Goo

This is the epitome of art for art's sake. It's so far up it's own ass it has become some kind of bagel. Not catchy, interesting, captivating or moving. It's the type of pretentious garbage I absolutely hate. It charted so poorly because it's bad music. It's a cult band, with an Andy Worhol type of self importance so vulgar I barely call it music. But hey, it's cool to be like "the themes explored really speak to the general malaise of the time...." get fucked. 0/10

The album itself isnt that good. Side A is great with Dirty Boots and Kool Thing, but Side B has quite a few duds. Its just not as good as Daydream Nation, Sister or Dirty. Few albums are, though. What, however, is great here, is the album cover. Artwork by Raymond Pettibon. The original image is a paparazzi photograph taken from a 1966 murder trial. In the photo is Maureen Hindley and David Smith who were both key witness in the Moors Murders trial. Maureens sister Myra murdered 5 children and asked David to help bury them. David instead reported his sister-in-law, who got charged with life sentence and the press called her 'the most evil woman in Britain'. Here's the original photo: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ejl3S9aWoAEd-0k?format=jpg&name=small

Goo has *everything*. A punk ode to Karen Carpenter, a fuck-you/come-on feminist anthem, a robot absolutely screlting the name Mildred Pierce, but most importantly it’s got Goo herself. Slay yas goo mama boots

Music to drink a gallon of hot, black coffee and smoke 2 packs. Quintessential Gen X

I thoroughly enjoy this album by Sonic Youth. I would say it is rather Goo-d!

Great record! Love the tracks with Kim on vocals, they have a sort of effortless cool to them. Sonic Youth's most commercial album. For some reason I remember thinking this record was kind of uneven but coming back to it now it's pretty strong all around. It is kind of weird to have Chuck D on a track just to say a few kind of cliche rapper things in the background. Weird 90's thing to do (REM's Radio Song being a similar example).

Hey, this doesn't suck. It's like Sonic Youth finally discovered the magic elements of "song structure" and "composition" and used those to make an album that wasn't unlistenable bullshit noise. Still not, like, good or anything. But it's not awful and that seems to be the bar for the Sonic Youth albums on this list.

“Noise rock” using “unorthodox guitar tunings” yeah, there’s probably a reason people use “orthodox guitar tunings” : it doesn’t sound like unpleasant noise.

3 stars for music, extra star for doing really cool shit with their guitars

Major label sell out bastards. Playing songs with hooks and tunes and everything. Bastards.

Incredible riffs and catchy ass songs. Just a great alt rock album very fun to listen to. 9/10 for me

Fantastic, blew me away. A masterpiece of noisy alt rock.

An overrated album by an overrated band. People who put this poster up in their rooms need to be punched in the nose.

