October 14, 2011: a day that will live in infamy in Sonic Youth history. Lead-songwriter and guitarist, Thurston Moore, and bassist, Kim Gordon, decided to separate after 27 years of being together.
Despite the rumors that persisted that new material would be recorded after, the future of Sonic Youth seems uncertain. In addition to the separation, Thurston is on tour after the release of his latest album, Demolished Thoughts; the other guitarist, Lee Ranaldo, is about to release his own solo album, Between the Tides and Times; the drummer, Steve Shelley, has joined, finished an album, and is now on tour with the krautrock influenced alternative rock band Disappears; lastly, Kim Gordon has developed a new fashion collection for the French brand, Surface to Air.
While Lee has said in interviews that he remains optimistic about the future of Sonic Youth despite the "hiatus", there are rumors circulating that their last show may be this August at Lollapalooza, which takes place in Grant Park, Chicago.
Through their thirty years of existence, Sonic Youth has had a tremendous impact on music. Their DIY ethic, their use of prepared and alternate tunings of instruments and their unique manipulation of consonant and dissonant guitar tones set them apart from most bands of their time. Their music was one of the main influences for the rise of the alternative rock movement of the 1990's. In addition, through their own manipulation of sound, they perfected the "anti-solo", in which the musician focuses more on the noise, distortion and dissonance they create rather than what notes or melody they play.
As a fan, my tribute to them is to share their music; I'm going to write about each album within their extensive, yet consistently solid, discography and recommend the best tracks to listen to. Within their large music collection, there is bound to be something that most could appreciate and I hope to achieve that with this "eulogy."
Sonic Youth (1982)
Confusion is Sex (1983)
Bad Moon Rising (1985)
If you were going to ask me to recommend Sonic Youth material, these first three albums wouldn't be the first to come to mind. The songs are incredibly experimental and avant-garde. The usual song structure is pretty much absent with more of a focus on the sounds and environment created.
Thurston and Lee were greatly influenced by Glenn Branca, an avant-garde and classical guitarist. Both were part of Branca's guitar orchestra, where they learned how to experiment with the sounds a guitar can make. In addition, Sonic Youth was a part of No Wave - an art movement that focused more on atonal sounds, repetitive rhythms and musical texture over melody.
For these albums, they used prepared guitars extensively. Such things like drumsticks, screwdrivers and bells were placed both between and over the strings to modify the timbre of their guitars. Sonic Youth is pretty "timid" compared to the other two albums due to its more refined production.
Confusion is Sex has a raw punk ambience, while Bad Moon Rising has a very "western" feel to it. Although there isn't anything particularly special with the first two albums, Bad Moon Rising is considered to be one of the best noise rock albums ever. Despite this, I wouldn't recommend listening to this material first if you are new to Sonic Youth.
EVOL (1986)
Sister (1987)
Daydream Nation (1988)
While their first three albums were very experimental, their next three were definitely "tamer." EVOL marked the transition from their No Wave/noise past to an early alternative rock sound. It is from these albums that one can see where the sounds of the 90's alternative rock movement came from.
While there is definitely more of a song structure present, there is still some experimenting going on as the prepared guitars were replaced with alternate tunings. Instead of using the standard tuning universally used by guitarists, Sonic Youth created these unusual tunings, which gave the guitars distinctive tones dependant on the notes of each string.
While still a solid album, EVOL is a bit more experimental so it can turn some away. Sister has a more "pop" feel due to the short length and structure of the songs. Despite the unique and unusual melodies off this album, the songs are still very catchy. Meanwhile, Daydream, being a double LP, has a more "epic" feel and has so many sounds to offer.
The latter two are considered by many - not only the band's best - but probably two of the best albums of the 1980's. Not only do both albums have arguably the best opening songs of the 1980's (Schizophrenia and Teen Age Riot), but the songs from each album flow so well into each other. It is alternative rock at its finest.
I would have to say Daydream Nation just edges out Sister, but that is not saying much. Just to give some reference, Daydream Nation was chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved into the National Library of Congress.
