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Originally Posted by atsonicpark
Rather Ripped reminds me of KoRn, because it sucks.
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Why is it that people love to immediately slam a new album from a band if it doesn't sound like their masterpiece? I mean, okay, I thought it strange that Rather Ripped was compared to the greatest album of the 80s (Daydream Nation)... but mainly because Ripped doesn't really remind me of Nation, not because "it sucks". But to say that it reminds you of KoRn-- have you even listened to it? It sounds NOTHING like that shitty excuse for a band. It might not be SY's best album, but it's definitely one of the best released this year (as Sonic Youth's albums tend to be).
I was actually pleasantly surprised when I first heard it, in light of the negative reviews posted by members who illegally dl'd it before the stream was up. It does sound more like a collection of new songs rather than the cohesive "conceptual" feel of Sonic Nurse (or Daydream Nation, Goo, etc)... but it's a collection of GOOD songs with strong hooks and riffs. "Reena" and "Incinerate" (which is now one of my fav SY tunes) immediately got me pogoing around the crib, doing my little Thurston-aping air-guitar dance; they could almost be fresh updates of forgotten Sister outtakes. The rest of Ripped reminds me of other past SY glories (albeit informed by stylistic shifts & experience gained in the interim) ... "Sleepin Around", "What A Waste", and "Rats" hearken back to the cool detached swagger of Goo, "Lights Out" & "Neutral" would fit nicely with the quieter and more reflective moments on Jet Set and Washing Machine, and the looser-but-polished feel of "Jams" and "Pink Steam" come right on the heels of their counterparts in Sonic Nurse.
But all comparisons aside, Rather Ripped stands on its own as a worthy addition to the never-stale & ever-forward and rewarding canon of the only seminal & important band from the '80s-underground that's still standing intact. Yeah, I've memorized the album from constantly streaming it, but I'll still go out and buy it on 6/13. Then I'm off to see the Yoot in Philly the next day, and the early show in DC the day after that. And with their performance on Letterman that Monday, it'll be quite the blissful week!
Anywho... give Rather Ripped a chance for chrissakes! Then again, I can't imagine SY ever releasing a bad or inconsistent album (even if Ghosts & Flowers and Jet Set came a little close).