Catch all Sonic Youth fred

[Chet]

Two things in response to this:

1--I'm pretty much of the opinion that the songs Lee Ranaldo sings are always the best Sonic Youth songs. "Mote," "Eric's Trip," "Karen Revisited," "In The Kingdom #19," "Pipeline/Kill Time," "Rain King," "Wish Fulfillment"... it just goes on and on.

I very much agree with this. Lee's songs have always been amongst the highlights of SY records for me. I've always wanted to put together a comp of Lee's stuff on a CDR but I'm too lazy. Here's a group project, suggest a tracklisting for a best of Lee.

Re: Goo, it was always one of my least listened to SY records, but played it twice over today and developed a new found love for it. Also, one of the outtakes on the Deluxe version, Lee #2, is brilliant. One of the prettiest, laid back SY tunes.

[Chet]

BTW they played Jools Holland last night, and just happened to do one of the Lee songs off the new record.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlveLlgBs8

better quality 15 mins in here if you're in the UK

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00k7x0t/Later_Live..._with_Jools_Holland_Series_34_Episode_4/

[Alexampersander]

I've only heard 'what we know' (see the jools holland clip) and 'sacred trickster' from the new one so far, and they seem quite promising. I'm not sure about Kims vocals on that clip though. Rather Ripped was a bit patchy - the first three songs are really great, but then I thought it went downhill until 'rats'. Some of the lyrics are terrible, but then I suppose I never really got half of what they were singing about anyway.

Are the SYR EPs any good?

[Benmont Tench]

Two things in response to this:

1--I'm pretty much of the opinion that the songs Lee Ranaldo sings are always the best Sonic Youth songs. "Mote," "Eric's Trip," "Karen Revisited," "In The Kingdom #19," "Pipeline/Kill Time," "Rain King," "Wish Fulfillment"... it just goes on and on.

I very much agree with this. Lee's songs have always been amongst the highlights of SY records for me. I've always wanted to put together a comp of Lee's stuff on a CDR but I'm too lazy. Here's a group project, suggest a tracklisting for a best of Lee.

Re: Goo, it was always one of my least listened to SY records, but played it twice over today and developed a new found love for it. Also, one of the outtakes on the Deluxe version, Lee #2, is brilliant. One of the prettiest, laid back SY tunes.

One of my very favorite Sonic Youth songs is a Lee B-Side from the Dirty era, "Genetic". I think it's actually an early version of "Wish Fulfillment", excellent in its own right, but "Genetic" is incredible.

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

Are the SYR EPs any good?

The first three are all solid experiments. The fourth depends on how much you like musique concrete. I've never heard the fifth. The rest are recordings of live improvisation that vary in mind-blowingness.

[Chet]

Okay, I don't know if it was because I was listening to it late at night really loud with headphones last night, but this might be my favourite SY album of the 00s. At least second behind Murray Street.

[diesel_powered]

BTW they played Jools Holland last night, and just happened to do one of the Lee songs off the new record.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlveLlgBs8

Look at those guitars. I wonder if any of them are the stolen ones they managed to recover? I remember seeing an article with some pictures of a few after they got them back and halfway thinking of forming a vigilante squad to avenge the abuse.

[Chet]

BTW they played Jools Holland last night, and just happened to do one of the Lee songs off the new record.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlveLlgBs8

Look at those guitars. I wonder if any of them are the stolen ones they managed to recover? I remember seeing an article with some pictures of a few after they got them back and halfway thinking of forming a vigilante squad to avenge the abuse.

The jazzmaster that Thurston is playing was bought to replace one that got stolen in 99. Not sure about Lee's, doesn't look like it's older than 99 though.

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

That song is fucking awesome. I've waited too long to check this out.

[Chet]

Yah, the whole record is pretty much brilliant. It also prompted me to go on a huge SY binge. Things I re/discovered included: NYC Ghosts and Flower is really THAT bad, I like GOO much more than I remember liking it, Sonic Nurse is a brilliant morning record, Bad Moon Rising sounds amazing at like 3am and nothing makes me quite as excited about music than Daydream Nation does.

[Andrew_TSKS]

I'm trying to re-evaluate all of the records between "Dirty" and "Murray St," and right now I'm thinking that the one with the most redeeming qualities is "A Thousand Leaves."

[Chet]

I really like A Thousand Leaves. Sunday, Wildflower Soul, Hoarfrost, Hits of Sunshine and Karen Coltrane are all winners. The only thing about that record is that Kim bothers me a little on it.

[reebty]

Goo
Daydream Nation
Washing Machine
Sister
EVOL
The Eternal
Sonic Nurse
Rather Ripped
Dirty
Sonic Youth EP

[Andrew_TSKS]

I really like A Thousand Leaves. Sunday, Wildflower Soul, Hoarfrost, Hits of Sunshine and Karen Coltrane are all winners. The only thing about that record is that Kim bothers me a little on it.

"Karen Coltrane" cleared up the whole "Karen Revisited" thing for me. I don't remember there being a part one to that song's part two, but knowing now that it exists, it really helps contextualize "Karen Revisited."

[Maaik]

Oh so hey, one of the many guitars that were stolen from the band back in '99 has finally found it's way back to Lee.  That's good to know.  Hope more of their gear makes it back to them.

[Seed Lore]

I am very excited about this new record. I am also excited that other people enjoy "Wish Fulfillment". For years I have been alone among my homies in championing it.

[diesel_powered]

Oh so hey, one of the many guitars that were stolen from the band back in '99 has finally found it's way back to Lee.  That's good to know.  Hope more of their gear makes it back to them.

The SY gear site used to have post-recovery photos of the various guitars that they've recovered over the years. They were kind of sickening. No piece of gear deserves the amount of abuse incurred in the theft, least of all ones from SY.

Also looks like they're playing my neighborhood at the end of June. Gonna have to stop by the box office and pick up tix.

[stickyloaf]

I'm really liking The Eternal - I'm a huge SY fan. I didn't really like Rather Ripped as much, but I did like Murray Street and Nurse. (My fav's probably Sister.) I love Massage the History and Anti-Orgasm.

I do think the vocals are way too loud though - although I should probably reserve judgment on the production until I hear it one CD/vinyl instead of a 128k stream.

[Chet]

FYI if you didn't preorder and get the code to stream, or didn't end up just stealing it, it's streaming on iLike now.

http://www.ilike.com/artist/Sonic+Youth

[davy]

Oh hey, has anybody addressed the fact that Mark Ibold plays bass on this thing? I just heard.

[Maaik]

I THOUGHT that was him in the picture that's up on the AV Club.  I was like "that doesn't look like Jim O'Rourke at all..."

edit:



Steve Shelly looks like a hobbit.  He and Nick Harmer should start a band.

[davy]

As silly as it is, that may be the one factor that influences me to buy this album.

[Chet]

Yeah, Ibold is brilliant on this album actually. Some really melodic basslines quite unlike anything I've heard before on a SY album.

And yes, this album is still aces.

[davy]

I love that Sonic Youth can smile!

EDIT: That's probably Ibold's doing, now that I think about it. Motherfucker was ALWAYS smiling in Pavement press photos, even when he wasn't supposed to.

I have also never been to a Pavement show where Ibold didn't look like the happiest guy in the room.

[jebreject]

I still haven't listened to this. Something is wrong with me? Yes.