SONIC YOUTH

Lately I've been listening to the Youth a lot.  Not that I haven't been listening to the Youth for 20+ years, but lately I finally got caught up on their catalog, and I mean I've been listening a lot.

When Sonic Youth first landed on my radar, it wasn't a sure thing.  I mean, the very real problem was guilt by association.  They were always linked to NYC's "no wave" trip.  Lydia Lunch.  Swans.  I have to confess, that's not my scene at all.  Ever.  I remember a review in BAM magazine of, I think, the quasi-legal Walls Have Ears album, that mentioned that SY didn't seem to care too much for rock and roll, "I Wanna Be Your Dog" aside.  That was less than music to my ears, and I hadn't heard a note of SY's back then.  But my interest kept dogging me.  Even after I heard, and was largely disappointed in, Bad Moon Rising, my interest kept dogging me.  The promise was there.  Hey, I love sheets of sheer guitar noise.  I just like them best in service of a real song.  So, it turns out, did Sonic Youth.

I'm surprised, really, that so few have drawn the obvious parallels between the Youth and That Other Famous Band from NYC, y'know, the one that starts with a "V"?  I mean, I'm sure someone has (I rarely have really original ideas), but I haven't come across it yet (if you have please feel free to humiliate me by sending me a link or quote, and source, preferably in the snottiest, most condescending tone possible).

The first obvious parallel - high art NYC connections - Warhol, free jazz, Cale's avant-garde background and Lou's literary leanings, mixed with basic rock`n'roll - Cale/Reed/Tucker/Morrison's fandom and conversance with same, vs the Youth's association with Glenn Branca, the NYC art scene of the early 80's, Kim Gordon's art school background, mixed with Moore's love of hardcore and tough 70's rock (Stooges, Alice Cooper), Ranaldo's love of The Beatles et al, and all three (plus drummers) love of rock and pop in general (didja know the cassette box in their van during their 80's tours included such items as Exile On Main Street, John Cougar Mellencamp's Scarecrow, and the Miami Vice soundtrack?).  That's the first obvious parallel.  Oh, and both bands were influenced by free jazz. I'll get to the others later.

In her very fine essay on That Other Band, found in the very fine anthology Stranded, edited by Greil Marcus, Ellen Willis draws the distinction among rock bands who draw on other art forms as an influence:

While art rock was implicitly based on the claim that rock and roll was or could be as worthy as more

established art forms, rock-and-roll art came out of an obsessive commitment to the language of rock and roll and an equally obsessive disdain for those who rejected that language or wanted it watered down, made easier.

What she means is that some tried to pull in jazz/classical/other highfalutin' shtuff into rock music in order to improve or validate it, while others either deliberately rejected same, or simply pulled same into rock music in order to goose those dusty motherfuckers into action.  Listen to The Who tear apart "The Hall Of The Mountain King" for prime example (you can find it on the reissue, deluxe ed of The Who Sell Out).  That Other Band, she notes, straddled the categories.  So did the Youth.  Or, as they themselves put it, they could make any kind of music they wanted.

Like many artistes, too, the Youth did their growing up in public.  So did most of the indie/underground bands of the era.  In the early albums by Black Flag, Husker Du, the Mats, Soul Asylum and even R.E.M., you can hear the bands trying out, finding their way towards the sound they will eventually perfect (and which will later usually calcify)(one big exception is X, who seemed to arrive fully formed. I'm sure there's others) (one reason for this is that all of these bands got their asses onto magnetic tape A.S.A.P. - thus their formative work was not only preserved but unleashed upon the public).  This was more true than ever with the Youth though.  On their early albums (the first five years - `82-`87, recording-wise), you can practically hear the paint spatters.  Even Moore has admitted that as of their first album (Sonic Youth), they were still trying to figure out what their music would be. The result is a kind of arted-up Feelies - minus the hooks and song structure.  Weird, interesting, not unrewarding - but far from classic (it should be noted though that there are those who consider this their favorite Youth album).  Confusion Is Sex is a dark, bleak, noisy, late-night depression fest.  The music sounds pretty much like the hideous cover would lead you to expect.  It's highlight is "Protect Me You," Kim Gordon's moan-otone hymn to childhood nightmares and fear (or, something).  The soundtrack from the most frightening horror film you've never seen (it should be noted though that there are those who consider this their favorite Youth album).  Bad Moon Rising is a step up, one of the most striking LP jackets of the era.  The music is more angry and confrontational, and their love of lanquid, lyrical arpeggiated guitar figures really starts here ("Intro").  Their love of horror continues - "Death Valley 69" - an ode to mass murder inspired by the Manson killings - is the album's high point (I once had the misfortune to encounter the video for same, late at night on some PBS program [I think] while under the influence of some low-grade LSD.  Bad, very bad) (it should be noted though that there are those who consider this their favorite Youth album).

