Wild Frank Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Could anyone advise me where to start with Sonic Youth. They have always seemed to pass me by I think it's time to give them a shot. Which albums should I start with? I suppose I am after something representative of their output but fairly accessable. Any advice greatly appreciated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Could anyone advise me where to start with Sonic Youth. They have always seemed to pass me by I think it's time to give them a shot. Which albums should I start with? I suppose I am after something representative of their output but fairly accessable. Any advice greatly appreciated. You can't go wrong with "Daydream Nation". As far as good accessible stuff, "Goo" fits that for the most part and they are on a roll with their recent albums. "Murray Street", "Sonic Nurse" and "Rather Ripped" are all fantastic. "Dirty" is good too. Have I named them all yet? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonbama Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I would say Daydream Nation for sure. Absolutely fantastic album. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 i would start w/ either _murray street_ or _sonic nurse_ and work backwards. if you want to start right into choppier waters, _EVOL_ is awesome (as is _Sister_). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I would say Daydream Nation for sure. Absolutely fantastic album.Yup....start there. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HighFives Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Daydream Nation was my first SY record. I liked it alright. When I really started liking them a ton is when I got Experimental Jet Set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cloudsofhiss Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 For me, Sister is the high point of their older stuff, and Murray Street the high point of their newer stuff. My first SY album was Washing Machine when it came out in 96ish and liked it. I tried Daydream Nation next as it was usually recommended as being their best, and it didn't really work for me at all. It's one of my favorites now, but it might not be the best starting point. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deepseacatfish Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Daydream Nation is really excellent, and I'd highly recommend it, I also really like Murray Street and Sonic Nurse (two of their more recent albums) and those might actually be more easily accessible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Three dollars and 63 cents Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 My top three are Daydream Nation, Sonic Nurse, and Washing Machine. I also like Goo and Rather Ripped. Dirty is probably my least favorite album of the ones I have. I just got Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star a few weeks ago, and it's still sinking in. I'm itching for them to announce summer tour dates, since they're the only band besides Wilco I want to try to catch a few times. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 i would start w/ either _murray street_ or _sonic nurse_ and work backwards. if you want to start right into choppier waters, _EVOL_ is awesome (as is _Sister_). i agree with you... Murray Street is a great one to get into SY with... no it might not be their absolute best, but Daydream took me a bit to get into back in the day, whereas i've found a lot of folks whom i've gotten into SY via Murray St. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jesusetc84 Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 No love for Sister? Depending on what you're into (and I'm a bit more into noise than some people) Bad Moon Rising and EVOL are great too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 No love for Sister?For me, Sister is the high point of their older stuff, and Murray Street the high point of their newer stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jc4prez Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Murray Street is really accessible and really awesome. Love that record. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brianjeremy Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 FOr me, I would start with Daydream Nation, Sister or Murray Street. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WaronWar Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 If you really start to like their records (including the early weird ones), then you should check out their SYR stuff. I think its pretty sweet stuff, but some of it is out there. And for starting out in SY, try Daydream and then Sister, and Goo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Oddly, this is what first got me into SY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLQmCLpm_RE Quote Link to post Share on other sites
intodeep Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 My suggestion would be Rather Ripped & Sonic Nurse to start off.I think they are very acessable and sonic nurse is VERY good. Sonic Nurse is the one that made them click for me. I liked Dirty in the early 90's but never really fully got on board with them. Then i checked out Sonic Nurse and it made sense. i have since gone back and gotten a lot of their albums and enjoyed them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bedbug Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 IMO 1. Daydream Nation2. Goo3. Rather Ripped4. Sonic Nurse5. Murray Street Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Maybe it's a generation thing but the first Sonic Youth album that I got into was Murray Street. Still my favorite. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Maybe it's a generation thing but the first Sonic Youth album that I got into was Murray Street. Still my favorite.Nah. I bought Daydream Nation in 1989 and Murray Street is my favorite SY album. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wild Frank Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 Thanks for the help people. Looks like I'll pick up 'Daydream Nation' and 'Murray Street' and go from there. I do have one Sonic Youth track, their cover of Neil Young's 'Computer Age', which is amazing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Theremin Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Just try to avoid a 1000 leaves & Experimental Jet Set and you should be set. Imo, concerning the Jim o'Rourke period: Sonic Nurse > Murray Street. Both are excellent though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Thanks for the help people. Looks like I'll pick up 'Daydream Nation' and 'Murray Street' and go from there.I think those two are pretty representive of them and a great place to start. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 I stopped listening to new Sonic Youth albums after 1000 Leaves. I think I'll remedy that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jesusetc84 Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Don't get me wrong, Murray Street is great, but I'm just not seeing it as anywhere near a best of artist. I guess I'll throw my complete 10 cents in since last time I just made a comment about Sister. Sonic Youth started picking up speed in 1986, and kind of dropped off after 1992. After that sporadic SY albums are great. The block of albums that includes EVOL, Sister, Daydream Nation, Goo and Dirty is really unassailable to me. Those are the albums that made SY legends, and I suggest that anyone/ everyone at least gives those a shot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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