Sonic Youth Gossip - I Finally Feel Comfortable Commenting On The Eternal

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- - I Finally Feel Comfortable Commenting On The Eternal (http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/showthread.php?t=33776)

Quote:

Originally Posted by viewtiful_alan

I'm stunned... I mean other than daydream they don't really have an ablum that's genuinely great the whole way through, with no tracks you really wanto to skip.
Opinions are opinions but in this case, I think you're just wrong.

its def consistent with walking blue being the best track but doesnt have the orgasmic highs (and lows) of the other albums. no parts that make you sit there in a stupor wondering what the fuck just happened.

Quote:

Originally Posted by viewtiful_alan

WEll destroyed room is a compilation, and while it doesn't really have any weak points, it just doesn't stack up as classic to me.
Yeah... I guess I didn't think about Murray Street. Murray Street is incredible, but I find the Eternal alot more enjoyable.

I consider compilations of previously unreleased material to be albums. And for some reason DR is really special to me.

Yeah I can agree with that. I don't know, Malibu Gas Station and Antenna, while not mindblowing per se, are pretty damn great.

I'm not arguing there. I fucking Love THE ETERNAL. I think it's one of their best albums of the last decade, along with the other 2 I mentioned and NYCG&F.

I think the track order on the Eternal is wrong. I think it is very good (better than RR, not as good as SN) but it would be much better with a different running order.

Sacred Trickster
Antenna
What We Know
No Way
Calming The Snake
Anti Orgasm
Walking Blue
Poison Arrow
Malibu Gas Station
Thunderclap
Massage The History

Or somrthing like that. And yes, taking off Leaky Lifeboat

Quote:

Originally Posted by noisereductions

are you serious?

I know I'll catch hate, but DDN isn't even in my Top 10 SY albums dude. There's so many others that I think are so beyond perfection... namely the one in my avatar.

yeah evol is AWESOME

Quote:

Originally Posted by viewtiful_alan

Wait what? I genuinely consider both EVOL and Sister to be completely perfect releases.

What tracks could one possibly want to skip on either of those albums?

He already said he meant the albums after DDN.

But since you asked.. Hotwire My Heart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Also, Fahey did the cover art (posthumously, of course).

Did they literally drag his dead ass across the canvas?

Haha.

I just meant, he didn't make the cover art specifically for the album... since he's.. y'know.. dead.

To mysonichaircut: If you're embarrassed about the music you like, you should really evaluate yourself and stop being so self-conscious.

To o'connor: So The Eternal doesn't sound like Sonic Youth to you? What does sound like Sonic Youth? Sleepin Around and The Neutral? Why wouldn't you want to hear something different?

To badgercorn: I really dislike your order preference. Also by the way, Leaky Lifeboat is an essential track, which a lot of fans love. I think the song order flows magnificiently.

To noisereductions: Daydream Nation isn't in my top 10 either. Actually, it's more like #9 but I feel you.

Garbage dump
garbage dump
why do they call it a garbage dump?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkstation

"walkin blue"
i mean come on. such an unbelivable song, and WAY better than "rats."

best lee song since "karenology"

Rats is the only Lee song that I can't stand.

i hate rats. the melody always gets stuck in my head and i can't get it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by el duderino

Eternal is a solid album, but probably my least favourite in a while. I liked Rapper Ripped for the catchy poppy melodies, Sonic Nurse for the intricate guitar work, Washing Machine and 1000 Leaves and NYC for the amazing experimentation. This one just seems to be a bit bland - perhaps the first album in their career where they are just resting??

exactly.

yeah but el duderino hears things differently -- cuz of his face!

Quote:

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

It's 110% Sonic Youth. It's just old, "mature" Sonic Youth, with some flirtation with their youthful ways. Sonic Geezers. But I mean that lovingly -- that "mature" songwriting sounds like a stepback when looking at such masterworks as "A Thousand Leaves" and half of "Washing Machine", sure; hell, it's hard to believe sometimes that this is the same band who made "Daydream Nation" years ago. The thing is, though, while everyone is pining for them to write another "Cross the Breeze" or "Diamond Sea", they already made those songs. In fact, it seems like instead of looking back, they're constantly pushing to "refine" their sound with every album, which is extremely interesting and pleasing to my ears... maybe too pleasing, in general, as it's surely going to frustrate some fans. Sonic Youth is removing the "edges" from their music, for the most part, and those edges are what attract most people, afterall.

...There's still plenty of old-SY on this record: Thurston singing the exact same notes he's playing, noise breakdowns, sassy Thurston vocals, etc. Admittingly, these are the worst and most forced-sounding parts of the album. I think, however, instead of focusing on that, let's look at how flawlessly the songs flow. For a band with wild tunings and sometimes-bizarre song structures, it's a wonder that they make these songs work so well. They flow organically; most parts don't sound out of place (except for some aforementioned noise parts that don't fit, a shocking SY first! Listen to "Antennae" for one such example). SY makes this stuff look easy, because they basically invented this sound.