Starting with EVOL, the soundscapes became less oppressive, more beautiful, even when awash with screeching guitar feedback. A significant change: the addition of new drummer Steve Shelley, replacing Bob Bert.  Where Bert had been a primitive pounder, Shelley brought something new and desperately needed - groove.  EVOL (though it should be noted though that there are those who consider this their favorite Youth album) didn't quite turn the trick for my ears of making Sonic Youth more than an interesting, promising outfit.  Nevertheless, EVOL was important.  Even more important was its follow-up, the even better Sister, which refined their relentless assault into something even more engaging.  There are those who consider this their favorite Youth album.  With these albums, the Youth was finding its legs.  But it was next year that they'd drop the bomb.  Daydream Nation was the wedding of their noise/art impulses to real songs, melodies, even hooks.  It was White Light/White Heat crossed with Revolver.  An orgasmic, two-record set of cosmic noise and joy.

After Nation, the Youth never looked back.  Goo was a more than worthy followup, tightening the song-oriented music of Nation into an even more accessible form (yet not sacrificing a whit of their power).  Since then they've continued to knock out good albums, tour relentlessly, and hang on to their principles, achieving a kind of grandparently status in the "alternative" rock scene, though never becoming a major commercial force.  Though their influence on said scene has been immense, few - or let's be straight and say - none, are even close to operating on the Youth's level.  Still, who would have ever thought they'd achieve the success they have, or be around decades after all their peers have folded?

In late 2012, the band announced an indefinite/permanent hiatus, and Kim/Thurston's divorce.  Bummer.  Thurston has since started the interesting new band Chelsea Light Moving, who's best songs sound like the Youth.  We'll see what happens.  No matter what, the Youth have given us three decades of remarkable music.

Sonic Youth allmusic
Sonic Youth wiki
Sonic Youth.com - official website, and a virtual encyclopedia of information - unequivocally recommended!

Essential Listening

My favorites are obviously Daydream Nation, Goo, Sonic Nurse and The Eternal , in that order.  Of the early ones, I'd favor Sister, EVOL, Bad Moon Rising, Confusion is Sex and Sonic Youth, also pretty much in that order. Post-Goo, I'd go for Dirty, Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Stars, NYC Ghosts and Flowers first.  After that the more meditative Murray Street if you're really a fan.  A Thousand Leaves and Washing Machine leave me cold. It should be noted though that there are those who consider these their favorite Youth albums.  There are several live recordings of semi-official status.  Hold That Tiger and Walls Have Ears are well worth seeking out (both available on the official website, above).  I should note there is a live recordings archive out there dedicated to the band - quite comprehensive and full of good stuff.  Note I'm not giving you the link.  Note there's a clue to be found here.

There are also a host of instrumental and experimental albums, which I haven't delved into enough to comment on.  You're on your own there.  Same goes for the solo albums.

Essential Reading

Goodbye 20th Century by David Browne is a good, solid bio of the band up to their next-to-last album.  The Youth's story is relatively scandal-free (they're all pretty straight people by any standards) so no salacious details, but the discussion of the 80's art scene and their place in it is worthwhile.  I dug it.  I haven't read the earlier Confusion Is Next: The Sonic Youth Story (Alex Foege) but it's generally held to be a less-impressive work.

Essential Viewing

The Youth have been pretty involved in video production since the early days.  The now out-of-print VHS only collection Screaming Fields of Sonic Love contains several of their good early ones ("Death Valley 69", "Teenage Riot","Dirty Boots").  Kill Your Idols is a documentary on the New York noise scene.  It also covers Lydia Lunch, et al.  I haven' seen it to comment.  1991: The Year Punk Broke is a frankly rather dull, dirty-looking film chronicling a European cross-country tour with Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr and Babes In Toyland.