Sonic Youth

buck65

Have been into SY since the early 90s and have a few of their albums - Goo, Jet set Thrash etc, Sonic Nurse. Wondering where to go ftom hee to expand my collection? They have alot of albums out there - what are the essentials?
Cheers
ps this may be more suited to indie forum - if so feel free to move - mod

raindog.promo

Dirty & Washing Machine.

cosmic

Daydream Nation

Always loved it but saw it performed live a few years ago and it blew me away!

Blackhorse Slim

As noted above, Dirty and Washing Machine are both very good albums, similar to Goo and Jet Set, but Daydream Nation is an epic, a classic, and should definitely be next on your list.

raindog.promo

Here here for Daydream Nation, how could I have forgot about it.


I remember reading a review of the first two albums (confusion is sex and Kill your Idols.) which made me laugh. Kill your idols is pretty much a live version of confusion is sex.

The review ran:

Confusion is Sex:
Virtually unlistenable.

Kill Your Idols:
Unlistenable.

fillmore jive

raindog.promo wrote: »

Here here for Daydream Nation, how could I have forgot about it.


I remember reading a review of the first two albums (confusion is sex and Kill your Idols.) which made me laugh. Kill your idols is pretty much a live version of confusion is sex.

The review ran:

Confusion is Sex:
Virtually unlistenable.

Kill Your Idols:
Unlistenable.

First few albums are just pretentious art noise. It was around EVOL that they came into their own and actually sounded decent.

pastorbarrett

Murray Street is among their best I think.

In fact I love their last three albums on Geffen-Murray Street, Sonic Nurse, Rather Ripped.

The Eternal is getting a spin a good bit lately, need a bit a more time with it before I make a call, though first impressions are good. I have to remind myself these guys are the same age as my folks sometimes!

As for the last three on Geffen-more melodic than earlier stuff, really nice production, inspired guitar playing (as always!).

Enjoy!

PS great vids of SY in studio circa Murray Street on youtube somewhere.

Wolflinge

Anyone going to the Dublin gig, watch out for these lunks...

http://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/~peoplesr/forums/showthread.php?t=159924

Dubhthamlacht

Daydream Nation ...a masterpiece
Their last few albums have been very good. "Rather Ripped" was their best since "Washing Machine" not that Murray Street or Sonice Nurse were in any way even below average (as they were very good).

Their latest, "The Eternal" has grown on me hugely. Kim Gordon's and Lee Ranoldo's influence has taken on greater strides with every album, which has definetly been a good thing.

Sister and Evol are alright. Not as essential as their other albums.

Ghost Rider

"Sonic Youth", "Confusion Is Sex" and "Bad Moon Rising" are all incredible albums and even the noisiest, most abstract moments on "Confusion Is Sex" (their most challenging release) are far more interesting than the formulaic, half-hearted SY-by-numbers twaddle they've been churning out since "Goo", which was itself a minor record by their (at that time) towering standards.

Sonic Youth are one of the most important experimental bands in the history of rock and/or roll. That is not just my opinion - there is a large and growing consensus around it. Although it appears that their experimental days are more or less over and they've settled into a kind of careerist parody of themselves, many people still hold them in huge affection for their great albums, such as the above-named, and the three that followed: "Evol", "Sister" and "Daydream Nation".

It saddens me that people can dismiss their earliest output - still some of the most daring records ever committed to vinyl - as "pretentious". It particularly saddens me to see that on a forum supposedly devoted to experimental music.

I would urge anyone who hasn't heard these records to track them down and listen to them with the patience and open ears that innovative music always requires. You may not find it pretty or even immediately accessible, but I guarantee you'll find plenty there that challenges you and, if you have any interest in music that stretches boundaries, you will return to those recordings again and again.

fillmore jive wrote: »

First few albums are just pretentious art noise. It was around EVOL that they came into their own and actually sounded decent.

thorbarry

Rather ripped and daydream nation are my favorites. Rather ripped does what u want, more rockin songs, with a minimal amount of "dicking around"