Austin, Texas is the best city in the US when it comes to record stores. Several years ago, while planning a trip to Houston for a friend’s wedding, I decided to extend that trip into a vacation and spend a few days after the wedding in Austin, with the intention of hopping from record store to record store, eating excellent Mexican food and enjoying everything Austin has to offer. The drive from Houston to Austin, at least as I took it, was a long one, on a state highway that offered little in terms of view, save for cattle ranches, one after another. Occasionally, you’d hit a light at a four way intersection. At those intersections, there was a good chance there was either a gas station or a Whataburger and maybe a supermarket. Then you’d drive another 20 minutes or so, hit another light, see another Whataburger and be on your way. It was a nice, relaxing drive, but I was mostly interested in getting to Austin. I had tickets that night to see a screening of Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation documentary/concert film with a Q&A session with filmmaker Lance Bangs and Gerard Cosloy, founder of Matador Records. It was at the Alamo Draft House/Ritz Theatre in Austin, which no longer exists in that capacity. It’s now home to Joe Rogan’s “Comedy Mothership”, which I think sucks because it was such a great historic theatre to see a film at. The timing of that event and my friend’s wedding couldn’t have been more impeccable. It was like the universe saying, “oh hey, you’re coming to Texas? Why not stay a few days extra and come to Austin, you’ll get to see a bunch of unreleased Sonic Youth footage and did I mention the all record stores?” The day after the Daydream Nation screening, I set out to hit record stores. Waterloo, End of an Ear, Antone’s…I had a long list of record stores to go to and I was going to hit them all in the three days I had in Austin. …and did I ever. Among the records I picked up across the many stores I visited: an original pressing of The Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat”, an original pressing of Sparks’ “Kimono My House”, a original promo copy of King Crimson’s “Lark’s Tongue in Aspic” with the promo sticker on the sleeve - all of which you’ve heard or will hear thanks to this list, but there were also several others including an original pressing of Fripp and Eno’s “Evening Star”, Man or Astroman’s “A Spectrum of Infinite Scale” on two 10” records and a host of 90’s indie 7” singles. But the coupe de grâce came on my final day in Austin. After some breakfast tacos and a walk around the state capitol, I realized that I was left with time to kill before I really needed to head back to Houston and check in to my hotel for the flight home the next day, so I decided to check out one final record shop before I hit the road. After consulting Google, I decided to check out Breakaway Records, because it seemed like a shop that would be most in line with my musical tastes. I had a good feeling about Breakaway when I pulled into its parking lot. The sign above the store, was done in a very classic 1960’s style with alternating blocks of lime and dark green and each letter of “BREAKAWAY” in white, overlayed on the alternating green color blocks. It felt right. I browsed through the new releases and used sections and was content with my choice of record stores: though the decor of Breakaway was somewhat minimalist, their selection of new and used records was impressive and varied. After about 15 minutes of crate digging, I noticed a section called “new arrivals/rarities” or something similar. “Perfect,” I thought. “Maybe they’ll have an original 13th Floor Elevators record or something.” I started going through the section - an original pressing of Nevermind, lots of 90’s alternative and indie rarities… Then, there it was. The record I had been after for nearly 5 years, ever since a copy got away from me at Amoeba in San Francisco: A 1996 Mobile Fidelity pressing of Sonic Youth’s “Goo” on 200 gram vinyl. I had been *this* close to grabbing it when I was at Amoeba five years earlier…it was in the next bin of new arrivals that I was going to dig through, when someone walked up, started going through that bin and added it to their pile of records without hesitation. So close, yet so far… It goes without saying that when I saw it again at Breakaway, I grabbed that record and added it to my pile of purchases without a second of thought or consideration for price…It had taken me 5 years and countless visits to record stores all over the country to cross paths with it again. Then, the next record, Sonic Youth’s soundtrack for the film “Made in the USA” on coke bottle clear vinyl….What was already a wildly successful few days of crate digging had just turned into the best I’ve ever had. It was made even better with the realization that my trip to Austin had been bookended by Sonic Youth. It started with the Daydream Nation screening and the Ritz and culminated with finding that copy of “Goo” at Breakaway. I went to check out, had a nice conversation with the clerk and told him I was visiting from New Jersey and flying back the next day. He gave me a Breakaway tote bag to use as a carry-on for the trip home. I honestly can’t recommend Breakaway Records enough - you should check them out if you’re ever in Austin. Back in the present, I’m listening to that copy of “Goo” today as I write this review. It sounds fantastic, even if the album seems like an unlikely candidate for the Mobile Fidelity treatment. Kim Gordon’s songs on “Goo” are the highlights here for me: the exceptional “Tunic (Song for Karen)”, the surprise hit “Kool Thing” and “Cinderella’s Big Score” are all Sonic Youth classics in my mind, even if I’m not as hot on “My Friend Goo”. Thurston Moore’s songs are no slouches, either: “Dirty Boots” ranks among his best as do “Disappear” and “Titanium Exposé”, which might be the Sonic Youth song with the most prominent shared vocals between he and Kim Gordon. Lee Ranaldo gets his typical one song allotment in the form of “Mote”, a fan-favorite and perennial live staple in the Sonic Youth catalog, and Steve Shelly…well, Steve Shelly is one of the best and maybe most overlooked drummers in all of alternative rock - with his metronomic precision, he is the perfect drummer to anchor, when necessary, and propel, when required, the chaos of Sonic Youth. Though they had jumped to a major label, Sonic Youth didn’t temper their sound much, if at all, on “Goo”. If anything, it’s more abrasive and aggressive than Daydream Nation in spots, which makes this record a pretty uncompromising major label debut.

