Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation

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Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation; Rating: 5
Topic Started: May 29 2009, 07:09 PM (159 Views)
Morgan	May 29 2009, 07:09 PM Post #1
Dinkin' flicka. Posts: 1,878 Group: Staff Member #2 Joined: June 28, 2006 Gender: Male Name: Morgan Location: Sarasota, FL Last.fm: rockon1824	It's a little longer than I'd like, so I'd appreciate any tips for cutting it down a bit. I'm not quite in a violent enough mood for editing right now. Teen Age Riot (6:57) Silver Rocket (3:47) The Sprawl (7:42) 'Cross the Breeze (7:00) Eric's Trip (3:48) Total Trash (7:33) Hey Joni (4:23) Providence (2:41) Candle (4:58) Rain King (4:39) Kissability (3:08) Trilogy: (14:02) a) The Wonder (4:15) b) Hyperstation (7:13) z) Eliminator Jr. (2:37) I was going to try and write and introduction to this review but I was constantly haunted by the fact that no matter how hard I tried, it would never be anywhere near as good as the intro to Daydream Nation, and so in an effort to do some justice to the album, I'm just going to skip that whole thing, if that's okay with you. Crap, I guess that was kind of like an intro, sort of. But no matter. What any other band would have done with the first one-minute-and-twenty-seconds of this album is needlessly split it off the first track and give it some uninspired name like "Intro." Fortunately, Sonic Youth is not any other band. They instead decided to make the one-minute-and-twenty-seconds of perfect introduction serve as both the intro to the album and the intro to the first song on the album, "Teen Age Riot." As the album's intro, it perfectly lulls you into the dreamy state that persists for the rest of the record (no, the album title is not just a coincidence), with Kim Gordon's background vocals gently breaking through the guitars and the drums coming in and out. Fittingly, "Teen Age Riot" is one of the dreamiest efforts on the record and probably SY's most popular track, and with very good reason. Awesome riffs abound, played with guitars lightly dusted with just the right amount of distortion, an attribute which guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo display adeptly on this album. Moore's mellow and pensive voice comes in to deliver a simple and slightly upbeat melody with lyrics describing an ideal world where J Mascis is president (if only!). We next move into another Moore-penned-and-sung track, "Silver Rocket," which convolves the dreamlike mood of "Teen Age Riot" by adding a nice dose of dissonance to make you a bit uneasy before pounding out a distorted riff that goes hand-in-hand wonderfully with the catchy chorus melody. Then in true Sonic Youth fashion, the song breaks down halfway through into a realm of feedback and chaos before gradually returning for one more verse and chorus. Just from this one-two punch already, it's easy to see that de facto frontman Moore absolutely shines on this album. Another one of his efforts, "Total Trash," stands out as the most upbeat track on the record. Its punchy riff provides the basis for the rather cheery melody, but just in case you were getting the feeling that it was too happy and not quite dreamy enough for this album, it slowly devolves into, at first, dissonance, and then to feedback and nightmarish pick-scraping sounds that are finally left without even the comfort of a steady drum beat. You're almost relieved when you hear the original riff return, but then when the song ends you're still tense because the riff never makes it past three-quarters of the tempo of the original, even though you've been desperately waiting for