The velvet Underground
"Sister Ray" (Verve, 1968)
Ranaldo: Lou Reed lives in New York completely in my proximity, we is as it were neighbours. It happens not rarely that my wife and I suddenly sit in the cinema beside him and Laurie Anderson one. Lou is in the reason also what one as ›radical adult‹ to designate must. For the days with the velvets it is for us a large inspiration. And exactly as we it on its route of this year specified a whole album of itself. It played "Berlin", we "Daydream nation".
This Song, "Sister Ray", is 17 minutes long and consists nearly only of distortions and improvisation. Does that impress you?
Naturally. Above all me the courage, the velvet Underground impresses to apply had, the a bulky piece, which besides sounds still so radical to publish as part of an album. And with a major label! That shows nevertheless that the music industry functioned at that time still completely differently, one let artist still its work make. If one wanted to publish such a thing today as volume on a major label, one would run against walls. Without chance for success. Only Bob Dylan could perhaps still afford such a thing today – he is an only artist in the world, no label would ever let well whom pull.
Were The velvet Underground also a model, because they were cool?
Naturally, their Coolness impressed people like us, that had come from the province to New York, heavily. The velvet Underground were the epitome New Yorker kind skirt, instead of over Bluemchen and meadows sang them over heroin! And then only this connection with Andy be-get. Today there are films over Edie Sedgwick, and volume turn their videos still in silver areas and do, as if it is the Factory!
Prince
"Bob George" (Warner, 1994)
Ranaldo: As soon as one hears this Drumbeat, one knows that it is Prince. Madly! Prince is someone, which lost its orientation in the widths of the commercial music industry little. But it is naturally still admirable, as it as producer, Songwriter, Arrangeur, Performer and style icon a completely own cosmos creates has. Without it there would today be no OutKast for example.
What exactly do you mean with "orientation lost"?
I mean this embarrassment, which obviously begins automatically with most artists, if they had as an incomprehensible success as Prince with "PUR-POLARIZE Rain". What does one make, if one sold millions of plates? After so a peak it is nearly impossible to fall not. We are actually completely glad over the fact that remained saved for us with Sonic Youth such a thing. A giant success would have been probably our death. Prince is however still passioniert with the thing. The concerts, which it plays at present, are grandios, and after a Gig it continues to pull still into another club, where it further-plays in the morning then to five o'clock. Prince really lives for its music – which the best is probably, which one can say about a musician.
Can you describe the difference between yours and its guitar play?
Prince is a good Improvisator. That connects us: For it improvisation is just as important as for Sonic Youth. Technically Prince is however natural a many more experienced player, than we are it. From its play one can hear different references, at the clearest Jimi Hendrix.
Prince and Jimi Hendrix connect also that both wanted to cooperate with Miles Davis. Hendrix died, before it could come to it, and Miles Davis died, before Prince with him could work.
In both cases I would only too gladly have heard the result.
Lightnin ' Hopkins
"Someday baby" (Arpeggio Blues, admission of 1947)
Ranaldo: I love Lightnin ' Hopkins! Jimi Hendrix said once, Lightnin ' Hopkins had been one of its large models.
It belonged to the first guitarists, those in the Blues the e-guitar played...
I hear very much music from this time. At that time the development of all that was initiated in music, which came to it. Particularly naturally for Rock'n'Roll.
In what respect is Blues today still important?
Completely simply: The chord sequences, which also we play with Sonic Youth today, are still the chord sequences, which were coined/shaped by the old Bluesern. In the reason our music is Blues. We mask this only by the fact that we play with open tendency. Which is important in this connection: The Bluesmusiker was all autodidacts – an important, encouraging influence for us! The Blues did not come from colleges of music or universities, it was a music of humans, who looked for their own way to reflect their feelings artistically.
Madonna
"Into The Groove" (Sire, 1985)
Ranaldo: That is Pop, which good even we found at that time! Madonna actually created it to make to some extent fastidious music and become so unbelievably famous thus nevertheless. The other one mostly excludes. With Nirvana it was similar: Their music was very good, and they had at the same time success. That were proper cultural phenomena: The people did not hear simply only the music, it wanted to dress also in such a way and look like Madonna or Nirvana. They wanted to be like that like it! Fascinatingly.
Sonic Youth brought an album out in the year 1988 as Ciccone Youth with Madonna Coverversionen...
Yes, at that time naturally many, this album thought was meant sarkastisch, we over Madonna merry would make themselves. We did not want however at all. We found their music really good! This very Poppige, very much Songorientierte. Prince was a similar case. That was music, with which we could say completely affirmativ: All find that mad, but we find it also mad! Such a thing does not pass us often. Madonna was like we someone, which had come to New York, in order to bring it to something. Originally it originates like we all from the province, in its case from Michigan. Briefly before it had its break-through, we saw it in Manhattan repeatedly in the clubs, 1981 or 1982 was that. Therefore we found their cometful ascent naturally also interesting. We insisted a whole route long on the fact that Madonnas "Live ton of Tell" is played following the concerts over the plant! We would not have borne that at all, if we had not really admired them.
"Daydream nation" (Deluxe edition) of Sonic Youth already appeared (Geffen/universal)
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