Tag Archives: daydream nation

2013, albums, miscellaneous, music, personal, thoughts

In Memoriam Sonic Youth Part V: “Daydream Nation”

Leave a comment
Sonic Youth - "Daydream Nation"
Sonic Youth – “Daydream Nation”

Well, this is the one. This is the album that I start everyone off with. It is their undisputed classic. Daydream Nation. Even the name, to me anyway, is enigmatic. It’s just perfect, flawless in every way. The opening, the close. There is not one bad thing to say about this album. I may be letting my bias show, but I am also the one that wears a toque with “Sonic Youth” sewed into it every day once the temperature goes below 50º.

Teen Age Riot

Anyway, I still remember getting this album on cassette. I like to tell myself (and others) that it is the first album that I ever bought. And though this story isn’t completely accurate (we all had our unfortunate phases when we were too young to know what it meant to listen to good music. Though, I have met some people that really haven’t had one of those phases. I am extremely jealous that those people didn’t have to go through an MC Hammer phase and a whatever the hell else phase. I listened to Top 40 radio a lot until I was like 10. So sue me.) but in a way it is the truth. Buying Daydream Nation was the first album that I ever bought that ever mattered. I never looked back, and I still haven’t. I can’t even imagine how many times I have listened to this album.

I still remember getting the tape and looking through the pictures and the lyrics and just staring at it. Everything was just part of a complete package. The color scheme, the mood of the pictures with their grainy, hazy focus of the band standing in (what I assume is) the Bowery near CBGB’s (totally guessing there, but just going with what I was thinking then) and the cover photo (which I didn’t know at the time was a famous painting, a painting which I have been lucky enough to see in person in Chicago. It was an amazing experience standing in front of that painting, with its meaning sort of reversed in a way that the painting now described the album to me, whereas when I first heard the album, it was, to me, describing the sound of that painting) and just everything seemed to be so focused and purposeful. I can’t be alone in thinking that the sound of Lee’s disintegrating amp throughout “Providence” is meant to sound like a burning candle, giving sound to the cover? And, of course, there is the song “Candle,” but that is too obvious.

Cross The Breeze

And how could those sounds be so purposeful? How could the howling guitars that blasted out of the middle of “Silver Rocket” possibly be directed, or purposeful? I didn’t know the word ‘aleatory’ back then, but I know that I was thinking about how they got those sounds – that sounded so random and scattered and loud and noisy and…great – to do what they wanted them to do? How was it that they were able to tame the wild feedback and static into the form of the songs?

I still wonder about these things to this day. It just seems like all of the elements were perfect when they were recording the album. All the mistakes fit perfectly into the aesthetic of the album. The interactions of the guitars, the structure of the songs, the lyrics, the focus, this was an already amazing band making a giant leap forward in their sound. Sure, like I said in previous posts, the sounds on “Sister,” and even as far back as “Bad Moon Rising,” were pointing to this, we all knew that something like this was on the way (well, I mean people at the time that were paying attention knew. I was only 7 when the album came out. I had no clue what was going on, I was home learning to do multiplication or something like that), maybe not something exactly like this, I don’t think that this is the kind of album that anyone completely expects. There is definitely going to be a certain amount of surprise at hearing something this great for the first time. I mean, I know that it caught me off guard.

In a way though, this album is sort of bittersweet. I really don’t think that they ever got any higher than this. This was their last release before they signed to DGC, and though I love some of those albums, most of those albums, I don’t think that they were ever able to keep the magic that was on “Daydream Nation.”

Candle

And that is part of the reason why this album is so special. It was a moment in time. It was something that even the band themselves could not replicate, and who knows if they even wanted to. This was Sonic Youth at the peak of their powers, and it has had an immeasurable impact upon my life to this day. I’m still trying to convince students that they want to take my class on post-tonal analysis that uses Sonic Youth’s output as the corpus that we’d analyze. There is just so much here. So many conventions that are shattered, so much individuality and energy and vision. I could go on for days about all the things that I remember when I first heard this album.

I truly hope that another album will come along that even makes me feel 1/10th as good as I felt when I first heard Daydream Nation, and I know that it will come someday, but at the same time I know that I’m going to be waiting for a long time before it happens.

