ok. well i bought daydream nation the on friday and i think it is brilliant. i want to get some more of their albums but don't know which ones to get.
therefore. . .what are the best sonic youth albums?
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As Christina said
you wanna get "Dirty".
DN
marked a turning point in their career, IMO - everything before it was of a lo-fi/noisy bent, a lot of the stuff afterwards was more poppy. Their next album "Goo" was huge for me - after hearing Nevermind I asked my brother if he had anything else like that and he gave me "Goo", which blew my 12 year old mind. Nothing was the same again! Sister is good too, but of the noise/lo-fi ilk, rahter than the more accessible stuff.
I'd say
If you like the messier, rougher songs, get Sister...
If you like the poppier, glossier bits, go for Goo or maybe Dirty...
And if you like the meandering moments of beauty, go for A Thousand Leaves...
Yeah?
Yeah I'd agree with that...
I'm going thru a serious Sonic Youth period (again).
Reading Stevie Chicks new bio.
If you dig DN - then yes go backwards through Sister and EVOL straight away.
Both contain 2 of the best SY songs in their vast back catalogue - Schizophrenia and Expressway to Yr Skull.
I like late period SY too - esp Murray Street (often overlooked), Sonic Nurse and Thousand Leaves. I think you can do without New York Songs & Flowers.
Goo is a must if you like their more playful side. If you like Goo you'll probably like Dirty and their last album Rather Ripped.
I know some folks like Washing Machine a lot. I'm not one of those folks.
Not bothered by Experimental Jet Set etc.
I really think it's worth checking out their 1st album - the Blue album - as well. Pretty good re-issue on Universal a year or two ago.
Also worth checking out Confusion Is Sex and Bad Moon Rising for the early skronking madness.
But best to see them live.
Saw them in the early 90s - they were great - but last two times I've caught them in London they've been at their peak I think. ATP shows at Thurston Moore curated bash a year or two ago were also amazing sets.
Can't resist
a shameless plug for my album, which has a cover of Youth Against Fascism from Dirty!
http://www.littlerockrecords.com/releases/THE_NIALLIST_And_Out_Of_Nowhere--.zip
unpopular opinion alert!
murray street and sonic nurse=SY albums im digging the most right now.
yeh me too
i just prefer them thats all
yeah
I'm having a big Murray Street love affair at the moment.
Sister
EVOL
Well, that's where I'd suggest you go next.
My faves:
Evol, Sister, Bad Moon Rising, but then I dont really rate Daydream Nation to tell the truth.
You should probably carry on forward (chronologically) from daydream and get goo, dirty, washing machine, etc
get
either 'dirty' or 'experimental jet set trash and no star' (i think its called)
dirty is
a tremendous album - the height of their songwriting and accessability. it's also very beautiful.
Experiment Jet Set Trash & No Star
is a serious candidate for WORST Sonic Youth album. Avoid it, seriously.
That's balls
Experimental Jet Set is another great Sonic Youth album. Very underrated.
balls
rubbish ones. sorry, but its a horribly dull album. apart from 'winners blues' and 'sweet shine'
I disagree
Its almost worth it for Starfield Road alone, but there's a whole load of other great tracks. I like the slightly weirder Sonic Youth, such as Experimental and A Thousand Leaves. Sure beats Rather Ripped.
Washing Machine
I was listening to it in the car the other day on a long journey and I forgot how awesome it is. There are some real transcendent noise moments that they never properly achieved on any of their Geffen releases (with the exception of Expressway). That said there are some dodgy bits too like the (Bis inspired!?!) first 2 minutes of the title track but all in one of my favourite SY albums along with Evol (their best), Dirty (which isn't pop at all, Sugar Kane aside), Confusion is Sex and Murray Street. Sorry, DN is a great album but it's a bit boring listening to it in a single sitting.
I'd go for Sister
Although it depends what you like about Daydream Nation, if it's the more dreamy bits then I'd go for Sister, if it's the more dissonant stuff I'd go for Dirty.
Listen to Daydream Nation more
DN is a good start...
...but the best is yet to come....
sister
then evol.
when you have recovered from that i would then start at rather ripped and go backwards ignoring new york songs and the SYR stuff. and watch it all unfold.
dont skip confusion is sex when you get back down near the beginning! and make sure you add in Ciccone youth and the Master Dik EP while you are there (esp dont miss out on death valley 69 12''. both are very good as is their peel sessions.
then you will be in a much better position to appreciate nearly everything else you are likely to meet in the rest of your life!!
a thousand leaves
sister
murray street
the..
...most obvious answer to me would be that if you like Daydream Nation, go for Sister, though I'd also recommend A Thousand Leaves (if you want something a bit more meandering), Confusion is Sex/Kill yr Idols (if you want something more raw) or Murray Street (if you want lots of pretty guitary bits).
i agree with the others
with sister. its probably DN's closest relative, but with a snottier, punkier bent. after that evol is good, if only for the closing track 'expressway to yr skull'...their best piece in my opinion. goo, dirty and "experimental jet set trash n no star" are all far more pop oriented, and essentially a cash in to the grunge aesthetic (which, to be fair, they were instrumental in initiating). theyre not bad (well, ejstnns is cack), but dont fit in to the canon as easily. i reckon the best later albums are washing machine, a thousand leaves and sonic nurse. new york city ghosts n flowers is half amazing, half filler. as for earlier stuff- its all great but mildly terrifying and unflinchingly experimental...great stuff :)
i could end up going all american psycho describing this bands output, but basically just wade in and enjoy it- just be warned its not all gold.
Rather Ripped
is amazing as well. Not as progressive and complicated as some of their other album and therefore easier to continue with I think ^^
yeh
RR is a really good album, but somewhat of a left turn- just as the noise scene (which they were instrumental in promoting) gets huge they release the poppiest album of their career. makes sense?
Sister is the next best one to get
then Goo and Evol. Dirty is a bit shit.
Get Sister and get Dirty.
Then get Evol and get Goo.
I don't think there's a 'bad' album as such, though. If you have 10 or 12 albums you can always just make yourself a compilation to suit your mood from either the more flung out shit or the tighter poppier stuff too.
Sister and Dirty
I've listened to both
Daydream Nation and Sister and both did nothing to me. No hatred or love, just nothing emptiness and mehness.
There's no hope for me.