And, yes indeed, they're maturing it; the background vocals, Kim's best singing in years, some wonderful acoustic guitar! Again, they're "softening" their sound to some, but to me they're simply pushing to write more "mature" material, and I don't mind the change as long as the songs are still good. It seems like that's something they've been trying to do for years, and I think it's taken awhile to get to this point. This album is way better than Rather Ripped, to me. It's got some great songs, some throwaways of course but eh. It's actually pretty damn consistent.

...Sonic Youth constantly reveals a fascinated and fascinating tension -- an oscillation -- between attraction to the feminine version of "notre musique"… and a corresponding need to erect, sometimes brutally, a barrier to the femininity which is perceived as all-absorbing. Educate, inform, and entertain -- pop goes the easel.

It's not the be-all, end-all album people were expecting, but it's 10x better than Nurse and 100x better than Rather Ripped. Also, Fahey did the cover art (posthumously, of course). That alone raises it a few notches in my book.

This is the best analysis of the album I have read. I completely agree. It's about maturity. I am not looking for the same shit they put out in the 80's & 90's. I have grown up with sonic and they portray life experience and understand what I am going through because they went through it too.

As you age you start seeing things different. Marriage..kids...spirituality..career..society is a hole...friends dying...new births. It changes yr views and as a result that changes yr music.

It's just like the beatles. My generation can not possibly relate to thier later solo careers in the way my parent's did. They grew up on that shit and lived the experience. When I was 18 and listened to Harrison's solo shit after having just listened to the White album I DID NOT GET IT. I pick up some old shit I didn't understand back then now, and it is a little clearer. I hear lyrics that I paid no notice to then.

Like a fine wine it grows better with age.

The band has been an entity one year less than I have. Which is strangely soothing to me. Like the band experiences, grows, reacts over time as I do.

That is why we luv em

sonic youth: always the same, always different.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noisereductions

The band has been an entity one year less than I have. Which is strangely soothing to me. Like the band experiences, grows, reacts over time as I do.

i find that really really awesome.

ahhhh to "discover" SY for the first time again....

daydream nation is mine. It is what I played the day my father died. It is everything.

wish i could have grown up with them...

my first album was sonic nurse

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkstation

wish i could have grown up with them...

my first album was sonic nurse

I am happy that the new generations picked up on em. They may have faded away otherwise. Thank you for listening to our "Old People Music"
and remember don't trust no one over 30

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkstation

wish i could have grown up with them...

my first album was sonic nurse

I had heard about Sonic Youth when I was younger but still didn't really discover them until the era between Murray Street and Nurse.

Almost doesn't matter though because once I discovered them I was completely hooked. And I've never looked back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

ahhhh to "discover" SY for the first time again....

daydream nation is mine. It is what I played the day my father died. It is everything.

When my mom died they were there. I was 18. She had cancer. I hold confusion is sex very dear to my heart though. That album just understands me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by notyourfiend

The best thing about discovering great music after it's time is that it is still new and exciting to you. You won't get bored for a long time cause they've covered lots a ground

Quote:

Originally Posted by SONIC GAIL

and remember don't trust no one over 30

Haha! :D

But I agree, I'm glad that relative youngsters suck as myself were able to fall in love with them during a whole new generation...the fact that SY has kept accumulating new fans for 3 decades just makes them all the more endearing...

Quote:

Originally Posted by notyourfiend

i agree, kinda. last 2 times i've seen sy live the younger fans are always whiny and bitchy. i hope not all younger sy fans are like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by o'connor

i agree, kinda. last 2 times i've seen sy live the younger fans are always whiny and bitchy. i hope not all younger sy fans are like that.

I've personally always kinda hung around a slightly older crowd...most of my friends are rapidly approaching the big three oooo. I also tend to find that people my age (22) and younger are obnoxious at sy shows but whatever - once kim, thurston, lee, steve and jim/mark walk on stage, i'm no longer paying any attention to the crowd...

Turning 30 SUCKS. But..it has it's advantages too

i just turned 29 and am looking forward to being 30. granted i look like i'm 21 :)

I really don't feel like age means anything at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by o'connor

i just turned 29 and am looking forward to being 30. granted i look like i'm 21 :)

I was confused for my 20 year old sister's younger sister at her wedding. Sweet. best compliment I ever got.

i first saw them in 06 when they opened for flaming lips.
they opened with candle and played catholic block.
then i was asked (by an astronaut) to dress up like a santa and dance on stage during the lips show.

all my wildest music dream came true when i was only 14.