fuckin great album - 10/10 it’s not for everyone but I love it

When I first came across sonic the hedgehog, all the jizz just got stuck in his spikes. He wasn't the easiest to clean. Made him faster though.

I have this album cover on a t shirt, so I'd better give it 5 stars.

Simple, catchy riffs. I like the song writing better on this LP than the debut. And the feedback excursions that bookend the songs don’t go on for as long. Giving Kim Gordon the mic a little more was a good idea. Kool Thing is a great song.

Punk meets New Wave. She is a prominent as a singer, I like her catatonic and monotonous voice, shameless and bored. Really fitting to the era. (7/10) Favourite Tracks: Kool Thing

I love the start of this album you get a mix of noise, psychedelic, pop mix especially with the female voices starting in the track ‘Tunic’. The album felt very fresh even over 20 years after release, it seems like it was very experimental for the time (not sure if other Sonic Youth albums are similar). Even the heavy noise tracks like ‘Mildred Pierce’ and ending with ‘Titanium Expose’ were fantastic for keeping the dark & psychedelic mood of the album. The only track that felt massively out of place was ‘Cinderella’s Big Break’ as it was more upbeat than the track before and after, it felt like a massive jump in the movement of the album.

That sure is sonic youth

This was a really fun listen. I have this album, but it's been awhile. The trading off of lead vocals was really fun. Knowing the story behind Kool Thing added depth to the song.

One of the best albums of this era - still sounds exciting and not crazily overplayed unlike some others [edit: did not know the origin of the cover art, hmm..; Chuck D's contribution to Kool Thing is both utterly pointless and years ahead of its time, a real trendsetter for contemporary pond life such as DJ Khaled]

GOOd

Vous qui fréquentez ce générateur suivez probablement de très près ma progression dans cette liste des 1001. Vous savez dès lors très bien que j'ai donné quatre étoiles à Sonic Youth pour leur album Dirty. Rebelote avec celui-ci.

"I feel like I'm disappearing, getting smaller every day But I look in your eyes and I'm bigger in every way"

This was fucking amazing

Просто классика 90-ых и, наверное, лучший альбом Соников!

Goo is always my recommendation as a starting point for anyone wanting to go on a Sonic Youth tour. It is rough and - with the layered guitars - noisy enough compared to their previous records. On the other hand, it has acquired a bit more of an alt-rock appeal because there are some more structured songs with a starting and end point. For me this album has the perfect balance between the two giants on both sides of this album (Daydream Nation and Dirty). There really isn't a note wrong on Goo and the song Disappearer is the best they've ever released. And from here you can slowly return to the delicious raw creativity of Sister and EVOL. But this album is rock solid.

This is much more accessible than Teenage Daydream while still remaining recognizably Sonic Youth. The layered alternating guitar is front and center and musique concrète is used throughout which lends the album an experimental feel. The studio techniques used in the recording of this album were also similarly experimental and often led to issues getting final takes. The lyrical content often centers the experience of women in American society and issues a challenge to the expectations. This is best exemplified in 'Kook Thing,' a dialogue between Kim Gordon and Public Enemy's Chuck D.

It's very good, not as good as daydream nation, but that's a pretty high bar.

Perhaps offensive to the true Sonic Youth fans (who I count myself among) but an excellent record. It's got that poppy grungey quality to it but Sonic Youth know they're the cooler older brother and the play the part of it. Probably one of the most baffling albums to bubble outside of the mainstream with their signature dissonant guitar tones and progressive meandering structures. Kim and Thurston on vocals kind of mix together cartoony irreverence with overt politics and dialogue with pop culture imagery for an overall pretty socially progressive but lighthearted time. I think it's a very natural counterpart to the guitar bible that is Daydream Nation.

