Goo

First time listen. Sonic Youth feels badass but not aggressive, you know what I mean? They’re like Humphrey Bogart. This album is no Casablanca, but I do believe it deserves a spot on this list. Good noise, some nice tracks, but as always the highlight is Kim Gordon (especially on Kool Thing) 3.5 rounded up.

Don’t kill me, but just from the album cover I always thought this was some kind of Oasis side project. Obviously not the case. Goo is packed with thick, heavy noise rock guitars, and that is easily its biggest strength. The instrumentals on “Tunic (Song for Karen)” are especially strong. That track is pure post-punk grit done right. Songs like “Dirty Boots” feel fully realized, confident, and dangerous in a way that makes the whole record feel important. That’s also why the weaker tracks stand out more. “Mary-Christ,” “My Friend Goo,” and “Scooter and Jinx” are not bad songs, but compared to the best material here they feel underwritten and a little rushed. They interrupt the momentum instead of adding to it. On my first listen I was not sold on this being anything special, but the second time around it clicked. The textures, the guitar work, and the overall attitude started to come together in a way that made the album feel way more deliberate and powerful. 8.5/10.

I like the earlier, noisier Sonic Youth stuff too but, while the heavy guitars and noise overdubs are here as well, this album is definitely more accessible and rockier. Their first album on a major label (Geffen), I wish I’d been listening to this on my CD player in my bedroom in the 90s.

počelo dosta dobro i postalo malo kenjkasto... ne znam. iako prekul omot, kužim zašto svi nose majice i sl. na ovo, i ja bih nosio da mi netko pokloni, bmk. no na kraju dobit će ipak četvorku, evo. došlo mi je da slušam ponovo i to im ide u korist

# **Goo** – Sonic Youth (1990) ## In-depth review (lyrics, music, production, themes, influence) plus honest pros & cons --- ### 1. **LYRICS** - **Topical & pop-culture obsessed** – Where previous records traded in opaque art-poetry, *Goo* name-drops Karen Carpenter, LL Cool J, Cinderella, Mildred Pierce. - **Female POV pushed to the front** – Kim Gordon writes half the songs, giving the album a meta-commentary on gender, fame and body image: - *“Tunic (Song for Karen)”* – a haunting, spoken-word interior monologue in which Karen Carpenter imagines her own death as liberation (“I feel like I’m disappearing, getting smaller every day”). - *“Kool Thing”* – flips Gordon’s real *Spin* interview with LL Cool J into a sly interrogation of hip-hop machismo and white-liberal cool; Chuck D’s ad-libs heighten the tension without resolving it. - **Cartoonish alter-egos** – “My Friend Goo” and “Cinderella’s Big Score” invent a slacker-girl mythology (“Goo” = gross, gluey, indifferent) that feels like a comic-book rejoinder to Madonna’s polished sexuality. - **Oblique seduction/resentment** – “Titanium Exposé” and “Mote” drift into sexual ambiguity, paranoia and urban ennui; the words are fragmented, but the emotional stakes feel higher than on *Daydream Nation*. --- ### 2. **MUSIC** - **Song-length discipline** – Most cuts 3-5 min; noise sections become hooks rather than 7-min jams. - **Riffs finally riff** – Moore & Ranaldo still detune, but now they chug on actual power-chord shapes (“Dirty Boots”, “Kool Thing”) instead of pure harmonic dissonance. - **Rhythm section steps up** – Steve Shelley’s kraut-punk pulse locks with Gordon’s melodic bass; the band actually grooves. - **Noise as ornament** – Squalls are shorter, placed like guitar solos (“Mote” ends with three minutes of ring-modulator swirl; “Cinderella’s Big Score” implodes into stereo-panned shards). - **Catchiness without compromise** – You can hum the chorus of “Kool Thing” or the descending riff of “Disappearer” yet the tuning is still sour enough to scare A&R men. --- ### 3. **PRODUCTION** - **Label leap to Geffen / DGC** – Budget ↑, but band retained total creative control. - **Producer swap mid-session** – Nick Sansano (engineer on *Daydream Nation*) started; dissatisfaction led to Ron Saint-Germain (Bad Brains *I Against I*) who finished mixes. - **Sound is drier, closer, “radio-ready”** – Vocals up-front, snare crack sharp, guitars hard-panned but not buried in reverb. - **Experimental ear-candy survives** – Tape loops in “Scooter + Jinx”, subway-field-recordings under “Titanium Exposé”, amp-death rattles left in. - **Result** – First Sonic Youth album to hit Billboard 200 (peaked at #96) and shift 100 k+ in a year – without sanding off the rough edges. --- ### 4. **THEMES** - **Art-school punks meet mass culture** – The cover (Raymond Pettibon sketch of a British nanny & two kids) signals pop-comic sensationalism; the songs deliver a critical love/hate letter to MTV, celebrity femininity, and corporate cool. - **Gendered bodies under capitalism** – Karen Carpenter’s anorexia, “Kool Thing”’s commodified rebellion, Goo’s sticky abjection: all ask who controls the female image. - **Underground vs. mainstream** – Sonic Youth sign to a major but refuse to “explain” their noise; the tension becomes the concept. - **Identity as collage** – Lyrical references sample hip-hop, Hollywood, pulp fiction; musically, samples and feedback loops quote their own past. It’s post-modern before that buzzword saturated rock criticism. --- ### 5. **INFLUENCE** - **Gateway drug to 90s alt-rock** – Kurt Cobain name-checked them; *Nevermind*’s quiet-LOUD template is unthinkable without *Goo*’s verse/chorus squall. - **Validated noise on a major** – Proved you could keep alternate tunings, spoken-word verses, and still get on 120 Minutes. - **Feminist art-rock template** – From Bikini Kill to Sleater-Kinney to Phoebe Bridgers’ spoken-word segments, Gordon’s deadpan delivery became a blueprint. - **Graphic-design icon** – Pettibon’s cover helped cement the DIY comic aesthetic later echoed by Nirvana’s *Incesticide* and Sunn O)))’s graffiti logos. --- ### 6. **PROS** ✅ **Most accessible entry point into Sonic Youth’s world** – hooks, brevity, anthemic choruses. ✅ **Kim Gordon’s lyrical/vocal peak** – topical, funny, unsettling. ✅ **Saint-Germain mix** – powerful, clear, yet abrasive. ✅ **Songcraft + noise perfectly balanced** – no track outstays its welcome. ✅ **Cultural moment captured** – the hinge between 80s underground and 90s grunge explosion. --- ### 7. **CONS** ❌ **Feels like a compromise after *Daydream Nation*** – shorter, less epic, fewer improvisational highs. ❌ **Two throwaway fragments** – “Scooter + Jinx” and “Mildred Pierce” (under 90 sec each) are pure atonal squall; fun for fans, filler for newcomers. ❌ **Some riffs recycle earlier ideas** – “Dirty Boots” is basically “Teen Age Riot” re-written. ❌ **Moore’s vocals occasionally lazy** – half-spoken, half-bored delivery can undercut intensity. ❌ **Not as sonically adventurous as *EVOL* or *Sister*** – if you crave 10-min drones, *Goo* sounds almost pop. --- ### **VERDICT** *Goo* is Sonic Youth’s razor-sharp gateway drug: a major-label debut that smuggled feminist media-critique, no-wave noise and downtown art swagger into malls and MTV. It isn’t their most boundary-pushing record, but it may be their most **culturally efficient** – every track teaches a novice how to listen to dissonance without scaring them off. Thirty-plus years on, the cartoon cover still sneers, the guitars still scrape, and “Kool Thing” still asks who’s gonna liberate us girls from white-male corporate oppression. A landmark, not a sell-out – and a necessary bridge between underground experimentation and the 90s alternative boom.

