Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse

[Stefan Wood]

Picked this one up at lunch. On first listen, it sounds good overall -- but kind of lethargic, in parts. I forget where, but I read this was being promoted as another "Daydream Nation." Not even close. Their last cd was fantastic. Nice Richard Prince art for the cd. I'll have to give this a few more spins.

Oh yeah, nice anti piracy logo they are now including on the back tray card -- sits in with the bar code. Real government menacing looking, and annoying!

Edited June 8, 2004 by Stefan Wood

[Brandon Burke]

Looking at AMG just now, I noticed that they changed the name of "Mariah Carey and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream" to "Kim Gordon and the Arthur Doyle Hand Dream". I had a feeling about that one. There's no way they'd have been able to pull that off.

Never heard Murray Street but it was supposed to be good. I have a hard time keeping up with these guys anymore. Saw them a few months back and was amazed by how much room they give Jim O'Rourke (at least live, anyways). He was all over the place and played an exceptionally cool bassline on.....er.....something. I literally didn't know a single song all night other than the encore "White Cross". Enjoyed the show all the same.

[dave9199]

I'll be buying it on Thursday. I've got all their regular albums (Geffen, that is and earlier ones). I think they were great through Dirty in 1992. Since then, it's been hit or miss, but I still loyally buy each album.

[Big Al]

I loved Murray Street and have been listening to clips for Nurse all day. I'm gonna go get it tonight! Been lookin' forward to this; sure do enjoy their sound now that they're a quintet!

[Stefan Wood]

Okay, having given it another spin, this is a very very good Sonic Youth cd. I think adding another member has really injected some life back into the group. This one does have that late 80's sound to it, but it sounds very different. Thumbs up!

[dave9199]

I picked this up today & just finished listening to it. Overall, very good. I was half listening during the first 4 songs so I have to listen again, but I kept waiting for a Lee Randaldo song(s). There's only one and it's song #8 called Paper Cup Exit. It's definitely good, but what was better, believe it or not, was the next song, a KIM GORDON SONG no less called I Love You Golden Blue. She sings in a breathy voice and the lyrics are good! The chorus is in a major key and works really well in contrast to the verses. The last song Peace Attack is really melodic also, that's a Thurston Moore song. Overall, I didn't hear a bad song. Pick this one up.

[Brandon Burke]

I was surprised to see these guys on, of all things, 'Jay Leno' last night. I flipped over to watch 'Conan O'Brien' and caught the last half of their performence.

[Big Al]

There’s definitely a Daydream Nation vibe on this album; in fact, put in the context of where SY was when DN came out, I’d venture to say that Sonic Nurse is a DN for the new millennium. I’ve only listened to it once, but this is one that will likely grow on me (like DN, which took a long time for me to get; now it’s a desert island pick for me). This isn’t to say I don’t like the album; far from it. In fact, I find it a better, much more consistent album than Murray Street. But I loved that album more for the individual moments that reached out and grabbed me on first listen (particularly the first three songs and half of “Karen Revisited”). Nurse doesn’t appear to have many (if any) of those moments; on the other hand, the songs--individually and as a whole--are far stronger than anything on Murray. And I don’t know about you guys, but I much prefer Kim Gordon when she’s singing in that low breathy style than when she’s snarling (contrast “Hand Crème” with the song about the nurse (don’t have my CD in front of me, so titles are escaping me); I like ‘em both, and the avant-noise of the former is great for cleaning out sinuses!).

Or, put in a less pretentious long-winded way, THIS ALBUM RAWKS!!!!

[John B]

I've finally had a chance to spin this disc a few times and I really enjoy it. To my ears Murray Street reflects the excitement of a band revitalized bythe addition of Jim O'Rourke. Sonic Nurse is the band getting past the initial excitement and moving forward more confidently with their new lineup. Nothing on this disc has grabbed me as immediately as the first half of Murray Street did but, overall, I think it might be the stronger album of the two.

[PHILLYQ]

I know nothing of Sonic Youth aside from critical huzzahs and frequent pics of them- can anyone recommend a disc or two of their best stuff? Thanks much for the recommendations.

[Chuck Nessa]

This thread reminded me, when I first issued the Art Ensemble box one of the early calls (w/ MasterCard in hand) was Thurston Moore - he got set #65. Zorn got #42.

[dave9199]

PhillyQ,

Hmm, tough call. Quite a few great albums if you're into noisy guitar rock. I've got them all & I'd say start with:

1. Sister

2. Daydream Nation

3. Goo

4. Dirty

...and a couple more earlier ones which are great:

5. EVOL

6. Bad Moon Rising (most noisy)

More recent albums (more quirky & more jammy):

7. A Thousand Leaves

8. Murray St

9. Sonic Nurse (this might be a good one to start with also)

The ones I didn't mention:

10. Sonic Youth (1st EP, still OOP)

11. Confusion Is Sex (low-fi noise)

12. Experimental, Jet Set, Trash & No Star (quirkiest of all!)

13. Washing Machine

14. NYC Ghosts & Flowers (my least favorite album, ny beat poetry experiments)

There's my 14 cents.

[John B]

  PHILLYQ said:

I know nothing of Sonic Youth aside from critical huzzahs and frequent pics of them- can anyone recommend a disc or two of their best stuff? Thanks much for the recommendations.

