[scott v]

i think there is a misinterpretation on how we think who is doing "the vocals and/or lyrics" vs. "writing"... pretty much i'd have to say the majority of their musical material is done by a collective improvisation, they've stated this several times in interviews etc etc... eventhough someone may bring in a riff and they work off of it. then they all pick on which songs they will do the lyrics/vocals.

Not exactly sure why Lee does less vocals, maybe it has something to do with his lyrical style which seems to work best within an unstructured musical backdrop (ie check out some of his recordings w/ William Hooker) and that he may not be really interested in having lyrics pushed on these songs where kim and thurston probably have lyrics geared for the songs.

[kingcoffee]

First of all, I am not "pissing" on the people in Sonic Youth. I respect and admire every single one of them. They are all very talented people. I was merely starting a dialogue of open minded opinions. I wanted to know what peoples opinions were regarding the degree of songwriting abilites in the group. If you can't handle that, take a hike.

[kingcoffee]

Also, if I came across as being disrespectful to anyone in the band, I appologize. I was simply making an opinionated observation. Kim HAS written some very good songs. And true, Thurston and Kim write more songs than Lee, so therefor they are more prone to writing less interesting songs once in a while. It happens. I was just shooting the shit. It's just that percentage-wise, Lee has a higher "batting" average. That's all. I just felt in my opinion that Kim wrote the weakest songs overall. Nothing agaisnt her or anyone else.

[kingcoffee]

....Rambling....

[candymoan]

i can live with saying, "lee has a higher batting average.."

[velvetmonkey]

i think lee is the most beatnik...

[AllHandsOnTheBigOne]

Originally Posted by scott v

i think there is a misinterpretation on how we think who is doing "the vocals and/or lyrics" vs. "writing"... pretty much i'd have to say the majority of their musical material is done by a collective improvisation, they've stated this several times in interviews etc etc... eventhough someone may bring in a riff and they work off of it. then they all pick on which songs they will do the lyrics/vocals.

That's what I thought.

Silly bastards.

[jheii]

I think I have an easier time reading Lee's lyrics on paper than I do Thurston's or Kim's. Thurston especially tends to link his lyrics to the melody of the song, and Kim does to a lesser extent, but I think that the songs where she breaks away from that formula usually aren't as good as the ones where she sticks to it. I agree with the masses that Lee is usually the most consistent, and I think it's because his lyrics usually tend to stand well on their own, as well as fit cohesively into the song as a unit. It is really difficult talking about the "songs" written by various members of Sonic Youth, for reasons stated earlier, but to clarify let me say that I'm referring to the lyrics and the musical qualities of them when sung aloud. The end.

[themawt71]

[quote=scott v]i think there is a misinterpretation on how we think who is doing "the vocals and/or lyrics" vs. "writing"... pretty much i'd have to say the majority of their musical material is done by a collective improvisation, they've stated this several times in interviews etc etc... eventhough someone may bring in a riff and they work off of it. then they all pick on which songs they will do the lyrics/vocals.

really as of late thurston has alot of tunes it seems...all of murray st except for sympathy for the strawberry were skeletal forms of tunes that thurston had written previously. i wonder about nurse and rr. the acoustic tune on hurricane rita(maybe its some other girls name) is pretty much the bulk of two songs one on nurse and the other from rather ripped.

alot of the past stuff tho you are right about scott.
.

[atsonicpark]

Kim is the worst. Period.

[Mak]

Originally Posted by HaydenAsche

I hate Thurston and Kim's voices for the most part.

Same!

[Ich bin gael]

Kim is the best songwriter in the group by far. I love her "hissy fit" songs like "Panty Lies" and "Orange Rolls, Algels Spit" and "Shaking Hell"...

Kim is a goddess. I'd rank them:

Kim


--
Thurston





---
Lee

To be honest, I don't like very many Lee songs. I pariculary hate with unbridled passion "Mote" and "Wish Fulfillment."

"In a Kingdom #19," "Skip Tracer," "Karenology," "Pipeline/Kill Time" and afew others are undeniably brilliant, though. And , judging by the Le Mouv bootleg, "Rats" is fucking incredible.

[Trasher02]

Originally Posted by HaydenAsche

I hate Thurston and Kim's voices for the most part.

it's about the lyrics you silly goose.