R.I.P. Sonic Youth

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BigMacPhisto

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So, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore are getting a divorce. They will honor their remaining shows in South America, but we all know there's no way the divorcees are going to want to continue on in a band together.

So goes the end of another legendary alternative act that provided us with great music for three decades. Only thing left for them to do is to finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for one last gig. :hmm:

Pitchfork: Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore Separate
 
Wow. Crazy. But people change. Especially creative people. A compatibility that may last for a while still might not last forever. So, not hard to believe.

For what it's worth, at least Ira and Georgia from Yo La Tengo are still together, and they've also been married for 27 years.

Too bad Pitchfork was too oblivious to acknowledge that.
 
I got to see Sonic Youth live in a small club in SLC last October. I honestly didn't know that much about them other than they had been on the Homerpalooza episode of The Simpsons and Thurston sang backing vocals on an R.E.M. song.

I was definitely impressed. They put on a great show and we got to stand right in front of Thurston Moore throughout the show.

It may be time for them to call it quits though, there was seriously less than 100 people there, and they seemed kind of bummed at how few people came out to see them play.
 
Daydream Nation, while definitely their best, might be a bit dense as an introduction. Sister and Goo are both good choices, as is Dirty.

EVOL is an awesome album and hugely underrated, btw.
 
Wow what a bummer of a news :(

I'm glad that I got to see them live a few years back when they performed Daydream Nation (not actually my favourite album by them but I thought, hey who knows how long they'll be around for).
 
Daydream Nation, while definitely their best, might be a bit dense as an introduction.

To an extent, yeah, but it does start with Teen Age Riot, and that's a Sonic Youth tune that's ideal if one wants to get hooked.
 
djerdap said:
To an extent, yeah, but it does start with Teen Age Riot, and that's a Sonic Youth tune that's ideal if one wants to get hooked.

Fact. Still my favorite after all these years.

Saw them live with Flaming Lips back in '06, which doesn't make sense on paper but slayed in reality. They opened with Teen Age Riot, and it was wonderful.
 
Fact. Still my favorite after all these years.

Saw them live with Flaming Lips back in '06, which doesn't make sense on paper but slayed in reality. They opened with Teen Age Riot, and it was wonderful.

I missed those series of shows back in 06. I regret it. SY and Lips have much in common. The American indie scene kinda close knit. Both are elder statesmen of rock and proved that you can rock out your whole life and not become a total douche and remain a cool person. Also that you can sustain your music by nurturing other artistic endeavors and collaborations.
 
could never get into the band, although i barely tried past goo and a handful of "these are sonic youth songs that everyone should know and love".
 
I like a handful of their songs, like the singles off Goo and the album with "100%" on it. That Hits Are For Squares compilation is pretty awesome; I do like most of the stuff on it, but have never been able to get into a full album of theirs.

Every so often I listen to Daydream Nation again to see what all the fuss is about, and it just does nothing for me.

Have always respected them in general, though. Bummed to hear the couple is splitting.
 
I love Sonic Youth, but I'm not always sure their music has aged so well. In the 90s so many younger bands were obviously strongly influenced by their sound but took it in a more structured direction, and sometimes I think if that's what you grew up with then maybe it's hard to listen to something like Daydream Nation or Sister and hear how distinctive all the alternative tunings and dissonance and stuff sounded at the time. Personally I was never as enamored of their lyrics as some people were, a lot of fans and critics saw them as having this great dry wit which I never fully bought, but whatever. I guess they were probably nearing their sell-by date anyway, but sad to see them end this way, if this is indeed the end.
 
I don't think SY ever could do well financially, but the artistic imprint they have left us is very important. Save U2, few if any bands can claim artistic and financial victory. SY are one of the few bands that saved the guitar by radically 're-imagining' it. They did that with alternate tunings.

By making wildly creative and exciting music they rendered most rock musicians really boring and rote.
 
I'm actually not as into their indie stuff from the 80's....I think they did a lot of great albums when they moved to a major (especially Goo and Dirty) and I also am not into Daydream Nation like some of you.

I think the uninitiated should listen to the extremely awesome Rather Ripped which is nothing like anything else they did. Whereas practically every SY song/album is built around guitar melodies, Rather Ripped relies on songwriting first and foremost rather than guitar sound. It's poppier and what they'd sound like attempting to make a Yo La Tengo record or whatever.
 
I think Goo is the weakest album of theirs that I've heard pre-00s. It's OK, but incoherent and not as catchy or freewheeling as Dirty. Glad to see Rather Ripped get some love, I probably prefer that one also. Incinerate is a kickass single.

Daydream Nation is a towering, expansive record with awesome melodies that take time to unearth but make multiple listens that much more enjoyable. I've slowly come to like or love nearly every song after initially finding it a bit grating. Teen Age Riot, Silver Rocket, Total Trash, Candle...so fucking good. And way more atmospheric than the 90s major label releases that followed. I never thought the production there matched the haunting, dimly-lit tone of EVOL, Sister and Daydream Nation.
 
I love Rather Ripped, Goo and Confusion Is Sex (even though it creeped the hell out of me when I first listened to it). The only album of theirs that I got and just couldn't get into was Dirty - I've listened to it over and over but apart from Drunken Butterfly nothing stuck with me. So off it went to the second-hand CD store.
 
Daydream Nation is a towering, expansive record with awesome melodies that take time to unearth but make multiple listens that much more enjoyable. I've slowly come to like or love nearly every song after initially finding it a bit grating. Teen Age Riot, Silver Rocket, Total Trash, Candle...so fucking good. And way more atmospheric than the 90s major label releases that followed. I never thought the production there matched the haunting, dimly-lit tone of EVOL, Sister and Daydream Nation.

You didn't mention 'Cross the Breeze. Awesome guitar riff, not to mention it fucking rocks more than any other song on that record.

Kudos to one who posted Mildred Pierce. That song scared the shit out of me when I was a kid (my older brother is a Sonic Youth fan as well so...).

And I also really liked Rather Ripped. Loved the poppier approach on that one. I'm so glad that I was able to see them live on the tour supporting that record. They opened with Teen Age Riot, which is for sure one of the best live opening songs I've experienced, played a lot of my favourites and the energy coming from the crowd and the band was stunning.

The only album of theirs that I got and just couldn't get into was Dirty - I've listened to it over and over but apart from Drunken Butterfly nothing stuck with me. So off it went to the second-hand CD store.

Blasphemous! As far as songwriting goes, that's their strongest record. 100%, JC, Purr (one of the most brilliant guitar riffs I've heard), Sugar Kane, Wish Fulfillment... So many amazing songs on it.
 
I think Goo is the weakest album of theirs that I've heard pre-00s. It's OK, but incoherent and not as catchy or freewheeling as Dirty. Glad to see Rather Ripped get some love, I probably prefer that one also. Incinerate is a kickass single.

Daydream Nation is a towering, expansive record with awesome melodies that take time to unearth but make multiple listens that much more enjoyable. I've slowly come to like or love nearly every song after initially finding it a bit grating. Teen Age Riot, Silver Rocket, Total Trash, Candle...so fucking good. And way more atmospheric than the 90s major label releases that followed. I never thought the production there matched the haunting, dimly-lit tone of EVOL, Sister and Daydream Nation.

Goo and Dirty are for people who don't actually like Sonic Youth. As you've said, Daydream Nation has a density and texture that the major label debut and its follow-up seemed to eschew, and one can't really call that evolution, as they would return to that form after a brief detour of more accessibility.
 
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