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Post by Lord Lucan on Jul 31, 2015 23:12:32 GMT -5
The winner of August's Record Club poll is "Rather Ripped" by Sonic Youth. Post your thoughts below.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Aug 2, 2015 15:39:49 GMT -5
Rather Ripped was my second exposure to Sonic Youth, after I 'borrowed' my dad's copies of Murray Street (which I adored) and Sonic Nurse (which I was less enthused about). I was around midway through high school at the time, and just breaking out of my punk phase into an appreciation for Pavement and Yo La Tengo, so it couldn't have come at a better time. I know I annoyed my friends about it a lot, and because it sounded so much 'lighter' than the likes of the Distillers or Butthole Surfers, I ended up mostly listening to it alone, browsing forums and talking online to the only other Sonic Youth fans I knew. While I liked Murray Street quite a bit, it never made me want to seek out Sonic's older stuff, and Rather Ripped changed that. This album is probably the reason I ended up buying EVOL for 5 bucks out of Easy Street Records' used bin, and boy, was that a game changer. I also recall putting "Incinerate" on every single mix CD I made that year.
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Post by dboonsghost on Aug 2, 2015 22:20:59 GMT -5
"Pink Steam" is sick
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Post by Lord Lucan on Aug 2, 2015 23:04:57 GMT -5
Along with the preceeding Murray Street and Sonic Nurse, I count this among my favourites of theirs. I guess it would be fair to say these songs are mostly more taut and tuneful, if not poppier, than SY often produced. I'm a big fan of 'Pink Streams' and 'Jams Run Free' (of which there are excellent live versions on YT from From the Basement). I also like the quieter "Lights Out" and "The Neutral". The only one I'm inclined to skip is "Do You Believe in Rapture?" which I don't feel goes anywhere interesting.
I think The Eternal wasn't as strong, but I still they were still one of the best bands going when they disbanded.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Aug 3, 2015 0:31:20 GMT -5
The only one I'm inclined to skip is "Do You Believe in Rapture?" which I don't feel goes anywhere interesting. I always skip this one too. I gave it another shot on my re-listen for this thread but man, it feels like it lets all the air out of the album's tires. Plus, "Incinerate" moves perfectly into "Sleepin' Around" without losing any steam. |
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repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563 
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Post by repulsionist on Aug 3, 2015 9:50:41 GMT -5
Hey, maybe you guys should try to unpack the " Helen Lundeberg" track. It speaks to what Da Yoof were trying to accomplish on this rekkid. Additionally, the cover art reflects what this album "means" in the context of their body of work. I ain't doin' it. You guys do it. |
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Post by Lord Lucan on Aug 3, 2015 14:29:51 GMT -5
Hey, maybe you guys should try to unpack the " Helen Lundeberg" track. It speaks to what Da Yoof were trying to accomplish on this rekkid. Additionally, the cover art reflects what this album "means" in the context of their body of work. I ain't doin' it. You guys do it. I most certainly don't know how to do that. |
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repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
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Post by repulsionist on Aug 3, 2015 15:35:59 GMT -5
This is what I see and hear when I listen to "Rather Ripped".
The "Helen Lundeberg" extra track that shows up on the CD recites the names of various works by the artist. The works tracked appear to relate to how Lundeberg's New Classicism/Post Surrealism sought to "not rely on random dream imagery. Instead, carefully planned subjects were used to guide the viewer through the painting, gradually revealing a deeper meaning." [Wiki citation] Her life as an artist moved to works of greater and greater abstraction. This record is such an abstraction, a musing on what they'd done previous. A further refinement of their arc through No-Wave to Alt-rock heroes. In other words, they're playing the same "type" of songs, but the songs themselves are a refinement/abstraction of the original premise. A mirrored mirror, so to speak.
I'll go further to say that the cover artist, Christopher Wool, utilizes words as the art itself. The blatant meaning of intention spelled out. In this case, "Rather Ripped" = This is our sound; honed. We're just doing what we do; and quite well, we think.
