Sonic Youth--what to get. (1 Viewer)

[LanceJ]

A couple days ago I was at a music store and they were playing some really cool stuff on their store system. Clean, stripped-down rock but kinda quirky (in a good way though), & with interesting lyrics. I hung around and listened to five tracks. Turns out they were playing a Sonic Youth album called Goo. Someone else then told me Daydream Nation was very good too.

Any opinions on what other albums I should get?

Thanks!

LJ

 

[MartinTeller]

Daydream Nation is definitely my favorite. I also like Evol, Sister and Bad Moon Rising. BMR is kind of an acquired taste, though.

 

[MatS]

you just named the two I would suggest

"Goo" (their major label debut) paved the way for Nirvana's "Nevermind". I would take "Goo" over "Nevermind" any day of the week.

put on track 7 "Disappearer" and turn it up to 11

overall though their records are very uneven

other recommended listening: The Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr

 

[LawrenceK]

I reccomend, Daydream Nation, Sister, Murray Street...in that order. Daydream Nation is one of the best albums ever in my estimation. Those reccomendations for The Pixies and My Bloody Valentine I also second.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I'd recommend Goo, Daydream Nation, and Dirty.

Saw them Halloween, 1991, in San Francisco. Nirvana opened. A show I'll remember for a long time.

And if you're up for something slightly different, look around for Ciccone Youth's The Whitey Album. Sonic Youth's noise/rock/grunge take on Madonna.

 

[LarryDavenport]

Besides Evol, Goo, Dirty, and Daydream Nation, which are my favorites, seek out the "blue" e.p., and the bootlegs "Texas 1986" and "Europe 1992." Pick up the CD singles for Dissapearer and Dirty Boots too for some demos and live takes.

The Deluxe edition for Dirty is great and next year we should have deluxe editions for Goo and Daydream Nation.

Also track down the VHS "1991: The Year Punk Broke." Thanks to Courtney Love, because Nirvana is on it too...and they dis Courtney on the video, we may never see it on DVD.

 

[Martin Rendall]

Goo, Dirty, and Daydream Nation

 

[LanceJ]

Thanks everybody for your suggestions. Though I've heard of Sonic Youth for years and even saw them on a Beavis & Butthead episode (& they didn't make fun of them either!), finally hearing them through five full tracks made me realize why so many people talk about them. It's really cool to discover a "new" band.

It's payday this Friday, so I hope that used Goo CD is still there (only eight bucks) and I saw Daydream Nation at Best Buy last night, so I will try to pick both of these up.

LJ

 

[David Fisher]

I love the classic Sonic Youth albums, but don't be afraid of their recent work. I think NYC Ghost and Flowers can easily be compared to their classic albums, but has a maturity that comes easily with a band that has actually survived for so long. I enjoyed Murray Street, but it almost seems like an adult contemporary version of Sonic Youth. I think that I read an interview where Moore said that it is an "OAR" version of Sonic Youth. I like it, but I don't play it as often as NYCGaF.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

next year we should have deluxe editions for Goo and Daydream Nation.

I did not know that. Cool.

Yeah, The Year that Punk Broke. The Dirty Boots EP/CD/single. Some killer live stuff on that. (Why oh why won't they put out an official live CD of more recent stuff? )

Daydream Nation. Man, that record is so good it hurts...

 

[LarryDavenport]

I suspect some of the live cuts from the Dirty Boots e.p. will be on the Goo Deluxe Edition, but there are also a ton of demos that could be released too. As a subscriber to the Sonic Death newsletter I received a cd called The Goo Demos. A lot of the demos are better than the actual release, as great as it was. Some of the demos are on the Dissapearer e.p.

I got into Sonic Youth in 1989 when I caught them on Later with David Sanborn (which is how I got into the Pixies as well). The day after I saw them I rushed to the record store and bought all their records. I fell in love with Evol immediately.

Goo came out when I was traveling around Europe in 1990 and before my trip was over I had completely worn out the tape (ditto The Breeders - Pod.)

 

[Rachael B]

The SONIC GOO Laserdisc is right nice....

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

My favorites are Sister, Daydream Nation, and Goo.

Regards,