I think I would've liked sonic youth if I was a teenager in the 90s

I don't think this is as good as either of the two previous Sonic Youth albums. Sister and Daydream Nation have more memorable songs. Sonic Youth has an offputting element of cool kids gatekeeping that seems to come across more on Goo. If they weren't masters of making this kind of guitar music it'd be a dealbreaker. but they are, so. music: stole its sister's boyfriend, killed its parents and hit the road within a week. (⌐■_■)

Kool album

3+ Stars (9/15)

I try and I try with Sonic Youth, but I just can't get there. I actually think the first three or four tracks are quite solid. It def devolves from there IMO. I'm giving a 3* because of those tracks. 3.25/5

I feel like I was maybe too generous when I reviewed E.V.O.L. I see 'Goo' suffers from long-ass-90s-song disease. "Mote" was going great, until it ended with two minutes of wandering rock noise, which would be fine if I wasn't expected to find it groundbreaking and transgressive. While I'll enjoy their instrumentation and melodies, I really struggle to enjoy the vocal performances across Sonic Youth's discography. I was so close to loving "Tunic (Song For Karen)"; the riff and the lyrics are great and I love the mix, but god I just can't do it with the spoken vocals. I did get to take another crack at "Kool Thing" as an adult. And it does rip, it's a great rock song, but god damn it with Kim Gordan's vocals. It's weird to hear this song now with more context and go "this is a pretty tolerable vocal take, actually." Highlights: Dirty Boots, Kool Thing (miraculously), Disappearer

My feelings have been mixed on Goo since I first got into SY, a year or two after this came out. I shunned it and Dirty for being shiny and on a major label, an opinion I cribbed from Melody Maker, but Dirty Boots was the first SY song I heard, and I still love it; live versions accompanying the single sold me completely on the band. This does not have the weird majesty of its predecessors, but has a fair haul of good songs, and a classic in DB. Cinderella’s Big Score, Mote and Kool Thing are also favourites from that period. Returning to Goo, there’s a strong nostalgic pull to the sleek, bendy guitar howl they were into then, which still thrills me; they were a revelation, the first time I realised guitars didn’t have to follow the late-60’s blues rock templates to sound cool. A good record, but I prefer the contemporaneous Live In Irvine recording, which can be grabbed from the band’s generous Bandcamp page.

ah yes, "Kool Thing" of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock fame. Finally Hmmm what to give an album that you were enjoying, but the last 15 minutes kinda sucked in your humble opinion? Mildred Pierce is on Sonic Youth's most popular tracks on Spotify, wtf Didn't connect that track 2 was about Karen Carpenter; lines like "I feel like I'm disappearing" are heartbreaking, combined with that menacing minor-key riff it's a chilling moment near the beginning of the album. Speaking of menacing riffs, "Disappearer"'s is simple but effective 3*** before I change my mind HL: "Dirty Boots", "Tunic", "Kool Thing", "Disappear" February 24, 2023

Think I’ve realised that I like noise rock, however this album could’ve been more polished and less pretentious

Your results may vary

I’m a big fan of sonic youth. Post-Punk Shoegaze with a bit of garage punk in there. I love what they do with two guitars and pedal fx. Their albums vacillate between symphonic distorted euphoric trances and obnoxious whiny punk rock. Whether or not I love one of their albums always depends on which dominates the album. Disapearer, Dirty boots, Cinderella’s big score are three of the former, solid sonic build up culminated by a great climax and fx driven sonic breakdown to bring it home softly. I’m able to disappear into these songs and the wall of harmonic distortion they create—somehow they are able to find a harmonic balance in there. But then there’s always a few songs with Kim monotone spoken word about something I don’t care about—generally these are the songs I skip. Mildred pierce was going great until someone started squealing. Sonic Youth can be so hit or miss, but it’s always compelling, generally an album reflects like a grassroots zine, edgy, experimental, sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful, rarely boring. Compared to some of the other one note albums we’ve listened to this one has a lot more to say. That being said there’s a few sonic youth albums that shine a bit brighter, so this garners a 3 from me.

