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(Onion AV Club) Sad Sonic Youth's last album was called "The Eternal." Yeah, not so much   (origin.avclub.com) divider line 62
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4434 clicks; posted to Entertainment » on 15 Oct 2011 at 3:35 AM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!



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2011-10-15 03:24:07 AM
I've already overshared my Sonic Youth story. It was years ago and I was infatuated with Kim at first sight. I was at the age where I had no concept that young people would actually be married and made a capital arse of myself. Great show though, they let me play the geetar with hammer thingees. It was awesome (I was completely out of my gourd) they gave me swag to get out of their van I was ready to go to Arizona with them. I felt like the fifth Beatle.

- Call me
 
2011-10-15 03:36:42 AM
I've seen them play live a few times. That's too bad.
 
2011-10-15 04:07:52 AM
30 years. Still pretty impressive.
 
2011-10-15 04:09:03 AM
Their daughter's band (new window) - her parent's musical influence is pretty obvious.
 
2011-10-15 04:44:07 AM
the_colors: 30 years. Still pretty impressive.

It's been a long time since Pass the Dutchie.
 
2011-10-15 04:54:34 AM
I wonder how Sonic Youth tells all their songs apart.
 
2011-10-15 06:39:07 AM
FDR Jones: I wonder how Sonic Youth tells all their songs apart.

Rush is able to do it.

/or so I hear
 
2011-10-15 07:20:08 AM
Oh yeah, I got the last Sonic Youth album, and you know what!? It sucked! It's just noise!
 
2011-10-15 07:23:16 AM
Indie rock's most celebrated marriage? I thought that was Dean and Britta.
 
2011-10-15 07:54:29 AM
you can never has too many fark modmins, seems
 
2011-10-15 09:21:20 AM
A day early. (new window)
 
2011-10-15 09:37:12 AM
saw em live a bunch of times, but had slowly lost interest. Their last couple didn't really do much for me.

/murray street is their best album
 
2011-10-15 09:39:16 AM
here's hoping they go out with something better than The Eternal.
 
2011-10-15 09:41:07 AM
Appropriate use of the sad tag. I definitely has one now.
 
2011-10-15 09:56:13 AM
It would be sad if the band split, as they continue to put out great music. No, The Eternal wasn't their best, but it's not unusual for them to swing back and forth between albums that are just okay and albums that are fantastic. And in between albums they're regularly putting out EPs of very challenging experimental music, releasing rarities on their website, and so on. They've been very prolific and very influential.

Certainly a big influence on me. When I first started playing guitar friends nicknamed me "Little Thurston" because of the guitar-abusing antics I swiped from him.

Of their proper albums, my faves, not in order, are:

A Thousand Leaves
Daydream Nation
Murray Street
Evol
Goo

Throw SYR1, SYR2, and Silver Session for Jason Knuth in the mix, too.
 
2011-10-15 10:01:46 AM
Meh. Nothing lasts forever.
 
2011-10-15 10:02:10 AM
Sonic MIddle Age.
 
2011-10-15 10:29:07 AM
Nevermind Sonic Youth...
I need to know what's happened to Electric Youth!
 
2011-10-15 11:15:39 AM
Rann Xerox: Meh. Nothing lasts forever.

What about cold November Rain?
 
2011-10-15 11:39:36 AM
davidphogan: I've seen them play live a few times. That's too bad.

Never have...I would love to though.

My favorite Sonic Youth tune.
 
2011-10-15 11:54:04 AM
Jake Leg: Indie rock's most celebrated marriage? I thought that was Dean and Britta.

Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon had been married and making indie music for almost 20 years by the time your little duo there got started, but that's cool, dude, i guess.
 
2011-10-15 12:12:23 PM
Hey, now they've got time for that quiet friend...
 
2011-10-15 12:14:50 PM
As a recently married man, I certainly do not rejoice in these news but judging by the reactions at the music sites I frequent, they were like, the hipster Brangelina.
 
2011-10-15 12:25:41 PM
Oh well. Everything changes and drifts apart.
 
2011-10-15 12:26:00 PM
kinda like when Exene and John split...

// the closest CSB I have is that Thurston Moore has bought records from me, and a couple colleagues have shared stages / releases with 'em...

and, the heck: favorite SY tune: Link (new window)
 
2011-10-15 12:26:47 PM
Kim Gordon??

img200.imageshack.us

Yep, I still would.
 
2011-10-15 01:36:53 PM
killzoe: Kim Gordon??

[img200.imageshack.us image 488x640]

Yep, I still would.


content7.flixster.com
 
2011-10-15 01:40:54 PM
Being 50-year-old "youths" is probably a recipe for a midlife crisis.
 
2011-10-15 02:17:34 PM
I listened to clips of 'loveless' on amazon,

I'm not sure what was supposed to be so special about it.

is that their best album?