Furthermore:
Each of their records is a complete work of art. Image + sound + presentation. Images presented reflect the intention of the sounds on the record. The presentation within the medium of vinyl, cassette, CD delivers "complete" art.
Images + sound/content
Sonic Youth - Side-by-side image of the band (guys fucking around after getting Big Ideas from Branca: Side One forward; Side Two reverse)
Confusion is Sex - A sketch of Thurston by Kim (a band on the cusp of defining its aesthetic fully)
Kill Yr Idols - A revisiting of the same sketch, different color background (if you didn't like the way it turned out the first time, do it over)
Sonic Death - High school photo of Thurston (Doofs make real loud noise. Lookee mee!)
Bad Moon Rising - Dan Welling photograph (image displayed = content within. NYC: where the world's on FYAHHH! in a pagan celebration of droning scream chants)
EVOL - Richard Kern still from Submit to Me (NY weirdness where shit's backward and upside-down)
Sister - COVER PHOTOS FROM PUBLIC DOMAIN
JACKED FROM SONIC MATRIX (The Philip K. Dick concept album)
Master-Dik - White Noise mimeograph, no artists listed - must assume themselves. (covers rich album; a copy of a copy of a copy - et cetera; white noise = noise of Ben Weasel)
Ciccone Youth - close-up of peak-era Madonna (Kim Gordon meditates on what it means to be a pop queen)
Daydream Nation - Gerhard Richter painting (photorealism/cyberpunk concept album)
Goo - Raymond Pettibon drawing (troo punk; aligns with The Year Punk Broke doc)
Dirty - Mike Kelley photograph (band friend who had a deep punk rock history; moves to "fine arts")
Actually, I didn't pay attention to Sonic Youth after Dirty. I disliked Goo. I disliked Dirty. I thought the move to Goo was, er, I just didn't dig it. It didn't suit my own sense of what they'd made me feel, and what I thought they'd accomplished, in the past. Mind y'all, I was in my 20s when I abandoned Sonic Youth, so I didn't articulate the previous so cannily. However, they, as a band, continued to deliver the complete package. I just haven't written it out, and what I've written out preceding isn't the most acute of interpretations. More like a broad stroke.
"Rather Ripped" - (See preceding explanation)
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Post by Djse (and a Sack of Cats) on Aug 3, 2015 20:32:26 GMT -5
Here's a Spotify link. I was tempted to link to Sleepytime Gorilla Museum here out of spite.  (No free Amazon Prime streaming on this one.)
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Post by Lord Lucan on Aug 4, 2015 5:58:16 GMT -5
This is really, really good. I've probably listened to this one more often than any other SY album except Sonic Nurse which was the first album of theirs I really "got." I'd say I prefer this to The Eternal, even though that album has the John Fahey tribute on it. I always feel like a bit of a poseur when it comes to certain bands--Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and Unwound in particular--because I so strongly prefer their latter output to their earliest, best-respected music. The Youth of my youth was the period repulsionist dropped out on--their first album I was exposed to was Experimental Jet Set, Trash, and No Star--and I don't think I liked that stuff any more than he did. I've never gotten 'round to checking out '80s Youth. Should probably do so. That's interesting; I didn't know that Fahey painted at all. |
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Aug 4, 2015 21:35:40 GMT -5
This is really, really good. I've probably listened to this one more often than any other SY album except Sonic Nurse which was the first album of theirs I really "got." I'd say I prefer this to The Eternal, even though that album has the John Fahey tribute on it. I always feel like a bit of a poseur when it comes to certain bands--Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and Unwound in particular--because I so strongly prefer their latter output to their earliest, best-respected music. The Youth of my youth was the period repulsionist dropped out on--their first album I was exposed to was Experimental Jet Set, Trash, and No Star--and I don't think I liked that stuff any more than he did. I've never gotten 'round to checking out '80s Youth. Should probably do so. Start with Daydream Nation. It's accessible as far as SY goes, and also amazing. |
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Post by Djse (and a Sack of Cats) on Aug 6, 2015 21:06:40 GMT -5
I'd never heard this album before listening to it to post this. I think for some reason I thought it was a live album when it came out and ignored it. (Not entirely sure why that made sense anyway.) As far as previous work...while I've given other albums a listen here and there, my real knowledge and experience with Sonic Youth is somewhat limited to Daydream Nation, Goo (the video for "Kool Thing" with Chuck D showing up on 120 Minutes was my way in), Dirty and Washing Machine...so here are some scattered thoughts as I listen to "Ratter Ripped" for the very first time.
