Reviews (page 3 of 11)
Eh...
Interesting album. Not enough time to really get into it, but you can hear that there's something going on that will just grow on you. Certainly not as immediate as Sister, but a nice collection of noise pop numbers.
Legit. 4/5
Another Sonic Yourh. My 3rd now in 3 months. Little indifference about this one compared to Dirty. The first 6 songs are all amazing and a great first half of the record. The following 8 just don’t hit me the same way unfortunately.
I like Sonic Youth in general. Sometimes I'm not in the mood for some of their noisier it more jagged stuff, but when I am it really works.
Post-Grunge boring
Bien cool mais un peu longuet comme album
Pas trop ma came normalement mais plutôt sympa
I heard so many other (21st century)bands in this album it was incredible. What influence. Pretty good music as well, not entirely my bag but still enjoyable.
Lite för långdragen för mig, inte bara sett till antalet låtar utan också att varje låt inte kändes riktigt distinkt från en annan
Loved this and definitely worth a relisten, fontaines-esque
Overall: 7/10 I hate talking about Sonic Youth. They're probably the toughest band to put in to words how I feel about them. There's always so many moments of brilliance in their music and an equal amount of frustratingly confusing choices, but it's that confusion that keeps me coming back and wanting to hear what they come up with. It's almost as if I love them BECAUSE they piss me off. I'm not sure if other people feel that way but that's probably the closest I'll get to expressing my feelings about this band. This album specifically is really good but also way too long. There's some bangers on here though and stuff that's easy to rock out to. Fav Song: Candle
Already knew I was really going to enjoy this the moment I opened the page. Alternative rock is one of my favorite genres, so no surprise that I really enjoyed this album. Influential group to many, including some of my absolute favorite acts and its very easy to see why. I could only imagine how groundbreaking this was at the time, since its a project that still very much holds up in the modern day. Raw noise of the guitars here sound incredible only to be followed up by vocals that are sometimes odd, but perfect capture the chaotic sound they're going for.
Lo escuché mientras terminaba la entrega
Quite alot of noise on their records, Sonic Youth needs to be seen live for best effect.
Totally get that this was revolutionary and inspired a bunch of other musicians but this sounds like noise to me. I don’t get the appeal, and I do like alternative rock music. (2)
Great album, full of all-time great post punk songs, nothing but bangers on this album and a good amount of experimentation as well. Sort of nostalgic too
maso meeeee
Whiny vocals, frantic energy, and some lovely pop rock music that clearly influenced better bands.
Olvidable
Atmospheric and pleasant. A very enjoyable listen. 3.75/5
Sonic Youth at their most primal and powerful. An absolute sparkling gem in many ways. Sonic Youth can be a tough listen, I recommend toughing it out. You can stare it down.
Nice. Some great tunes. 3.5/5.
meh
I should like Sonic Youth and this album more than I do, but...I just don't. The heavy distorted guitar and driving drums are pretty great but I'm not compelled to seek this out.
Anyone who knows me and my music taste knows that noise rock is one of its pillars. I love noise rock, I always seek it out, but I've never really sat down and listened to Sonic Youth. While I don't love it, I'm happy to say that I was mostly impressed with Daydream Nation. It has surprisingly good flow for a double album; it really didn't feel like 70 minutes. But I was surprised at the things I actually ended up liking. Everyone seems to love Teen Age Riot, but to me it's...a little too indie, too lowkey, too Smashing Pumpkins for me. Does that make sense? The album impressed me a lot more when it went all-out, like in the middle of Silver Rocket, or the total disassembling at the end of Total Trash. Not to mention the very tail end of the album, Eliminator Jr, which has that really fast, aggressive groove I wish the album utilized more. Cross The Breeze has that in spades too, but those really rocking moments are too few and far between for me. When I hear "noise rock" I think immense feedback, screaming, songs that go absolutely crazy. Other than a few moments across the tracklist, there's basically none of that here. But there are enough positive moments here that keep me intrigued. I'm looking forward to my next Sonic Youth album, whatever it may be.
It’s aight. Not exactly my cup of tea, but high energy youth angst is a vibe, for sure
This was really good. Know of Sonic Youth, but never listened. This is a hell of an album. Could've been better without all the reverb and distortion over long periods. Album wouldve been 10 minutes shorter and perfect.
A very good album, probably one of the most influential over modern indie rock. The sound is a kind of proto-grunge, with noisy, guitar-heavy songs throughout. It’s something of an oasis in the desert away from the typical manufactured sound of ‘80s music! Highlights are Kissability, Teen Age Riot, and Silver Rocket, probably some of Sonic Youth’s best. It’s probably too long for an album without much variety, but a good 4.
An album combining poppier melodies (like in the opener and ‘Silver Rocket’) balanced with plenty of abrasive guitars and longer improvised sections, that works really well. I enjoyed it throughout, although like many albums (especially double albums) it tended to lull a bit towards the end.
After my first listen, I really wasn’t keen. After a second listen, I like it slightly more, but it’s still very much not for me. I can respect this album for being highly influential, but even the better tracks like ‘Teen Age Riot’ I thought were just okay. Though there are some more melodic tracks, overall it’s too noisy/abrasive for my taste (I found Kim Gordon’s vocals particularly annoying), and too long, especially given lots of the tracks are pretty samey. Noisier tracks can be effective in small doses, but over 70 minutes I just found it rather grating.
Nope. Sorry. Couldn’t cope.
Pretty cool, didnt need to be a double album
Not my kind of music but today I found it enjoyable. Definitely good music
some good overall rock.
Didn’t age well
It had more talent than Robert Wyatt, but it was still just a lot of noise to me:/
A couple songs were ok but not a great album
Kinda cool, kinda grating. Lowest 3 possible
Kim Gordon didn’t start learning bass until she was 27 so I still have time
Some of the songs had real promise but then they would just turn into a distorted mess. And it just kept going and going...
Is this the first time hearing this album. Definitely a 3, probably a 4. It’s hard to give an album you listened to once a 4.
Bit of a background album again today. Can see the influential nature of it, and can appreciate it, but just didn't do much for me overall
I’m disappointed that I couldn’t get into it. Heard good things about Sonic Youth but it didn’t capture me at all.
Heard it before. This album is pure Sonic Youth but sadly I'm in no mood to listen to them today. Teen Age Riot is a banger though 2/5
4/5
Punk as fuck. Would listen a billion more times
Similar to the other sonic youth I had. Noisy and messy, with occasional moments of clarity. Definitely an influential band for sure.
me standing at the back of a gig with a warm tin trying not to yawn while lots of people with cool hair very earnestly 'get it' at the front.
3-4 готино звучене, ама не ме чак грабнаха
My first Sonic Youth album. Really enjoyed the instrumental breaks. Just a well balanced blend of chill and angst. 4/5 for now, but could be a grower.
This is probably the best Sonic Youth album I’ve heard on the list. It really grew on me with each listen. A great early alt-rock record.
This album is a great step up from the last sonic youth album but hot damn this things long. Spending over an hour on an albums when I get bored. I will say this is one of the better things from the 80s
Album wasn’t too bad. Again, for the 200th time it was just ok to me and I’m not sure if the point of this is for the albums to be other worldly or just ok music.
Highlight: Teen Age Riot
Enjoyed it in parts, prefer Dirty as a more rounded album and maybe more accessible than this one. Wanted to give 2.5 to this one.
I'm not that familiar with the groups work but parts of the album were quite a good.
Epic noise, really strong album that ends on a bang
Like it 3/5
Really liked it. Nothing new about this album but it was pleasent to hear
Vaikutti melkoiselta pioneerimusiikilta. Pitää kuunnella lisää ajan kanssa. 3,25/5.