PHILLYQ -

they have been all over the place since they started, stylistically. I would recommend starting with one or two of these:

Goo - the one that got me hooked. very accessible, great tunes

Daydream Nation - Widely considered to be their most succesful album

Sonic Nurse seems to be on sale everywhere I look. I think I paid $9.99 new for my copy. This would be an easy and inexpensive way to dip your foot in the waters.

Sister and EVOL are also essential, but I found them more difficult to get into at first. Dirty has a lot of great tunes, and was recently issued as a 2cd set with lots of bonus material. Washing Machine is worth the price of purchase for The Diamond Sea - a sprawling 20 minute track which is one of my favorite things they have recorded. Murray Street has some great moments but I find it to be somewhat uneven. Five tracks are really fantastic while the last three lose me pretty quickly.

The rest I would save until you've had a chance to explore some of the above albums.

Edited June 29, 2004 by John B

[John B]

  Chuck Nessa said:

This thread reminded me, when I first issued the Art Ensemble box one of the early calls (w/ MasterCard in hand) was Thurston Moore - he got set #65. Zorn got #42.

I read that a few years back Thurston sold all (most?) of his old punk vinyl and used the $$ to buy rare free jazz records.

[Big Al]

Nothing really to add to what dave9199 and JohnB have posted, as I pretty much agree with them. Just an additional nudge to get Washing Machine, as that has some truly terrific songs on it, in addition to “The Diamond Sea.” My faves on that are “Saucer-Like,” “Unwind,” and the title track. Kim Gordon plays some mean bass on this album.

[ghost of miles]

  John B said:

  Chuck Nessa said:

This thread reminded me, when I first issued the Art Ensemble box one of the early calls (w/ MasterCard in hand) was Thurston Moore - he got set #65. Zorn got #42. 

I read that a few years back Thurston sold all (most?) of his old punk vinyl and used the $$ to buy rare free jazz records.

Yes, Thurston is way into free jazz and has made some records w/others in that vein.

I used to be quite the SY head--in fact, one of my cats is named after Moore. (People always think he's named after Thurston Howell III. ) Got off the train around '93 or so, got back on when MURRAY STREET came out. You guys have piqued my interest, and I'll check out SONIC NURSE.

IMO--granted, my 80s-indie roots make me a prejudiced party--it's a toss-up between BAD MOON RISING & EVOL when it comes to SY's greatest album. Maybe EVOL by a nose. SISTER is tremendous, and DAYDREAM, which has dated just a bit for me, is also very strong as well. GOO & DIRTY are more "mainstream," I suppose, but definitely worth picking up. They certainly retain the SY spirit.

And yeah, I always listen for the one Lee Ranaldo song--I love 'em! "In the Kingdom #19," "Pipeline/Kill Time," "Eric's Trip," "Wish Fulfillment"--also "Genetic," a DIRTY b-side which I think made the new deluxe edition. His songs are always trippy/mystical--he's the George Harrison of Sonic Youth (guess that makes Kim John Lennon, and Thurston a cross between Paul & Ringo... B) )

Speaking of George, anybody ever hear SY's cover of "Within You Without You" for a 1988 British charity LP, SERGEANT PEPPER KNEW OUR FATHERS? Incredible!

Edited June 29, 2004 by ghost of miles

[John B]

  ghost of miles said:

And yeah, I always listen for the one Lee Ranaldo song--I love 'em! "In the Kingdom #19," "Pipeline/Kill Time," "Eric's Trip," "Wish Fulfillment"--also "Genetic," a DIRTY b-side which I think made the new deluxe edition. His songs are always trippy/mystical--he's the George Harrison of Sonic Youth (guess that makes Kim John Lennon, and Thurston a cross between Paul & Ringo... B) )

I would add Mote off of Goo and the first half of Karen Revisited off of Sonic Nurse to that list. Genetic is a great track! It's too bad Lee's solo albums aren't (from what I have heard so far) up to the standard of his best SY songs.

[ghost of miles]

Yes, "Mote," of course--I couldn't remember the Ranaldo contribution to GOO, but that's only because it's been many moons since I listened to it. Another worthy LR song! I saw SY open for Neil Young on that tour. Now, I don't see anything strange about that pairing (hell, when Crazy Horse came out they sounded as if they'd been listening pretty intently to their warmup act), but the 10,000 aging hippies sitting around me sure thought it was bizarre, and responded by booing and heckling SY. "Where's Neil? Who the f#$@ are these guys? They don't even know how to play their f#I*ng instruments!" etc., etc. About 100 of us were there to see Sonic Youth--we could practically point one another out when we clapped at the end of each song. Hearing Kim Gordon scream "FUCK! The word is love" in a big arena during "Flower" alone was worth the price of admission for me.

[Big Al]

  ghost of miles said:

he's the George Harrison of Sonic Youth (guess that makes Kim John Lennon, and Thurston a cross between Paul & Ringo... B) )

Cool analogy! I never realized he didn't do that many songs! Always figured the songs were usually divided up between the three principals--which is what made Lee's one song on Nurse seem so odd to me: only one song? Turns out most of my favorite SY songs are Lee songs!