171. Sonic Youth, "Daydream Nation"

 


One of my greatest flaws as a Music Liker and, well, person in general is that I don't really like Sonic Youth.  I've talked about this before; when SY's album Goo came in at number 358, I discussed the concept of Third Rail Bands and how not liking SY immediately revealed me to be a poser and a music naif who knows nothing about the power of real music.  We regret to inform you that not much has changed and this album is mostly boring when it's not annoying,

This makes me an extreme outlier, I know.  The album is, of course, a Pitchfork 10; they called it "the kind of transcendent glory that crosses genres and even arts: that same in-the-zone feeling you get from a be-bop combo in top gear, a rapper at the absolute clear-eyed peak of his game—hell, even an athlete in perfect function."  It's widely recognized for its influence on any number of bands and genres.  Which is all great!  I just never want to listen to it all the way through again.

Individually, there are some songs I don't mind.  The opening track, "Teen Age Riot," is a pleasant enough nu-Velvets jam, with some feint at melody and song structure (over the weirdly tuned guitars); it could be Yo La Tengo after a fifth of vodka.  I like "Total Trash," maybe because it's the most overtly Pavement-y song on the record, and I love Pavement.  But it's a self-contained song with structure and it goes somewhere, unlike a lot of other songs.  "Hey Joni" is a not-unbearable clatter of guitar and disjointed lyrics.

For an example of what I don't really care for, try "The Sprawl," an over-seven-minute song that lives up to its title.  A lot of it is lengthy jam, occasionally punctuated by semi-sung vocals, and it just goes on and on.  Not my thing, and that's fine!  You do you.  Let's put this behind us and move on.

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? I'll take your word for it.

Comments

  1. GGApril 21, 2022 at 4:52 PM

    I've never cared for SY either (except for their cover of "Superstar" by the Carpenters, which is amazing). At least now I can tell people that after I read Kim Gordon's memoir, realizing what a skeezy creep Thurston Moore is makes me never want to listen to SY again. Feel free to use that if you want.

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