I got lucky to hear two excellent examples of pre-Nevermind albums that led to and helped define the alt rock of the 90s. While this wasn't part of my wheelhouse back then, I'm glad to have had the exposure to them now. Good stuff!
I definitely heard this back in the early 90’s. I can remember being fascinated by the painting on the cover, and slightly confused by the deeply weird music. I’m still fascinated by the cover but the music is less opaque and there’s interesting Melodies hidden in the noise that entrance when you find them
Every Sonic youth song starts off sounding promising and halfway through turns obnoxious.
Absolute alternative rock classic all the way. They do slightly depart from their iconic noise rock sound here, but the end result ends up being one of the best and most memorable rock albums ever made. It's still exactly as noisy as it needs to be, while still leaving plenty of room for some absolutely killer guitar riffs and vocal performances, and some of the melodies on this are absolutely infectious, with many of these songs perpetually ending up stuck in my head. I love how this album still takes a lot of risks, and every time it ends up being such a cool and unique moment. This album sits right in the middle of what I often quote as what I think is the greatest 3 album run of all time. Sonic Youth are truly one of the best and most unique rock bands ever, and their magnum opus is testament to the true genuis and talent of every member of the band.
Mmm
I didn’t get a chance to listen to this album yesterday, and by didn’t get a chance I mean I didn’t want to. We’ve had them before. I gave it a 2 then and I’m giving it a 2 again for the same reasons.
A bit different from the first Sonic Youth album we reviewed but a couple of the tracks kept the same distorted and chaotic guitar sound that I didn’t care for the first time around. The music was tolerable on this listen but the lyrics were pretty bad and the vocals were absent of talent. I’m still not a fan of the band but the rock & roll kept me from wanting to fast forward past every single song this time around.
I’m over this whole “wall of sound” thing. So, I’m gonna write my review in “wall of sound” style just to regain a little sanity. Here goes: People build walls either to keep things in or to keep them out so they are usually made of stronger stuff than sound I prefer my walls made of wood and sheet rock or brick and mortar but almost anything substantial will do in a pinch but you need something palpable to make an effective wall remember Wall of Voodoo, the 80s band who had that cool song Mexican Radio I’m on the Mexican ray-dee-ohh I’m on the Mexican whoa-oh radio Whoa Joey Lawrence said “Whoa” on television Yeah that was his character’s catch phrase on Blossom the character Blossom was played by Mayim Bialik who also hosted Jeopardy a game show which takes place in front of a giant wall The Wall is an album by Pink Floyd and also a movie that was about the second world war but also a rock star and drugs it was pretty confusing also confusing is the whole “play this album while watching the Wizard of Oz” thing or was that Dark Side of the Moon I’m not sure but I know that a lot of drugs werre involved in both albums speaking of drugs I think you have to be pretty stoned to enjoy more than a few minutes of Sonic Youth’s music I mean seriously chemically enhanced all I can imagine is people spinning around in circles while listening to this music but they’re wearing turtlenecks and berets and shit I’m not sure but I know it definitely is not my scene and if I were to end up at one of their concerts I wouldn’t be dancing, I’d be standing … against the wall.
I love the vibe of this album. The guitar sound is unique, outrageous, at at times a bit chaotic. The vocals are kinda terrible, but the subdued voices actually compliment and give balance to the booming guitar. Everything works well together. I dig it, great album.
I don't listen to a lot of rock, but this album was really good. I enjoyed pretty much most of it, although I will say some of these songs were a bit too long for my liking, but overall, some songs off of this record are going into my giant playlist of songs that I really enjoy rating: 3.5/5
- ooh i already like the sound - providence is a cool break up -- i feel like these types of interludes are much less common in the age of digital media - this kind of sounds like if you poured the smiths and nirvana into a bowl and stirred and then spilled something else in - also banger album cover - favorite tracks: the sprawl, a) the wonder - rating: 3.5/5
some CRAZY SHIT started to happen at silver rocket and i loved it a classic that i never took the chance to listen to until now teen age riot is a banger but my feelings on slacker rock r neutral noise rock at one of its most influential favs: silver rocket, a) the wonder 4/5
Probably the only Sonic Youth album I like.
I'm on the fence about a 2 or 3 here. Every few years I think "Maybe now I'm ready to appreciate Sonic Youth" and I try listening to this album and it does nothing for me. They overlap with so many other things that I like. Grunge, punk, 90s indie rock, etc. I don't hate it, but I just don't enjoy it.
Meh
I love Sonic Youth but sometimes they do too much. I love their riffs and their straight rock & roll, yet this might be a little too “Avant Garde” for me. There are some great songs but there’s too much noise. I’m not sure how to rate this. 4 stars feels like too many and 3 stars feels like not enough. Either way, I would rather listen to this than The Black Album.
Let us all bow our heads and pray for those who played all 152 minutes of the Deluxe Edition. May we forever keep them close to our hearts.
I generally associate Sonic Youth with with 2 minute guitar feedback interludes. Which I would give a 0 / 5 to. But this album was void of those and I actually liked it. Also - they are pretty iconic as a band.
Sonic Youth is amazing. I feel as though either you really like them or hate them
Sometimes I enjoy the lengthy soundscapes Sonic Youth birth, but I really need to be in the mood. Dirty hit the nail on the head, captured the sound but didn't overstay their welcome. This album has the sound but ironically like a daydream it is a little aimless and wandering. And that is a good thing if you are in the mood.
I had a hard time with this. Noisy and boring.
Ok so this was a slog at times…and at others it peaked my curiosity. I can’t say I won’t be back but not sure I’m up for another listen anytime soon.
Sonic Youth will never be a band I truly like, but I acknowledge this as their best and most complete album. They are talented, just too edgy and vague for me. Best song: Teen Age Riot
Can't complain with immaculate 90s vibes
Täydellinen rockalbumi, tätä voisi kuunnella loputtomiin. Avausraita ihan täydellinen. Sonic Youth meni itselläni ysärillä vähän ohi. Vähän sama kuin The Verven kanssa; ei kolissut silloin nuorena mutta nyt putoaa ja kovaa. 5/5
4/10
I know at the time it was released it was considered ground breaking. I've never been a punk rock fan and this is awful
It was alright. I enjoy the genre but I thought this would be heavier than it ended up being.
They really are not my thing. It’s a lot of the same song over and over. It is also rather noisy and not as melodic.
Something about the distorted guitar and the vocals speaks to me. Solid indie rock
Had high hopes for about a minute
Meh
i've heard this in full at least a couple times in the past. there are a handful of tracks i regularly go back to so i doubt this will land anywhere lower than 4 stars Teen Age Riot - 5/5 Silver Rocket - 5/5 The Sprawl - 5/5 'Cross the Breeze - 5/5 Eric's Trip - 5/5 Total Trash - 4/5 Hey Joni - 5/5 Providence - no rating Candle - 5/5 Rain King - 2/5 Kissability - 4/5 Trilogy - 5/5 Average score: 4.6/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When I was around 16 or 17 I went through a Sonic Youth phase so this was a great way to return to their music. 'Teenage Riot' is so brilliant and such a stand-out track. I was mainly obsessed with their album 'Goo' and even had a picture of that album cover in my phone, which sparked intense discussions with my film studies teacher about how he viewed their music as just 'sound'. Even now, I disagree with him - Sonic Youth are brilliant with such a distinct ‘sound’ that draws you in, something that this album exemplifies. I think it's one of those things where if you get it, you get it. Anyways, loved listening to this. Rating: 4.5.
Если вслушаться то можно утонуть.
