Sonic Youth- Teen Age Riot (REACTION//DISCUSSION)

[@kylem.9525]

This is probably one of their most “pop” sounding songs (it’s still my favorite though), a lot of their other music is more atmospheric and experimental. This album though, Daydream Nation is probably the best place to start if you’ve never heard them before.

[@boq780_2.0]

Goo and Dirty are both more 'poppy' than Daydream Nation and very appealing with it. However, I think Justin should go in at the deep end with EVOL, which is really the classic SY sound.

[@boq780_2.0]

@@Katehowe3010 it's a matter of taste.

[@boq780_2.0]

@@Katehowe3010in my opinion, yes!

[@zakaryisom4916]

Sonic youth shaped and formed my teenage years always good to hear a reaction from someon6e who h!s never heard them

[@danny834]

you must’ve not listened to all of Sonic nurse

[@alukuhito]

I don't know, but I've always thought that part of the reason why Sonic Youth chose that name for their band is because they were a bit older than other bands. This song came out in 1988, and you might expect the band members to be about 20 years old, but actually, Kim Gordon would've been 35 and Thurston Moore would've been 30 at the time. And this is still a couple years before they got really famous. Kim was in her 40s when Sonic Youth was a big thing in the mid-90s.

[@sharontesta6566]

I saw Sonic Youth with Dinosaur Jr and Neil Young at Blossom music venue in the early 90's. We had a blast, you can tell that Neil was an early influence on SY by the sonic feedback on a lot of their songs

[@andyshan]

This song is an easy entry into the sound world of Sonic Youth. Turn 'em up and watch the wallpaper shred. An amazing band and hugely influential.

[@RGRG3232]

"Bull in the Heather" is another song to check from them, a pretty short song though. You can pair this song with another short song from 'Bikini Kill' called "Rebel Girl".

[@chrisbarnette7137]

Absolutely 💯 Bull in the Heather is amazing. Also Diamomd Sea.. Anything by them to me is great.

[@samajax]

J. Mascis, from Dinosaur Jr., he is the hero. The writer, Thurston, was saying JM and his Marshall amps will save the day, ushering in a new age.

[@kylepickus5712]

I always considered Sonic Youth to be the sound of bottled up angst. I feel stressed but I can’t lash out.

[@mattkaz9604]

Im surprised he's a music fan who got to that age and hadn't heard Daydream Nation before. He's either younger than he looks or he grew up in a different music scene altogether. Classic stuff.

[@JustJP]

You're exactly right :) I grew up with jazz, RnB and soul

[@Wien1938]

@@JustJP Check out the rest of Daydream Nation. I recommend their album Washing Machine (1995) as well.

[@elbruces]

There are so many paths you can go through, nobody can learn them all.

[@manhattenman6075]

Sonic Youth are such a unique band. Nobody has their sound and they are very inflenutial to alot of grunge and 90s artists. Kurt Cobain Listed Daydream Nation in his top 50 albums. And its a great album with alot of different sounds and experimental pieces such as The Sprawl, Cross The Breeze, Total Trash and Trilogy

[@stuntmankrocmcginty4896]

Sonic came from Sonic's Rendezvous Band (former members of MC5 and The Stooges). Youth is from the reggae band Big Youth. My favorite SY album is Goo, where Kool Thing comes from. It was their major label debut and more accessible, but Daydream Nation is considered their masterpiece. And I would agree.

[@shanna9650]

I completely relate and agree.

[@mehmetalikarasoy3306]

Sonic nurse is my favourite album it’s where I really feel they perfected their craft. It’s I think the easiest album to listen to from them for sure

[@lucianoteixeira7993]

I love this album and this song. From the first time I saw the vídeo on late 80s I was just caught by the band and their unique sound. In one way, it's a very unusual Sonic Youth song. It has some grandness in it that the band always seemed to avoid. In other hand, it's a excellent introduction to their sound, in the most accessible period of their career. For a more wide view of this kind of sound, you should check songs from the other two "popular" albums from the time: Goo and Dirty. No chance to go wrong with those. Excellent reaction, JP. I think you touched on the main aspects that made them recognizable as one of the leaders of the alternative scene, especially the powerful guitar sound they created. Heavilly influenced by Neil Young's guitar work, only The Jesus and Mary Chain sounded so innovative back then. Thanks!

[@gonenroitman8579]

sonic youth are part of the dna of 80`s and 90`s alt rock

[@cosmiccat6708]

"100%" from the album Dirty is a distorted, feedback heavy good track, think you might like.