Gloriously distorted guitars and a thumping bass. Kim Gordon is full of great punk attitude - the songs with her on vocals clear winners. Dirty Boots is such a great opener for this album - starts with a looping 4 bar cleaner guitar before the distortion kicks in, and the chorus amps it up. Tunic pays tribute to Karen Carpenter. Drone bass with guitar noodlings, I'm in my happy place listening to this. Kool Thing the standout track, and things get less fantastic after this. Still a kickass opener to the alternative 90s

Already heard it before i like meredith pierce

Really solid 90's indie rock

One of my favorite bands, this album just outside my top 5 SY albums.

Interesting to hear this so close to Talking Heads and Lou Reed, with both of whom I hear similarities when as they are clearly doing their own thing. Really cool textures and a fun sensibility.

Sonic Youth made so many incredible albums (Sister, Evol, Daydream Nation, Goo, Washing Machine, Sonic Nurse, Rather Ripped, to name a few), and Goo is the one I reach for the most. If you put together a five-star compilation of Sonic Youth songs, at least four, maybe five of them would come from Goo. And they were never cooler than the unsyncopated refrain of "Tunic" ("You are never going anywhere"), a poignant song about Karen Carpenter that I devoured as a kid and only actually appreciated as an adult ("I feel like I'm disappearing, getting smaller every day / But when I open my mouth to sing, I'm bigger in every way"). Goo has many of Kim Gordon's finest moments to boot. An underappreciated classic.

This is my second Sonic Youth album of the week, and today it’s Goo. If I’m not into Sonic Youth by the end of the week, I probably never will be. Thankfully, Goo makes a very strong case. It’s a brilliant indie/grunge album: dark, abrasive, and strangely melodic, with a cohesion that makes it flow effortlessly from track to track. The sound feels deliberate and confident—no filler, just a band fully in control of its noise. Dirty Boots is a standout: jagged, grimy guitar work that genuinely feels dirty in the best possible way. The Kim Gordon–led tracks are consistently superb, adding an edge and attitude that balances Thurston Moore’s vocals perfectly. Tunic (Song for Karen) is a highlight—haunting, emotional, and quietly powerful. Favourite tracks: Tunic (Song for Karen), Kool Thing Least favourite track: Mildred Pierce — the screaming didn’t quite work for me. Album artwork: Iconic. One of those covers you instantly picture when you think of Sonic Youth—simple, striking, and unforgettable. Overall, Goo feels like a defining statement: abrasive yet accessible, experimental but grounded, and absolutely worthy of its reputation.

This album was my first experience with Sonic Youth and I genuinely enjoyed it! It's got a good balance of melody, energy and noise, while still making sure things feel dynamic and varied. I want to know what the guy who called it "the epitome of art for art's sake" thinks about Nick Cave or Marianne Faithfull – I personally found Goo to be much more approachable. Highlights: Dirty Boots, Tunic (Song for Karen), Mary-Christ, Kool Thing, Disappearer, Cinderella's Big Score, Titanium Expose

I think I get it.

I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did. Goo feels like the butterfly emerging from Sonic Youth’s wormy ’80s punk phase—but not a monarch, more like a dusty moth flying straight toward the open grunge closet door in the dark.

I'd heard this back in the day, but don't remember really getting on with it outside of a few tracks. I'm glad to say that it's better than I remember - or more likely, this appeals to me more now than when I was younger. I don't like dirgy, droney shoegaze, but this thankfully isn't that. There's much more about it, and I really like a lot of the actual music on here. It's really quite propulsive in places. These guys, and this album in particular had a kind of 'cool' cult around it, which may make me inclined to push against that a bit, but you can't deny it's got a real style and swagger about it. 3.5 rounded up.

Decent indie rock with some punk on the side. Enjoyed it, but not sure how often I'll go back.

Very good album for a genre I rarely ever listen to.

Super cool, ikke lige så grunge som Dirty men lidt mere i den retning end deres tidligere plader

Goo(d) shit

3.5

Sonic Youth as hell. This album sums up the band for me. I don't know much and this just hits the right node. I've only listened to this buzzed in a hottub and buzzed in my house in Detroit.

Slapps

I love a danceable alt album. This is like listening to the best garage band that could perform in someone’s basement. Would pair well with crappy beer in a red solo cup. I like how it switches between the male and female vocalists. Mary-Christ was my standout track

Kool Thing is one of the most awesome alt rock songs of all time! Solid album!

7/10

Looking back at my previous Sonic Youth ratings, I gave two out of three of them, but both those were sort of "round up to 4." This is a legit 4+. I feel like they sanded down just enough if their jangly experimental tendencies to let their songs shine a little more, without losing the bands distinctiveness. Plus Kool Thing is just an excellent song.

