Friday, October 31
The absolute best "official" web site for any artist is sonicyouth.com. It's fantastic. You can listen to everything they've ever created; you can watch videos and concert footage from their entire career. You can chat with fans and with the band. You can find just about every single image from their albums and hundreds of photos from concerts and other settings. AND you can buy albums and t-shirts and other fun items. If you are a fan of Sonic Youth, then this sight is an essential visit.
Now, the question is: am I a fan of Sonic Youth. I was digging through my back catalogue recently and I noticed that the most recent SY album I owned was Washing Machine, which came out (I believe) in 1995. Now, you should also know that I own every other SY album ever made--all the way back to Confusion is Sex, and I started listening to SY back in the 80s, so the fact that I own their 1995 album but not their more recent albums would lead you (and I) to think that my interest in the band ended right around there. And what happened to me in 1995 (or, probably 1996)? That's when I bought my first copy of Cubase, a sampler, a drum machine, and a synth. Yes, that's when I started paying attention to and creating electronic music. At the time, I was primarily interested in this music because I was writing a dissertation on sound and technology, and I wanted to have a working knowledge of how sound is created and processed through these instruments (though I still haven't written on these instruments--that's coming, though).
So my focus on guitar-based music came to an abrupt hault. I never rejected this music out of hand, but I did stop paying close attention to the music--and to Sonic Youth. So imagine my surprise when I revisited Sonic Youth's music in 2003 and discovered...well, I discovered that their music had drifted towards the electronic universe as well. A Thousand Leaves and NYC Ghosts and Flowers (which I bought at Apple's iTunes Music Store, by the way) are both filled with aberrant, weird electronic noises in the same tradition as Coh and Fennesz and all the other fun folk in the electronic world. Yes, there's still plenty of guitar--the guitars dominate--but these are different guitar sounds than on Daydream Nation: more atmospheric, less grinding. So they're not really an experimental electronic band, but they certainly are experimental--and that, by itself, is something impressive, considering the band's long history.
In short, I'm happy to see the band I grew to love in the 90s is still a relevant force today. Keep it up!
Now, the question is: am I a fan of Sonic Youth. I was digging through my back catalogue recently and I noticed that the most recent SY album I owned was Washing Machine, which came out (I believe) in 1995. Now, you should also know that I own every other SY album ever made--all the way back to Confusion is Sex, and I started listening to SY back in the 80s, so the fact that I own their 1995 album but not their more recent albums would lead you (and I) to think that my interest in the band ended right around there. And what happened to me in 1995 (or, probably 1996)? That's when I bought my first copy of Cubase, a sampler, a drum machine, and a synth. Yes, that's when I started paying attention to and creating electronic music. At the time, I was primarily interested in this music because I was writing a dissertation on sound and technology, and I wanted to have a working knowledge of how sound is created and processed through these instruments (though I still haven't written on these instruments--that's coming, though).
So my focus on guitar-based music came to an abrupt hault. I never rejected this music out of hand, but I did stop paying close attention to the music--and to Sonic Youth. So imagine my surprise when I revisited Sonic Youth's music in 2003 and discovered...well, I discovered that their music had drifted towards the electronic universe as well. A Thousand Leaves and NYC Ghosts and Flowers (which I bought at Apple's iTunes Music Store, by the way) are both filled with aberrant, weird electronic noises in the same tradition as Coh and Fennesz and all the other fun folk in the electronic world. Yes, there's still plenty of guitar--the guitars dominate--but these are different guitar sounds than on Daydream Nation: more atmospheric, less grinding. So they're not really an experimental electronic band, but they certainly are experimental--and that, by itself, is something impressive, considering the band's long history.
In short, I'm happy to see the band I grew to love in the 90s is still a relevant force today. Keep it up!