some kind of gradual build-up back to speed. The band accomplishes a similar trick with "Candle," another Moore song. This sort of mind-play is a major motif on this album, which continuously manages to throw its weight back and forth between slightly upbeat and slightly disquieting without abandoning its dreamlike mood. However, Moore certainly doesn't overwhelm the record. Bassist-vocalist Gordon has her moments as well, with her tracks here ranking among SY's most underrated. "The Sprawl," for instance, starts out with another rather upbeat riff, but then Kim shouts some invectives at you, and suddenly you're in an ominous, sardonic chorus, but then the band feels contrite for all that so they make the second half of the song a soothing, aqueous, and above all, dreamy mixture of guitars. Following this is another Kim song, "'Cross the Breeze," which continues the clean, soothing guitars of the previous track for a little bit before moving into a moderately distorted riff with with a grungy terminus and a bouncing bass counterpart that leads into Kim's ardent bursts of vocals. Then, of course, it swings back to another relaxing, dreamlike state for the last two minutes. "Kissability," towards the end of the record, features more acerbic lyrics from Gordon as well as harmonic-laced guitar parts that exemplify the uneasy dream-state of the record. Just in case Thurston and Kim don't provide enough vocal and lyrical variegation for you, guitarist Lee Ranaldo also wrote and sang on three tracks: "Eric's Trip," "Hey Joni," and "Rain King." If I had to pick a "weak" spot on this record, it would be here, but in all honesty it would be hard to describe any of these tracks as weak. "Eric's Trip" offers some variation by jumping right into the vocals at the beginning of the track, as well as some deft use of wah in the chorus. "Hey Joni" is marked by more dreamy harmonics and the coolest song-ending on the record. Even the one song on this record that could possibly be described as filler, "Providence," escapes that dreadful label by being released as a single and getting its own music video, in one of the more bizarre moves of SY's career. Even here, in a song pervaded by the sound of an overheating amplifier and the gruff voice of Mike Watt, there is something oddly soothing and dreamlike beyond just the piano in the background. Now we have exhausted all other areas and are finally prepared to move onto the coup de gr�ce, the imposingly titled album-ender "Trilogy." Once part a) "The Wonder" starts, you immediately feel a change in atmosphere towards a darker dreamland. The melody becomes a bit more urgent, so that once part b) "Hyperstation" rolls around, you are completely immersed in an agitated dream-state that is just on the brink of turning into a nightmare. "Hyperstation" is definitely the most dreamlike song on the album, and so it is not difficult to see why the record's title comes from its lyrics. It entrances you to a point where the last thirty seconds of feedback and behind-the-nut string-plucking seem a whole lot eerier than any chordophonic noise probably should be. And finally when the harsh, exigent, almost grating third movement, part "z," "Eliminator Jr." comes in, your anaesthetized state is shattered (good thing too, otherwise you'd end up like Peter from Office Space) and Kim is moaning and shouting at you again. Then, abruptly, the record is over.
	If If you If you could If you could only If you could only stop If you could only stop your If you could only stop your heart If you could only stop your heart beat If you could only stop your heart beat for If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart beat.