The style is interesting and different but I'm not a fan of the music itself so far. Their talk singing style is odd. Not my style.

I dont really get the hype for Sonic Youth. It's pretty generic and up it's own ass.

This is like a punk album, but the band isn't angry at anything.

Quality

I never much cared for the Youth back in the day, but I’ve come to appreciate them more over time. The albums I have heard are always a mixed bag, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this one, and what a corker it is. ‘Tunic’ is a great example of the lo-fi guitar and laid back Kim Gordon vocals. ‘Titanium Explodes’ just a fantastic riff shredding and feedback number only they can do like this. It’s kind of interesting that these guys and Pixies were being innovative and heavy without being metal or grunge. Like it or not, this album does really define a sun-genre and influenced a truck load of bands after it. Not sure if it should be a 5*, but it really got me today, so 5* it is.

Very nice!

I'm gonna be totally biased here. Had a little fanboy crush on Sonic Youth in my young days. They were cool as fuck. This album rocked and was in high rotation. Showcased lot of their depth I think. Poppy, cool stuff. Loud noisy stuff. Kool AF. Great hooks and riffs. "Are you gonna liberate us girls from male, white, corporate oppression" Oh this squealing sounding guitars. One minute sounding like sirens, then engines, urgent and frantic, then blissfully picking out mellow notes for some sweet relief. Highlights are Kool Thing, Dirty Boots, Tunic (song for Karen). But I'm gushing. I have the album cover on a T-shirt. Five fucking cool stars as of you didn't guess.

This album is everything that I love. Fast and aggressive sounds, a bit messy, a bit noisy. Love the guitar, love the vocal, love the effect and the arrangement. Love everything. 5/5.

Pretty GOOd. It's like a rock album but its alternative, meaning the the artists are probably like those cool kids in high school who are kind of nihilistic and depressed, too cool to be "cool".

Absurdly cool. I love Sonic Youth. It’s autumn and I’m ready to spend a season listening to grungy, scuzzy guitars.

This is an album I’ve loved since my teenage years. I don’t think a Sonic Youth would exist in the modern world of streaming and algorithms.

One of the greatest albums made by literally anyone. In my humble opinion.

LL Cool K = Lee Loves Kool Kim

Perfect. Fantastic follow-up to the also perfect Daydream Nation.

Haven't listened to this one in a while, looking forward to it. I always preferred Dirty overall, and found the second half of this one to be lacking. Dirty Boots is a top tier opening track though. Tunic and Kool Thing are fantastic too. One of the best album covers of all time as well. Actually having listened to this through again, it's on par with Dirty. The 2nd half is just more experimental and noisy. Love Disappearer and Mote as well.

I forgive them for being mean to Nardwuar. This is damn good. I’m shocked it’s not labeled as shoegaze.

Great Album, Sonic Youth best artist of all time

Sister and Daydream Nation make up the stage of Sonic Youth's greatness. EVOL was the staircase leading up; Goo was the staircase leading back down. . . And it's still 5-star great.

wonderful combo of shoegaze and punk. Just enough chaos

I kept this back as an ear cleanser. With its much copied cover art, it's one of SY's classic.

Love this album.

Hey another SY album. I thought I was done with them (I actually thought that I had this one before, must've been a non-generator listen) so I was very happy to get this one. I like this one a lot. I'm not sure exactly where I'd rank it among their discography but it's probably top 5 or close to it.

One of the best ever!

goo...i need her

Post punk greatness. Some OG metal influence in there as well

Super good album. A teir

Awesome. Good to hear that again

Absolute classic of New York No Wave.

So good! Some of the feedback at the end of some of the tracks maybe dragged on a bit too long. But I didn't find it detracted from the overall album.

