Goo
Sonic Youth
1990
Album Summary
Goo is the sixth full-length studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released on June 26, 1990 by DGC Records. For this album, the band sought to expand upon its trademark alternating guitar arrangements and the layered sound of their previous album Daydream Nation (1988) with songwriting on that was more topical than past works, exploring themes of female empowerment and pop culture. Coming off the success of Daydream Nation, Nick Sansano returned to engineer Goo, but veteran producer Ron Saint Germain was chosen by Sonic Youth to finish mixing the album following Sansano's dismissal. Goo was a critical and commercial success upon its release, peaking at number 96 on the US Billboard 200, their highest chart position to date. Although it lacked significant radio airplay, its lead single "Kool Thing", a collaborative effort with Public Enemy's Chuck D, reached number seven on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Since then, Goo has been viewed as one of alternative rock's most important albums, and is considered musically and artistically significant. In 2020, the album was ranked at number 358 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time list.
WikipediaThe 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
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
Music to drink a gallon of hot, black coffee and smoke 2 packs. Quintessential Gen X
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.
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
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).
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.
Incredible riffs and catchy ass songs. Just a great alt rock album very fun to listen to. 9/10 for me
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 thoroughly enjoy this album by Sonic Youth. I would say it is rather Goo-d!
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.
3 stars for music, extra star for doing really cool shit with their guitars
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
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.
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.
I dont really get the hype for Sonic Youth. It's pretty generic and up it's own ass.
“Noise rock” using “unorthodox guitar tunings” yeah, there’s probably a reason people use “orthodox guitar tunings” : it doesn’t sound like unpleasant noise.
An overrated album by an overrated band. People who put this poster up in their rooms need to be punched in the nose.
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.
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.
Another deserved 5* for the Youth. Probably there most accessible album and it just never sounds dated! I love it!!
Sería un poco repetitivo seguir hablando de Sonic Youth ya para su tercer disco en esta lista. Siguen cuadrando mucho con mis gustos. Este es el que siempre se me ha hecho su mejor disco; mucho más melódico con canciones más estructuradas y más accesible que los otros trabajos que realizaron. No se pierde el lado experimental pero se acercan un poco más a la gente. A pesar de todo lo que me gusta el grupo sigo pensando que tres discos fue demasiado. Probablemente solo este y Daydream Nation eran suficientes, o incluso si solo hubiera estado este disco presente podría haber sido más que suficiente. Mucho de mi agrado, ya hable bastante de Sonic Youth, un poco sobrerrepresentado en la lista.
Major label sell out bastards. Playing songs with hooks and tunes and everything. Bastards.
It's very good, not as good as daydream nation, but that's a pretty high bar.
Good music shouldn't always just be sweet sounding. It should shock you at times too. "Mildred Pierce" and "Scooter and Jinx" did just that. This was awesome!
Réinventer le rock est, à chaque décennie, de plus en plus difficile. Sonic Youth a prouvé sa capacité de le faire ainsi que son génie avec cet album. Mon seul regret est de ne pas l'avoir acheté en vinyle quand je l'ai vu à bon prix dernièrement. Imbécile!
Always love when I come across an album that has so obviously influenced a heap of my own favourite bands.
Great album. Ice Cube is woefully underused, but apart from that. All good!
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.
For me, this album will be forever matched with that Hal Hartley movie ..Simple Men from 30 years ago. Since then I have forgotten all about that movie except for the out-of-nowhere dance scene on Kool Thing. The album nicely fits in the 5-star album sequence: Evol - Sister - Daydream Nation - Goo - Dirty - it might not be so universally strong as the other four but easily 5 stars of course.
I totally listened to Goo in high school at some point, but I only clearly remember “Kool Thing” (what a classic). “Dirty Boots” really sets the scene — especially if conceptualizing Goo as a concept album — saturated in teenage rebellion, adrenaline, shock value, and a keen eye on the world surrounding. The guitar in the second half is quite nice, and the song ends much calmer than it began. “Tunic” - here’s Kim. This song touches on Hollywood and fame, with Kim telling her mom that she made it in the music industry. “Mary-Christ” - of the three so far, this one is a pretty straight punk song. Still great! Ah “Kool Thing” - the effect that they put on the main guitar riff makes it sound like it’s echoing off the walls of a cave. The dialogue between Chuck D and Kim in the middle is a dreamlike absurdity, wherein a teenage girl asks the rebellious object of her affections how he will liberate her and all girls from male white corporate oppression. Love it. “Mote” - probably the song I remember the least out of all of them. Probably the most melodic out of what I’ve heard thus far (concerning the vocal lines), and then it erupts into a kind of experimental noisy atmosphere. “My Friend Goo” is a riot grrrl punk ditty. Reminds me of Bratmobile, though they might have been a little later. “Disappearer” - one of the less memorable ones, but has interesting lyrics. “Mildred Pearce” - similar vein as Mary Christ and My Friend Goo — riot grrrl/Pixies situation with Frank Black-esque screaming. “Cinderella’s Big Score” - experimental guitar soundscapes still going strong plus a funny title. This is what I think of when I think Sonic Youth! There’s two songs left.
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 album got a lot of play from me in the early 90's. Brings back lots of memories.
I really enjoy Sonic Youth and this one takes up where Daydream Nation left off. I think this one is a little more accessible, for both good and bad. But I really liked it.
