[beyondthefrets]

http://www.fluctuat.net/IMG/sonic-youth-center.jpg

http://www.juttabrandt.com/concerts/photos/sonic_youth_24_5_03/sonic_youth_1.jpg

http://photos.lacoccinelle.net/75/82/137582.jpg

OFFICAL WEBSITE

SONIC YOUTH WIKIPEDIA

MYMSPACE

[Nigel]

BD: Yeah. And I love the artwork. It represents the feel of the album quite faithfully. The artwork is all pink-hued. Very mellow, washed-out pink. The CD is pink. The artwork has a warm, calm, fuzzy, pinkish feel. And I think that fits the music. A Thousand Leaves is the prettiest Sonic Youth record yet. From the first single, "Sunday," you can tell that Sonic Youth don't just want to scrub drumsticks against guitar strings anymore. Most of the guitar playing revolves around intricate picking. Subtle textures that tickle and dance like a pixie...

JM: Please...

BD: ...Can I finish? Like pixies. Not like The Pixies, but like pixies. Fairies. Most of the songs are aromatherapy, relaxing and vaporous. But they don't smell. When I listen to it, I keep picturing myself lying in a field of tall grass during a New Hampshire summer, eating hypnotic mushrooms, staring at the sun. And I've never been to New Hampshire. The album's centerpiece, the epic "Hits of Sunshine," drifts on underwater guitars and novocaine rhythms. If Huck Finn was an LSD distributor on the Mississippi, circa 1968, this is the song he'd listen to as he dangled his naked feet in the water, sitting on the edge of his raft that he constructed from VW Bus tires. The album is filled with these gliding moments. Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo pick apart the melodies like two dogs with a turkey carcass, extruding variations, playing off each other, jamming, improvising. The songs with Kim Gordon on vocals still tend to grate, as they typically reserve her for the riot songs and avant-noisescapes. I think you'd like this record, Jim. You like stuff like Gastr del Sol and Tortoise, and this seems more in tune with that experimental post-rock stuff. The only downside is that, again, the record just has an overall laid-back 'jam' feel. You get the idea that by this point Sonic Youth can just walk in their studio and crank this stuff out in an afternoon. That's where the resulting inconsistency comes from. The band is too content to merely experiment and jam. Granted, they still manage to ring some new sounds out of a guitar, after you thought you'd heard it all.

[tyrannosaurusjr]

Sonic Youth is super rad. Especially when it comes to their love of fucked up tunings for songs. There was a time maybe a decade ago when they were to play in my hometown (pittsburgh) but they were robbed of all their equipment, including like 7 guitars. The bands they were playing with said that SY could use their shit, but they declined simply because of the fact that all of the songs on their set had different tunings and they couldn't for the life of them remember what they were. Also, whats yr facorite SY album? I really dig on their first EP, the one that came out before Confusion is Sex, but Confusion is pretty good too and, obviously, so are both Daydream Nation and Goo.

[beyondthefrets]

tyrannosaurusjr, on Feb 23 2007, 11:12 PM, said:

Also, whats yr facorite SY album?

bad moon rising, sister, evol, the ep, confusion is sex/kill yr idols....

its all good.

[Lucas]

tyrannosaurusjr, on Feb 23 2007, 08:12 PM, said:

Sonic Youth is super rad. Especially when it comes to their love of fucked up tunings for songs. There was a time maybe a decade ago when they were to play in my hometown (pittsburgh) but they were robbed of all their equipment, including like 7 guitars. The bands they were playing with said that SY could use their shit, but they declined simply because of the fact that all of the songs on their set had different tunings and they couldn't for the life of them remember what they were. Also, whats yr facorite SY album? I really dig on their first EP, the one that came out before Confusion is Sex, but Confusion is pretty good too and, obviously, so are both Daydream Nation and Goo.

If they didn't know the tunings, would they change the song every time that specific guitar went out of tune or broke a string...? Just messin.