Not bad

Kooler than kool

Staple record

Third sonic youth album. First, I had Evol and wasn’t a fan of the band but it intrigued me enough to listen to more. Second, I had sister and by that time I had listened through about Washing Machine and was obsessed. Now at this album, I’ve listened through their entire discography at least once and their 80s and 90s stuff a ton. This might be the one I play the most of theirs. A lot of their biggest pop hits which I tend to like more than their hardcore no wave stuff that a lot of their die hard fans love. The front half of this album is absurdly good. Rating: 4.8

Exquisite. 5

How is this album 30 years old? Hard to believe this was recorded closer to Sargent Pepper’s than today. Incredible anti-pop with crystal clear production despite all the guitar fuzz. Brilliant.

I love Sonic Youth. Favorite song on here is Tunic, but the whole album is very much my thing

Hell yeah! That's funny to have The Black Crowes and Sonic Youth almost in a row with two albums released the same year. One is boring and replaying over and over ideas that were already 20 years old, the other one is abrasive, creative, full of ideas, sometimes not exactly knowing where it is going but at least trying to go somewhere and not treading water. For the record, I listen to lots of stuff that were inspired by Sonic Youth, and even though I'm not overly familiar with their work, it feels like home because the way they make cry their instruments, full of noise and dissonance, is very familiar to me.

Part of it was the perfect context I listened to this album in, buy man. The perfect mix of driving rock guitar, lyrics and vocals. Everyone on for this part-psychadelic rock freak out. Badass.

Poppy yet still scuzzy

Perfect album from artistic geniuses during a time when this kind of music wasn’t profitable to corporate publishers. No other notes.

This is one of the best albums by Sonic Youth. I like Daydrem Nation more but this is still so good! Anyone who gives it below 4 stars must be out of his mind.

Yeah, tell'em about it Hit'em where it hurts Hey, Kool Thing, come here, sit down beside me There's something I go to ask you I just want to know, what are you gonna do for me? I mean, are you gonna liberate us girls From male white corporate oppression? Tell it like it is! Huh? Yeah! Don't be shy Word up! Fear of a female planet? Fear of a female planet? Fear, baby! I just want you to know that we can still be friends Let everybody know Kool Kool Thing, Kool Kool Thing When you're a star, I know that you'll fix everything 5/5

Seeing and anticipating the wave that would soon define the 1990s, Sonic Youth tried their hand at accessibility and, for the large part, they passed with flying colors. Goo gets its stamp of approval largely due to the seismic one-two punch of Dirty Boots and the devastating Tunic (Song for Karen), peaking with the hip-hop inspired Kool Thing and rounding out the ride with equal world beaters such as Disappearer, Mote, Cinderella's Big Score and Titanium Expose. All in all, this flush of new car smell and shiny exterior seems to fit Sonic Youth quite well and it serves them right to be at the forefront of what's to come. Too bad it's just for one album.

I had this album cover's poster on my wall as a teenager. Way before I knew who Raymond Pettibon was and had gone backwards to discover earlier SST bands like Black Flag, Minutemen and Husker Du, Sonic Youth was my epitome of cool and this album was the most accessible of the bunch. All these years later, it still holds up.

J Mascis is on this album

this album is great

Fantastic album

As cool, pleasurable and timeless as a Hal Hartley film. I first remember the song Kool Thing from 'the dance scene' in "Simple Men". So wonderfully spot on, and it does it for me every time. Look it up, it will put a smile on your face, even if you didn't find the album pressed every button. It might be unfair to give an album 5 stars for some favourite songs but here goes.

