Sonic Youth Gossip - Is Washing Machine underrated?

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- - Is Washing Machine underrated? (http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/showthread.php?t=33163)

my favorite, together with Goo (yeah, I know). very interesting music wise with unusual riffs, the whole sounding of record. Becuz, Saucer Like, Washing Machine, No Queen Blues, Panty Lies, Skip Tracer, Diamond Sea are amazing. such a pity I haven't seen non of it live....
the fact that they didn't record it in NY has to do a lot with how the record turned out.

It's a great record full of inventive, creative guitar lines and song structures...

It has always been one of my least favorites, don't really know why though. Most songs are great and some, like Skip Tracer and The Diamond Sea, are fantastic. On the other hand I've always thought that some of the songs are rather annoying with annoying vocals and maybe that's why I haven't really liked the album as a whole.

It's been a while since I listened to the whole album though, maybe it's time to give it another go.

I find that, here, among sonic youth loyalists, Washing Machine is OVERrated.

There are some good tunes,a nd diamond sea is KILLER BIZNASS
but overall it is a hit or miss album, and not worthy of inclusion in top ten of sonic youth LP's.

I agree completely with Rob Instigator.

The only reason people like Diamond Sea is the little effect on the guitar going wah wah wah wah.

Quote:

Originally Posted by barnaclelapse

I love Washing Machine and had no idea that it might be underrated. It certainly seems to be a winner with most of the SY fans I've spoken to over the years.

The Diamond Sea is one of my all-time favorite SY tracks, to be honest.

Agreed, but Ive been trolling for a long time and its almost always an 8 or lower in peoples "score this albums" threads and nobody has it in their top three. Or at least, this was what it seemed like before I started this thread. Glad to see I'm not crazy in my total love for this album.

I alwasy thought the beggining sounded like Martin Prince from the Simpsons going "owie, owie, owie, owie, owie"

Quote:

Originally Posted by swa(y)

i find theres a lot of apparent "die-hard" sonic youth fans that have heard only the following albums:

sister
goo
dirty
EJST+NS
daydream nation
nurse
the eternal
rather ripped.

i know a lot of "fans" that have never heard BMR, CIS, EVOL, self titled, NYCG+F, yadda yadda yadda. most of these people always swear by washing machine, daydream, or dirty.

then if you start talking about solo material its always "i really like psychic hearts" or either "trees"...like, totally unaware of this vast world of music featuring SY members outside of the confines of "sonic youth". ive always felt that these people are missing out.

basically,....it almost seems all of them depend on best buy for their sonic youth purchases.

not a bad thing...just weird. i probally wouldnt be too interested in digging through the rest of their albums collections as im totally ignorent enough to believe it would contain all the "grunge" material that can be bought at best buy, maybe a couple weezr albums, maybe some pavement...and the "avant garde" to them begins and ends w/ miles and coltrane.

in case anyone cant tell im in a TERRIBLE mood. dont fuck with me right now.

If it makes you any happier I love me some Confusion is Sex/Kill Yr Idols. And the debut LP. Oh, and Scriptures of the Golden Eternity. And I buy vinyl. So I hope this cheers you up.

On another note, a shocking amount of America lives in rural areas where the only store is Wal Mart, or some similar shit. So, even though its not really hip and indie, people buy music from big, chain stores out of necessity. And I think that anyone who listens to ANY Sonic Youth at all is way cooler than pretty much 95% of all people. So don't be hating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SONIC GAIL

That's cause all of us are old fogies now. Young people don't listen to Washing Machine.

nuh-uh! i'm eighteen, and a few months ago, i listened to washing machine almost exclusively for a week and a half. :P

totally underrated. easily in my top three.

I utterly adore it. I consider Washing Machine and A Thousand Leaves to be the last two truly great Sonic Youth albums. Both are very textured, lots of chiming and washed out soundscapes, achingly gorgeous. Whilst A Thousand Leaves is more beatific, Washing Machine has more of a sinister gleam. I imagine listening to it in a South American city at dusk. ATL I imagine listening to at the end of autumn on the outskirts of an elegant, stately city.

It's a great record, it deserve all the overrating that it gets. Rob, remember: They Might Be Giants.

meh.. everytime i hear 'overrated' or 'underrated' it sounds like people need to know what the general concensus is to form an opinion on what they like and how much they like it..

you can find one hundred people who consider something over rated and a hundred more who think its really really underrated. pure dust in the air..nothing to do with music..

we all know what we like..and washing machine rocks. :) :D

it may rock, but it is still not top ten SY albums in my book. I think it gets discussed more than it deserves. the middle half of that LP lags a LOT.

sister
evol
bad moon rising
confusion
daydream nation
sonic nurse
eternal
Dirty
1000 leaves
self-titled
goo

all rank better than washing muchine.

skip tracer rules though

Skip Tracer is incredible, but I think Saucer-Like is one of the more overrated Lee songs out there, along with Genetic. Not to say it's bad; I don't know if Lee's capable of actually writing a clunker. =P

Quote:

Originally Posted by Latham

I put it on last night and went all the way through. I must say, WS is defiantly one of my favorite records, totally in the top three. I haven't seen a lot of positive talk of it though. Any other lovers? Or at least share why you think its not up to snuff. (You'd be crazy though! How can you top The Diamond Sea, Skip Tracer, and Washing Machine??)

it's been my fgavorite for the last ten years for sure. but i have others that come and go

[quote=swa(y)]i find theres a lot of apparent "die-hard" sonic youth fans that have heard only the following albums:

sister
goo
dirty
EJST+NS
daydream nation
nurse
the eternal
rather ripped.

i know a lot of "fans" that have never heard BMR, CIS, EVOL, self titled, NYCG+F, yadda yadda yadda. most of these people always swear by washing machine, daydream, or dirty.

EVOL one of my favorites! I'm looking at BMR sitting on my desk right now. I love that cover!

Quote:

Originally Posted by _slavo_

Are you kidding? "Becuz" must be one of the best album openers of all SY albums.

Nah, I'm not kidding. Personally I thought "Becuz" along with the other W.M. openers was pretty generic and half assed sounding, especially by SY standards. Not so much by sound and the mix with are pretty tasting but by the writting: du-nu, da-du-nu, da-du-nu, da-du-nu.... over and over. Felt kinda digressed and high-school band'ish.

I have respect for them now, but just saying at the time, and first impression was oh boy..... I saw it as further getting away from their capabilities to write such deep and epic songs as they pulled off on Goo and Dirty.