"Reena" is freaking amazing from the beginning. (I generally like the Kim songs.) I can already see myself getting frustrated trying to learn the many guitar parts to this song.
The "incinerate" bit of "Incinerate"...and "Or" in its entirety...and to a lesser extent the "Helen Lundeberg" bonus track...such perfect simplicity that it makes me wish I'd come up with it. I will undoubtedly rip off ideas from these songs if I ever get around to writing songs again. That's one thing I love about Sonic Youth - it's all so weird and imperfect that it makes you think that you could probably do it too.
I just kind of zoned out during "Do You Believe In Rapture?" (meh), but woke right up for "Sleepin' Around". Great song...a bit of foreshadowing? I still oddly blame Thurston Moore's extramarital dickery for the end of this band (I know that's ridiculous), so I wish I hated this song, but I can't. It's just too good.
"What a Waste" - hurray, more Kim! "I can't wait / to taste your face." I regret ignoring this album when it came out...
...and then "Jams Run Free" happens. I just don't dig the guitar on this one at all...until things start getting really noisy around halfway through, and then I can dig it.
"Rats" is the first song on the album I considered skipping halfway through. I didn't, but probably should have.
"Turquoise Boy" starts off kind of eh, but when it gets going it's fantastic...and then it goes back to the kind of noodly guitar bit from the beginning but I didn't even mind because that middle bit is such fun.
"Lights Out" is all about the solo. The rest of the song I can pretty much do without. I may make an MP3 of that just that solo looped a few times. (Probably not, but you never know.)
I once again zoned out for "The Neutral"...but "Pink Steam" does kinda rock. Unfortunately I found myself just kind of wishing "Eyeliner" would end - not the best way to close out the album. Sometimes bonus tracks are bonus tracks for a reason. I think I would have liked the album better as a whole if it had just ended with "Or", maybe with "Helen Lundeberg" as a hidden track that shows up after a bunch of silence.
All things being what they are, it's safe to say I'll add this album to the stack of albums I should not have ignored, and will throw it into the commute rotation for a while.
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Post by Nudeviking on Aug 7, 2015 1:54:29 GMT -5
I've been into Sonic Youth since Dirty came out. I had actually seen them when Dad Viking took me with him to see Neil Young, Sonic Youth, an Social Distortion a year or so earlier in '91 but it wasn't until I saw the 100% video on MTV that I would have actually considered myself a fan. I think it was actually the best way to discover Sonic Youth since I was just getting out of top 40 music when they were at their most user friendly, got a part-time job with disposable income when they started rereleasing their older albums, and turned into an insufferable "everything mainstream sucks!" when they started doing those SYR EPs.
Anyway I've pretty dutifully purchased their albums since '92 or whenever it was I actually got Dirty, and this one...maybe it was because it came out in the aughts and I therefore had internet based ADD or maybe I just didn't like it initially for some other reason, but I just didn't listen to it that much (Sonic Nurse and The Eternal got a lot more play than this), but listening to it this week, I'm kind of kicking myself for not rocking out more to it earlier.
This album is boss deluxe! Really the only track I didn't like was "Do You Believe In Rapture?" which might just be because of where it lies in the tracklist because "Incinerate" and "What a Waste" are so awesome. I think I dig "Jams Run Free" the most because it's almost a normal pop rock song until they Sonic Youth it up at the end (see also most of their early to mid-90s output).
Listening to this album had the side effect of inducing a massive Sonic Youth kick. Along with Rather Ripped, A Thousand Leaves, Bad Moon Rising, and SYR3 are all on my mp3 machine as we speak and will probably remain their for some time.
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Post by Lord Lucan on Aug 7, 2015 2:28:17 GMT -5
Guy from Pavement playing bass on this album too.
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