Sonic Youth

Kidcloudkicker
Kidcloudkicker Posts: 428
edited June 2009 in Other Music
Can anyone recommend a good album or two to start with for a Sonic Youth noob?
Columbus 6/24/03, Pittsburgh 9/28/05, Cleveland 5/20/06, Pittsburgh 6/23/06, Chicago 8/5/07, New York 6/24/08, New York 6/25/08, Hartford 6/27/08, Mansfield 6/28/08, Mansfield 6/30/08, EV D.C. 8/16/08, EV Chicago 8/22/08, EV Baltimore 6/14/09, Chicago 8/23/09, Philadelphia 10/27/09, Philadelphia 10/28/09, Philadelphia 10/30/09, Philadelphia 10/31/09, Columbus 5/6/10, Indianapolis 5/7/10, Cleveland 5/9/10, Buffalo 5/10/10, EV Detroit 6/26/11, Toronto 9/12/11, Hamilton 9/15/11, Pittsburgh 10/11/13, Buffalo 10/12/13, San Diego 11/21/13, Los Angeles 11/23/13, Los Angeles 11/24/13, Cincinnati 10/1/14, Detroit 10/16/14, New York 9/26/15, Greenville 4/16/16, Hampton 4/18/16, Columbia 4/21/16, Philadelphia 4/29/16, Chicago 8/20/16, Chicago 8/22/16, Denver 9/22/22, Los Angeles 5/21/24
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • intodeep
    intodeep Posts: 7,249
    Rather Ripped the album before the one that just came out is very easy on the ears. Actually their last three albums Sonic Nurse, Rather Ripped, & The Eternal i think are all accesable.

    Once you try one or two of those and you know the sound a little dive into their masterpiece
    Daydream Nation
    Charlotte 00 | Charlotte 03 | Asheville 04 | Atlanta 12 | Greenville 16 | Columbia 16 |Seattle 18  | Nashville 22 | Ohana Festival 24 x2 | Atlanta 25 x2
  • gobrowns19
    gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
    The opener to Daydream Nation, Teenage Riot, is what pulled me in. I'd say start with that or Sister, but they may be kind of hard to get into.
    Happiness is only real when shared
  • pjfan021
    pjfan021 Posts: 684
    seriously..i was never really into the band..heard random stuff here and there and really got into the guitar work. The first album i picked up from them was the eternal which just came out and it's just as good as anything i've personally ever heard.
  • Stephen Flow
    Stephen Flow Posts: 3,327
    Daydream Nation, EVOL & Sister to start out with.
  • red mos
    red mos Posts: 4,953
    Murray street is a good one to start with. Think the original only had 7 tracks and was considered an ep. It may have been re released with bonus tracks though.

    I liked Goo alot too.
    PJ: 10/14/00 06/09/03 10/4/09 11/15/13 11/16/13 10/08/14
    EV Solo: 7/11/11 11/12/12 11/13/12
  • Jack_C_Gregory
    Jack_C_Gregory Posts: 540
    As a previous post said, their last three albums are pretty accessible to new ears. I would also suggest Goo.
  • Lifted
    Lifted Posts: 1,836
    i might actually recommend starting with the brand new one, "the eternal". it might not be their best album, but it's great and it gives you a great idea of what sonic youth is all about. it's also pretty accessible for a newcomer in relation to the rest of their albums. my favorite is probably daydream nation...........it's hard to go wrong though, all i would say is definitely don't start with their first release which is self titled. it's out there and it's remastered. that's where i started, and it took me a while to get into it, not a lot of vocals, and the production is pretty weak.

    daydream nation
    goo
    murray street
    washing machine
    sonic nurse
    rather ripped
    the eternal

    ......can't go wrong with any of those
  • say_hi
    say_hi Posts: 313
    Has anyone mentioned Dirty??? That is a great album and really easy to get into! Enjoy the sonic trip..........
    4/30/03, 7/5/03, 7/6/03, 7/8/03, 7/9/03, 7/11/03, 7/12/03, 7/14/03, 9/28/04, 9/29/04, 10/1/04, 9/30/05, 10/1/05, 10/3/05, 5/4/06 (Letterman Mini-Concert), 5/5/06, 5/27/06, 5/28/06, 6/1/06, 6/3/06, 6/19/08, 6/20/08, 6/24/08, 6/25/08, 6/27/08, 6/28/08, 6/30/08, 10/27/09, 10/28/09, 10/30/09, 10/31/09, 5/15/10, 5/18/10, 5/20/10, 5/21/10
  • Thoughts_Arrive
    Thoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
    there are witches wrote:
    Has anyone mentioned Dirty??? That is a great album and really easy to get into! Enjoy the sonic trip..........

    If I got in first I would've.

    Dirty!
    With songs like the following you can't go wrong:

    Sugar Kane
    Drunken Butterfly
    100%
    Swimsuit Issue
    Theresa's Sound-World

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_(album)


    I also love Washing Machine, so mellow, perfect chill out album to tune out to!
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    edited December 2023
    Looks like we have a number of Sonic Youth threads, so I just picked one to pick up on.
    I'm just now (sadly!) finishing the recently published, lengthy (just under 500 pages but seriously, if I could, I would read all 1500 pages of the original manuscript), and incredible memoir from Thurston Moore: Sonic Life.

    I've had the 4 LP box set of Daydream Nation for several years but always struggled a bit with getting into the music.  Having ready Thurston's book, I've gone back to that album with a much clearer understanding of what they were up to and am completely (well, nearly at least- there are a few difficult pieces but mostly die to my hearing issues) taken by this amazing record.  I have a copy of Sister coming soon and just picked up (but have not yet listened to) Le Renaldo's double LP, Last Night On Earth.  The flood gates have opened on this band for me!

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

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