It was big news, and the cause of much debate, when Husker Du 'sold out' by signing to Warners. They were the first established alternative act to sign to a major label, and many people thought that this was a betrayal of the scene, and that no good would come of it. And, indeed, you could mark that as the beginning of the end of the alternative music scene as we knew it. That was the first step towards Nevermind, the alternative album that sold 20 million copies, and ruined everything. 'Alternative' became a genre label, increasingly commodified, watered down, and marketed by uncaring major labels and radio formats, until it became meaningless. Personally, I was 16 when Candy Apple Grey came out, and I thought it had cool songs on it, and it sounded great (especially compared to the taped copy of Land Speed Record, that was part of my listening diet). But the next important event that furthered the trend was Sonic Youth signing to Geffen. If anything, this was even more bizarre than Husker Du signing to a major. Sonic Youth, the hipper than hip New York no-wave band, prone to playing walls of feedback and noise did not seem an obvious choice to drag the alternative music scene into the mainstream.. True, their previous couple of albums has shown an increasing facility to write actual songs under the layers of noise, but this was hardly a band that promised hit singles and lots of MTV play. And yet, it cracked to Billboard Top 100 (just), and got that MTV play, and, despite some sniping, they sold a bunch of records without compromising their vision too much (although they did back off from their original intended album title of 'Blowjob'). And, while the Husker Du albums broke the initial ground, this is really the album that gave alternative bands permission to sign to major labels without feeling like they had to abandon their credibility. And it led directly to Nevermind. Sonic Youth recommended Nirvana to Geffen, and the rest is history. I loved this record when it came out. I'd been a fan of Daydream Nation, but this was tighter, punchier, and even more song oriented. It sounds great (within its own frame of reference; I'm sure that lots of people go "what is this dreadful noise?"). Kudos to Steve Shelley, who is the sauce that really holds the band together and makes this compelling rock and roll. But the real star of the album is Kim Gordon. She wrote all of the best (and catchiest) songs on the record, and her vocals are charismatic and compelling (if not always super tuneful). She was a style icon, and not afraid the lean into feminism, which was not a huge part of punk rock, and even less so of mainstream rock. Good on her. I totally recommend her book "Girl in a band". She's clearly angered by a lot of how she was treated by the band (especially ex-husband Thurston Moore) and the industry, and rightly so. But her approach to her artistic life is inspiring. I saw Sonic Youth in 1993 at the Big Day Out and a side show at Selinas. They only played a couple of songs from this record, which was bit disappointing, but a live Sonic Youth gig is more about the performance than the songs. I never fell into the cult of Sonic Youth live bootlegs, although I used to hang around with some keen SY collectors, and sat through my share of poorly recorded live tapes. I certainly got the feeling that every performance was different. It is loud and dangerous and borderline out-of-control, which is exactly what I like in a rock show. This is my favourite Sonic Youth album, and the one I play most frequently. I've bought the t-shirt (more than once). I should add that the cover is iconic, and much beloved and parodied. I really love this record. It was crucial in bringing alternative rock to the mainstream, and legitimizing a vision that uncompromising art could still sell. I'm not entirely happy with where that ended up over the following decade, from a cultural and industry point of view, but you can't deny it happened. And the songs are great, and it features Kim Gordon at the height of her powers. Five stars!

this is everything and i listened the hell out of it as a young jimi. noise riffs songs that album cover could i write poetry to this: y and i have

Incredible Album start to finish

Wow! I have never heard of this band until it was presented to me by this list. I love the heavy, distorted sound that is present throughout this alternative rock album. I loved almost every track and I highly recommend this album! Definitely will replay! Favorite Song(s): "Dirty Boots", "Mildred Pierce", "Kool Thing", "Mote", "Disappearer"

Might be one of the coolest (koolest?) albums of all time, the album cover only helps with that. Sonic Youth is everything that rock music should be, loud and exciting, unafraid to be experimental and weird, and most importantly, fun as hell. Kool Thing, Tunic, Dirty Boots, Mote, Disappearer, Titanium Expose...how could this not be a 5 with songs like that filling it up? I would have them on rock music's Mount Rushmore alongside The Stooges and Velvet Underground, no question.

I love when music sounds like I'm being violently stabbed in a back alley. I don't even consider myself to be a Sonic Youth fan, but this is my fourth album by them and the lowest score I've given to any of them was a 4/5. So uh.. yeah. They're really pretentious and I will never forgive them for what they did to my guy Nardwuar, but they sure know how to cook up some tunes.