I thought I might be tired of Sonic Youth given this might be their 4th entry we've had so far? But this felt grungy and dark in a way that clearly precedes grunge as a genre - and still feels novel and interesting despite how overplayed that genre was in my youth.

aye

delicious goo

Classic

More like Goo in my pants

Cool album from 90s

Cornerstone album from these underground legends

Great album with a good handful of songs that are extra great, like Tunic, Kool Thing, Disappearer and Titanium Expose

A pretty solid album, I really liked the first half for sure! Fell off at the weird aspect at the end, but still a low 4 stars.

Great Alt rock with a lot of listening diversity

One of the best sonic youth albums. Kool thing is definitely their best song, but Tunic (RIP to the queen Karen Carpenter), Mary-Christ, Dirty Boots, My Friend Goo are all solid too. A little weak in the second half of the album

I liked this a lot! Loud and noisy but in the ways that I appreciate.

I love the sound of Sonic Youth albums. The layered, jangly, distorted guitars. The punkish spoken word like delivery. The driving, pulsating rhythm. Another one of those bands who just has a sound and vibe, distinguishable within a few seconds of hitting play. I cannot recall if this was the first SY album I heard back in high school or not... as I immersed myself in their albums all at once. But Goo is a classic Sonic Youth record in a discography full of classic American Alternative Punk Rock albums.

I love Sonic Youth

Alright, I really only got into these guys last year. Especially with Daydream Nation and this album - so this easily is 4 stars. But on the other hand, I think them having 5 albums on this list is a bit too much still. But I would add this one easily. A very interesting noisy listen, love Kool Thing and Dirty Boots

Raucous and chaotic at times, but it's counterbalanced by actual songs, riffs, and melodies. It's a fine balancing act, but it's done really well.

118/1001 Sonic Youth - Goo Heard before? ✅ Revisit? ✅ Hell yeah! This was the first Sonic Youth album I listened to in full. Is it their best? No. But I love it regardless. Dirty Boots as an opener absolutely slaps, Kool Thing is a phenomenal song. Yes, the second half is weaker, but doesn't detract from the whole too much.

Pretty good.

Definitely prefer this to daydream nation, not sure about the other one. Can't quite remember it though I said it reminded me of kool thing, so probably safe to say go is my favourite sonic youth album. It's got this unsettling atonal sound throughout which I'm a fan of. It feels like it pushes past eccentric to just random at points but I was largely enjoying it. Hugely influential on lots of my favourite bands, I'm not sure id say I am definitely a nailed on sonic youth fan but I understand why people are.

I enjoyed Dirty Boots and Dissapearer. On balance, a weak 4. Some generic noise, and overall I didn't enjoy the female singer's voice as much as the male.

Never heard this album before, but have enjoyed the other sonic youth albums we've had so far. Great cover art. Like the other sonic youth albums, i wasn't convinced by it all initially, thought some was very good. But quite different to daydream nation in parts. Gave it another listen and it grew on me. Think my favourites were dirty boots, Kool thing and mote 4 and I'll be back

"My friend Good goes P.U."

The raw emotion and energy of the entire album is infectious.

Good album need to listen to more sonic youth

Very Kool - must check out more of their stuff !

Great early alternative album

Another massively enjoyable slice of Sonic Youth, who I think (don't check the ratings, I've no idea if this is true) I've enjoyed more with each listen. Anyway, this one was beautifully balanced between loud and quiet, with big hooks, great vocals and a good deal of light and shade. Lovely stuff.

Goo(d)

Definitely one of the more interesting bands on the list that has more than one entry.

I feel like the cool kid listening to Sonic Youth. I liked this. I’m a sucker for distorted guitar and lots of fuzz.

I like Sonic Youth, and this a good album.

Liked

Tolles Album, immer wieder gerne.

This is such a great album but sometimes it drags on a bit too long

Enjoyed it. Surprisingly accessible for Sonic Youth - particularly liked the songs with Kim on vocals.

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

Further evidence that rock music peaked in the early 90s.

Fun listen - 3.5/5

You know I’ve never been a sonic youth guy but I really enjoyed this. I think the Kim Gordon songs r my favorite. A little punky for me but I still fucked with it. Sometimes the punky stuff sacrifices melody writing which is totally ok but that will always lose me. I need melodiesssss or hookssss

Goo goo goo. Goo goo goo.

Great album, they're on top of their game here - I love Dirty Boots, Tunic & Kool Thing - used to use that all the time in Spin class

The songs have more distinct personalities this time out. There's still plenty of noise to go around. Open chords ring out. Middle eights meander for minutes at a time and often never return - but not quite as much as they had previously. This albums distills what they do well into manageable and digestible amounts. And just enough Kim.

Really liked it for the most part, best one so far, high highs, really like kool thing.

Not a huge fan but an enjoyable album. They have their sound and it is their sound and if you don’t like their sound then your gonna wanna find a different sound. 3.5/ 5

“Old transgressive habits die hard, I guess, just like punk supposedly did, way back when Sonic Youth deigned to pitch and shift their rock and roll to a decidedly bigger demographic and fuck it up for everyone. And fuck it up they did, thank God.” — Pitchfork, David Raposa https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7349-goo-deluxe-edition/

i feel like they have crazier albums than this but i still like it

Confessions of a teenage try-hard: I wore a shirt with this cover on it all the time. I did not own this record. Sonic Youth was just a band I was trying very hard to like, because they were cooool. To be fair, I did have a couple other CDs of theirs, but the art on this one was just, you know, cooool. The point, I guess, is that Sonic Youth is very mich an acquired taste. Getting into them felt like work. But hey, now I like them so I guess it paid off? Anyway, I eventually taped this off somebody, because the 90s. My opinion of Goo hasn't really changed since then. Not as good as Daydream Nation (not much is), not as good as Dirty, but probably better than the rest of their discography. It's like they figured out how to insert music into the noise. Somewhat. Look, your mileage is going to vary. Did you spend your formative years acquiring a taste for noisy music? You'll have a good time. I wish I still had that shirt, though.

sonic youth is a band i always heard about but never took the time to listen. I liked the fact that it felt your classic hard rock album but with a nice experimental twist to it. The songs are catchy but also kinda grotesque and raw in a really interesting way.