 

2013, albums, miscellaneous, music, personal, thoughts, writing

In Memoriam Sonic Youth: Part IV. “Sister”

1 Comment
Sonic Youth - "Sister"
Sonic Youth – “Sister”

 

This one is epic. I mean, I love all the albums that came before Sister, but I feel like this is the beginning of something really great. I mean, I think you all know what is going to come after this album. Now, I know that “Evol” is really great too, and I do love “Bad Moon Rising,” and even more so “Confusion is Sex,” but “Sister” is one of the albums that has been getting constant plays on my stereo since I first heard it.

There are so many classic SY tracks on this one that’s it’s hard to know where I should begin, so I guess that I should just start at the beginning of the album and work through it from there. And this album has a great album opener with “Schizophrenia.” I specifically remember coming to “Sister” around the same time that I first picked up a guitar and started bashing away at it, trying to learn every song that I could, which usually just meant me playing every note every second and trying to listen for when they matched what was coming through the stereo and then trying to memorize what I was doing so that I could maybe, possibly, replicate that at a later point.

Well, when I tried to learn how to play “Schizophrenia” I found that my usual strategy really wasn’t going to work. I couldn’t figure out why none of open string major or minor chords that I knew weren’t fitting any of the sounds that were coming out of my stereo. I mean, I think I played every chord up there on that poster of 24 or so chords. I even tried the ones with the number 7 next to them, those are the weird jazz chords, right? At least that was what I was thinking at the time. Anyway, all that I remember from trying to figure out the song was that I thought it was in the key of B. Now that I’m much older I know that, yes, there is a B in that chord, but I would have to sit down to the piano to figure out what the other pitches are, because lo and behold, I was not aware, at the age of 12 or 13 or whatever, that one could tune the guitar to anything other than EADGBE.

Oh, Sonic Youth. You have taught me so many things. And maybe this is the point of discover, or attempted discovery that has set me on the path that I am still on today. I’m still the same person, trying to figure out what is going on in all of the things that he hears. I’m still forever sitting at a piano trying to pick apart tone clusters and writing them out.

But, “Schizophrenia” into “(I got a) Catholic Block”? Don’t even try to pretend that that isn’t one hell of a way to open an album. Things are pulled back a little for Kim’s entrance, with “Beauty Lies in the Eye,” a song that has always reminded me of Evol. It just captures a very similar atmosphere as Evol. There is something creepy about the cavernous sound of the percussion and the aimlessly strummed guitar in the background combined with Kim’s half spoken half breathily sung vocal.

Stereo Sanctity

Oh, but “Stereo Sanctity.” How that song will forever remain as my answer to “Oh, you’ve never heard Sonic Youth before?” It will always end up on any mixtape that I make for anyone that needs an introduction to the band. I can play this song on repeat for a day and not even get sick of it ever. The way that it opens with just a cloud of noise and then Lee coming in with his own wall of distortion a 1/2 step above Thurston and not resolving it, or even trying, and the way that you can hear Thurston laugh a little bit about it if you listen closely. The dynamic of the band is perfect throughout this song. I still can’t even describe what it is that is happening in the chorus of the song. The guitar sounds so wobbily, like it is going to fall apart at any moment. It’s as if the song is hanging on by a thread throughout, but somehow they manage to keep it together, at least until the exact midpoint of the song where everything starts to go haywire.

The classic tracks keep coming with “Tuff Gnarl.” One song after another is memorable, but “Tuff Gnarl” finally gives us a song that is immediately recognizable upon the first few notes. That one’s also got the noisy breakdown that sounds like the beginnings of what we’ll get to hear on “Eric’s Trip” or “Total Trash” coming up on “Daydream Nation.”

Tuff Gnarl

The constant back and forth between Thurston and Lee’s straight ahead tunes, where it sounds like they are literally fighting their guitars off their bodies, against Kim’s moodier, sometimes somber material that comes out of “Evol,” creates a good pacing throughout. But, I remember sort of skipping past those slower tunes when I was listening to the album for the first few years. I’d skip right to “Hot Wire My Hearth,” then fast-forward through “Cotton Crown” so that I could get straight to “White Cross” and “Master-Dik.”

