The
CD contains a small CD-ROM presentation that is really kind
of weak and thin; but, you know, I can be kind of biased on
these multimedia things
They also have a DVD out right now called Corporate Ghost,
the Videos: 1990 - 2002 that has every video done under
the corprate record label umbrella- from art school looking
projects to some of their coolest videos
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Aging indie rockers Sonic Youth release their 19th album
- and have come full circle back to coolness
Story
by: Corey Tate
I'm just gonna throw it out there that Sonic Youth
has always been one of my favorite bands. If you think
I'm not going to be objective in an album review of
Sonic Nurse, you're wrong. I will probably be even
more scrutinizing and hold them to a higher standard
than most bands. With that in mind, here's the review...
Sonic Youth have been around for a long time. They
have gone from being an underground band to a fledgling
ultra-cool band to flirting with the mainstream to
kind of getting weird and irrelevant. Until now. Sonic
Youth has started reforging their sound, getting all
experimental and noisy again. I have to tell you I
was really getting worried during the previous two
albums, as the music sounded unchallenged and kind
of like they were settling down (gasp) into a rut.
I know they had their whole trilogy story of the history
of Manhattan going, but I thought that musically those
albums were kind of middle of the road, and now it
seems that they have turned 90 degrees again and are
innovating and creating stuff that sounds different
and exciting.
For the first time, they seem to be bringing together
the jazzy side with the off-kilter chords side with
the noisy side. The tracks are lively and fun to listen
to. By the time I got to the third track, Dripping
Dream, I could tell that they were deftly mixing
Goo and Dirty era noise with the weird-sounding chords
of Daydream Nation. But this doesn't sound like a
recycling of the past, it sounds like everything mixed
together better than before and brought forward in
a new way. Then you get to track 4- Kim Gordon
and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream - and you get
used to the idea that noise is back on the table.
And Kim's singing experiments. She still sounds sexy.
By the time this song reaches the end you are drenched
in a caucophony of noise and chaos that builds into
a frenzy and then echoes out into feedback.
I think one of the coolest things on this album is
the melodies. SY is flirting with approachable, listenable
melodies and mixing them with the off-kilter ones.
One of my favorite parts of the review is where we
get to the Lee Renaldo song. Any SY fan will know
what I mean - there is always one or two songs that
Lee Renaldo sings on any given album. On Sonic Nurse
it's Paper Cup Exit. I have always liked the
songs that Lee sings. Maybe it's the diversion from
Kim and Thurston - maybe he actually writes the songs
or maybe it's something else. Regardless, Paper Cup
Exit is one of my favorites on the album. By the time
you roll to the chorus, you know it's a tight song
that combines a sharp sound with Lee's trans-dimensional
lyrics.
I can't wait for album #20.
Tracklist for Sonic Nurse:
01 Pattern Recognition
02 Unmade Bed
03 Dripping Dream
04 Kim Gordon and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream
05 Stones
06 Dude Ranch Nurse
07 New Hampshire
08 Paper Cup Exit
09 I Love You Golden Blue
10 Peace Attack