I really like the Sonic Youth that I've heard. I have Daydream Nation and Murray Street. They remind me of a punked-out version of My Bloody Valentine at times. I saw them live at the Beale Street fest some years back, but that was before I knew any of their work and also before I got into playing electric guitar myself. I remember thinking, "is see him hitting that guitar, but that doesn't sound like a guitar..."

[Nigel]

tyrannosaurusjr, on Feb 23 2007, 08:12 PM, said:

Sonic Youth is super rad. Especially when it comes to their love of fucked up tunings for songs. There was a time maybe a decade ago when they were to play in my hometown (pittsburgh) but they were robbed of all their equipment, including like 7 guitars. The bands they were playing with said that SY could use their shit, but they declined simply because of the fact that all of the songs on their set had different tunings and they couldn't for the life of them remember what they were.

I saw them in Austin, at the now defunct Liberty Lunch, shortly after this happened. It was back in '99. I remember they cancelled a few shows, but played Austin anyway. They needed a few days to scrounge up some old Fender Jazzmasters and what not. If I remember correctly, they hit up a bunch of pawn shops and various places where they could find used guitars. They had some trouble at the show getting used to all the new equipment. I remember a couple times where Thurston would start up a song then stop immediately, peer over at Lee with a confused face. It took them a while to get going, but they managed to blow the doors off the place.

It wasn't that they forgot the tunings, but those guitars were so heavily modified that you can't simply recreate the sound with a new guitar and few pedals.

I don't necessarily have a favorite album, but A Thousand Leaves gets a lot of playing time come spring.

Here's Lee's post to alt.music.sonic-youth back when the gear was stolen.

Quote

Hello all, this is Lee from Sonic Youth here, we have had a fucked up
situation come down on us over this last night--a brand new Ryder truck
parked at a Ramada Inn in Orange County with ALL OF OUR GEAR IN IT was
STOLEN! All of our guitars, tools, amplifiers, drums, synth -- EVERYTHING.
We are fucked, both for the show tonight at the "This Ain't No Picnic"
here in Orange Co., and for shows upcoming this week in Austin and Santa
Fe. Our guitars are all mostly older and either very modified and/or
fucked up/beat up. They are unmistakably ours, as are some of the amps,
including my own 60s Fender Concert with the red/blue/yellow "Jasper
Johns-style" target on it. We are asking ANYONE with ANY INFORMATION about
this to get in touch with us as soon as possible by calling our man Aaron
Blitzstein in New York City at 212.343.2314, or via email to
"Mascaras66@aol.com". Call collect if you want to. Please no pranks, all,
this is really serious--all the gear we've used to write our last few LPs
worth of stuff, instruments used for songs old and new which if truly lost
will mean those songs will be lost forever.

Help us out if you can, there will be a reward for any info, I'm sure.
All our road cases, etc, are fully marked up with our name on them, the
gtrs are so unusual that they won't really be too hard to mistake. ANY
info at all will be appreciated.

If the thieves themselves read this, I'm sure we'd rather buy the stuff
back from you than lose it forever (you fukkerz).

http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/eq/leegtrs02.jpg

[CushionConvector]

Thats pretty fucked up right there.

Is that kind of old news though? They're in Mexico tonight.

[Nigel]

CushionConvector, on Feb 24 2007, 11:28 AM, said:

Thats pretty fucked up right there.

Is that kind of old news though? They're in Mexico tonight.

Years ago. July of '99.

[CushionConvector]

I wonder if they ever got it back. Surely someone recognized it.

[Nigel]

They've recovered a very small portion of the gear, but the vast majority is still missing. Lee saw one of his guitars on e-bay a few years ago, and bought it back for quadruple the original price of the guitar. How fucked up is that? Lee basically just wants his guitars back.

Always been one of my favorite musicians...

