[atari 2600]

Originally Posted by Kursty

why are most people basing their loyality to the band by how much money they spent on them.

Seriously, being puritanical about not DL is such nonesense. I'm pretty sure as part of the "underground youth" most of you people download CONSTANTLY. How is this different? Like you guys sound like a bunch of pony-tailed RIAA representatives.

If i choose not to buy the album, it's not because I'm a theif but because Sonic Youth released a bad product. Plus the album cover is REALLY REALLY dorky.

Back to the album:
It sounds like Wlilco covering SY.

This may be the record that finally, unequivically, confirms that SY are a dinosour act. Like would even Sonic Youth listen to Sonic Youth now?

i download probably more than most...mostly live shows of sy (when available) & naturally, other artists i especially like also.

The primary issue here is that people are flagrantly disrespecting the band with these posts about the "leak" at this, the official site. Your post above Kursty is epecially disrespectful, but thankfully you give the reader enough clues to know to discount your views as "a tale told by an idot, full of sound & fury & signifying nothing."

"Wilco covering SY"?...yeah whatever, flame-tard.

You're yet another moron that I don't want to ever read again & you're ignore listed.

[RIPfrey05]

im downloading it now..(please don't freak out)
so far I have
lights out
do you believe in rapture
and..what a waste
i like it all so far except for lights out
lights out is really boring and brooding it's trying to be all dark and slow.
do you blieve in rapture has a really nice rythmic oceanic feeling to me the swelling cymbols and noise.. very cool! REMINDS ME OF BMR!!
what a waste is cool, even though it has some of the worst lyrics "taste your face??"i like it!!!

[timpickens]

Originally Posted by whorefrost

firstly i'd like to call bullshit on all the people claiming that the inferior quality of mp3s makes a leaked copy unlistenable. there were a lot of people on this board happily circulating a bootleg of the concert that went on to become SYR6. A bootleg for christ's sake! A bootleg of a CD that was for a charitable cause. I can imagine these are the same people who are refusing to download rather ripped.
Ok, i've only listened to this once but my intial impression is one of severe disappointment. As one interviewer noted, it sounds like "classic Sonic Youth." You can hear echoes of a lot of more melodic SY moments. The song Rats even has a riff which, to my ears, sounds like it could have been directly lifted from Disappearer.
RR is a definite continuation from the previous two records but it does not progress on them in any way. Unless you call using chorus pedals during solos and singing in key an exciting new progression. It just sounds like a predictable SY record, sans the noise. sans the edge and excitement. It is sadly predictable, most songs utilising rapid melodic fingerpicking reminiscent of Rain on Tin or Dripping Dream. Throw in some token noisey-ish solos and you bland lyrical content/delivery and you've got the new SY record.
Thurston's vocals sound OK for the most part although his lyrics seem uninspired. Thurston often writes throwaway lyrics but in a good way; in a dadaist surrealist spontaneous way. On the last track, Or, he sounds weary and unconnected to what he is singing.
Kim's lyrics are the biggest disappointment for me. When I listen to ATL or Nurse I always marvel at her ferocious, idiosyncratic vocal delivery. this is sadly absent from RR where she seems to be emulating Thurston in an attempt to deliver breathy, standard rock style vocals w/ sub-par lyrics to match.
Most of the songs are pretty catchy like Do You Believe in Rapture and Sleeping Around. I just expect a lot more complexity and depth from a Sonic Youth record. There are no experimental song structures or sounds. It is almost as if they have been overly inspired by remastering Goo and Dirty. It could be construed that the whole LP is an experiment in that trying to write a straight up rock record is an experiment for Sonic Youth. But I don't really buy that; they went far enough in that direction with Nurse and Murray Street whilst still maintaining their avant-garde sensibilities and integrity. The only thing I can think of, and it is rather cynical, is that they are trying to endear themselves to Geffen and a more mainstream audience in the hope of having their contract renewed. I'm sure being on Geffen affords them a comfortable income that they would do well to maintain. They aren't quite at retirement age yet after all, and still probably have mortgages to pay off. This is just my theory, but to me it sounds as if they are playing it safe, co-opting their art in favour of playing the corporate game.
Anyway, I await your flames.

I agree with you on a good deal of this. Sonic Youth has essentially released (or not released yet ) the same album three times. The music is not bad but it's nothing special, for the most part. Easy-listening with an edge. Kurt Loder with a boner. Your buddy's cat with a pink sock portuding as a result of poor diet and procrastination.

With that said I enjoy the occasional spin of Nurse and the more-than occasional spin of Murray Street.

[schizophrenicroom]

what a waste, minus the interesting (i'm not saying bad, but "you're so chaste".. it's funny) lyrics, is pretty rocking. my favorite is "rats".

