Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth Sunday

Sarting, predictably, with the predictable.

Daydream Nation

Any album with two (yep, two) songs referencing William Gibson just has to be worthy of at least one listen. No Steely Dan style obscurity, either. No need to rack the brain then resort to some internet research in any case to find the hidden literary references. The Sprawl is named for Gibson's setting for parts of Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive (unofficially known as The Sprawl trilogy).

Great albums normally have great opening songs, Teen Age Riot is one of those. It doesn't let up after that, really. All killer...

A musical missing link, where punk meets indie, I suppose. Incredibly strong songs and melodies. 1988 sounds a long time ago, Daydream Nation doesn't.

There's one tip: less is more. Forget the multi-cd enhanced, souped up, de-luxe and super-de-luxe versions. They just confuse things and introduce a lot of sub-standard live and demo versions. Stick with the basics, the original twelve song double album is just right. “Enough” as Mr B O'S says “is as good as a feast”.

Dirty

This is the one with the knitted doll's head on the cover, usually also only found in super-de-luxe extended additional bonus format, and better without the 'extras'. Swimsuit issue is a song Liberal Democrat mps might pay attention to:

“Don't touch my breast – I'm just working at my desk”

A triple-whammy kick-off with 100%, Swimsuit issue, and There's a Sound World, before Drunken Butterfly and that “I love you, I love you, I love you...what's your name?” line.

Sister

Not as immediate as Daydream Nation, but a favourite, and album that really works as a whole.

Washing Machine

This starts with Becuz, and a mid-tempo melodic groove under Kim Gordon's breathy vocal. It's funny how a band like, say, The Who, who I absolutely go weak at the knees over, dewey-eyed about seeing the full-on, Keith Moon version at Charlton, a band that, in my mind, can do no wrong, yet a band that, under deeper scrutiny, produced little in the way of albums that are listenable in the 2010/s. Tommy seems lame, a concept album when those were rare things, that hasn't stood the test of time. Quadrophrenia, long, massive, sprawling, over-stretched. In short, they depend on the singles: I'm a Boy, Pictures of Lily, My Generation, Substitute, and others, and the Who's Next album, in particular the adrenaline rush and sound politics of Baba O'Riley [“teenage wasteland, it's only teenage wasteland”: 1970/s tory unemployment, UB40/s, No Future; 2010/s bankers greed, Reaganomics not reversed, tuition fees are financially crippling, just another tax on kids being young], and Won't Get fooled Again well, there's a philosophy, right there, mine, in the words of (just maybe) the best rock 'n' roll song ever: “meet the new boss...same as the old boss”. But Sonic Youth remain niche, cult, minority, despite a list of so many joined-up, wonderful albums.

Goo

Last one before work stops and serious football starts. Mary-Christ has a B52s feel. Disappear is just a great song. Now here we go. Liverpool at ours in the cup.

Sorry. Ends here. Full attention required.