29/1089 Dirty Boots is a fun and edgy rock n roll moment to introduce the album. Really loving the style of Tunic, her non chalant vocals over the intense guitarring is really cool. i love when songs are given space to breathe and become almost ambient and Mote is a good example of that. I think i need a second listen at some point to get the second half of the album properly because it started to merge but i really enjoyed listening to this one faves: Tunic, Dirty Boots, Cinderella Big Score least faves: Scooter & Jinx 4 stars 72/100

I like Sonic Youth but more familiar with the records either side of this one, Daydream Nation and Dirty. Listening to this I was hovering between a 3 and a 4 but the last track (Titanium Expose) puts it definitiveky into the four category. This might also be the time that Kim Gordon was at her absolute coolest, not that she was ever anything other than cool, but dann she drops coolness all over this thing.

too much alt and not enough noise. 4/5

неплохая шумиха

To this day, whenever I read that something is "noise music" in any way, I always jump ahead and assume the worst about it. I suppose it's just lingering memories of how much I absolutely hated PSYCHOCANDY givin' me the willies... Or maybe that I can very well picture how "noise music" would sound in less creative hands, where the people makin' it just wanna be taken **seriously** as **artists**, gosh darn it. Y'know, **that kind** of pretension. Luckily, though, Sonic Youth don't fall into that unfortunate camp. Sure, there are a couple of spots here where they dip their toes into making completely abrasive noise (particularly "Scooter + Jinx", though it's only a minute, so whatever), but for the most part... I'unno, to my ears it just sounds like a slightly more distorted guitar rock album with a few unusual guitar tunings. And, hey, that's all fine and good. I can be incredibly simple sometimes: I hear something that I think rocks, I'm usually all the way down for it. Heck, it was for that exact same reason I liked the last album of theirs my group got, DIRTY. Honestly, if there's any spot where I'm not too 100% on this album, it's in the lyrics — and not because I think they're bad, no. To be frank, I don't have many thoughts about the actual quality of the lyric writing and their meaning or whatever. Rather, I'm more focused on the kind of audience I can imagine going absolutely gaga for this sorta stuff: Gen X hipsters. The people who're "too good" for the radio and stare at the cover wishing they had someone else to wear sunglasses and smoke cigarettes with because it's the coolest thing they've ever seen. The kinda people who'd hear "Kool thing, what're you gonna do to free us girls from white male corporate oppression?" and nod along and have a long discussion with their friends about it, though they won't actually **do** anything because they really only just wanna feel smart for having that thought (and they're also likely all men themselves, so...). Y'know what I mean? Like, I don't wanna dunk too hard on these imaginary, strawman hipsters I randomly thought up, but at the same time, I gotta be real, it's why on the first side of the album I was feelin' I'd hafta keep this thing a bit at arms length. My reason for liking this album isn't cool enough for this cover, y'know? But all the same, like I said, it rocks, so I'm down to give this thing a big thumbs up. Even if there's an aura about it that it probably drinks a few gallons of overpriced coffee a week, it doesn't change that, hey, the guitars are loud and do cool things and riffs, so, y'know, I'm a happy girl. And anyway, it's still a more appealing album than PSYCHOCANDY was — as if that's a high bar, but still.

One of the better Sonic Youth albums on this list for sure

I love the spirit, the texture of this album. I don’t love that it feels repetitive in the second half. Some amazing, iconic songs here. I’m really happy this is in the list.

amo sonic youth, esse album é o melhor e pior da banda

Punk rock

Grungy punk sound

Nah because I dug this.

Sylvia Plath and Karen Carpenter mentioned

I liked it, more experimental than I expected

thoughts: the lows are lower than my least favorite tracks on daydream nation, but this is a really solid mix of that album’s vibe and what they were doing in their more primitive work. i can only imagine hearing this in 1990 and wanting more songs: “tunic (song for karen)”, “disappearer”, “mildred pierce” rating: 8/10

it is enjoyable

It's not my favourite Sonic Youth album, more grungey than I like. But I guess that was the time.

I like the sound of these guitars.

I remember when Sonic Youth approached Houmous & Chutney to join them in 1989. Both of us were well into our 70s by then and really didn’t feel like we’d fit into a band with the name Youth. I can see what they were thinking. We were the total package when it came to music. 4.2 4/11 Kool Thing

Just remember that Kim’s friend Goo has a real tattoo and she always knows just what to do

Groovy in a sleazy way

Our fifth (and last) Sonic Youth album on the 1001 list. I may like this slightly more than Daydream Nation, and that's probably down to Kool Thing.

Loved it

Tycker ungefär likadant om denna som jag gjorde om Evol. Gillar det mesta, framförallt när tjejen sjunger, men finns också en del låtar som inte är helt övertygande. Svag fyra precis som sist.

Might be my new favorite SY

What I like the most about the album Goo by the band Sonic Youth is that it sounds exactly how you would imagine an album called Goo by a band called Sonic Youth would sound. My only gripe with Goo is the same as for most other Sonic Youth albums on the list - the most noisy parts linger on a tad too much. We get it. You like noise. And probably all have tinnitus. And apparently Kim Gordon is making trap music 35 years later. Kool Kids.

Sonic Youth do what you would expect on Goo. It’s equal parts noisy, pretty and kool. What else did you expect?

It wasn't bad. I was listening to this while chilling in the car.

Não gosto de noise, então por consequência, não gosto de grande parte da discografia do Sonic Youth. Mas Goo é diferente, é o álbum mais consistentemente audível que eles lançaram. Em poucos momentos ele me incomoda, mas no geral, eu gosto das guitarras noiosas e dos vocais indolentes. Este é um disco indubitavelmente transbordante de personalidade e caráter. Também me remete a adolescência. “Consistentemente audível”, que maneira hilária de descrever um disco. Mas é verdade! Um álbum bem balanceado e engajante. Exala uma morosidade frenética bem paradoxa. Curto isso nele. 4/5

> the Beatles

It's a terrible admissions, I suppose. 60-years on Planet Earth, and i'd never knowingly listened to this album. First listen, I secretly smiled and chuckled. "So this is what Destroy All Monsters" got up to next." Second listen, I thoughly enjoyed the sound, and the evolution from previous Post-Punk bands. However. Mildred Pierce just doesn't work for me....and that knocks Goo down to a four star for me.

