hear the finger touching the string, you can hear the material of the strings. this reminds me of arabic folk singers, such as rabbi abou khalil.

2. how the noise-effects come together with the guitars. On the eternal, they do not fit. on nycgf, its a unit.

3. the groove.

4. the simplicity.

5. steve.

6. In my own words, which no one understands except myself: the materialism of sound. you can pick it up with your fingers and then look through it as if it was piece of broken glass. see how the sunshine reflects on it?

it's not regarded as their best at all. Some might think it is, but the general consensus is it's a pretty weird minimal LP with two notably excellent tracks (Free city... & title track). Also, it's a grower.

Great atmosphere, inventive songwriting, great guitar tones, etc. Just a great album.

It sounds INSPIRED.

It blew me away instantly when it came out. And remember "Nevermind" on Conan?

just because it's actually their best album

The most difficult of Sy's records. at the first listening, I judge it boring. At the 100st, I like it. Free city rhymes is my favourite Sy song

wtf? Do you think taste is democratic? Who cares about how music "is regarded" or about the "general consensus"? Both have no place in music, but on MTV, or in Proppaganda maybe. I say: nycgf is the best Album theyve done, and i dont care, what you say - but i RESPECT the fact, that you might have a different taste - since Art is not a case of a 'general consensus'. right? :-)

Ever heard GOODBYE 20TH CENTURY???

Someone mentioned the mood of the album, the atmosphere, and I think that's absolutely right on the nose. For me, it's always been one of my favorites for the imagery it conjures up in my own mind, that endless summer night heat and being amongst the weirdos and strange circumstances that you can only get from being out in the world.

Doesn't have to be NYC, but the album still brings about my memories of the times I've been there. But what's great is that I know people who have completely different views on the album and what it means to them. It's impressive stuff for an album to be so specific to a single person and still have a broad ability for others to come along and take a completely different experience from listening to it.

NYC is one of the most poetic and beautiful albums of S.Y career. Burroughs was great inspiration, the balance between lirics and sound it's very creative.

I'm answering the initial question and my post was not about my own tastes (re-read it). I don't give a flying fuck about consensus and i couldn't care less about what others think. I personally think it's an OK LP but maybe their weakest with RR, but not in the same way. I actually find it rather UNinspired. But i like to listen to it pretty often as i find it quite intriguing and i LOVE the lyrics on this, although they might sound goofy, but not to me.

well NYCGF caused "j'accuse ted hughes" also.

I love it just because it's so different. Maybe not to everyone one, but for me, I've never heard another album like it. I think it's just so beautifully made. And it flows together perfectly. I use to dislike the album, but damn, it sure did grow on me.

I think it was a weird time for the band. All their gear had just been jacked... I mean, Sonic Youth are a somewhat popular band and they had insurance, so they could replace the gear easier than you or I -- the gear that COULD BE replaced, that is; most of the guitars were modified or rare or one of a kind and all that love -- not even money, just love -- put into your craft... for it all to be stolen away, that has to have taken a toll on the band. (Something I always wondered though... weren't some synths stolen? Why did Sonic Youth have senses with them? I know they've had organ/Moog on a few songs here or there but I don't remember them playing synthesizers live pre-jim o'rourke, except the "Silver Rocket" rendition of Night Music...) I dunno how optimistic the band members were in interviews around the time of this album's release, but with them adding O'Rourke to the fold as an actual member afterwards, I feel like they all felt like they needed something to change in their music. I wonder about Ghosts and Flowers... I think it's a dark album mainly because it reflects how they were feeling about their lives. It's pretty hard to just invent that kind of darkness in the studio. It had to have followed them around. It's a very interesting record because of that, and if you notice Murray Street is downright cheery at times in comparison. The actual songs are kinda loose and odd, "Free City Rhymes" is such a masterpiece that it's ridiculous; one of my top 10 favorite SY songs. What a great album.

free city rhymes is such a masterpiece. we should all take some time to sit and listen to that song every day. i mean, just sit down with headphones and close your eyes. it deserves it (i was thinking that about Sympathy for the Strawberry today too. so so good)

You know, the most I've got from this thread is..
Sonic Youth should do an album with synths. Yeah.
Also that I am now putting on this album to see if I still dislike it. Actually I don't even dislike it I am just apathetic towards it.

another obvious answer: because it's perfect soundtrack for smoking hash :D

Wow I dunno why I didn't like this album before. A Thousand Leaves is my favorite Sonic Youth album. NYCG&F reminds me of my favorite moments on ATL, so.. naturally I'm loving this, time around.

What to say, what to say... my first Sonic Youth album was Dirty. I was 12, and you can imagine I loved it so. My second album was NYC Ghosts & Flowers. Quite a transition. I don't know what it was about this album. I can't say I liked it initially, but something about it made me curious, like being in 5th grade looking at a calculus textbook. Somehow, I knew it was brilliant, but it would take time to understand. And that's how it was.

Renegade Princess became one of my favorite songs quickly. My sister and I would jam to it, and she really isn't even a fan. I remember we loved the line "crystal hearts gonna break you downnn." So every time I picked up this album, I would always skip to track 2. It took a month or so to even get to the 2-minute mark of Free City Rhymes, but when I did, everything became clear. Free City Rhymes may be my favorite tune by the Youth now.

I have really no complaints about this album. The ending of Lightnin' gives me chills every time. The end of Renegade Princess reminds me of EVOL. Nevermind is groovy, Small Flowers Crack Concrete is hip, Side2side is a whirl, StreamXsonik Subway is raging, and NYC Ghosts & Flowers is a masterpiece.

I like it.

Because it's fuckin' special, that's why.

It's one of the few SY albums of the 90's that feel cohesive. It has a cinematic tension to it that works very well when you listen to it as a whole piece of work. It reminds me a bit of John Carpenter's movies, that sort of no-man's land urban landscape, which is great if you ask me. Lyrically it works much better when you listen to it from start to finish. There are not so brilliant lines throughout, yet they gel together well when placed side by side.

WHY DOES NO ONE EVER MENTION FREE CITY RHYMES? THAT'S ONE OF SY'S GREATEST SONGS

goddamn

lol wut

I've seen it mentioned 2 or 3 times in this topic. Also, I'd say Renegade Princess is better.. that's the one song I always liked from this album before today. Now, I magically love the whole thing. Magic.

you speak the truth

It's so fucking special.

I hate that it's only 42mins long, and Kim takes a bit of a backseat, methinks. But ATL to NYCGF was a very "Arty" period for SNY, and I fucking love it when they get, erm, Highbrow. I like the "Clever" SNY more than the Rawkin SNY, if that makes any sense. Of course the Dudes weren't all going to dig this.

It has cowbell too.

Or side2side.

Um, I think you and I are looking at two different threads.

BTW, it IS a fabulous song. It sways and swings, innit?

I thought NYCGF was thought of as one of their two worst albums along with EJSTNS. I, however, love this album. It's definitely a grower but I find that those are the types of records that I continue to listen to more as time goes on (as opposed to a record that I like on first listen).

She sings on 4 of the 8 songs... :confused:

Because it's brilliant. I would kill to see SY perform 'NYC Ghosts & Flowers' live.

Or 3? (My neurons may be fading.) Even so, they are the "lesser" songs imho. Even though Side2Side and Lightnin are good. And, um, that other one.

nevermind