/also, what the heck is "navel gazing", or "shoe-gazing" ?
I've seen that in reviews of these kinds of artists/albums.
 
2011-10-15 02:22:36 PM
They should do a full album cover of Tragic Kingdom.
 
2011-10-15 02:29:43 PM
Third_Uncle_Eno: I listened to clips of 'loveless' on amazon,

I'm not sure what was supposed to be so special about it.

is that their best album?


/also, what the heck is "navel gazing", or "shoe-gazing" ?
I've seen that in reviews of these kinds of artists/albums.




a thousand indie kids heads explode in outrage.

Daydream Nation is what you're looking for.

Loveless is by My Bloody valentine and you're doing yourself a disservice by streaming it off Amazon. It's best listened loud-as-hell through headphones.
 
2011-10-15 03:30:33 PM
Third_Uncle_Eno: I listened to clips of 'loveless' on amazon,

I'm not sure what was supposed to be so special about it.

is that their best album?


/also, what the heck is "navel gazing", or "shoe-gazing" ?
I've seen that in reviews of these kinds of artists/albums.



"Shoe-gazing" as in downcast or mopey. "Navel-gazing" as in overly self-obsessed. Now do the two terms make sense as applied to music?
 
2011-10-15 03:42:53 PM
Third_Uncle_Eno: I listened to clips of 'loveless' on amazon,

I'm not sure what was supposed to be so special about it.

is that their best album?


/also, what the heck is "navel gazing", or "shoe-gazing" ?
I've seen that in reviews of these kinds of artists/albums.


maximumtrolling.jpeg


endtimethirtyfour wins for posting my favorite early(ish) SY song.
 
2011-10-15 03:48:21 PM
Rock couple divorcing?
upload.wikimedia.org
These guys turned that into 19x platinum.

/SY is the most overrated "alternative" band since Velvet Underground
//flame on
 
2011-10-15 04:02:03 PM
puckrock2000: /SY is the most overrated "alternative" band since Velvet Underground

So you're saying they're not overrated at all then, right? Roundabout way of doing so, must say.

By the way, what happened in 2000 that had much, if anything, to do with punk rock? Was that the year of the first Sex Pistols reunion gigs?
 
2011-10-15 04:02:21 PM
Third_Uncle_Eno: I listened to clips of 'loveless' on amazon,

I'm not sure what was supposed to be so special about it.


I asked the same question, and was told it was a cross between doing the right drugs and "having to be there". That's fair, but so's saying it isn't at all special without both of those things being true.

DrBenway: "Shoe-gazing" as in downcast or mopey. "Navel-gazing" as in overly self-obsessed. Now do the two terms make sense as applied to music?

"The British music press-particularly NME and Melody Maker-named this style shoegazing because the musicians in these bands stood relatively still during live performances in a detached, introspective, non-confrontational state, hence the idea that they were gazing at their shoes." (new window)
 
2011-10-15 04:07:23 PM
Jake Leg: Indie rock's most celebrated marriage? I thought that was Dean and Britta.

Who?

Sad, Sonic Youth has never put a bad album. Saw them several times over the year, 1990 at St Andrew's in Detroit is still the loudest concert I've ever witnessed, even Slayer. I hope they are able to work it out and at least keep the band going.
 
2011-10-15 04:07:34 PM
WorLord: "The British music press-particularly NME and Melody Maker-named this style shoegazing because the musicians in these bands stood relatively still during live performances in a detached, introspective, non-confrontational state, hence the idea that they were gazing at their shoes." (new window)

Yep.
 
2011-10-15 04:26:19 PM
peewinkle: Sad, Sonic Youth has never put a bad album.

I wouldn't go that far. While I haven't heard every disc they put out in their discography, they have their fair share of awful material (Washing Machine, Thousand Leaves, NYC Ghosts and Flowers were all extremely hit-and-miss). Thankfully, they have plenty of solid albums to make up for it.


WorLord: Third_Uncle_Eno: I listened to clips of 'loveless' on amazon,

I'm not sure what was supposed to be so special about it.

I asked the same question, and was told it was a cross between doing the right drugs and "having to be there". That's fair, but so's saying it isn't at all special without both of those things being true.




IMO, Loveless is the ultimate "play it repeatedly until you 'get' it" album. I was fascinated by it when I first heard it around 1999 or so, but did really understand the album. I think the track "Glider" is where it all of a sudden made sense. It also makes more sense when you read more about it or also understand its influences (Psychocandy, You're Living All over Me, Sister, etc.)

I'm sure drugs help too.


as an aside, Kevin Shields has also apparently set up his own record label.
 
2011-10-15 04:30:07 PM
DrBenway: puckrock2000: /SY is the most overrated "alternative" band since Velvet Underground

So you're saying they're not overrated at all then, right? Roundabout way of doing so, must say.