[@elbruces]

Like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth is less "everyone's favorite band" than "everyone's favorite band's favorite band." Kurt Cobain used to carry their gear. But this album is definitely in my top 5 deserted-island list. If something sounds slightly "weird" about this song, it's because the guitars are tuned atonally, as in slightly and very specifically off the normal musical scale. They used a tuning fork to off-tune the guitars to exact measurements so they could deliver the same "wrong" song every time on tour. You need to listen to this song lot to catch where those slight sharps and flats are. And if you have perfect pitch, it can be kind of teeth-grinding until you catch on. It's also probably an urban legend (this album came out pre-internet) but the story goes that they blew up at least a dozen old cheap tube amplifiers making this album, and would just hit up pawn shops to get more.

[@michaosanna]

SY are the King Crimson of the generation x, they are the musicians musicians, and they are all in all beautiful as they can be - and they are on their start only here, some great works are going to come after "daydream nation" (Goo, Dirty, Washing Mashine etc - look at "the diamond sea" live in 1996, really perfect as pink floyd in the seventies), I love them!

[@piershollott339]

chord and pedal and hammer are all straight up descriptions of the guitar riff. I love this album, and especially this song, because it picks up where William Gibson and Patti Smith leave off with their own potential futures, with a really smart and erudite vision of their own.

[@damonramirez]

Yes!!! We love Sonic Youth!! “Dirty” is my personal favorite album, produced by Butch Vig. They d a really good cover of The Carpenters “Superstar”

[@mattjohn4731]

They have many great songs. Swimsuit Issue, Little Trouble Girl, 100%, Silver Rocket, The Neutral, Reena, Sunday, Tunic, Dirty Boots, Anti Orgasm... they were like big bros and sis to Nirvana

[@lobotomyscam1051]

And Wish Fulfillment, Winners Blues, Sugar Kane...

[@scottfrench4139]

And "The Wonder/Hyperstation," "Orange Rolls, Angel's Spit," "Youth Against Fascism," "Tunic (Song For Karen)," "Drunken Butterfly," "Kotton Krown," "Cross the Breeze," "Eric's Trip," "Mary-Christ," "Titanium Expose," "Mote," "My Friend Goo," "Purr," "(I Got a) Catholic Block," "Expressway to Yr. Skull," "Sunday," "Hits of Sunshine (For Allen Ginsberg)," "The Diamond Sea," etc.

[@DemonWarp65]

This song (The original by Iggy Pop and the Stooges) was used in the movies Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and The Transporter 2.

[@josiepkat]

Oh I love this one!!! It's the first song on my alternative music playlist on my phone. I love the dreaminess of it - and you're very on point with your take. I thought you might like this as its a bit more complex musically than the average pop song - or at least if feels that way to me. There's the intro and the body of the song, and they don't seem like they should fit together on the surface, but they do. I think the chord, peddel, hammer that's rockin are referring to musical instruments? Are they singing about someone they know who's had a bit of fame - and their relation to that person now? That first verse is what makes makes me think it's something along those lines. I just love the sound of this song and I guess I didn't really think about it super deeply. Thanks for listening to this one. :)

[@-davidolivares]

Daydream Nation is new to me but I’ve heard one of my favorite covers ever, Within You Without You by SY on the deluxe Daydream Nation version. Yes, I want more. It’s raw droney crazy noise that somehow makes me happy.

[@bazeye]

If you like this you'll like Freak Scene by Dinosaur Jr.

[@Nimno74]

It's not a "what" he's singing about, it's a "who". J Mascis, to be specific.

[@carolinastringband]

Congratulations, you just discovered one of the greatest bands most people never heard of. Just keep in mind some of their stuff you have to listen to multiple times before the genius of it sinks in. I envy you, you got to listen to the Sonic youth catalog for the first time. Daydream Nation, Goo and Dirty are there best albums in my opinion. Enjoy

[@DonovanCarterArtandDesign]

Nice video! If you like Sonic Youth, I think you should give the Pixies another try. Also, Weezer, starting with their self-titled (Blue Album). :)

[@ethelwulfmountbattenderoth2286]

I used to turn this up and jump up and down on my bed and freak out.

[@14gilbertst]

Superstar is a cover of the Carpenters/Delaney and Bonnie song. It was on a Carpenters tribute album.

[@-davidolivares]

Written by Leon Russell.

[@14gilbertst]

@@-davidolivares Thanks! I Knew there was more to the story! I thought it was written by Rita Coolidge because she sang the song on Mad Dogs and Englishmen album by Joe Cocker.....of course, Leon is on piano (great album.)