Another that I listened to a bunch in college. This was more of a workout album (incline bike, along with the 2006 Dylan album. It was a weird time for me). If I was older than 3 in 1990, this probably would have been what I listened to every day. I still need to do the real deep dive on Sonic Youth (from what I remember, and hopefully will be reminded more of during this list, is that Goo was my favorite, Daydream Nation and Dirty are pretty great too, and Rather Ripped was the current one that I listened to a lot), and I think I'm far enough away from their breakup to not feel too bad that I only saw them live once (at Lollapalooza!, but in 2006). Kool Thing goes so hard, I'm glad millions of people got to hear it in a Guitar Hero game. I don't think I've listened to Mote or other Leo Renaldo stuff since I found out he was a Deadhead and I became more of one too, and realizing the noise jam here could have been on side 4 of Live/Dead. Probably a 4.5 on the AllMusic rating scale, but I know if I was a teen when this came out and listened to it a million times over and over, it would be a 5, so it gets a 5 here.
I only got into Sonic Youth quite recently, and I couldn't quite get through Goo because of its more artsy, angular bits. But now I love those bits as well. "Tunic" has got to be one of the saddest songs ever.
This is one of Sonic Youth's most accessible albums, but that doesn't mean that it is an easy listen. Still, if you want to enter the world of this legendary but strange band, this is definitely a must listen.
I listened to almost nothing but sonic youth for a couple of years in my twenties - their albums are hardwired. Takes me back
PREFS : Dirty Boots, Tunic (Song for Karen), Mary-Christ, Kool Thing, My Friend Goo, Disappearer, Cinderella's Big Score, Titanium Exposé MOINS PREF : Scooter + Jinx
One of my favourite albums of all time. I could bottle what it was like to be 17 this would be the essence
listened to this on LSD before it was released (advanced cassette copy sent to W***)
Yup, this is my type of music. Especially like Disappearer. It might have the best album art so far.
I love this album. I might download more of it (right now I think I just have Dirty Boots and Kool Thing). Clearly this is a type of sound I prefer compared to yesterday’s Rod Stewart album.
Before Nirvana made it big and finished the job, Sonic Youth had caught the eye of majors and started the death of the glam rock era. The release of Goo made them one of the coolest bands around at that time and it still hold up really well to this day. It may not be as brave as Daydream Nation, but their gentle dip into accessibility definitely helped building the 90's musical landscape.
One of my all time favourite albums. A couple of tracks aren’t amazing, but some of the others are - Disappearer being one. Love it!
4/15 4.5/5. Another tough album from the Sonic Youth. Standout Tracks: Tunic (Song For Karen), Kool Thing, Mote, My Friend Goo, Disappearer, Cinderella's Big Score, Titanium Expose
Influential indie classic, Kool Thing alone makes this an instant classic
This was good. I didn’t mind the spoken word stuff too much. Weird alt rock that was interesting if nothing else.
I like this. Noisy but not heavy or obnoxious. Just cool alt rock. The vocals switching from song to song was nice too.
Liked this better than Daydream Nation. I can't believe I've missed this my whole life. Cinderella's Big Score was a favorite track.
I think this is their first great album. I prefer 90s/2000s Sonic Youth to 80s Sonic Youth.
Sonic youth has been a sometimes guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve mostly listened to things past 1995 Washing Machine era. This was a fun pull back a few years. I really do love the groundwork SY did to bring some more alternative vibes onto the radio and into the mainstream.
Really good. Probably my fourth favorite Sonic Youth album behind EVOL, Sister and Daydream Nation. "Dirty Boots" is a classic. 8/10
Better than expected and better than the last sonic youth album. Some of the spoken word over music was good, some meh. But I liked the sound and vibe all around!
I didn't discover Sonic Youth until 1992, when Dirty was released. I quickly devoured their entire catalog, but Daydream Nation was the album I connected with the most. It's nice to have a reason to come back to this one. It still holds up. All of their music holds up. It could be released today and be totally relevant.
A strong SY album, but less noisy and more alt-rock than other albums. 7/10, I preferred 'Dirty' as well as the earlier no-wave works.
Previously I’ve listened to a few SY albums but not this one, so I was excited to have this as my first choice. I had heard Kool Thing before and maybe Dirty Boots which are great songs. Overall I really enjoyed this album. Sick guitars and effects!
I've listened to daydream nation quite a few times but never listened to this album. It whips ass
Great sound and this is what rock should feel like. Took off a star cause I don’t love the singing.
I actually liked a lot of the sounds on this album, but I think it could have been edited down by at least 10 minutes. Production quality was surprising with the guitars but inconsistent with vocals, and I generally think the vocals were more grating than they needed to be. 7
WoW on se rapproche du chef d’œuvre, les instruments sont forts, les Vocals sont pas incroyables mais sont originales et ténébreux. Ça ressemble à rien d’autre et ça s’écoute comme du bonbon ce qui est ma définition du chef d’œuvre. Je l’évite, les intro, les interludes et les outro de toune. Ça scrap là vibe et ça ajoute rien d’autre. On est punk oué !!! Je lévite: pas mal toute les tounes, la chanteuses je l’ai jamais vu mais j’ai le goût d’elle !! J’en fumerais une en back stage avec elle
Now this is some some Sonic Youth I can get behind. Grit and realness with less of an overtly politicized sound.
4.1 - Here's that legendary Sonic Youth sound I feel like I've been missing. "Daydream Nation" and "Dirty" seem to find the band with some of its edges polished down. Here Sonic Youth is fully immersed in its fascination with feedback, strange guitar tunings, unusual chords progressions and riffs. Some cringe moments like the political musings on "Kool Thing" and when she keeps singing "PU!" on "My Friend Goo." To me, these add to the overall charm of an energetic record that sounds like a reference piece.