OT: sonic youth

i recently bought a sonic youth cd (washing machine) and i realised that they're not worth it! i like their stuff and i think they're a good band...but the quality of their records have always been spotty. i would like two songs and get bored and exhausted by the rest.

reason i say this is because over here in canada, there's an HMV sale where you can get 3 cds for 33 dollars (selected titles of coarse). i got the sonic youth disc, the fall a-sides and mojave 3. i wanna keep the fall and mojave 3, but i seriously regret buying and opening the sonic youth cd, and can't return it and exchange it for joy division's substance (which was recently added to the list of qualified cds). stupid impulsive buying.

i'm ranting here. bottom line, never buy a sonic youth cd, just download the good stuff and borrow your friend's copy.

Share your ambivalance about the Sonics. I too find their output patchy and a bit too self-indulgent at times - WashingMachineMouth may just about be THE most selfindulgent thing they did - other than that pointless arthouse thingy project they did a couple of years ago whose title completely escapes me... Their best albums were always the ones where they kept songs short and to the point.....a slap around the face is always better than a constant blunt implement digging away at your ribs... "Daydream Nation", "Sister", "Dirty" and "International Jet Set..." (their last goodie IMHO) are a few examples of them at their scuzzy perverse best.... but I agree that they are way way too overrated for their own good.

Also am ambivalent about SY these days, but from 84-88 they could do no wrong, and the shows on the EVOL/Sister tours were brilliant. These are the albums that to me defined their sound, and nothing I've heard since has affected me in the same way. Isn't Diamond Sea on Washing Machine? Heard that on the radio and went 'ehhh'.

Out of curiosity, I did catch a show on the tour they did with Neil Young in 91, as I was more than curious as to how they would be received by the 'older' crowd( getting third row tix to a stadium show was a big incentive as well). Of course, nobody got really angry, and I was not bombarded by flying debris that fell short of the stage, but I did hear a lot of "You suck" and "Get off of the stage, you idiots" and various other pleasantries. Of course, I was laughing as Mr. Young, who has called "Expressway To Yr. Skull" the perfect guitar song, had asked the band to tour with him, and would soon make some similar guitar noises, albeit in a more 'conventional' pop song frame, and the crowd would be lapping it up. There were about 80 SY fans up front for the show, and we did our best to yell and scream for the band in such a cavernous arena. Really, SY played as if they had nothing to lose, and that they didn't give a flying fuck about what the mainstream audience thought that night. Brilliant show.

Teenage Riot has to be the best opening track on an album ever. As I recall Daydream Nation and Technique actually came out within a few months of each other, both helping me through my 'O' Grades. Eclectic tastes for a 15 year old or what!

I certainly symphatise with your grievances there.....

I bought that last SY's CD ( released 2 years ago ) and there's only 1 good song.....the rest pretty trivial shite...

Luckily i managed to con my local CD store to swap.....

( I must admit that 1 good song was.... bloody good, though )

Originally posted by Green Also am ambivalent about SY these days, but from 84-88 they could do no wrong, and the shows on the EVOL/Sister tours were brilliant. These are the albums that to me defined their sound, and nothing I've heard since has affected me in the same way. Isn't Diamond Sea on Washing Machine? Heard that on the radio and went 'ehhh'.Out of curiosity, I did catch a show on the tour they did with Neil Young in 91, as I was more than curious as to how they would be received by the 'older' crowd( getting third row tix to a stadium show was a big incentive as well). Of course, nobody got really angry, and I was not bombarded by flying debris that fell short of the stage, but I did hear a lot of "You suck" and "Get off of the stage, you idiots" and various other pleasantries. Of course, I was laughing as Mr. Young, who has called "Expressway To Yr. Skull" the perfect guitar song, had asked the band to tour with him, and would soon make some similar guitar noises, albeit in a more 'conventional' pop song frame, and the crowd would be lapping it up. There were about 80 SY fans up front for the show, and we did our best to yell and scream for the band in such a cavernous arena. Really, SY played as if they had nothing to lose, and that they didn't give a flying fuck about what the mainstream audience thought that night. Brilliant show.

i heard thurston moore say that was one of their worst shows. they played an acoustic set with steve shelley playing pots and pans, and they were booed off the stage, tripping over wheel chairs cuz the concert was some benefit for cerebal palsey. or maybe i'm wrong and that's not the same show...

anyways, yes, the diamond sea is on washing machine...and it's one of the best SY songs around...if only they didn't make it 17 freaking minutes!

Someone hit the nail on the head, Sonic Youth peaked with DayDream Nation. I bought the next one but never played the entire album at once. But noise for the sake of noise at the expense of aestics is shiit.

Twist's fave SY Bad Moon Rising--especially around halloween in the autum DDN--beautiful if that ever applied to their work Sister--alot of great songs EVOL--SeanPenn, Maddonna and me Ciconne Youth--a classic

I saw them live during the Sister tour, OUTSTANDING

I'd like to say that Barney beat them to the noise by playing with the amp in Truth.

Originally posted by snucker > > > i heard thurston moore say that was one of their worst shows. they played an acoustic set with steve shelley playing pots and pans, and they were booed off the stage, tripping over wheel chairs cuz the concert was some benefit for cerebal palsey. or maybe i'm wrong and that's not the same show...> > anyways, yes, the diamond sea is on washing machine...and it's one of the best SY songs around...if only they didn't make it 17 freaking minutes!

The cerebral palsy show must have been the Bridge School benefit that I think Neil holds every year, as his son unfortunately has the disease. He usually gets artists like R.E.M. to play, and there is also a tribute album called The Bridge, which features artists from St. Etienne to SY to Flaming Lips covering Neil songs, which is of the same mold. I can see where they might not have had such a good show it it was indeed acoustic.

There's also a clip of SY on some American TV show called Night Music, and they do Silver Rocket(I think, it's been awhile) and a version of I Wanna Be Your Dog, jamming with fellow scuzz rockers like David Sanborn, Daniel Lanois, and The Indigo Girls(!!!), who were also on the show that night. Pretty damn funny, at least. Too bad Diamanda Galas, who was also on, did not feature in that surreal TV moment.