[@-davidolivares]

@@14gilbertst Wiki says written by Leon and Bonnie, which I didn’t know. Facts are good. :)

[@notabritperse]

YES!!! Predicting good things. Let's have a listen. UPDATE: Yeah! Also, yes, J Mascis is the leader of Dinosaur Jr. ("The Wagon" would make for a good listen?). Good stuff (as usual).

[@patrick3926]

Sonic Youth seems to be that little late 80s bridge between early alternative rock like REM and Cure and early 90s alternative like Smashing Pumpkins.

[@ijustneedmyself]

Love Sonic Youth! Looking forward to you listening to more from this album and their others.

[@jaymez3461]

You should check out their song "Dirty Boots" It's one of their best.

[@Koiranpaeinen]

The favorite album of my teenage years. I think no-one else mentioned it in the comments but cooze in the lyrics is a slang word for... eehh, let's say female genital area :)

[@scottfrench4139]

Arguably the most important of the 1980s/'90s bands. Revolutionary, and every album is excellent or better. I especially recommend this one -- for me, the second-best album of the 1980s, after Joy Division's "Closer" -- "Sister," "Goo," "Dirty" and "Washing Machine." Check out "Orange Rolls, Angel's Spit" from "Dirty." Kim Gordon's greatest vocal performance.

[@SuperTJK1992]

I'm not the biggest fan of the band. However "Daydream Nation" is one of those albums that does sound better when you play it late at night. The atmosphere really comes out the later you play it. You get the feeling of being in a small club with barely any lighting in 1980s New York.

[@SuperTJK1992]

@@Katehowe3010 XD Thanks for the correction. It's been a while since I have listened to this album so that's probably why I got the name of it wrong.

[@shanna9650]

This is an album experience. It's a double album and a complete work. You may wish to explore their label SST particularly my favorites the Minutemen. Meat puppets, Husker Du and Black Flag are on this amazing label as well. SST came about as a way for Black Flag to get their music out, but it truly ended up with a smattering of punk from around the US. Double Nickels on the Dime by Minutemen. Masterpiece

[@jaybird4093]

The name of the band and title of the song screams high school. Not my thing then or now (even though I was a teenager in 1988). Baba O’Riley (Teenage Wasteland) by The Who was more my thing.

[@GareksApprentice]

I know Sonic Youth mainly from their guest spot on The Simpsons, which also featured a kickass cover of the Simpsons theme by them. I know this song from being in Rock Band 2. I kinda liked it more this time around rather than when I first drummed to it, not realizing it was a 7 minute song. Though I much prefer their song "Kool Thing" over this. That one is louder, noisier & has Chuck D from Public Enemy on it! I'll be very curious at the comments to this video. Given that it's late-80s alternative rock, 7 minutes long and comprised of 3 chords, I don't think it's gonna go over that well. Also, if you like this, you might like fellow alternative/noise rock contemporaries Smashing Pumpkins. I think of them as 1a and 1b much like the Beatles & Stones, though that might purely be due to them appearing in the same episode of The Simpsons.

[@heinruh9788]

Yeah!!!!!!!

[@bigmanpigman3436]

The Sprawl

[@sicko_the_ew]

Whenever you listen to them, you're always in with a chance of hearing something that was recorded as experimental (you can't really call it experimental once it's part of the show, later, though). They figured out quite a lot of new sounds for the guitar (and could go quite chaotic on stage, apparently - ending pieces with mock wrestling fights on the stage floor between band members - affectionate fights between Thurston and Kim, who were married). Their music has a distinctive "core sound" - what you hear here - but covers quite a wide range. If you enjoyed Dave Grohl/ The Foo Fighters song, *Everlong* - the song he played with little Nandi Bushell - that was his "Sonic Youth" song. He was friends with the band by the time he created it, and he played it to them, they liked it, and he went ahead with it. There's an interview somewhere on KZbin where he tells the story. *Superstar* is their tribute to Karen Carpenter. They were big fans of hers. It's just a cover, but they made something new out of it. I think you'll enjoy finding out more of the music. Maybe you don't like everything, but I'm pretty sure you'll find some music of theirs that you love, as the time becomes available to try out more. They got divorced, and AFAIK, that was the end of the band. They've all had solo careers, though. I saw a recent song Kim did with her daughter. Maybe I must go find it before clicking the button, and put a link here. Here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5nOaZJ_hdWhgpY (it's quite punk, and her daughter only does the acting and dancing for the video, so I remembered it a bit defectively.)

