[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I bought Made in the USA when I was in 7th grade to follow up on Dirty and Goo which I fucking LOVED. But that record was so fucking beyond my young comprehension that I couldn't even listen to it, let alone appreciate what it was as a rarity and a work of art. I think that was a totally wasted soundtrack on a lame movie, it should have just been a record on its own. My sonic memories..

When I was in middle school Dirty and Goo were my favorite records. When A Thousand Leaves came out it not only took Sonic Youth to a new direction, but introduced me to music that was in an entirely different direction. Folks like to drool over OK Computer as such a different kind of record, and to be sure, it was, but I think A Thousand Leaves is such a superior record as an exploration at how different yet conventional music can be. I was at This Ain't No Picnic in 1999 when all their gear got jacked, they destroyed all that negativity borrowing a combination of sleater-kinney and sunny day real estate's gear, shredding into the darkness of dusk with She Is Not Alone telling those fuckers, "Fuck you we got this."

My girlfriend bought me NYC Ghosts and Flowers and was nervous that I wouldn't like it, it is bad ass. Sonic Nurse was such a fantastic era, I was at as many shows as I could get too, live it was sublime. That Filter Party in 2006?? In fact, Rather Ripped era in general was a lot of fun, and actually it converted a lot of my friends into liking Sonic Youth, which was radically different than my first decade listening to them when it was just me. We all went together to see the Jimmy Kimmel show like 15 deep!! Me and a friend snuck into the show at the Santa Monica Promenade in 2007, and I will forever regret not going to the Hollywood Bowl in 2010...