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/8/8b/180px-Leeranaldo.jpg

[wilsondukeoflizards]

I liked them a lot, from around middle school up through parts of college. I saw three shows. I haven't listened to them in a few years and probably never will again.

[Dustin]

What is the best album or 2 of theirs to check out? I had a copy of Dirty back in the day, but otherwise haven't hearn much of their stuff.

This post has been edited by Dustin: 19 February 2010 - 01:11 PM

[dances_with_wooks]

Daydream Nation is a classic

I also really liked their last record, The Eternal. Kinda gives you both ends of the spectrum since DN is one of their first (and probably the best) and The Eternal is their newest.

[tricky]

i worked a sonic youth show last summer.

http://www.oceansofosyrus.com/forums/uploads/1250021560/gallery_1238_235_103594.jpg

http://www.oceansofosyrus.com/forums/uploads/1250021560/gallery_1238_235_8643.jpg

http://www.oceansofosyrus.com/forums/uploads/1250021560/gallery_1238_235_33533.jpg



http://www.oceansofosyrus.com/forums/uploads/1250021560/gallery_1238_235_5300.jpg

This post has been edited by tricky: 19 February 2010 - 10:13 AM

[TheBeegs]

dances_with_wooks, on 19 February 2010 - 09:54 AM, said:

Daydream Nation is a classic

I also really liked their last record, The Eternal. Kinda gives you both ends of the spectrum since DN is one of their first (and probably the best) and The Eternal is their newest.

I love Sonic Youth - I've only had the chance to see them twice - once when they headlined Lollapalooza and once at the Palace Theater in Boston a few years ago. I didn't really get into The Eternal so much. I have to say, A Thousand Leaves is one of my favorites. That may be blaspheme for old school fans, I don't know, but I just absolutely love that album.

[Whitty]

Dustin: Daydream Nation, Goo, Dirty, Rather Ripped. About in that order. One man's opinion. I'm a relative newbie to Sonic Youth- I've had Daydream Nation for a number of years, but I seem to add another album of theirs to my collection about once a year.

That is a guit-box onslaught there, trick. Sweet gig!

[Nigel]

TheBeegs, on 19 February 2010 - 10:38 AM, said:

I have to say, A Thousand Leaves is one of my favorites. That may be blaspheme for old school fans, I don't know, but I just absolutely love that album.

Not at all. A Thousand Leaves is excellent.

But, I'd check out Daydream Nation first, then perhaps Goo and Dirty (agree with Whitty). Also, the first three tracks on Murray Street are almost perfect.

There are some good tracks on Washing Machine as well.

It's hard to recommend entire albums. I always end up making a mix for people wanting to get into Sonic Youth. For instance, the first track on NYC Ghosts and Flowers (nobody ever talks about this album) is great, but the rest of that album is pretty much awful.

This post has been edited by Nigel: 23 February 2010 - 12:56 PM

[TheBeegs]

Nigel, on 23 February 2010 - 12:51 PM, said:

Not at all. A Thousand Leaves is excellent.

But, I'd check out Daydream Nation first, then perhaps Goo and Dirty (agree with Whitty). Also, the first three tracks on Murray Street are almost perfect.

There are some good tracks on Washing Machine as well.

It's hard to recommend entire albums. I always end up making a mix for people wanting to get into Sonic Youth. For instance, the first track on NYC Ghosts and Flowers (nobody ever talks about this album) is great, but the rest of that album is pretty much awful.

I agree with your approach here!

I guess it's funny that I really don't know what fans of Sonic Youth think...I kind of discovered them on my own and don't have other friends that listen to them. The assumption is if they have obscure material from the 80's any fan worth a damn will fight to the end to say "that material is far superior to anything the band has done in the last decade" Of corse, that argument does not always hold water.

[Nigel]

Just finished reading "Goodbye 20th Century", the Sonic Youth biography. Pretty darn good bio. A definite must read for SY fans.

Listened to Murray Street this morning for the first time in a couple years. Still awesome.