The Daydream Nation was the collective noun for Len Houmous’ wives 31-34. 4.1 1/14 Teenage Riot
What an addicting listen. Something about the amazing instrumentals, the admittedly bad but still endearing vocals, it’s just so enticing. I guess if I had to pick one main issue it’s that I’m not crazy about most of the writing here, as it just completely failed in keeping me interested.
Sonic youth is very boring but not bad music
Fik hørt halvdelen. Det støjer for meget til, at det rigtigt bider sig fast.
You call yourself an indie head and you’ve never listened to Daydream Nation all the way thru? Pft, poseur.
I'm so conflicted on this album. By all accounts, I should love it. Influential, alternative rock that was truly ahead of it's time. I love some of the bands that cite this group as a heavy influence. But- there's just something off. I can't explain or place it, it's like I just can't convinced enough to care about whatever it is they're singing about. Songs feel like they go on forever and not in a good way. My son (10 at the time of this review), though, adores this band. He occasionally listens in on my album of the day and rarely feels anything is worthy. He was thrilled with everything about this. He went on a (very long) rant when he found out they aren't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So where does that put my rating? My son rates it a 4.5/5, I'm more on the side of a 3. 5 it is, because I love my kiddo. One day, when he's older (maybe at Prom? Wedding?), I'll remind him of the time he ranted for a solid 20 minutes about the poor choices of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 5/5
I should like Sonic Youth - I like lo-fi garage-y pseudo punk noise rock, and I was in my teens when they were big, but they just passed me by, and continue to do so. It’s ok, but I didn’t really enjoy it, as such.
Started out decent...then it all just ran together and started sounding the same.
I always want to sing ‘we are a part of a daydream nation’, like the Janet Jackson track, when I think of this album. Teenage Riot is one of my favorite Sonic Youth songs, so it’s always good to revisit it. This album as a whole though kind of washes over you like a daydream after. I have trouble recalling specifics after the end of track one. It’s a good daydream though, one which would have seemed like the coolest shit in the world when it came out, and one that’s still pretty cool today. I listened to this while jogging this time around, and the beats/repetitive guitar strums really do well to keep pace. They all inevitably lead to a catastrophic cacophony toward the end of the song, a trend which bands who want to sound cool still utilize, although it really messed with my running groove, I can’t lie. I guess the dissonant parts represent the train of society, barreling into the brick wall of Reaganomics. Or it could be general rhythmic life hurtling into the chaos of unavoidable death. Or perhaps the musicians thought that disrupting the rules was interesting. Makes me feel more indifferent to the music than I want to be though.
Sonic Youth my goats…
Grunge, and not so great at that
Sigh… it’s Sonic Youth—critics’ catnip, a tangle of art-punk guitar clatter that promises revelation but mostly delivers endurance tests. When they ease up on the avant-garde throat-clearing, you can hear the band they might’ve been: “Teenage Riot” rides a relatively straightforward groove that almost passes for alt-rock accessibility, while “Total Trash” taps into a scrappy 60s garage-band pulse that suggests these noise sculptors actually like rock music. “Candle” opens with a pretty arpeggiated guitar figure and blooms into an intriguing soundscape, though the vocals remind you why their admirers call it “challenging” and the rest of us call it something else. Ambitious, sure—but ambition alone doesn’t make the feedback worth the wait.
Another band I’ve been meaning to get into and an album I wish I had given a closer listen to. Nevertheless, I can certainly see why Sonic Youth is painted as progenitors of the noise rock movement, which is a sub-genre of rock I’ve been getting more into. It’s certainly an album whose total is greater than the sum of its parts, but it’s damn good. Favorite track: Total Trash
Kinda boring outside of Teen Age Riot
Teen Age Riot is maybe a friendlier, happier Sonic Youth than the earlier albums. It's still got that cool detachment to it. Very indie. The fuzz is there, and energy levels are good. Still liking the guitars - great intro on Silver Rocket, too, and it leads into a couple of neat riffs with more punk rock sounding vocals before everything devolves into noise. Out of the chaos, another great riff fades in. I'm digging this. The Sprawl is different again, smoother, more abstract vocals, a repetitive groove. The drums drop out and we get delicate fragments of melody over a background of ambient noise. It's a hypnotic effect. Cross the Breeze is next, a speedy tour-de-force of atmospheric riffing and tortured vocals. After 5 minutes, we finally get a chance to breathe. Great drumming now. Eric's Trip is weaker for me, but Total Trash closes the first half with catchy hooks and another lengthy instrumental section full of feedback. It's moody, dense stuff. Hey Joni is an energetic start to the next side but Providence is something else - pianos and fuzz, vocal samples. Very good. It leads into Candle, a clean intro riff that is a little disorienting and it turns a pretty heavy but athemic track. Rain King is dark and gloomy, heavy again. Kissability has keyboards or chimes in the mix that give it an eerie sound, but the guitars drive the track. So far the second half has alternated more accessible tracks with something a bit avant-garde, the closing trilogy breaks the streak though and continues with the melodic, driving stuff. Building to a climax in the first part - frantic drumming, dual guitars. Hyperstation is more atmospheric, slower. I expected maybe an ambient outro, but Eliminator Jr has another head banger of a riff. We end on a bang, not a whimper. This feels like it needed the 70 minute runtime. A masterpiece in sound design and ambience but it's also full of so. many. riffs. Lives up to the hype.
Nice driving sound, but maybe just because of the vocals, nothing to really hook me. Continuously I'm swinging between two annoying stars and four star ("Candle", Kissability", "Trilogy"). 2,5
Not a huge fan of this band. Lots of my favorite bands drew inspiration from them and I can see why but their songwriting itself doesn't interest me. Radiohead and other bands of this genre do it way better
I've been playing Sonic Youth on repeat for the past year, so I'm obviously going to give most of their albums 4 or 5 stars... Their name was always on my radar in the early 90s, but I was too into the grunge stuff to notice the real good alternative bands that emerged from the late 70s punk scene into the 80s collage rock scene, but I am sure glad to give them their due diligence now that I can still appreciate them.
Have heard Teen Age Riot a few times but not very familiar with this band. The late 80s period of alternative rock made some pretty underrated music looking back and this overall a very well made record. I like that the songs are long and experimental.
This album was a little too “noisy” for my personal taste, though I did like the song Teen Age Riot. I am glad I listened to it and can appreciate Sonic Youth’s contribution to the genre!
Likely forgotten in the annals of time is just how much of a debt Sonic Youth owes to Husker Du for laying the Sonic (get it?) ground work for this record. Aside from that, Daydream Nation should be viewed as the culmination of SY’s shift from No Wave beginning with EVOL progressing to Sister and peaking at Daydream Nation. This is where the balance between Wire influenced no wave arrives at Husker Du influenced Alt rock with traditional song structures, melody and still gritty around the edges. Eric’s Trip and Total Trash are excellent examples of this balance with almost pop melodies in angular guitar with howling buzzsaw guitar lines. The inclusion of lengthier guitar workouts more reflective of their live show at that time is fascinating. This is a record that everyone should have in their collection. I have listened to this record hundreds of times over the years and each listen brings new insights. I will say that for me the second half of the record beginning with Eric’s Trip is more interesting to me although it’s not the hit portion. Candle is a classic and an amazing closer to this record. There is also no denying that Teenage Riot is an all time classic track but it is also a pretty conventional song for a band whose whole reputation is on experimentation and noise ala Glenn Branca. This record is really about balance and on Daydream Nation it is perfect. No skips on this record 5/5.
The opener, Teen Age Riot, I was familiar with. It's a noisy album, which I like. I heard elements of early 80s post-punk influence on the sound, despite it being late 80s, including some Cure-like elements. I suppose my main criticism is that the overall sound gets quite samey. A solid four.