If I was ever in doubt about how much I loved Sonic Youth when I was a kid, this was the album that solidified it. Song after song after song of just everything that Sonic Youth has to offer. As a kid I was completely unaware of the social context in which these songs were produced, or what time (I guess I had a little bit of a clue, but I don’t remember thinking of it too much) they were made. The point is, now that I think about it, this album is pretty close to timeless. There really isn’t anything about the sound of the album that screams 1987.

Next up, “Daydream Nation.” I’m going to have to prepare myself for this one. I have a feeling it will be quite long. Wouldn’t be surprised if I have to split that one into 2 posts.

Until then…

2010, miscellaneous, music, songs, thoughts, writing

Sonic Youth Exegesis 1: "Hey Joni"

Leave a comment

I started doing this on twitter where periodically I would take a line from a Sonic Youth tune and expound upon it. The idea just came out of me being goofy and bored while listening to Daydream Nation one night. I just wanted to make the lyrics sound conversational, but in a really erudite and literate way, as if someone that was very proper, or perhaps went to a finishing school, would say them. I called these tweets by The Proper Sonic Youths. Some people started to enjoy it and I decided last night that I was going to extrapolate this idea on my blog by “translating” entire songs in this manner.

Specifically what I try to do when coming up with these is to follow the lyrics, line by line, using as many different words for the specifics in each line, but still holding the same meaning. Basically I’m taking the poetry and flow out of it and making it as dry as possible, like Thurston, Lee and Kim have been rendered hypnotized by a thesaurus. You’ll get it, just follow along if you know the song, which I have posted at the bottom.

exegesis | eksi jesis|
noun ( pl. -ses |-sez|)
critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture

Today’s exegesis comes from “Daydream Nation”. I pictured the lyrics of this track as if Lee were writing a letter to Joni (which is Joni Mitchell, if you didn’t know already). So I actually wrote down his letter. In case you can’t read my ( I mean….Lee’s…) handwriting, the text is copied below.

Dear Joni,

I would like to encourage you to place everything that has happened into the past. If you would do me this kindness I will offer to do the same. What is going on in your life right now is really quite confusing for you, I’m sure. Again, I would encourage you to just forget about all of those things that happened and just try to stay positive.

Be honest with me, Joni. I mean, we are in this together if you want me to help you out then I will. Perhaps it’s a result of living in this town, a change of location might help to guide your life in the proper direction. I’m remembering when we were younger, with our lofty ambitions, but you were unwilling to break the mold, until the one day we sat talking in the forest and I think that is where you finally had a breakthrough. We really bonded then, and I don’t think there’s any going back after what we said to each other.

Don’t you think I’m trustworthy anymore? Am I not a good person? How do you plan on turning your life around without me? When are you going to make good on all the promises that you’ve made to yourself?…Just assure me you won’t do anything you or I will later regret.

I dreamt the other night that you were standing in the middle of a large field, tall grass all around you, with gunfire in the distance. You were the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen, lighting up the sky in your brilliance. You weren’t concerned with anything but the precise moment you were in, right then and there. You were hoping to hold on to that moment forever.

Please, just put it all in the past. I’m serious about this and it’s all I can think about and you know I’m right! Just forget it, and I’ll forget it. Forget what “could” happen, everything is just a disaster right now. Don’t think about what did happen, and move forward with a positive attitude.

The years fly by, just place them behind you. Live in the present from now on.

Sincerely,

Lee – of The Proper Sonic Youths

[audio:http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/07-Hey-Joni.mp3|titles=Hey Joni]

2009, albums, music, news, reviews

Sonic Youth – The Eternal

Leave a comment

Sonic Youth has been my favorite band since I first heard Dirty in the summer of 1993. I was immediately attracted to what I thought was a very much “anything goes” mentality. The music was (and remains, to a certain extent) brash, noisy, and full of surprises. From one release to the next they may completely change their sound or they may remain writing in the same manner for several albums in a row.

For several years, after “Experimental, Jet Set, Trash and No Star” and “Washing Machine” I lost track of my beloved Sonic Youth. I had purchased “A Thousand Leaves” and never really connected with it. They went on to release “New York City Ghosts and Flowers” and I felt further separated from my beloved Sonic Youth. Thankfully for my birthday one year my brother bought me a copy of “Murray Street” and I got my band back again. Gone were the ultra-hip completely high-brow concepts that I could not grasp at all, and Sonic Youth was back to doing what they do best.