Morgan	Jun 12 2009, 11:18 PM Post #2
Dinkin' flicka. Posts: 1,878 Group: Staff Member #2 Joined: June 28, 2006 Gender: Male Name: Morgan Location: Sarasota, FL Last.fm: rockon1824	Shit, I really don't feel like revising this. XD Brennan hasn't even commented. Is it really that bad?
	If If you If you could If you could only If you could only stop If you could only stop your If you could only stop your heart If you could only stop your heart beat If you could only stop your heart beat for If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart beat.


Ryth	Jun 13 2009, 12:14 AM Post #3
Every man is first and principally recommended to his own care Posts: 2,717 Group: Members Member #706 Joined: June 9, 2008 Gender: Male Name: Brennan Location: Maryland Last.fm: The_Sound	I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I've been struck recently with an incredibly depressing torpor. I'll try and get to reading it. Promise.
	Upcoming Reviews: Nigga Please by Ol' Dirty Bastard Conglomerate International by Frodus The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks by Flux of Pink Indians Ascension by John Coltrane Rain Dogs by Tom Waits The Dance of the Moon and the Sun by Natural Snow Buildings Escape From Noise by Negativland


Ryth	Jun 13 2009, 12:37 AM Post #4
Every man is first and principally recommended to his own care Posts: 2,717 Group: Members Member #706 Joined: June 9, 2008 Gender: Male Name: Brennan Location: Maryland Last.fm: The_Sound	Okay, so I read it anyway. For some reason it reminds me of one of my reviews, in some ways... Really, pretty good! A little lengthy though. Also uses a lot of words that sort of all mean "and then... and then... and then..." which is understandable (a quick Ctrl+F search reveals you use the exact word "then" eleven times). Take this into consideration. You also start out focusing on the dream-like nature of the album but sort of forget about it in the middle. However, I do love the "intro-but-not-an-intro" paragraph that starts out with a bit of humor yet conveys the quality of the album. I also ADORE the ending. The review ends abruptly, just like the album... just like a dream. Good stuff. Hope that was intentional. Quote: with lyrics describing an ideal world where J Mascis is president (if only!). This has become one of my favorite lines in MT history. Also I think he puts a "." after the J. Also, error: Quote: Just in case Thurston and Kim don't provide enough vocal and lyrical variegation for you, guitarist Lee Ranaldo also wrote and sang on three tracks: "Eric's Trip," "Hey Joni," and "Rain King." If I had to pick a "weak" spot on this record, it would be here, but in all honesty it would be hard to describe any of these tracks as weak. "Eric's Trick" offers some variation by jumping right into the vocals at the beginning of the track, as well as some very deft use of wah in the chorus. The music during the verses of "Hey Joni" is unfortunately mostly unintelligible but is more than made up for in more dreamy harmonics later in the song and possibly the coolest song-ending on the record. All in all, needs some condensing and re-structuring, but I like it! You said a lot of what I would of said. No need for me to review it, really.
	Upcoming Reviews: Nigga Please by Ol' Dirty Bastard Conglomerate International by Frodus The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks by Flux of Pink Indians Ascension by John Coltrane Rain Dogs by Tom Waits The Dance of the Moon and the Sun by Natural Snow Buildings Escape From Noise by Negativland


Morgan	Jun 16 2009, 11:06 PM Post #5
Dinkin' flicka. Posts: 1,878 Group: Staff Member #2 Joined: June 28, 2006 Gender: Male Name: Morgan Location: Sarasota, FL Last.fm: rockon1824	Ryth Jun 13 2009, 12:37 AM Okay, so I read it anyway. For some reason it reminds me of one of my reviews, in some ways... I'm not sure how to take that, since you repeatedly say that you hate your own reviews. Anyway, thanks for the tips. I'm still not really in the mood for editing but eventually I get to cutting this down a bit, and I'll take your suggestions into consideration. About the Mascis thing...I wasn't sure what to do with that, and I omitted the because that's how it is on his Wiki page, but I just checked and that's how he has it on Dino Jr.'s MySpace and it's how Thurston spells it in his With the Lights Out blip so I'm just gonna leave it. I fixed the "Eric's Trick" typo though, thanks for pointing that out. And yes, the ending was intentional.
	If If you If you could If you could only If you could only stop If you could only stop your If you could only stop your heart If you could only stop your heart beat If you could only stop your heart beat for If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart beat.


Ryth	Jun 16 2009, 11:25 PM Post #6
Every man is first and principally recommended to his own care Posts: 2,717 Group: Members Member #706 Joined: June 9, 2008 Gender: Male Name: Brennan Location: Maryland Last.fm: The_Sound	Well, I meant more what you said about it... not how you said it.
	Upcoming Reviews: Nigga Please by Ol' Dirty Bastard Conglomerate International by Frodus The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks by Flux of Pink Indians Ascension by John Coltrane Rain Dogs by Tom Waits The Dance of the Moon and the Sun by Natural Snow Buildings Escape From Noise by Negativland


Morgan	Jul 1 2009, 10:40 PM Post #7
Dinkin' flicka. Posts: 1,878 Group: Staff Member #2 Joined: June 28, 2006 Gender: Male Name: Morgan Location: Sarasota, FL Last.fm: rockon1824	Finally got around to editing this. I cut it down by about 100 words, which isn't great but I don't think it's as intimidating to read now, lol. I also got it down to seven "then"s.
	If If you If you could If you could only If you could only stop If you could only stop your If you could only stop your heart If you could only stop your heart beat If you could only stop your heart beat for If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart beat.


Morgan	Jul 2 2009, 08:30 PM Post #8
Dinkin' flicka. Posts: 1,878 Group: Staff Member #2 Joined: June 28, 2006 Gender: Male Name: Morgan Location: Sarasota, FL Last.fm: rockon1824	Congratulations, your review has been accepted! It will be added to the website within the next few days and 400 Notes will be added to your account. Thank you for contributing to Music-Talk!
	If If you If you could If you could only If you could only stop If you could only stop your If you could only stop your heart If you could only stop your heart beat If you could only stop your heart beat for If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart beat.


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