Influential stuff and love the dynamic between the guitars, although the bass and drums are awesome too, there are a couple moments where the noise-rock side of it caused it lose some focus and flow in my opinion but do really enjoy this

Solid 4

I enjoyed the muscular, mischievous, and energetic sound. Kim Gordon has an incredible voice. Much like Jefferson Airplane, I enjoyed the tracks with her leading vocals more than the rest. But all in all, this is a lot of fun.

I really vibed with a lot of this album. Less so with the noise rock/screamy parts, but those were pretty minimal anyway.

Jangly, dissonant, and freeform collides with machinelike repetition. Feedback snarls in the background, everything locked in a relentless groove. Lee Ranaldo’s traditional two songs, as usual, blow the rest out of the water, adding an angular, off-kilter punch to an album that already cuts deeper than most. This record just does not fuck around.

I liked it but couldn’t relate to it. It reminded me of Morgan and that hurt

Classic album. There's some hits on here, some real weirdness too

Heavily distorted guitars but catchy choruses that keep it from veering into the unlistenable side of noise rock. Long stretches of instrumental that is easy to rock out to. Some real standouts: "Kool Thing", "Dirty Boots" and "Disappearer".

Not their absolute best, but a classic.

weiss nüt über sonic youth han ihren name scho ghört aber meh nöd. coole lärmige bitz unorganisierte rock die erdte zwei songs bis etz. tunic seeehr tenie angst gsprochene gsang. aber nice irgendwie es funzt. mary christ au wieder cool hässig, lieb dases e frau als frontperson hend. sooo selte in rockbands. s cover goht au insane hard. kool thing erinneret mich a oasis live irgendwie, aso maine road. offesichtlich sind wenn denn oasis sie am nomache. es tönt afoch noch hässigem 90er rock und wells 1990 isch ischs mega sinere ziit vorus. mote wird chli noisier, i like immerno? okay es vergheit etz schono hä. aber de bass tönt immerno geil ebe. my friend goo schono funny haha disappearer wieder mannestimm cooli abwechslig er sings sehr soothing gfallt mer. d riffs gönd recht hard. bsunders de jetz. keeein plan wer d mildred pierce isch aber de song isch no geil. cinderellas big score goht au no hard, aber ich merk etz dass wenni weniger guet druf wär mir das album bitz zu chratzig wär. so s chan scho streng werde. aber finds objektiv super.

Pretty solid, though not dissonant enough for my liking.

Obligatory "man, I love their music but their singing is so unfortunate" comment ✓ Sounds very similar to Daydream Nation. I like it, but it feels kind of weird that they are repeating themselves. Nonetheless, the guitar noodling is really good

Some of it, especially the first couple songs, sounds like slam poetry. All together though a somewhat similar sound to nevermind. All together a good listen though.

I don't know if this caught me on a particularly good day, but i ended up enjoying this a lot more than the other Sonic Youth albums so far. It definitely feels more musical and less noise- centric, while still definitely sounding 100% like Sonic Youth. I will probably end up coming back to this at some point, so colour me intrigued.

Actually my first time listening to a full Sonic Youth album. These guys are you my somewhere!

Sonic Youth are something special

Overall: 8/10 This was the only Sonic Youth album I listened to for a very long time because I wasn't even sure if I really enjoyed it. I've grown to have the opinion that it's great! The guitar work is so interesting on every Sonic Youth album. I love that they just don't care about doing anything within the accepted structural confines of music. I also love how effortlessly cool Kim's vocals are. I'm not so in love with Thurston's vocals on this album but he's fine. I still haven't heard every Sonic Youth album but to me, this one is probably the best to start with for anyone wanting to get into the band. The music is accesible while still retaining the weird noise rock of their earlier days. Fav Song: My Friend Goo Least Fav Song: Tunic (Song for Karen)

The drone tracks are fine, but it's the other tracks that make me think Sonic Youth is a great rock band. (I feel the same way about Boris.) Favorite track: Tunic (Song for Karen)

Another Sonic Youth album! Another one I got for my birthday all though years ago too! I have happy thoughts and memories of this one. This album is less wall of sound like their later stuff. It's more of an straightforward alternative album. They still experiment with music but it's far less jarring for a lot of people. I could play this tape in the car and people were far more willing to listen to it. Great album. Kool Thing is a standout for a lot of folks, myself included. Well worth a listen.

It’s tough to remain objective when you know a record from this challenge basically front to back. My heart wants to give this one a 5, because it was the soundtrack to a very formative time in my life — but I’ll settle on a 4. Dirty Boots, Tunic, Mary-Christ and Kool Thing is an incredible 4-track run to start a record that shows basically all “sides” of SY at that time. Tunic and Mary-Christ are definitely “old” SY-vibes, and Dirty Boots and Kool Thing were the newer, Geffen-records-signed vibes. That doesn’t discount how sick those two songs are — they’re just… different. But just when you thought the old, noisy, experimental, thrashy and abrasive SY is gone, they hit you with the back half including Mote, Mildred Pierce, Cinderella’s Big Score, etc — as if to say “we’re still here”. I’m of two minds when picking my favourite track from the record. Younger me wants to say Kool Thing, and older me wants to say Disappearer (or maybe Titanium Expose). Regardless, listening to this record brings me back to a better time (and it’s always a joy to spin). Also — happy belated birthday to Kim Gordon.

Great album. Energy, distorted guitars and angst. What more could you want?

Album starts perfectly with DIRTY BOOTS and jumps into a cascade of perfectly reckless sound with TUNIC and MARY-CHRIST. Glad to have finally listened to this entire album to give context to KOOL THING and TITANIUM EXPOSE, which I feel are legendary.

Never really liked Sonic Youth but it clicked for me on this album. I’m in.

#571. This album is pretty great overall, ut there's a few toward the end that kinda drag it down from a 5 star rating. 4/5: fantastic

Not my favorite but Sonic Youth rules!

Haven’t ever fully listened to this album all the way through. Can’t believe they have been around since ‘81! Enjoyable listen though feel I need a bit more time with it.

