Album Trilogy
 

I remember around murray street's release Thurston saying that it was the 2nd part of a trilogy of albums (nycgaf being the first and i guess Nurse being the 3rd).
Anyone know what the connection between them is? I think it had somthing to do with New York City but maybe i've made that up because of the 1st 2 titles (cant see how Nurse fits)

Yeah, it was referred to as The New York Trilogy at some point.

NYC GHOSTS & FLOWERS and MURRAY ST. are both pretty obvious title-wise. But I too was always a bit confused as to how NURSE fit in. Maybe they just abandoned the concept? Maybe we just don't get it.

Although those are the 3 albums with Jim in the band. And he's into stadium-rock concepts. Haha.

In the Fishtank? lol

Also you don't need the title to be related to NY for it to fit in a trilogy. I think those three albums have a very similar vibe. Not so much with NYC G+H but definately Murray Street and Sonic Nurse.

Yeah but album titles aside, there is a lot of NY in the first 2 albums, but no so much in NURSE. At least not obvious perhaps? I dnt know.

There's at least one reference to a surrounding area.

yeah i wondered if New Hampshire had something to do with it. But thats pretty vague for a Trilogy concept!?!

"Stones" is also sort of "woodsy" sounding to me. Perhaps the concept is that the final third of teh trilogy is about leaving NY. Or about the mindset of a NY-er removed from NY (such as K & T)? No Hampton isnt tooo far from New Hampshire.

that could work. Nurse does sound more mature (maybe?) Not mature, just older and calmer perhaps.

now you say it it does sound Woody. Autumn leaves and cold afternoons

Thurston was probably just bullshitting like he usually does in interviews..

the idea of this trilogy focuses on:

connection about artists from new york

nyc gf : william s bouroughs and other, poetry
murray : musicians from ny, for example lou reed is mentioned in radical adults
sonic nurse : richard prince paintings, so painting art from ny

Wow, Mil... good call!

mil wins.

thanks mates! :)

Actually, if I recall correctly none of this was true. Sonic Youth came out as saying that there was no album trilogy and that the idea was created by some journalist and that people just started picking it up and discussing it as fact.

It was something Thurston's friend and fellow music aficionado Byron Coley made up, in his write-up on the Murray Street record. It was funny because since it was in like a press release or something practically every single interviewer asked them about it.

Byron Coley is awesome.

This is, of course, the correct answer.

Anyone who ponders something Thurston says in an interview as the Gospel is in for a spiritual crisis. Oftentimes, I think Thurston even believes his B.S. when he says it, but he frequently says stuff that is just meant to create a temporary buzz about whatever they are doing as if it's part of some big grand plan. If you look at the real history of the band and the way they've done things, they really don't think that far in advance, and when they do it changes!

Nurse is not the third part of a trilogy of albums about NYC (and yes Thurston did make that claim himself in interviews, because I read it too). I know this is a bit disillusioning for some of you who want to believe in the Sonic Master plan, but I felt the same way when I was 18-19 and I really believed they were going to cover the entire White Album. They probably even believed they were going to do that too, but mostly it was just hype in interviews to sound important. As an overall strategy it's hard to argue that's worked for Sonic Youth.

Expect when the new record is done, but not yet out, to see interviews with Thurston where he says it's the noisiest album they've ever done without any real songs. Then it will come out and have pop moments on every track. This is what he does, every time.