“Murray Street”, “Sonic Nurse” and “Rather Ripped” were truly a return to form. But this was a leaner Sonic Youth. They were stripped down somewhat of some of the long form experiments. It became clear that Thurston, Lee, Kim and Steve wanted to get back to writing quick, punk influenced jams that were still rich in catchy melodies but still contained a balance with noisy, improvisational stretches that many of their early releases were full of. Sonic Youth has reached a balance. After well over a dozen releases they were still evolving and developing into a band that is quite capable of rocking while still holding fast to their core Downtown New York City experimental values.

“The Eternal”, which will be released officially on June 9, is quite a diverse offering. Twelve tracks, across 2 albums (Sonic Youth should always be listened to on vinyl, in my humble opinion. As much as possible anyway). The hooks are a little more jagged here than they were on their last release “Rather Ripped”. The melodies are a little less pretty, but the songs are a bit more straightforward, and edgy. They sound younger on this album, more revolutionary, more punk than arty. There are still a couple of songs on this album that stretch beyond the 6 minute mark (3 to be exact, one of which is over 9 minutes).

They don’t tend towards noise as much as they would on “Evol” or “Sister” (or even parts of “Daydream Nation” like the song “Eric’s Trip”). Instead the longer songs have large sections that are loud, and noisy, but not so much in the realm of getting lost in distortion as they are contemplating sounds through repetition or focusing on a repeated gesture. Dare I say that elements of shoegaze are present at this stage in the game. Songs like “Anti-Orgasm” feature a duet of Thurston and Kim, with a super angry palm-muted crunch. The song then spins out of control into an extended quiet jam that is, like I mentioned before, more contemplative than just noise for the sake of noise. Though, there is never anything wrong with noise for the sake of noise.The Thurston/Kim collaboration continues on tracks “Leaky Lifeboat (for Gregory Corso)”.

Sonic Youths The Eternal will be released on Matador Records on June 9
Sonic Youth's "The Eternal" will be released on Matador Records on June 9

“Antenna” begins with a very straight ahead verse but builds up to a very ethereal, and damn catch chorus. Well, it is not so much a chorus as it is just a hook with Thurston singing “Far away” in his falsetto with an echoed guitar doubling him while the rest of the band seems to disappear into the background. It’s one of those magical moments that can only they seem to be able to achieve. Maybe it is because there is only one chord that is hammered on for about a minute before anything else in the song changes, and when that change finally comes it feels like you are being simultaneously lifted off of the ground while a 10 ton weight is being lifted from your shoulders.

Throughout the album there is a higher degree of continuity between songs. The style of each of the 3 songwriters (Lee, Kim and Thurston) seem to have congealed significantly more over the past few years than on previous releases. All around this is a solid effort, and it continues along in the way the band conducts their business as producing “poppy-er” albums (as much as Sonic Youth can produce anything even remotely “poppy”) for the label they work for (currently Matador, formerly DGC) and leaving their most experimental indulgences for release on their own SYR label. I think that they have managed to find an outlet for all of the things that they want to say, do and explore through each of these avenues. This, of course, does not even mention all of the collaborations they each go off and do, as well as other art that they each produce, Kim as a clothing designer, Thurston has written books, and worked with several other artists around the world including Merzbow, Wolf Eyes and Yoko Ono.

I truly hope that Sonic Youth continues to create well into the next 10 or 20 years. They have already influenced countless others, and are one of the only bands that I can think of that actually have something intelligent and different to say. There is no other group quite like Sonic Youth. This album is another one for the collection. Reviewing Sonic Youth albums just seems like an exercise in futility. There are pretty much just maniacal fans, like me, that are going to buy the album anyway and love it. Perhaps we will love it more than another of their albums, perhaps less, but we are still going to buy it. I don’t think that Sonic Youth is going to get a rush of new fans running out to get this album, but maybe I will be proven wrong. They already have at least one legendary album to their credit, and although I don’t think this will be another one of them, if they keep up with this trajectory, another one is not far off.