I think this is my favorite Sonic Youth album. I'm not really sure why this one works for me while other albums like "Dirty" don't as much. Idk. Favorite track: Dirty Boots

So much raw energy and fuzz. Mildred Pierce is a bit of a dirge, but Tunic is a stunner.

It's a sticky kind of substance

I really liked this album. The frenetic energy was infectious, but the quiet moments were so impactful as well.

Pretty accessible for Sonic Youth.

A bit uneven, but some amazing guitar work. Sounds very ahead of its time.

Raw and electric. Loud songs, heavy detail in lyrics and fun to listen to at any time of the day. Inspiring early 90s punk and mix of the semi-grunge sounds and themes of the time.

After getting Sonic Youth's transitional Sister months ago on my journey, I got Goo as my next record from them, which might be more up my alley. I remember playing "Kool Thing" on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and getting the companion soundtrack to that video game with the track on it. I've grown to enjoy it over time, and along the way, I heard the opening single, "Dirty Boots", on the radio and liked that song as well. As for the rest of the album, Goo was pretty good. While the band continued experimenting with their noise rock and the layered production style from Daydream Nation, they embraced more catchy songwriting. I've already mentioned the above singles, but alongside them, songs like "Disappearer", "My Friend Goo", and "Titanium Exposé" had these atonal guitar hooks paired with the tight rhythm section that I dug. Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon continue to share their vocal dynamics and irony-drenched lyricism in this eminating coolness, especially from Kim as she chose to be more challenging on the perception of women's role in American society. Between the exploration of Karen Carpenter's struggles with anorexia nervosa on "Tunic (Song for Karen)" and the iconography of the scene girl in "My Friend Goo", there's a genuine feminine angst permeating this album. Hell, I got a kick out of the full-blown visceral roar of "Mildred Pierce" at the end of its short three-chord passage. That said, there are some quirky moments on the record. There was a missed opportunity to continue playing into the guitar riff of "Kool Thing" at the end of "Mary-Christ" instead of prematurely fading out. The ending drone of "Mote" went on longer than needed. Also, they tried capturing lightning in a bottle twice on this record by sandwiching "Cinderella's Big Score" between "Mildred Pierce" and yet another drone with "Scooter and Jinx". It's hard to tell how many of these issues were from the band's continued experimentation or frustrations during recording sessions and label expectations. More often than not, Sonic Youth hit their stride on Goo, embracing catchier songcraft in tandem with their noisy experimentation.

exactlyyyyyyyy

I do think that Sonic Youth is for the young rebels

Gooier than the last one

manche songs anstrengend sonst cool

It's pretty great

As a Gen X I’m required to give Sonic Youth a four star minimum rating. And I do have some of these songs in my library just not all of them…

In terms of preference from me this is probably a 3. I liked some songs, skipped some others. However it's a 4 because i think the sonic youth distortion sound is instrumental in their genre and this album brought it more into the mainstream

Great, but it has some filler that makes it only 4 star. Favorite song: Cinderella's Big Score.

Don’t remember much about this one, but paging through it showed how cool some of the sounds were.

I never got into Sonic Youth, but I loved this

I really love this band, but this is the album where the noise goes off the rails just a bit too often. That's a critique that only knocks it down from perfect to good for me though. Favorite track: Mote

I liked this album very much.

be nearly perfect if you took out kool thing…

It’s pretty good. I have absolutely nothing else to say about it.

Enjoyed this. Liked the overall sound and especially the tracks with Kim Gordon's vocals.

Been a while since I've listened to this. And quite enjoyed it and has aged quite well. Can see how this has been influential. 4 stars from me.

Angsty, pretentious, would listen again.

Rlly enjoyed this, I think I might've liked sister a bit more. IM OBSESSED W/ THE ALBUM COVER R U KIDDING ME. also really like the woman's voice/presence in general.

Vette shit dit is waarom ik dit album a day ding doe, deze ga ik zeker vaker luisteren

Pretty, pretty goo. Maybe the sonic youth album I've liked the most minus the track with screeching noise

I had to spin this one twice just to figure out where I landed on it. First time through, I honestly thought this was some gritty late 70s or early 80s punk album. The raw energy, the feedback, the vocals... none of it screamed 1990 to me. Turns out it's Goo by Sonic Youth, and yeah, it surprised me. The first nine tracks are actually really solid. There’s this weird, fuzzy, chaotic charm that grows on you the more you let it play. It’s loud, messy, and a little disjointed, but in a way that makes sense once you’re in the right headspace for it. Not what I expected at all, and that’s part of why I ended up liking it. Favorite song: Mote Least favorite song: Titanium Expose

Sonic youth

Have on vinyl. Noise rock gets criticised a lot (probably fairly) but I think this is a pretty accessible album with solid tracks. Stands out from other popular 90s albums

Forerunners to grunge and the 99s alternative scene. Not sure there are any standout tracks but the whole album flows beautifully. Not a technical term, but it has great fuzz! Will definitely listen again. Top track: disappearer

Never appreciated at the time but appreciate it's koolness and fuzz nowadays. I remember the cool kids at school plastering this all over their bags ... tossers. Word up.

It's interesting that Nirvana influenced this. Perhaps this influenced Nevermind??? There's so much noise here that's so good. Kool Thing is such a standout track. Liked Songs Added: Dirty Boots Kool Thing

7.5/10. This album has a very interesting vibe. Some parts of the album are really satisfying, while others feel overwhelmingly noisy. I find Sonic Youth's music to be fairly hit-or-miss. This is more of a hit than a miss for me, personally. :)

Enjoyed this will listen again

Pretty good. It's been good getting introduced to them.

Dang! Another great SY album. I enjoyed this a lot. Recognised some songs, but didn't know plenty and it was good fun. Would listen again.

That was pretty awesome. The first track had me worried but the rest was great!

Some really interesting, creative jams. The music is brilliant and noisy. I need to revisit (and probably several times), but “Disappearer” really grabbed my attention.

Really enjoyed it

Goo-d

Pretty good, love this sound.

Let EVERYBODY know.

This is ridiculously hard to rate - sometimes I love their sound, except when I'm just not bothered. Less overblown than Daydream Nation but doesn't have Teen Age Riot. More highs than lows though. It's pretty rad, as they say in 1990.

