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Old 10.21.2011, 08:44 PM   #308
sculley
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sculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's assessculley kicks all y'all's asses
(This started out as a brief thought and then well... ended up like this...)

I think that every record that Sonic Youth did in the 80's was groundbreaking. They are all so different from each other. I think that they will always be remembered for Daydream Nation more than any other record. It was created out of such a fucked up and fractured time in America and it shows. Personally, I think that is what makes the record so strong. The band too at that time was struggling with labels and exposure or a lack of it, so that just added to the mayhem. I think Goo and Dirty were strong records. I never really got into Experimental... my least favorite... I don't even like it actually except for a couple of songs. It struck me as more of a Thurston solo record and I feel that Lee's playing on that record was sort of uninspired. Washing Machine was a return to their more experimental roots because of Kim taking up the guitar which added a whole new dynamic to their sound. I also thought that Psychic Hearts and Experimental exhausted Thurston of material and allowed for a more band oriented record. I love Thurston, but I think his best work comes out of a situation where it is tempered by the other band members. I think 1000 Leaves is where things started to settle a bit. NYC Ghosts was unusual in that it was SY trying to find their feet again after having all their gear stolen - it was a more poetic record for better or worse, but I liked it better than 1000 Leaves. Murray Street reminded me a bit of Experimental... and I think the only song on there that I love is Sympathy For the Strawberry. Rather Ripped falls into the same vein as Murray Street for me. I honestly thought they both were a little boring, despite receiving praise from fans and critics. I think Sonic Nurse was their best album of the past ten years - also the best sounding in terms of production. It had the potential to be a SY classic save for a couple of songs I didn't think worked - Peace Attack struck me as an afterthought and both that and Dude Ranch make me think of George W Bush - I don't want to think of him when I listen to SY - that's why I listen to SY. Golden Blue and Pattern Recognition are amazing songs. The Eternal definitely has some great songs on it and it has a lot more noisemaking on it than past records. I think that it really was affected (as the band has said) by the Don't Look Back Daydream Nation tour. They sounded like they were really excited to be "starting over" on a new label and it shows with the music.

I don't really care when they peaked. Everyone peaks, and I think it is next to impossible to maintain I high level of output throughout one's career. That being said, I was recently reflecting upon, and trying to think about the last awesome "throw down the gauntlet" killer-song-that-I-can't-get-enough-of was that they did, and I have to reach back to 100% from 1992. Listen to Silver Rocket from DDN, then the live version from the DDN special edition and then the live version from the Live At Battery Park show from 2009. The Battery Park rendition sounds tired and like they are bored. It lacks the life and panicky spark of the original.

Everything comes to an end at some point, and Sonic Youth is my favorite band and has been for 20+ years since I first heard Silver Rocket on a Blast First promo cassette sandwiched between four, as I recall rightly or wrongly, heavy metal songs. (Isn't that a record executives dream? A promo cassette that actually gets someone interested in their labels band?).

I suppose that I'd love for them to do one last blast. The best records in history have usually come out of the most disastrous crazy compromised band-almost-broke-up fucked situations. I'd love to think that they'd all get together and do this and go out with a fucked-up bang, but I'll survive if they don't and I'll still listen to their records.

Cheers.
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