Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation - 1988 (iTunes - Amazon)
About three minutes into Teen Age Riot I had a thought: Did Thurston Moore, et al, take a good hard look at the vomitorium of dischord they had put out, toss it to the side and just start listening to R.E.M. records? because it's painfully obvious that they were affected by that sound (as well as The Replacements, perhaps echo & the bunnymen, a little dash of The Records and a bunch of other mid-80s bands I am too addled to remember right now).
The edgy punk of Silver Rocket coming on the heels of Teen Age Riot is actually the second song IN A ROW that I could hear myself or audience members singing along to. Weird.
And The Sprawl is the first time that I feel Kim Gordon's wailing talk singing actually works. The "noise-scapes" exist here only in service of the song. Before Daydream nation I would be hard pressed to believe that anyone in that band can play any of the previous four albums' songs without having to get the record out first, as similar and indistinct (two words that mean the same thing) as they are. Now I might just have to buy the reissue with the live versions of every track just to enjoy them all over again.
The first true punk epic from Sonic Youth, the most accessibly neurotic, panic stricken piece of music is right here in the dustbowl/punk/horrorshow "'Cross the Breeze". A bloodletting of the first order.
"Total Trash" is almost poppy for god's sake. I'm impressed, I really didn't think they had this in them.
"Providence", a phone message from Mike Watt set to a background taht can only be described as "David Lynchian" is a real treat, believe it or not. It's almost a palette cleanser for the album's 2nd act. (although the halfway point would be somewhat sooner...) leading into the familiar but fresh "Candle".
There's a redundancy that sets in toward the end and into the "trilogy" but, ending with the Sonic Youth meets ZZ Top, Eliminator Z is inspired.
Absolutely the band's best work.
Brilliant.
But Sonic Youth definitely owe R.E.M. a residual check.
Grade A
A Side: Teen Age Riot, Cross the Breeze
BlindSide: Silver Rocket, Providence
DownSide: nothing. Solid outing here.
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