not crap

good bass player

evocative singer/lyricist back in the day

it's my fault i can't say much about anything since 1992 or so

Really, really like her - the spookily beautiful Shadow Of A Doubt is among my favourite SY songs, same goes for Beauty Lies... and I'm really fond of I Love You Golden Blue from the last album. All sung by Kim. Not so keen on that live trumpet though.

Tim Midgett! I too had a SY furlough for most of the 90s and understand the reluctance but it's really worth trying a copy of Sonic Nurse or Murray Street, each has at least a couple of (tops) good tracks. A very different proposition these days perhaps but they still make some utterly fantastic (funny sounding) rock music.

I second the not crap. Good bass playing, great vocals....but yeah, I have not purchased a SY record since 'Dirty' I think. That was the one with Kool Moe Dee or Chuck D or one of the D's on it, right?

Not crap for the reasons given above, but also for her vocal on "The Sprawl", my favourite SY song. She's smart, witty and distinctive, a relief from the of identikit sing-song vocalists.

cjh wrote:it's really worth trying a copy of Sonic Nurse or Murray Street

I'd like to add 1000 Leaves to that list. It's my favorite of all the newer albums, sonically and musically. Washing Machine is good too, for those who jumped ship in the early 90s.

cjh wrote:Tim Midgett! I too had a SY furlough for most of the 90s and understand the reluctance but it's really worth trying a copy of Sonic Nurse or Murray Street, each has at least a couple of (tops) good tracks. A very different proposition these days perhaps but they still make some utterly fantastic (funny sounding) rock music.

i heard a couple things on the radio that i liked over the last couple years

i really couldn't get into _jet set_ and _washing machine_, at all. combined with the less-good quals of _goo_ and _dirty_, they knocked me off the boat.

i will 'chk out' these last two recs on your recommendation

"brave men run" may still be my favorite of her things

Frequently crap, but NOT CRAP overall. I think she has written her share of trite lyrics, and her delivery has been really irritating at time, but some of my favorite SY songs are Kim songs:

Shaking Hell
Flower
Brave Men Run
Shadow of a Doubt
Pacific Coast Highway

She is still my least favorite of the three SY vocalists, though.

Mayfair wrote:I have not purchased a SY record since 'Dirty' I think. That was the one with Kool Moe Dee or Chuck D or one of the D's on it, right?

Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing" (from "Goo") features Chuck D. from Public Enemy.

Word up.

Chuck D. possesses one of the greatest voices and wrote some of the best lyrics in the history of popular music. I cannot imagine a world without Chuck D., Public Enemy, the Bomb Squad and what they have done.

On the other hand, Kool Moe Dee made nothing of any substance or lasting relevance, even by the low standards of 1980s rap music. Kool Moe Dee is best remembered for his trademark wraparound sunglasses and the fact that Will Smith sampled the song "Wild Wild West", which should tell you all that you need to know.

So they're different, these D's!

cjh wrote:I too had a SY furlough for most of the 90s and understand the reluctance but it's really worth trying a copy of Sonic Nurse or Murray Street, each has at least a couple of (tops) good tracks. A very different proposition these days perhaps but they still make some utterly fantastic (funny sounding) rock music.

I agree! I agree this statement!

Of the later SY stuff, I think A Thousand Leaves is pretty good. I haven't really listened to any Sonic Youth in a very long time, though.

My cousin recalled seeing them on the Ragged Glory tour with Neil Young- that must've been one of the more bizarre tours (in terms of a variegated crowd). Take that CSNY heads!