[sonicpollution]

Originally Posted by scott v

Ah one can only hope, but you see Mr. O'Rourke was playing bass on Pattern Recognition, I think it would be obviously lacking if they tried to play this song again live without the bass-part.

Only SY show I've ever seen featured Pattern Recognition being played without the bass part. (Jim wasn't there.) I don't know how the band feels about this, but to my ears I didn't feel the song was diminshed in any way by not having the bass part there. It will be interesting to see what tunes they keep in their set from Sonic Nurse...I'm guessing Pattern Recognition, Paper Cup Exit and maybe I Love You Golden Blue, but I'm just pulling that list out of my ass

[sandwich mulroney]

Originally Posted by guston

I think these comparisons are kind of superficial. It's one thing to note the reuse of a riff from a recorded improvised performance, a la a lot of stuff off of SYR1 and SYR2 (riffs from these two, as I'm sure you all know wound up on A thousand leaves). The fact that Unmade Bed "sounds like" the diamond sea is probably better attributed to the fact that it was written by the same band (and a highly prolific band at that). I really can't hear the similarity in that instance, other then the consitent songwriting ticks that are uniquely sonic youth's.

In terms of this record I have only heard Reena and Incinerate, but, I will say that they both make me think of the kinds of subtle refinements you hear in "older" musicians who have carved out a unique niche and are willful exploring the intricacies of said niche. In a recent interview (nurse period) Thurston said something to the extent that when he listened to the Youth's older records he was surprised at how some of his playing was in comparison to what he is playing now. I believe he said it sounded like he was playing with gloves on. I think this "chimming" summery sound is a product of an increased sensitivity to clarity.

Anyway, now that I've blown off that pretentious wad, I'm out.

Fair enough points... To me though, the comparisons are apt. When I hear Unmade Bed, I feel like it follows the same progression as Diamond Sea and has a similar enough progression that when I hear it, it sounds like a rewrite.

Hey, I'll give them a lot of credit for going over 20 years before that happened. Most bands don't make it that far. But Sonic Nurse was the first of their albums that I heard that sounded like it was re-tracing old steps.

Hell, what do I know though?

[Kursty]

Originally Posted by atari 2600

i download probably more than most...mostly live shows of sy (when available) & naturally, other artists i especially like also.

The primary issue here is that people are flagrantly disrespecting the band with these posts about the "leak" at this, the official site. Your post above Kursty is epecially disrespectful, but thankfully you give the reader enough clues to know to discount your views as "a tale told by an idot, full of sound & fury & signifying nothing."

"Wilco covering SY"?...yeah whatever, flame-tard.

You're yet another moron that I don't want to ever read again & you're ignore listed.

Are you projecting or something? Why such angry reaction.

How is anyone "disrespecting the band"? The only problem i can see if people started posting links to "illegal" material on a corporate website (which this is). If you say it's disrespectful to say to the band that you've DL their album (before if it is possible to purchase it) it suggests that you still think DL is "wrong" and that it's only acceptable if you do it privately when no one's watching you. Such kind of reasoning ignores the new realities. Anyway this discussion about ethics of DL is silly, it's a dead horse. If you feel peevish about it then abstain from it. BUT BEFORE I DROP IT, ONE LAST QUESTION: Are you, and people who share your stance, Christian? Because that would explain your voluntary suffering, displacing pleasure off into the future. This also would explain your (plural) devotion to Capitalistic exchange models (read Althusser)



So for those who are not Christian and don't have reservations about instant-gratification, nor much care for the Christi-Capital Top-Bottom model, what do you think about this album. Do you think Sonic Youth would listen to this? What would the kids @ Ecstatic Peace Say, or Lee's Lower East Siders ?



And yes Wilco covering Sonic Youth... think about it...

[golden blue]

my flatmate has been listening to the album in his room all day and im trying so hard not to listen....its hard not to though - im not one to ever download albums before their release and always buy the product but ive been thinking latley "why not have a listen?" - i mean this art has already been created so why make myself wait for something that has already happened....i wanna know now!....watching the refused dvd at the moment so that should hold me off for a few hours.....fingers crossed....

[selkcip]

prettiest songs since a thousand leaves

[greenlight]

fuck off!

seeing nurse performed live (espec. rock in seine, eurocknees, rock em ring) made me appreciate this album even more! sy's late '80 early '90 are gone, finish, finito....what do you expect?...that's normal progression...like it or not.

