Monday, 14 May 2007

TOP 30 SONIC YOUTH SONGS

The Incomprehensible Outpourings of a Solipsistic Obsessive

Pattern Recognition

The way it all becomes completely unhinged towards the end.

The Sprawl

Ditto. But more balanced between screaming harsh chaos and blissful melody.

Word Looks Red

Frenetic slide guitar work. See live video for evidence.

She’s in a Bad Mood

Atonal one-chord drone opening.

Brave Men Run

Bohemian vocal wail married to guitar chime sickness.

Society Is A Hole

Turgid, choppy, slow-motion maelstrom of 1980s folk noise.

Death to Our Friends

Nightmare race on dark roads

Shadow of a Doubt

Midway thru, guitars build up momentum and churn, hum like burning ghosts. Ambient anguish.

Tunic


Pretty monolithic guitar riff drift pinned down with a steady, hypnotic beat.

The Wonder

The ‘solo’ is sort of revisited in a much brighter form on Incinerate.

Stereo Sanctity

Superb P K Dick vocal evocation, thundering/splintering zen drum chug whilst guitars sound like failing engines.


Pipeline/Kill Time

Cryptic, evocative lyrics issued with poetic nonchalance. Tumbling drums with best fill ever. You know the one I mean.

Female Mechanic Now on Duty

Midday anguish, grinding motion of construction/machinery.

Skink

Slow, heavy, and mesmerising, just how we like ‘em.

Dude Ranch Nurse

Ditto, but with more axe wailing which introduces a whole ‘nother element.

Sympathy for the Strawberry

Swelling mass of sonic fog – chilling wind chime tinkle.

Helen Lundeberg

No wave art rock (and roll???) Could be the ultimate Sonic Youth song, a real pleasant surprise at this stage in the game.

JC

Heavy, thick zaps of suburban summer thunder.

Bull in the Heather

Sci-fi zaps, robotic belches and maraca enhanced drum breaks.

Sweet Shine

Alternative universe diva whispering amidst guitar shimmer.

Winner’s Blues

Totally dig the reverb soaked vocal.

Becuz

Totally dig the noise intermission, specifically Thurston’s measured use of wah-wah. See live video for evidence.

Washing Machine

Haunting and tumbling in equal measures, initial unease is created with tunnel vocal and then dissolved with long mind baker of a noise meltdown

Sunday

62 Jazzmaster… rolling slow and smooth… Culkin’s lips… swinging hair… horse paintings... detached gaze

Contre Le Sexisme

Western epic dissonance

Marilyn Moore

Complete submerging despair, clanking guitar, insane shepard alone on isolated hill at midnight.

Blink

Really warm… bass mewls like a cat by a warm fire of slowly burning guitars…

Tom Violence

I’ve picked more songs from EVOL than I realised I would. This has very gradually become my favourite Sonic Youth record; initially I was actually quite underwhelmed by it. TV is teenage soul scream.

Expressway to Your Skull

All the mysteries of existence compacted into infinity minutes of rock affirmation – hysterical scree – eerie hospital ambience… (I refer to vinyl locked groove track length)

Early American

Haunting Kim G vocal… slow burning embers...

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