Sonic Youth's mix of no-wave, post-punk, noise-rock and bubblegum pop was one of the best things that has ever come out of the otherwise tasteless and overproduced music released during the eighties (generally speaking). And Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo's guitar work melding harsh dissonance with sudden transcendent melodic surges has been influential for decades to come. Contrary to what deniers would have you believe, Moore and Ranaldo's off-kilter tuning and idiosyncratic interplay never stemmed from an art-for-art-sake empty posturing. It was aimed at creating the best songs they could be written in the overall genre they had elected to play. This is probably why Sonic Youth left such an immense imprint, and how they popularized a vocabulary that is still vastly used throughout many strands of "rock music" played today. You can't beat that sort of legacy--itself drawing on older seminal NYC acts such as The Velvet Underground, The New York Dolls, Richard Hell And The Voivoids or Television. Anyone refusing to give Sonic Youth this status doesn't know their music history, period. That doesn't necessarily mean you should enjoy their music at all cost. But you got to take it into account, at least. *Goo* was released after their breakthrough album *Daydream Nation* (not my absolute favorite record of theirs--that would be *Sister*--yet a seminal one in its own right). It was the LP that saw Sonic Youth jumping from the independent label SST to the major label Geffen (influencing none other than Nirvana to make the same jump from Sub Pop to Geffen). At first glance, it seems that this jump had softened some of the band's rough edges--with more hazy, almost shoegazy soundscapes resulting from that transition into the mainstream. Yet make no mistake: artistically speaking, the band had not "sold out". They had only refined their aesthetics here, just enough to make it palatable for a new generation of kids hungry for "alternative" adventures, but never losing the plot they had started writing ten years before. Highlights abound in *Goo*: "Dirty Boots" and "Tunic" are enticing motorik cuts giving a great start to the album, for instance--drummer Steve Shelley's drive is infectious in both of them, Thurston Moore's vocal performance on the first is equally menacing and seductive, and Kim Gordon's singspeak on the second brings a hypnotic and iconic flavor to the proceedings. Those two songs are fuzzy and welcoming for sure, yet they fully retain the essence of the band Sonic Youth had become during their last three full-length releases: an art-rock powerhouse subverting pop songwriting to turn it into something greater. See also the effortless cool of "Kool Thing", the tongue-in-cheek frenzy of the title-track where Gordon winks at teenage girl-groups, the existential malaise of Ranaldo's "Disappearer"--ending in a frightening cyberpunk drone maelstrom--or the near-hardcore-punk mayhem of closer "Titanium Exposé". With *Goo*, Sonic Youth stepped in the second phase of their career, finally reaping what they sowed for so long before. The nineties were ready for them. But truth be told, it was only because they had paved the way for said nineties, being already part of a small bunch of acts (Dinosaur Jr., Pixies, Hüsker Dü, Mission Of Burma...) that had basically *created* that next decade all by themselves. That's how important this band was, and still is today for music at large. And this more than ten years after Moore and Gordon parted ways... By the way, here are the Sonic Youth albums I would select my own version of the "1001 Albums You Need To Listen To Before You Die", along with the grades I would give them if I had to establish a list of "essential" LPs: EVOL (1986): 4.6/5 rounded up to 5 Sister (1987): 5/5 Daydream Nation (1988): 4.6 rounded up to 5 Goo (1990): 4.5 rounded up to 5 Dirty (1992): 4.7 rounded up to 5 Washing Machine (1994): 4.8 rounded up to 5 After all, when in the original book, you got five or six albums by Elvis Costello (half of which were clearly underwhelming affairs), I can't see why I wouldn't please myself for my own ideal book. Costello is obviously a talented musician and songwriter. But no one in his right mind can say he anticipated the future through his music. Not even the writers of the original 1001 Albums book. Number of albums left to review: 392 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 273 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 144 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 193

4/5

Wow this band is great, I’m gonna go look up their interviews