I had this album for a while, and then got rid of it. I did not understand it at the time, and it just... sat there in my CDs. Listening to it with fresher (but older) ears, I appreciated it a LOT more. Yes, it was sludgy, but that's what Sonic Youth does well. They're not playing laser-like, clean guitar runs. It's a wall of sound, and they it do it very well. I think I understand the sound and the idea more, but maybe MAYBE I need to listen to it again. Top songs: "Tunic (Song For Karen," "Mildred Pierce," "Titanium Expose" Top

Definitely the best album from Sonic Youth I've listened to. The opening four-song sequence is freakin awesome. Dirty Boots and Kool Thing switch seamlessly from humming guitar chords and bass lines to high-tempo head banging beats. Tunic (Song for Karen) is such a cool song; it has the despairing sound of Joy Division with better instrumentals and deep, emotional lyrics penned by Kim Gordon. And once I realized the Karen is Carpenter, wow - what a powerful way to give voice to the issues she (and others) struggled with in song. Mary-Christ is not quite as good as the other three, but it's got a fun pounding beat nonetheless with of course some great guitar work. Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo mostly avoid the self-indulgent noise experimentation on this album and just bring pulsing riffs. A few songs on the second half go over that line - Mildred Pierce, Scooter and Jinx - but mostly I just marvelled at the instrumentation. Gordon kicks serious ass on this album - her songs have wicked beats and even when the lyrics get away from her a little (My Friend Goo and Cinderella's Big Score), her sardonic delivery is still awesome. This album is a solid 4 and maybe even a 4.5 or 5. They really nailed it on this one.

another band that have been on the maybe pile for 30+ years - maybe one day. extra star for future embarrassment saving

Great 90s alt rock

Sonic Youth’s masterwork, featuring a band cranked up on all cylinders. I especially enjoyed the multiple songs from a female perspective.

This wasn't my gateway into Sonic Youth but it did solidify my fandom of Sonic Youth

Bangers

A cool alternative/punk album that sounds like it influenced Nirvana. These are simple songs with good dynamic variation, and having multiple lead singers is always fun for me. I don't know if I'd ever choose to listen again but this was well put together and it was cool to hear some punk songs of greater than 4 minute length which is unusual.

Noise as an art form - the more you throw yourself into the chaos the more you get out. Also underneath it all an amazing punk album. So achingly cool you feel uncool just listening to it but after cooler because you have

Classic Alt-rock, Grunge, Noise

Sonic Youth make some great music... and then, they get too noisy in some of their songs. The song will be going great, and then (I exaggerate a little, but not tons), there will be one minute of reverb. So as good as the music is, I found myself on the fence between 3 and 4 stars. At their best, they're really good though, so I'll round up. 4 stars.

This album really shows Sonic Youth coming into their own. It received regular rotation by me while I was DJ’ing on our college radio station. And seeing videos for songs like Dirty Boots on MTV’s 120 Minutes sure does take me back. The first 2/3 of the album is really good and then there’s some stuff on the backend that speaks more to earlier “experimental” SY stylings. Still, not enough to down rate for me due to some nice nostalgia.

Our third album from Sonic Youth, and def my fave. This album makes you want to dust off the electric guitar, plug it in, and make some noise.

I missed out on lots of enjoying Sonic Youth when I was more youthy.

Maybe I just like listening to abrasive noises 😭. This was really cool to listen to and I love the album cover. Favourite song: Mildred pierce

Kim Gordon's vocals are at their peak performance here, in my opinion, and it makes all of her tracks here stars of their own show. Thurston Moore's songs are mostly good too, and insteumentally the album is also great, balancing the artsy noise rock with something a bit more mainstream. I think sometimes they just dive back into old habits a little too hard, and it can really botch some, what would otherwise be, great tracks, such as Mote. Still, one of the band's best and a great place to start when looking to get into the more out there side of the late 80s/early 90s rock scene.

I understand how ironic it is to say I appreciate Sonic Youth more now that I’m older.

This album is every ounce of rock I've listened to since the 90s. I love the entire thing. They have this natural quality of indifference that is cool, but if someone acted like this today it'd be seen as manufactured and try-hard. Maybe Sonic Youth is the indifference template or something

Sonic Youth is definitely pretentious, but I guess I am too since I like it. I haven’t heard a Sonic Youth album I haven’t liked yet.

Not the best sonic youth but what amazing noise this is.

I like the vibe, musically. The lyrics are nice in a "series of striking words/images" kind of way; not sure they make sense in a more coherent way, but that's not essential.

I really liked Mote. Quite enjoyed the sound overall. Likely will give it another go sometime

Oh boy, I would have really loved this when I was about 13-14, when it was all about Nirvana. Still pretty awesome now: it's experimenting a bit, but it still rocks.

Rad

Na een lange serie van voornamelijk vergeetbare muziek, is het toch wel weer lekker om een bekendere plaat te luisteren. Voor mij dan, voor de zure broeders wordt dit waarschijnlijk afzien. Al heeft dit wel veel meer groove dan de eerdere twee albums die we van Sonic Youth kregen en voor mij is dit veel meer het geluid dat ik persoonlijk van ze ken en waar ik graag naar luister. Het heeft nog wel iets van dat experimentele en de muur van geluid, maar er zit ook zeker een goede lijn en groove in. Af en toe gaat het richting een soort postrock en shoegaze (althans, wat ik daar zelf onder versta, meer de 00s versie daarvan, niet de early 90s shoegaze), lange uitgesponnen en opbouwende gitaartracks, melodien die rondzingen om een muur van distortion. Toch schuurt het altijd een beetje, dat experimentele van de noise-rock, het tegen het valse aan van de zang. Voor sommigen is dat een reden om het geniaal te vinden, maar ik snap helemaal dat mensen daar totaal door afhaken. En mede daarom is het voor mij ook geen 5 waard, want ik zet uit mezelf Sonic Youth zelden tot nooit op.

Apart from a few redundant pure noise interludes that are only there to drive home the point of how filthy scuzzy the album ought to be perceived, most of this is a rad display of Sonic Youth's trademark noise pop hypnosis, all in your face and morose.