The way critics fall all over themselves to praise this droning, flaccid, pretentious drivel (#13 on RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, higher than Abbey Road, Born to Run, Nevermind, and Who's Next)
upload.wikimedia.org
certainly makes them overrated, so my point stands.

By the way, what happened in 2000 that had much, if anything, to do with punk rock? Was that the year of the first Sex Pistols reunion gigs?

It's PUCKrock, and yes, this (new window) came out in October 2000.
 
2011-10-15 04:34:50 PM
puckrock2000: The way critics fall all over themselves to praise this droning, flaccid, pretentious drivel (#13 on RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, higher than Abbey Road, Born to Run, Nevermind, and Who's Next)


I fail to see a problem with this. I agree with VU&Nico outplacing the rest of the albums listed, but who has Nirvana influenced post-1996? VU&Nico (and the 2 albums after that) break ground for dozens of different genres.
 
2011-10-15 04:51:27 PM
www.saucerlike.com

Frampton: God. Homer Simpson wrecks my pig, Cypress Hill steals my orchestra, and Sonic Youth's in my cooler! Get out of there, you kids!
Moore: Aw, come on, Mr. Frampton. You're not gonna eat all that watermelon.
 
2011-10-15 05:14:53 PM
FeedTheCollapse: Thousand Leaves

Madness! You and I are on the same page with a lot of music, but I'm ready to have a knife fight to the death over this one. I think A Thousand Leaves ranks with their best. It's a soft, mature, yet still very broad-reaching record. Give it a few more listens.
 
2011-10-15 05:16:22 PM
DrBenway: "Shoe-gazing" as in downcast or mopey. "Navel-gazing" as in overly self-obsessed. Now do the two terms make sense as applied to music?

Never really liked the link between the mood definition of shoegaze music and the music definition of shoegaze music.
 
2011-10-15 05:33:10 PM
shoegaze99: FeedTheCollapse: Thousand Leaves

Madness! You and I are on the same page with a lot of music, but I'm ready to have a knife fight to the death over this one. I think A Thousand Leaves ranks with their best. It's a soft, mature, yet still very broad-reaching record. Give it a few more listens.




It has some great tracks, but I think the Kim Gordon tracks are pretty weak.
 
2011-10-15 05:55:46 PM
puckrock2000: The way critics fall all over themselves to praise this droning, flaccid, pretentious drivel (#13 on RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, higher than Abbey Road, Born to Run, Nevermind, and Who's Next) certainly makes them overrated, so my point stands.

If you're talking about SY, then I'd agree. SY gets a lot of undue praise for doing pretty much nothing new; I could have sworn, halfway through one of their records, that the next song was going to be "Cherry Bomb".

VU, on the other hand... have to disagree. That shiat really *was* something else, and worthy of its praise.

FeedTheCollapse: I'm sure drugs help too.

I think drugs are pretty much mandatory to "get" that record. Which, you know, hey, there's a place for that, but its also a negative in my book.
 
2011-10-15 06:27:00 PM
puckrock2000: Rock couple divorcing?
[upload.wikimedia.org image 294x294]
These guys turned that into 19x platinum.

/SY is the most overrated "alternative" band since Velvet Underground
//flame on


Um, the initial couple was actually Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham and they were not married. That is Stevie and Mick Fleetwood on the cover of Rumors, but don't let me get in the way of your snark.
 
2011-10-15 06:31:28 PM
WorLord: FeedTheCollapse: I'm sure drugs help too.

I think drugs are pretty much mandatory to "get" that record. Which, you know, hey, there's a place for that, but its also a negative in my book.


I wasn't being serious. Loveless is great sober as well, I just think it works best on repeated listens as it's a grower album.


as an aside, am I the only one who considers My Bloody Valentine to be separate from the shoegaze movement? I understand their influence on the genre, but where Lush, Catherine Wheel, Ride, Chapterhouse, etc. all had their common music threads, MBV seemed to be something else entirely. If anything, it seems like they had more in common with the early years of post-rock. (i.e. Main, Seefeel, Disco Inferno, Flying Saucer Attack, etc.), albeit pre-dating it by a couple years.
 
2011-10-15 06:48:06 PM
FeedTheCollapse


a thousand indie kids heads explode in outrage.

Daydream Nation is what you're looking for.

Loveless is by My Bloody valentine and you're doing yourself a disservice by streaming it off Amazon. It's best listened loud-as-hell through headphones.


thank you.

ahhhhhhhh.... yeah, got mixed up.
haha.

/ i guess those bands aren't exactly similar...... :-/

DrBenway: "Shoe-gazing" as in downcast or mopey. "Navel-gazing" as in overly self-obsessed. Now do the two terms make sense as applied to music?

yes.

thank you.
 
2011-10-15 07:12:13 PM
FeedTheCollapse: I wasn't being serious.

I totally was.

I've heard this record about 3 times. I can see how it'd be fun on drugs, but sober, it's... boring. And the mix is horrible - muddy as hell.
 
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