Not a fan. Always thought this band was more noise than music.
i think i’ve heard all of sonic youth now but this had to be their best album of them all
Surprised at how good this was after enduring EVOL. 7/10
On Sonic Youths 5th release they made the conscious decision to let their songs ride out as long as they needed to and the result is a fantastic album. Yea, they’re still noisy but the songs have room for melody as well, listen closely, there’s some beauty in there too. What an awesome record this is. 5 stars
I tried. I gave up about halfway through and started skimming through the tracks very rapidly. I need melody. I need discernible instruments. This was unpleasant noise. Sorry.
I like it - over to you Tomek 😉
Didn't make it halfway. There was enough mediocrity to avoid the 1 star but man that wasn't very fun - Wacky start. Better find its way from here... - 1h10m ... I'm not feeling great about this one - Okay wait vocalist is super chill. If this holds I can vibe - Nvm that got lame fast. 1h 10m of this will result in a 1-2 star rating
Wasn't sure about the start of the album, but The Sprawl hooked me in. During Eric's Trip I felt it took a dip down again and by Hey Joni the album had lost the charm I thought it might have had. The last A) and B) songs had some really fun playing of the instruments and I am torn on what to give the album overall. I think it sits right in between a high 3 and low 4, but I think the last song cemented this album into the 3's.
Been dreading this one for a while. I have really varied feelings on individual tracks, so I think for this one I'm going to rate/comment on them individually. - "Teenage Riot" - 4 - considering how much I was dreading this album, this track was a surprise. I enjoyed it quite a lot. Good start! - "Silver Rocket" - 1 - hated the vocals, hated the noise section, don't see the point. Fuck off. - "The Sprawl" - 2 - honestly just found this one boring, and didn't like the vocals that much (they were better than Silver Rocket though), they're (presumably deliberately) flat, and I find it really grating - "'Cross the Breeze" - 2 - largely similar to "The Sprawl" - "Eric's Trip" - 3 - bit mixed, not my favourite, the intro was bad, the rest of it was fine. - "Total Trash" - 2 - Started as a 3, ended as a 1. - "Hey Joni" - 3. - "Providence" - 1 - absolute dogshit. - "Candle" - 2 - this one is pretty inoffensive, stoner rock, would have been a 3 if not for the shitty noise section, I honestly can't understand why anyone would want to listen to that. - "Rain King" - 2 - not my vibe. - "Kissability" - 2 - Return of the Flat Female Vocals... I kinda liked the energy in this one but it's pretty repetitive and the discordance is just grating - "A) the Wonder" - 2 - repetitive, flat tuned crap. Grating vocals. - "B) Hyperstation" - 1 - really repetitive, irritating riff, irritating vocals. I feel like if you gave a few random emo kids electric guitars and told them to write and perform a song, it'd sound something like this track. - "Z) Eliminator Jr." - 2 - haha we're so quirky and edgy we skipped to Z. Oh yay more shitty vocals. The backing is energetic and has moments but mostly it's bad. Averages out at a low 2, which I think is about right versus my previous ratings. I'm not going to listen to this again, and I'm not looking forward to this band's other entries.
Full of raw energy and punch, The grounded production on the vocals and occasional talk-singing style makes me feel like I'm sat at a karaoke bar with a bunch of people I can click with. Instrumentation is fantastic, melodies are incredibly catchy, every vocalist brings their own style to their songs, noise breaks are of an acceptable level and fit with the tracks they're inserted into.
Highlights: - Teen Age Riot - Good vibes, cool guitar and I love Thurston's voice - Silver Rocket - What starts as rudimentary punk song quickly devolves into discordant noise. Given the time of release this is probably in reference to the Challenger disaster. - The Sprawl - The last 4 minutes of this song really do something to me. A fuzzy mess of guitar goodness. - Cross The Breeze - We're away from the feedback for now... but don't worry, it'll be back! i promise I'm not listing every song - Eric's Trip - I wasn't a huge fan of this song on my first listen but it has massively grown on me over the many listens. The whirring, discordant guitars and the infectious beat got to me... - Total Trash - We're back to feedback! 5 minutes of noisy goodness... - Hey Joni - Great track that makes me want to get up and dance! - Providence - Even though this is just an interlude it creates an incredible atmosphere - Candle - This song just sounds so magical and has such an amazing jam in the middle, you can imagine them playing the first few chords at a concert and the crowd absolutely losing it - Rain King - One of the less memorable songs on the album for sure with it's lackluster vocal delivery but it's still a masterpiece of guitar writing - Kissability - Maybe I am listing every song... the jam on this song is incredible. - A) The Wonder B) Hyper station C) Eliminator Jr - I've ran out of ways to give praise to the guitar writing on this album but rest assured this trilogy of songs live up to the rest of the album. (I ended up listing every song my bad I didn't realise how good this album was) I took this opportunity to finally listen to this on vinyl! What many consider to be their Magnum Opus and for good reason! High energy! punky! noisy! catchy! What's not to love?? This album is fantastic all the way through. The latter half is less memorable maybe I was just out of it by the time it got to that point because on this listening I found everything amazing. Actually it's probably because there's less noise on the 2nd half c: Thurston was a blessing on the guitar scene. Inspiring so many bands and writers alike, Kevin Shields of my bloody valentine credits him being a massive inspiration and they are best buds nowadays. Thurston gets a lot of his chaotic guitar writing from his extensive listening of free jazz. Taking that and applying it to guitar might be the only reason I still listen to music. Ridiculously High 5.
Some good songs
Teen Age Riot was a great song. It almost reminds me of a song that would've played in a 90s-2000s coming-of-age movie. I don't like how the songs are so long. The rest of the album, I did not enjoy.
A true 80s alt-rock foundation for so many bands that followed. Sonic Youth can be hit and miss for me, particularly in album form, but not here. Opening with the best track they ever wrote, Daydream Nation somehow manages to perfectly balance their noisy, weirdly-tuned distortion-heavy brand of alternative, with a layer of polish and accessibility. 5⭐️
i love when loud apparently
This was the best Sonic Youth experience I've had. You can really see the bones of the 90's built on these sounds. It's still very rough but progressive and talented.
Noise rock is never noisy enough for people who like actual noises. I like actual noise, and think most double albums are too long, so 2.5 stars here is quite generous.
Probably could have been a single album.
Gehört nicht in diese Sammlung.
This album starts SO GOOD and falls off for me around the middle.
As far as opening tracks go, Teenage Riot has to be right up there. Wouldn't say this is a record I would necessarily go back to and listen to over and over again, but there is no denying the influence this and Sonic Youth had on American rock/grunge in the late 80s and early 90s. An important record, if not necessarily a great one.
el hijo no reconocido de system of a down y pink floyd, con tintes de the strokes
chill
👍🏻
Previously rated: #84 - E.V.O.L. (1/5) #462 - Goo (4/5) #654 - Dirty (3/5) #924 - Sister (2/5) ************************ Album #1,050 This was a bit on the long side, but it rocks pretty hard. Teenage Riot and 'Cross the Breeze are my favorite tracks. I felt like I needed to something happy and simple afterwards after 70 minutes of the down-tuned off kilter stuff here.