[whorefrost]

it's definitely a grower... can't wait to hear it on virgin vinyl.. it's not quite as strong as murray street or nurse... not as complex.. just more of a straight up sonic rock record which makes it more fun in a way once you understand what it is.. reminds me of goo a lot.. also, lee's guitar work is quite dirty-esque.. i reckon this record might polarise the fanbase somewhat in that some will love it and will dislike it.. wasn't there a similar reaction to dirty? the most suprising thing for me is the absence of dissonance.. it's like they took the song structures of goo and dirty and blended in the sweet melodic guitar interplay of the last two records.. i like it more each time i hear it, a lot better than i thought initially...

[sandwich mulroney]

Originally Posted by greenlight

fuck off!

seeing nurse performed live (espec. rock in seine, eurocknees, rock em ring) made me appreciate this album even more! sy's late '80 early '90 are gone, finish, finito....what do you expect?...that's normal progression...like it or not.

Fuck on!

I saw it live too. S'alright.

I'm not particularly concerned with late 80's/early 90's Youth... After years of listening to the albums all the way through like a good completist, I've been able to suss out a handful of songs on each album that I enjoy. I've got them all and I'll buy this new one as well, even though my sense is that it may not try anything new or sound markedly different.

And that is the normal progression of bands. I DID credit them for not falling into it for so long, after all. Every band does it eventually. It is a reminder to me though to open my ears back up to more new music than I had been listening to.

[pao-lino]

ah...
after all this dust raised from polemics about leaking this album...well... not blaming anyone, but I dloaded it. I don't feel guilty at all, maybe just a little weak for not resisting, but the temptation was strong and... well, I found it.
I'll buy it for sure, not only for the huge respect I feel towards sonic youth, but because it's a great album.
I recog (and I confess I learned it here in this old-new board) the quality of mp3 is bad, but it's an anticipation, that's it. I remark the real album is the packaged one, I hope with lyrics also (very few sy albums had them written, and that should be done always, especially for foreign listeners, but that's my opinion)
my fave song is reena. I think kim's songs are adorable in this album (jams run out free is a synaptic connection through her usual style and modern pop attitude lali puna like! catchy as hell, sweet, I love kim more and more.)
haven't listen to other tracks that much to """""review it""""".
I don't feel like saying "it's disappointing" because I think it's stupid having aspectatives. sonic youth through years evolved a lot, I can't see another way sonic youth, the organic of the 4 people that play together in this formation from 20 years, could still arrange and play music in such an harmonic and elegant way, I guess this is the way they still have fun playing together and it's fun.
If you're looking for the "alternative stuff, noise riffs, art-rock punctuations etc." and haven't find it here in rather ripped, check their wonderful side projects, check the syrs. this is sonic youth of today, I like to see them as friends of that age (50 yrs old) having fun and expressing their solidity this way.
great album, great point of their carrier, can't wait for the official release.

hey atari, am I in your ignore list? I see you consider a lot of people her "re-something-tards"...that's sad....

[sonikjuice]

Ok, temptation got the best of me and I listened to the two tracks from Rather Ripped posted on a blog linked from another thread. Both tracks are amazing (Reena and Incinerate). The mix is perfect. Kim's vocals sound better than ever. Thurston sounds great as well. These are definitely the most poppy songs I've heard from them, but they still have enough going on to make them interesting. They are both very catchy. I am really impressed and I can't wait to hear the rest of the album!

[Neongod]

Just tell me Pink Steam is on the same par as the acoustic version and I'll be happy.

[spudsilo]

Anybody else think Incinerate sounds kinda New Order-ish?

[AllHandsOnTheBigOne]

Originally Posted by atari 2600

"Wilco covering SY"?...yeah whatever, flame-tard.

Actually, I think the analogy is fairly accurate.

When I first heard the new album, my impression was that it is very atypical Sonic Youth. I mean, there's even less dissonance(none?) and even less feedback(none?) than Sonic Nurse...it's just melodies upon melodies. At first I was like "What the fuck, this is vomitive", but that's because I was expecting to hear something reminiscent of Sister. Partly because of the album cover looking like some 80s hardcore punk cover, and partly because of the band talking about Jim leaving and returning to a more rock oriented sound. Instead its all laid back guitar lines and melodic singing and shit..pretty stuff, nothing nasty.

But I was listening to the Melvins' Houdini album this morning and I really liked the first 2 tracks but then I started getting bored with it, so I put on the new Sonic Youth album again. I dunno, it's kinda catchy and it can be a grower. Only time will tell i guess.

[qprogeny79]

for those of you who are anal-retentive about downloading but still want to hear something, incinerate is on their myspace page. (edit -- seriously, parts of that song remind me of some old music from a mega man game from nes.)

seriously, it's impossible to believe these are the same people who released confusion is sex 25 years ago.

[krastian]

It's evolution baby!

[Neongod]

Originally Posted by qprogeny79

seriously, it's impossible to believe these are the same people who released confusion is sex 25 years ago.

I completely agree. Talk about maturing...