[@HippoYnYrEira]

Ah! Sumffin I ain’t heard b4. Should be revealing- either of 1988 trends or my cynicism.... I preferred Teenage Fanclub’s big star powerpop over the dreary shoegazing iggypopisms of the goth-edged Sisters of Mercy Mission. But Wait This is powerpop of an indie usa nature and it’s hangin sooooo Looooose. Yeah! I liked this a lot. Great Fun! Diolch

[@nomisnestral6956]

Cuts to the bone machine.

[@ΝικοςΡαπτης-κ4ν]

Chapel Hill is a great song to react

[@ioiniipiailiaitinii559]

Suggestion: Atari Teenage Riot - Revolution Action

[@chrisbarnette7137]

Please reaact to Sonic Youth - Diamond 💎 Sea From the music to the lyrics. It's an epic journey..can can be a hard pill to swallow but thank you for the open mindness.

[@jamespaivapaiva4460]

Thurston for Moore, but I'm lost in the Goo! Peace psychedelic surf-rockers!

[@ecce_neru]

Dinosaur Jr Sebadoh My Bloody Valentine Lo-fi post-punk essentials

[@HO-yc3pv]

They were in their 30s when they made this lol

[@musicdroog7666]

Straight out guitar rock. Love it. Kool Thing and Diamond Sea stand out. Kim is Kool

[@JohnnyMinotaur]

So no reaction to any other tracks from this album??? Geez. I mean, this is a great song, but there are so many other tracks of theirs you should hear. I vote for "Expressway to Yr Skull" from the EVOL album. React to that!

[@pentagrammaton6793]

Nice! Sonic Youth are a small, but important influence on me.

[@Eduardo-Ferreira1982]

There are a... Band (ok, band...) named Atari Teenage Riot. You should check. Just to be aware of one of the impacts SY did. (good subversive empowered and intelligent lyrics by Alec Empire, with music... (sounds?) that won't let you feel quiet. Their motto was "Riot sounds produce Riots".

[@Eduardo-Ferreira1982]

There is... (sorry my English...)

[@sarahjane8146]

Listen to Kool Thing.

[@blitztim6416]

Highly influential band I could never really get into. I prefer the band Yo La Tengo.

[@lukerosenbrock5630]

They are not punk.. they broke punk

[@AriadneJC]

The music here is fine but I have always had an aversion to that name: Sonic Youth. It immediately puts up a barrier that I have no desire to push beyond, for some reason. Very weird but I guess the whole package is something we take in and prejudices our view of things.

[@maruad7577]

It's alright. Reminds me a bit of Broken Social Scene, who came later.

[@maruad7577]

@@Katehowe3010 I have only heard one song. It was alright. That is not meant as damning.

[@SmartCookie2022]

I never got the rave reviews for Sonic Youth in the NME and Sounds. A New York band that was part of the hip noise rock scene, they were the instant darlings of the UK music press, which tells you all you need to know. Some of my friends loved them in the 80's, but not this hombre. The Pixies, yes. But not Sonic Youth. Drab, meandering, and largely unsatisfying. Give me The Cure over this lot any day.

[@eboethrasher]

I love the Cure, they are my favorite band, but I have no idea how you miss out on the melodic nature of this, and how much it sounds like indie-proto-shoegaze.

[@jfergs.3302]

Pretty generic, and hardly innovative. Came across like a Cure, Joy Division hybrid... Thought the intro a relative waste of time, but after that it did pick up. The riff, guitar sound weren't bad, but as I've said, hardly original. And it did go on a bit, not enough variation, they could've easily pared it back a bit, made it snappier. Oh, and deffo not punk... CRASS I tell's ya. Play 'So What' that's a good introduction.

[@Eduardo-Ferreira1982]

I kind of agree with you. Maybe this isn't their most different sound album adding to pop culture. I would chose Bad Moon Rising for that.

[@kylem.9525]

It’s basically a 7 minute pop song. Personally I absolutely love it, but it’s not really trying to be super influential or unique sounding (they have many other songs that are far more experimental and strange than this one). I don’t get the “generic” remark, though. Their sound is one of the most recognizable I’ve heard. It’s very obvious when a band is inspired by Sonic Youth.

[@jfergs.3302]

@@Eduardo-Ferreira1982 Cheers, I'll have to refresh my memory.

[@Eduardo-Ferreira1982]

Yeah, they can be not as unique as for instance Cocteaux, but when you'll start to listen a SY song you only need a few seconds to know it's them.

[@jfergs.3302]

@@Katehowe3010 The punk reference was for JP's benefit, he mentioned hearing they were 'punk'. A number of bands from that era had that epithet thrown at them. Whether they were or not, and in this case definitely not.

[@a.k.1740]

Not my thing at all, neither vocally nor musically. I skip...

[@palantir135]

No, not for me.