*1988. *I really like these guys about 1/3 of the time. I'm here for the melodic, slower, grungy stuff, but they lose me with the more yell-y punk stuff. *Teenage Riot is a good song. *There are 5 songs on here that are at least 7 minutes, wtf? RATING - 6/10
Horrible, did not enjoy, anxiety provoking music
puno gitare koja u mnogim trenucima preuzme celu pesmu i zapravo zameni tekst kao narativno sredstvo što mislim da je baš kul; generalno, jako dobra gitara na ovom albumu, sa raznim melodijama koje se nekad ponavljaju na različitim pesmama (opet kažem, narativno sredstvo) ili promene tonalitet (ili šta već, nisam profi za teoriju muzike) u sred pesme i sve to doprinosi veoma dinamično iskustvu slušanja ovog albuma, baš mi se to sviđa. vokala nema mnogo, ali kad ih ima ne mogu uopšte da provalim dal su muški ili ženski ili ima više pevača, veoma su misteriozni, moram da guglam sad to, zanima me :) generalno atmosfera je veoma zanimljiva i tome doprinosi dobra produkcija i dobar miks, jeeejjj! sviđa mi se "trilogija" pesama na kraju, te tri pesme su kao jedna velika pesma sa milion promena u tempu I čega već, so fun! a i ne samo na kraju albuma već i u sred njega imamo "prelive" (tranzicije) iz jedne u drugu pesmu, a zna se da ja to obožavam hahahahah
Very noisy
There are some good moments on this album, but it’s way too long. A few songs are great, others get the noise/song balance wrong and drag on. I can see why it’s respected, but not sure I would return often. Good in parts, hard work in others.
I thought Sonic Youth were a grunge band, not one that laid the groundwork during the 80s. Elements of a less tuneful Pixies in the sound. Give them credit for influencing grunge scene to come, but I didn't love the album.
It feels youthful
The guitar work was cool, but it dragged a bit.
Crunchy guitars
Solid alternative rock album, surprised I'd never listened to Sonic Youth before!
Definitely a vibe
i think i might be a sonic youth hater. except you incinerate, i can never hate you.
I don't know why - because it feels like it should be My Kind of Music - but Sonic Youth has always left me cold. Nothing about it grabs me.
I quite liked Daydream Nation a fair bit. This album has more of the sound that i was expecting from Sonic Youth, not the more noisy stuff from Evol and Sister. Instead it just has this somewhat hard indie rock sound and i like it since i'm a fan of a lot of indie rock especially when it's the harder, faster, heavier kind. Granted this album is still far from perfect, the noisy parts are still there despite not being nearly as prevalent and the lyrics are a bit on the stupid side but i don't think that those two things were enough to completely detract from the parts of the album that i did like. I was expecting this to be like the other two Sonic Youth albums i heard but this one is actually a fair bit better. Best Song: Rain King Worst Song: Silver Rocket
I don't think it's a stretch to call Daydream Nation one of the rawest albums of the '80s. The energy harnessed in this behemoth of an album is absolutely unmatched. I think the reason this album works so well is just how balanced the Noise Rock sound is. I've found that a lot of noise-based rock music from this period leans heavily on the guitars for said noisiness, see You're Living All Over Me and Atomizer. While Daydream Nation absolutely has noisy guitars, the rest of the band matches the energy and grittiness to an insane level. All of the vocal performances manage to capture such an anxious and manic energy, pairing perfectly with the apathetic lyricism. Above all else the album is just infectious and fun while still maintaining tons of edge. There isn't a dull moment over the course of this record, a monumental feat for an album 70 minutes long. I don't think Noise Rock gets much better than this.
until i get home im not anyone
Gigantisk banger. Bedste vi endnu har haft med dem
Vildt lækkert. Den mest dreamy SY vi har haft, men der er fanme også noget fed tråd på
Nice and noisy! Loved it.
eh, pretty long, but not too bad
Okay this one is really good. First track was great, same with The Wonder
Edgy and youthful
It's okay. Some of their other albums on this list I thought were better. Just kind of noisy. 3/5 Probably won't listen again
Been wanting some Sonic Youth on here. Weirdly a band that has always passed me by so glad to get my chance… Kinda feels like Weezer mixed with Lou Reed somehow, with punk undertones. It’s raw and scrappy, dissonant and chaotic. Nice to have the variety in vox, probably prefer Kim’s with this sound. Can really see how it gave rise to some of the more instrumental rock / experimental bands of 90s/00s and enjoy their freedom in this and the longer arrangements. Whilst I enjoy it, unless you are super into it, it’s easy to feel like you have your fill and goes on for quite some time after. I respect what they’re doing, but maybe I’m just not cool enough….yet (3.5)
3/5
This was alright
Enjoyed a lot of it. But the parts I didn't enjoy I really didn't particularly enjoy.
Enjoyable punk, innovative, exciting and fun to listen to. Though nothing is jumping out as an ear worm
1001 Albums Vol. 0022: Daydream Nation ============================================================ Introduction: Alright, we deviated away from the good stuff for a short time, now we can hopefully get back on track. This album, Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth, was released in the great year of 1988. What a time it would have been to be alive back then. Anyway, when regarding this album, I have heard literally nothing but praise for it. I've heard it hailed as one of the greatest works of all time, THE greatest work of all time, and just all around positivity. Positivity to its absolute max. Reasons for this seem to be fair too, it was apparently hugely influential on the yet-to-boom Alternative Rock scene. Again, I myself am a huge fan of Alternative Rock, so nothing but positivity in those regards. That being said, I have a little bit of a story here. I was really never all that into music until I hit my teenage years. My dad to this day has a car that contains a CD player. I think it's from 2012 or something close to that. For as long as I could remember, and as a lot of dads would, he would play music that he likes. It may have been to try and turn me onto what he likes or just for his own entertainment. I don't know. That being said, a lot of what he played was pretty damn average or pretty damn bad from what I can remember. He went through a phase where he really liked Bandstand by Family. I remember that much. That being said, every once in a while he would find a CD that was pure gold. I remember being first exposed to Funeral by Arcade Fire and Quadrophenia by The Who because of him. That being said, the CD that he put on that really got me into music was Starfish by The Church. I don't know why. It's undoubtedly not as good as the previous two I mentioned, but Under The Milky Way, Reptile, Destination, and just everything on that album really turned me onto music as a whole. That love has obviously never left since. Now, point of story? That album, Starfish, has kinda permanently "ruined" my interpretation of Alternative Rock in a way. That's not a dig on the album, I'm just saying. What do I mean? Well, I'm realizing more and more as I generate more albums on this site that I have no clue what the hell Alternative Rock really is. My brain instantly associates it with a mix between Neo-Psychedelic and Dream Pop...maybe a bit of Shoegaze too. That being said, after listening to albums such as Blood Sugar Sex Magik, I clearly have no idea what the hell Alternative Rock is. That album being considered Alternative Rock is proof of that. Hopefully, a few albums later, I'll start to actually get the gist of what this genre truly means, but until then I'm still just going to associate it with ethereal sounds and slow guitars....Anyway, back to the album. Sorry about that. Uh...yeah, even a government agency realizes how good this album is. Just like Remain In Light, this album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. That's cool. Good for this band. Anyway, with all of that said, let's get into this album. I've kept you here long enough. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Track 1: Teen Age Riot Score: 11/10 Track 2: Silver Rocket Score: 10/10 Track 3: The Sprawl Score: 11/10 Track 4: 'Cross the Breeze Score: 11/10 Track 5: Eric's Trip Score: 9/10 Track 6: Total Trash Score: 10/10 Track 7: Hey Joni Score: 10/10 Track 8: Providence Score: 8/10 Track 9: Candle Score: 10/10 Track 10: Rain King Score: 8/10 Track 11: Kissability Score: 9/10 Track 12: Trilogy Score: 10/10 A) The Wonder Score: 9/10 B) Hyperstation Score: 10/10 Z) Eliminator, Jr. Score: 9/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conclusion: Well, I came out of this album more confused than ever about what the hell Alternative Rock means. I mean, this album bordered on Punk Rock on a lot of songs. That's not Alternative Rock. I don't think it is. I really don't know. I really couldn't tell you. As far as I'm concerned, Alternative Rock is just the name given to songs that are so unique that they won't get a lot of mainstream radio play....That previous sentence perfectly describes this album...and in a good way too. I really couldn't have expected anything less from this album, Could I? Literally everything that I've heard about this album is accurate. It's a masterpiece, it's influential, even today it's unique, it's emotional...just everything that propels music from "good" or "alright" to "masterpiece" is on here. What exactly makes the album so great? Wel...there's literally so many things that I couldn't quite get into it all. That being said, I'll start with the album's music. It's...admittedly not for everyone. Before I get down on my knees and bow down to the music that this album has to offer, I will point out that I can understand why someone may not necessarily like it. It's experimental. Heavily experimental. There are parts where instrumentation combines together to form something that doesn't even have a coherent melody. I don't mind these factors at all, but I can completely understand why someone would mind them. That being said, let me bow down to this album's music. It' so goddamn great. The instrumentation provides a very, very unique mix of Punk Rock, Alternative Rock, and Noise Rock. Noise Rock undoubtedly takes the main stage when compared to the other two genres, however. That being said, this is not a bad thing in the slightest. The album combines the typical type of instrumentation you would hear with Noise Rock and fuses it with enjoyable and recognizable melodies similar to that of Alternative Rock and Punk Rock. It's a great fusion which I can definitely see having a huge impact on Noise Rock as a whole. I would imagine that the more accessible and distinct melodies opened the genre up to many more listeners. No matter how you look at it, it's an undoubtedly great fusion between genres and helped push forward many genres of rock at the same time. It's great. No one will deny that. There are plenty of moments on the album that sound more akin to typical Noise Rock as well such as the bridge of Silver Rocket and the outro of The Sprawl. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of literally all things Noise. It's not a genre of music that I hate, but it's far from my favorite as well. That being said, these segments of pure Noise are so well produced and well written that I loved listening to them. These segments felt very atmospheric and psychedelic in all the right ways. There are entire songs more reminiscent to typical Noise Rock as well such as Eric's Trip and Rain King. Granted, those are two of my least favorite songs on the album, but they're still extremely well-written and unique. Now, this may just be me, but I genuinely got the vibe of...Arcade Fire while listening to this album as well. I mean this in nothing but a good way. Specific riffs on songs like The Sprawl, Teen Age Riot, Candle, and Hey Joni just gave off that somewhat magical vibe that Funeral-era Arcade Fire did. Weird comparison I know, just wanted to point it out. With all that said, I'll briefly move on to the vocals and lyrics. The vocals are...pretty damn great across the entire album. Many members of the band get a chance to shine as the main vocalist across each song which provides a lot of variety and personality to each song. That being said, I just have to briefly mention Kim Gordon's voice. I know some people may not like her voice, but I freaking love it for a multitude of reasons. It's cool, it feels raw, and it genuinely somewhat shocked me to learn that her voice...well...belongs to a female. I honestly just envisioned her voice belonging to a young guy in his 20's who maybe has curly hair and constantly shaves all of his facial hair off...basically a twink. I said it, kill me. Anyway, it shocked me that Gordon's borderline masculine voice belonged to a female and not a male. I've not seen anyone else online claim that they've been surprised by this. maybe I'm the first. I mean, just listen to The Sprawl and tell me you don't envision a twink. Tell me that....Anyway, the lyrics...they're pretty damn great as well. They, for the most part, have a very dark, magical, yet nostalgic tone to them all at the same time. They speak of themes such as the freedom of youth, the escape into thoughts, and occasionally speak of drug trips as well. Speaking of which, Eric's Trip is what I imagine to be one of the most realistic musical interpretations of a drug trip you can get while still having the music be enjoyable. I don't speak from experience. I've literally never done any type of non-prescription drug in my life, I'm just speaking based on my own interpretation. And no, I'm not just saying that so that the DEA won't come bust down my door. I'm serious. Anyway, with all that said, I overall find this album to genuinely be up there as one of the best I have heard to date. I imagine it probably won't even be in my top 50 by the time I'm done with this site, but who the hell knows? Albums like this are one of the main reasons I even decided to start my journey on this site in the first place. I wanted to discover new masterpieces all while discovering new disasterpieces at the same time. I of course enjoy discovering the former more, however. Anyway...uh...album's a masterpiece and honestly pretty damn close to getting an 11/10 out of me. It just...unfortunately isn't something that I would put on the same level as Kid A or Remain In Light. It's perfect no doubt, but it just barely doesn't reach the point where I would label it as beyond-perfect. I can't be too generous with 11's. If I were to give this album one, I would have to bump most of my other 10/10's at this point to 11's because this album does NOT beat Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix...or Lo Borges. That album's score on this site still devastates me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Daydream Nation Score: 10/10 Song Average: (Trilogy + Three Sub-Tracks): 9.7/10 Song Average: (Just Trilogy): 9.8/10
Don’t think I made it through a single track without skipping. The album notes talked about “long instrumental pieces” and nearly evading seemed to have a stretch where the vocalist stopped mumbling or whining, but the spaces were filled with noise not music, so instrumental seems a misnomer. Overall just what you’d expect, loud, annoying crap to make you angry.
the noise part of the noise rock was a bit too much
(4/7) "Teenage Riot" then a lot of crunchy guitar
sufficiently definitely not cool enough for this but i did enjoy listening
I’m still not entirely sold on Sonic Youth but this was my favorite record of theirs we’ve heard (and I would argue the only one we need on the list). Teen Age Riot was by far the best song, and I also liked Total Trash. But I thought it was interesting how many callbacks there were to previous songs in the different riffs and overall sound. Think I’ll spend more time with this one.
This is good, raw indie rock and roll. I want to love this band but I really don't. Did enjoy this album though.
Man this was tough to get through. I do like bands with multiple singers, but the music was just so harsh. If this album was 25 mins shorter I could have maybe gotten to a 4 but this was rough.
# Album Name: Daydream Nation # Artist: Sonic Youth # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Great opening song. Most people will have heard Teenage Age riot. Sadly, thats where the fun ended. Theres too many 7 minute tracks which just seem to go on and on and on and on some more. It really doesnt need to be that complicated. Too long, too much noise. Very dissapointed because ive heard a lot about this album. # Top Tunes: Teenage Age riot / # Would I listen to it again? No
I never could get into Sonic Youth. This album didn’t help any. It’s fine, but too much “wall of noise” for my liking. There are roots of things I do like, however.
Daydream Nation is a foundational work of the 1990s grunge and alternative rock era. The band's blend of noise and melody from their late 80s and early 90s experimental rock and punk sounds opened the doors to the underground and underappreciated chromaticism for the Indie mainstream, paving the way for bands like Nirvana, Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, Hole, Cat Power, and Dinosaur Jr.
Not too bad, a bit samey after a while
3rd time listening. Hated this album's endless chugging sprawl when I first heard it years ago, then loved it on a second listen. Now, I'm slightly less enthused but still greatly admire this one. It goes against a lot of the things I instinctively like - it's long, there are endless guitar sections, and a lot of it merges into one drone - yet I do like that aggressively in-your-face attitude. And Teen Age Riot is a true masterpiece.
Very interesting lp that combines a lot of genres. I enjoy the bits that sound more like indie and post rock. Not so much the punk and noise parts. Not so sure what to do with this?
I thought I hated this album, but I didn’t mind it this time around.
Sonic Youth is een band die je in Nederland eigenlijk amper tegen komt in mijn ervaring. Dit was ook het eerste Sonic Youth album dat ik geluisterd heb. Heb erg genoten, het gitaarwerk is fantastisch, de nummers hebben atmosfeer en het album is lang, maar zo dynamisch dat de tijd voorbij vlieg. 9/10
2026.01.31
Langweiliges überladenes mittelmäßiges Rockalbum, ging so.
