When it comes to their 'recent' stuff (i.e. post Daydream Nation), SY has done a good many albums which revolted me at first, but grew on me in a big way. Washing Machine and Murray Street are two such examples.

Nurse, however, left me with no room to second guess the old masters. It immediately hit me in a big way and demonstrated to me that my previous skepticism as to whether they'd ever be able to deliver the goods again was unfounded.

SN, to me, is their "comeback record" after a few dismal albums. However, between Experimental Jet Set, after which they lost me, and SN, an awful lot of phoned-in lethargy has crept in. "Peace Attack" and "Unmade Bed" sound like Sonic Yacht Rock, lacking much of the urgency their best stuff had. [dons flame suit]

Steve V. wrote:The best of later Sonic Youth, except for maybe Murray Street.

I think that Sonic Nurse was better than Murray Street. For me, Sonic Nurse was the crowning achievement of the Jim O'Rourke thrillogy. They were absolutely fantastic in concert during this period, too.

I couldn't even listen to Rather Ripped.

AAAAAAARGH wrote:So boring. People actually feel compelled to listen to this record?

To be fair, I haven't listened to this record in forever. When I was younger, it was very important to me. Sonic Youth was never as exciting after discovering the wider world of anger management rock.

FuzzBob wrote:SN, to me, is their "comeback record" after a few dismal albums. However, between Experimental Jet Set, after which they lost me, and SN, an awful lot of phoned-in lethargy has crept in. "Peace Attack" and "Unmade Bed" sound like Sonic Yacht Rock, lacking much of the urgency their best stuff had. [dons flame suit]

Who needs a flame suit? I don't see the album as "lacking urgency" necessarily as I see it as an instance of aging gracefully. It's like what Jay Ryan said about Stephen Malkmus...some bands/brahs don't age as well as others. You can't express yourself like a twenty-five year old forever, right? Sonic Youth is just about the most confusing mixed bag in rock history with respect to the notion of rokken over 40.

They were certainly spellbinding/urgent on tour at the time...I saw Sonic Nurse as being pretty powerful, well-thought out stuff...even if it wasn't outwardly pissed off.

Sonic Yacht Rock

Oooh. ^_^