Will definitely be listening again.
This one's a banger. My 4th album from them and probably the one I've enjoyed the most. Surprisingly strong for a double lp and it went by quickly for 70+ minutes. Like the other albums Kim Gordon is standout for me.
Altså, på papiret burde det være lige mig, men det er simpelthen FOR skramlet. Det stikker for meget. Men noget af det er meget cool, i små doser.
I was not in the right mood for this album and couldn’t get through it.
No way this and deserves multiple spots on this list. I’ll listen and know what to expect. Ok this was way more sophisticated and deeper than the other records I heard. At times dare I say upbeat. This was actually really interesting and good. I’m shocked. SHOCKED I SAID! 4 stars.
Listened to half Not my thing
I suppose this is ok. Even a bit better in places, and I’m sure that if I were a fan I’d love it. But there’s too much of it and it’s not innovative or catchy enough to merit anything better than ok I’m sure it was super influential back in the day. It almost certainly should be on this list. But I doubt I’ll listen again
SONIC YOUTH GUYS I LOVE SONIC YOUTHHHHHH Incredibly biased, because I know what they meant to the band pavement <3, so i learned to love them as well. The whole vibe of the album is lovely. To me, it feels very comforting. I love indie, indie rock or anything that feels slightly experimental AND THIS FEELS LIKE A SHIT SHOW. Highly recommend listening with headphones!! The guitars slay, but they always slay sooo anyway 5 stars no regrets
3.6
O álbum até começou bem, com algumas músicas numa pegada de punk clássico, mas rapidamente caiu no mesmo problema de álbuns que tentam ser experimentais demais, que é ser zero musical. Muitas bandas dessa época foram nessa vibe de fazer músicas tenebrosas, com passagens extremamente dissonantes e falar que era proposital. Desculpa de gente que tem preguiça de aprender a tocar direito. O fato de uma música se chamar "Total Trash" diz muito sobre isso. A verdade é que várias outras músicas podiam ter esse título também. Melhor do álbum: "Teen Age Riot". Pior do álbum: "Total Trash".
Best one for sure but still not my fav it is way too long
Think this album absolutely would have benefitted from being about half this length. I know this is a revered album, but I still think I prefer Goo. The songs are less fun here, and a bit samey, even though they are absolutely dripping with cool in the way that sonic youth does so well. Liked this more than evol for sure.
PEPINO MARINO GUARINO!
enjoy it lol
Big fan. Influenced so many of the big 90s bands
As a person who has spent a lifetime being classically trained in music and obtained a four-year degree in music, this album fascinated me. I heard influences of what I would call contemporary classical, or at the very least some kind of serialism or atonalism. There is a tonal "center" to each song, but not a whole lot of melody going on. Guitars are playing familiar-sounding chords with crunchy notes between, creating a grungy, underground kind of sound. Production is excellent. A very unique sound done well, with plenty of hard-hitting moments and moments of reprieve as well. I thought some of the songs were simply too long and for no good reason. I did not really enjoy the vocals - they were just underwhelming and not very memorable. Instrumentals are strong. This is the kind of music that makes you scrunch up your face and nod your head in agreement, or possibly disagreement if you have different tastes. It's very effective, if not a bit brash. I think this is objectively *good* and it makes sense to be on this list, and I might come back to it in some deeper musical discussions. 3/5; solid, but not really made for me.
it wasn’t bad just not my thing
sonic youth!!!! "'cross the breeze" sonically describes how my brain feels all the time. love the strangeness of this all, especially the long guitar solos that are kinda off but in a perfect way, and how it gradually descends into more and more chaos
Too punk for me
Being a huge fan of 90’s alternative, this album has always been one that I have meant to get around too. Being one of the forefathers of the grunge sound and hearing a few songs of theirs; I had very high expectations for this going into it. The starting track was everything I imagined it to be with power driven riffs and vocals that drone and are at times delivered with snark that are showing that they are everything that pop music was NOT at the time. Sadly, once I hit the middle of this album I started to lose interest. Being an “all gas no breaks” type of project; I think this album would very much benefit from breaking up the chaotic riffs every once in a while. While I respect that this album paved the way for a whole genre of rock music and inspired countless artists to come; my advice would be if you want a more consumable album that paved the way just as much, and better song writing, I highly recommend Doolittle by Pixies over this one
My preference, when it comes to music, is melody, rhythm, beat, and if possible, a good story. Maybe this album has some of these elements. I wouldn't know. It was loud and discordant. Sometimes discordant works, like jazz. As far as this album is concerned, it did not work with me. I was very happy with the last song ended and I could remove it from my list.
Magical
Listened to the first three songs and...rubbish. DNF
How can a record be both noisy and catchy? Pure raw energy.
iyo raa ver mivaqcie yuradgeba mara kargad mesmoda
No. 82 I really liked this album more than I thought. You could hear the punk influence in a lot of songs.
Street Joy is a great tune
Alternative rock/punk/post punk. It's pretty good but it's generally too much on the punky side and less melodic/hook driven than I would prefer. Nice riff on Total Trash, almost presaging pop-punk. Best track - Cross the Breeze, Eric's Trip 3 stars
Experimental, but decent. Garage, punk, rock with some noise to boot. I liked it, but I admit I didn't love it. There's something that wanted me to go back for me.
2.54 / 5 stars for Daydream Nation. It has some winners (Teen Age Riot, Silver Rocket, The Sprawl, Candle), and some real head scratchers (Hey Joni, Providence, Rain King, Kissability). The last song, the 13 minute marathon is pretty good, but will never grace A Mixtape. too long and not really a joy to listen to. there ARE 13 minute songs I don't mind listening to. this is not one of them. I somewhat understand why people put this on those greatest albums ever lists, but it definitely would not make mine. But I get it.
I have listened multiple times, it’s a perfect album.
while a lot of the album has similar sounds, it feels so original. teen age riot will FOREVER be a classic. i love it favorites: teen age riot, 'cross the breeze; total trash
A little heavy at times for me, though I can see the influence it has on more recent punk/rock bands, and thus, their significance.
It's a no from me dawg
Sonic Youth are another band I always meant to pay more attention to. The bits I've heard didn't grab me much. I enjoyed this a bit more, but I can't help thinking that Nirvana listened to this and went, 'This is great, but what if it had actual tunes and the vocals weren't drowned in guitar soup?'
I should like noise rock because I like distortion in other genres, but I don't. I think it's the punkiness of it I don't like. Which is odd, because I quite like punk. There were bits I did enjoy, such as the song 'Cross the Breeze, but most of it I found rather unexceptional. Not a fan of any of the vocals either. The length doesn't help. I'll have to come back to this though at some point. I can see this being one of those albums that take a few listens before it clicks.
now this is influential music.
barulho, so barulho - 1/10
Total Trash is an apt description.
Awesome
It's only been an hour since I listened to Daydream Nation, and I've already pretty much forgotten what it sounded like.
I grew up listening to a lot of punk and now I find I have outgrown it. The albums I listened to in my youth are great, as they bring back memories of friends and experiences. I never listened to Sonic Youth and find it hard to listen to now. Its not bad, just not for me.
I once again mainly listened to this album in the background. I don't think this album was for me, but I also don't outright think it was bad. There are some songs I really didn't like (see: Kissability) but there were definitely tracks that had a lot to enjoy. There are four more Sonic Youth albums on this list to get through, so hopefully there'll be something on those that grabs me more. Favourite song: Candle
Meh, some good tracks but got lost with the noise stuff on a lot of the tracks, 7/10
No wave with pop sensibilities. Starting point for anyone interested in SY. Kim also was fundamental to riot grrl starting here.
Stopped listening halfway through. Repetitive and noisy.
good
solid 3/5
Pas convaincu par la proposition, très lisse
It sounds like punk but with a bit of polish which I really like, the album is quite unnecessarily long tho
Mixed feelings about this. Great riffs, but songs are looooooooooong! Not the right record to listen to on a long train journey.
Ok this is my preferred sonic youth album!
Didn’t really do anything for me
In general, I'm not a big Sonic Youth fan, but the first half of this album was surprisingly listenable, for the most part.
Definitely an influential band. Some songs are too long but probably are good live.
It's cool, but nothing spetacular.
no m gusto
Unable to lean on nostalgia, I found this album too noisy and a little boring.
This album reminds me how much I like guitar. Straight up riffing. Very enjoyable. 3 stars. Favourite track - Total trash.
yess
The daydreams this album conjures are of college radio in the early to mid 90s. By most metrics, that was a pretty good time. Sonic Youth themselves are somewhat the equivalent of the Velvet Underground in that they didn’t make many “sing-along“ songs. But much like the VU, I’ve come to appreciate them more as I get older.
Probably a pioneering album in its day, but a lot of this sounds like amateur hour with a garage band.
Some of the music's OK. Don't care for the vocalists, though. Or the excessive noise/feedback aspect of their sound.
Probably needs to be on the list. Influential and takes rock music in a new direction. Not an easy Monday morning listen though. Teenage Riot is great of course.
Most of them start well, but they all eventually descend to noise. I wanted to like it but just couldn't.
Really engaging and raw, I've never heard a full SY album. I think it's a solid 4.
I have tried to listen to Sonic youth before. Did not work then, did not really work now. I understand the relevancy, it's just not for my ears personally.
This is an interesting record that I don’t listen to often cause it’s hard to stay focused on. It challenges the listener. They did some weird stuff with tunings and played more open arrangements that were very arranged. It reminds me of a very experimental free jazz record.
a solid album. great instrumentals. classic alternative grungy sound. plenty of interesting chord progressions. I only wish i found this album like 25 years go.
Undoubtably the greatest Sonic Youth album. Favorite track: Hey Joni
Eliminator, Jr. Is the worst song I've heard I think. Why is this on this site? 1001 albums you must listen to???????????? THIS? Rating 1/5
I am 8 tracks in and hoping for something to grab my interest besides Teen Age Riot. Perhaps my receptors have been scrambled by pop music and sugary cereals, but I have found many tracks to be too long with little payoff. The singing has also been unconvincing. There is certainly something to be said about using dissonance to provide contrast and interest within music. 3 minutes of continuous dissonance however can start to grate, especially if the reprieve isn't stellar. Update: I enjoyed Hyperstation. Cool lyrics, nice musical progression, and while long, it felt like it actually had a reason to be. I also thought the vocals on Eliminator, Jr. were fun. Going through the album again, I think one of my biggest problems with it is that many of the tracks sound like the same song being played at different tempos.
Mostly screeching noise but once in a while there’s something I like
Interesting. Solid effort.
gremlin type beat
grungy
Innovative Noise/Modern Rock, but not an album I ever choose to listen to.
I see its influence but the heavy distortion / punk leaning sounds are not for me. Select songs were impactful but I got lost in the noise from song to song.
A thrilling collection of guitar ideas bravely stretched to the length of a workday. Influential, sure—but sometimes feels like the band forgot to stop tuning and accidentally hit record.
Love the backing music, I can hear so many other bands who hadn't yet formed in there. However what really lets it down is the vocal, I can't stand shouting into the mic with no melody, it just ruins it for me and sounds tone deaf. Can do with less experimental stuff too but that's just personal preference
The Sprawl and Total Trash are great. Gave me Maggot Brain vibes. I liked when they tapped into these long intervals of instrumentation. The singing was not that great but I get that this is not a band where singing is the focus. I probably won’t listen to this ever again but it was quite the experience. Enjoyable noise.
Classic. I appreciate its influence, which I hear on many of the bands I love. That said, its not something I would listen to regularly.
Jesus this was painful! some songs were ok, it felt like a late-90s/00s indie band at times, which I guess speaks well about the album, but it was TOO LONG! it was difficult to get through it...
Once again, not what I was expecting. Disappointing.
I like sonic Youth and Teen Age Riot rips but maybe this didn't need to be a double album?
Yeah, that was boring.
Ei tää ny
Vähän oli erikoista räimettä. ⭐️⭐️
Olipa renkutusta
Sonic Youth may have been an inspiration to others, but there is a reason they never rose to prominence like the bands that were inspired by them. Quirky, undefined, experimental. This album lacks anything cohesive and intriguing. It’s ultimately forgettable. To be found and perhaps enjoyed only by the most devout disciples of SY.
#816. The worst part of this project is not the hundreds of terrible albums on here to listen to, but the good ones that you've never listened to and have been missing out on the whole time. 4/5: great
Grew on me as it went on
This is the fourth fucking noise rock album I’ve gotten in a row and I still don’t like the genre. I had a little hope because the previous sonic youth record I got (dirty) was a record I enjoyed a lot. This however I did not enjoy.
Very same-y. Had a few notable moments but mostly just kind of sounded like the same riff and singing on repeat for an hour
dnf
Noise - not the good kind
I just don’t like listening to it very much.
6/10, 2 liked but jus boring
yarisinda fenalik basti
I think I like “Sister” a little more, but this one does contain the iconic Teenage Riot and lots of (SY trademark) guitar textures.
First song was too long but their best
This album baffled me, because I did not really enjoy the last Sonic Youth album I had to review (Sister), but this sounds completely different. The punk inspired instrumentals, especially that guitar tone and drums, really worked on this thing. This album really intensely focused on instrumentals rather than vocals, which was quite refreshing. There were some parts of this, especially in 'Cross The Breeze, that I thought I was listening to to a King Gizzard offcut. Nice stuff. 'Cross The Breeze was the favourite. Really good punk vibes on this one. Total Trash and Candle were both also great in their own right. Candle especially for the trashy shoegaze vibe it applied to the guitarwork in the latter half of the record. Really solid stuff from a band I thought I was indifferent to. Keen to listen to some more stuff by Sonic Youth.
It is difficult to make a RAIN KING (har har) of the songs on here. More or less everyone song on this album is good or great, but unfortunately none of them leave a particularly strong impression on me. As an album though, it rocks. This probably could have been cleaned up and cut up into a single LP but I am happy that it plays more like a focused jam. Honestly it is a bit long, but I am not going to harp on about that. I have listened to some extremely short albums on here that dragged a lot more than this. I don’t find the need to fall back on the historical significance of this album and the influence it has had on a number of genres. I can appreciate and enjoy this in a vacuum. Highlights: Teen Age Riot, Candle
I liked it somewhat. The out of tune singing was distracting at times, but besides that it was alright
Good 1970-80 music
My personal introduction to Sonic Youth, this album holds a special place in my heart and really opened up a whole world of interesting music to me, hard to be objective so fuck it, go with your heart!
Very solid album. Industrial indie tones make this album stand out and the opening track is my biggest standout for me.
More like 2.5. I feel bad rating it this low when I feel like they walked so Sleater Kinney could run, a band I like significantly more somehow lol.
No es mi rollo
Another of my Desert Island Discs I think. I’m not sure why I find noise rock so comforting - my five year old claims that it isn’t music, it’s just people warming up before they play music. Almost every track on the first half of the album is a favourite, and I still enjoy the second half.
I was enjoying it until the cacophony that was Silver Rocket… wtf was that. Overall it was just mediocre nondescript and forgettable noise. No thin and