I had to listen to this a few times to form an opinion on it, but I think ultimately I like it. It's a musical marvel but a lyrical mess. My first listen I thought to myself "this has got to be one of the worst written albums I've heard in my life". But as I kept listening something clicked. The off-key and weird lyrics started to fit in with the noisiness of the guitars in a way that made me uncomfortable, but that was the whole point. This album is able to swap between great Alt and great Noise so frequently that I just have to applaud it. Dirty boots is really good, Tunic is really bad, and the unnecessary fade out between Mary-Christ and Kool Thing just makes me angry. But it works. They even dip into a bit of shoegazey ideas in the second half of the album and I just can't get enough of those. It's not a perfect album, but I definitely like it more now than on my first listen. Favorites are Dirty Boots, Disappear, Cinderella's Big Score, and Titanium Expose

Man, I've been meaning to listen to Sonic Youth for such a long time now, but for some reason I never have. Glad I got to start with this record because I absolutely love Kool Thing, by far one of the greatest Noise Rock songs of all time, and deserving of its fame. The rest of the album is pretty much just as good, especially Dissapearer which just blew me away. Overall, a super unique and exciting album that I'm glad I finally listened to.

I've heard this album before when I have a Sonic Youth phase. They are a band I have to be in the mood for, but I never doubt their skill or creativity. Goo has a very iconic album cover which also adds to how much I appreciate it.

If I’m honest, my experience with Sonic Youth is pretty much Daydream Nation, an album I love, and most especially Teen Age Riot which is one of my all time favorite songs. I’ve literally never listened to any of their other albums, although I’ve often read and heard people say good things about this one. It’s hard for me not to compare it to Daydream Nation. After a couple of listens, I think Goo is a more consistently good album front to back and I enjoy basically every song. It doesn’t have a song as strong as Teen Age Riot, but it sounds very similar to Daydream Nation (it was only released a year later). My Friend Goo was the highlight to me, and I prefer Kim Gordon’s leads to Thurston Moore on this record.

Again, not sure why but I like it.

Was it interesting? Very. Did I like it? I still don't know.

Enjoyed this album. Very rough, very noisy, but with pockets of melody here and there. I absolutely adore Kim Gordon.

Only thing I know about this album is that my friend ripped the artwork to promote a comedy show that he puts on, which is another way of saying I have no idea what to expect. In further display of my ignorance, I was really surprised to see this released in the 90s. For whatever reason, in my mind Sonic Youth are an outfit from the 70s/80s. Four songs in, I'm definitely vibing. Album opens on shoegazy Dirty Boots. Doesn't really go too far, but sets the mood for a crusty, grunge-adjacent record. Kool Thing has a grungy hop to it that I'm really into. Vocals are a bit anemic, lacking the necessary punch to level with the instrumental, but that's a minor nit in the grand scheme. Had this on in the background and ripped through it twice. I enjoyed most of the sounds I heard, and could see myself listening to this again. Low 4.

Kool Thing reminds me of Nirvana. I also hear how Radiohead was influenced by these guys on a bunch of songs. My Friend Goo was weird but I also keep singing it.

Lovely bit of noise music

Haven't listened to this in years. Still flippin' sick. Top jammer: Mote. Time to check if this is still my ~3rd favourite Sonic Youth.

Good album that has aged pretty well. Classic Sonic Youth sound.

Klassikko. Hittilevy. 4/5

A great album, from a great band, who I would probably have loved if I had been born a few years earlier. A massive influence on many bands I love, and a band I will explore fully once this project is done.

You know, when I reviewed Evol, my first Sonic Youth album that I got back in April, I said that I felt that other Sonic Youth albums that would show up later might be more in line with my taste in music. Fortunately, I was right! I really like Goo. Is it my favorite album ever? No, but I would say I liked it a bit more than Evol. The writing is interesting. There's a strong variety in the songs. The singing is interesting. The use of different vocalists for different songs gives Sonic Youth a unique identity, even though there are some vocalists of theirs that I like more than others. I'm sorry, but I'm not the biggest fan of Kim Gordon's vocal performance on this album. The sound is great though. It's raw, but still palatable. It's not for everyone, but it is for me. Overall, this is a solid album. My opinion of Sonic Youth is quite positive now instead of just slightly positive. 4/5.

Previously rated: E.V.O.L. (1/5) ******************* I absolutely hated the previous Sonic Youth album. Going in to this one, I already knew I liked Kool Thing at least. Now this is more what I expected from Sonic Youth! I don't know what happened with that other album, but this one rocks. Except for that one nonsense noise track Scooter and Jinx (it's short though), I liked everything here. Maybe some of the tracks had a similar sound to the best track, Kool Thing, but I didn't mind. I will listen to this one again.

sonic youth is a tough one for me because i like a lot of music that is adjacent to them, but for some reason i can't for the life of me get into their music fully. i'm not sure what it is - i think it tends to be a little too noise-y for my taste? that being said, i did enjoy this album. especially songs like 'dirty boots,' 'mary-christ,' and, 'kool thing.' i think i liked this album more when it was raucous and chaotic more than when it was more avant-garde and noise-y. either way, it was a good time. i just wish i liked it a little bit more.

grunge with a very sharp and noisy edge to it all. this is a band that is both incredibly scratchy and staticky in sound and full of experimental and emotional merit. my favorite track out of the bunch is a song dedicated to miss karen carpenter, one half of the carpenters, whose life was lost too soon.

The noisy tracks on this album elevate it so much. Feels like a bunch of folks getting together to jam. Having a blast.

I thiought this was so cool! Very enjoyable and cool cover art and cool guitar and lyrics

Goo is the sixth album release by Sonic Youth, and their first after their switch to Geffen Records. The band's makes post-punk tracks with heavily distorted guitars, but their work has melodic and danceable elements that makes it accessible to pop music audiences. Goo is regarded as a significant, influential work in the progression of alt-rock music. Sonic Youth had become popular with their 80s albums; Goo established them as a central element of post-punk alternative rock.

You can see where a lot of later 90s rock genres pulled from here. The guitars sound awesome, the songs are pretty catchy, and while they're not all perfect I really do appreciate this one.

Great but noise precursor to grunge with some indie rock flavoring.

I really liked this one. Favourite track: Tunic (Song For Karen).

Good album. I've listened to Daydream Nation a couple of times, but I haven't dug into Sonic Youth too much. I liked this one (especially the first half) and generally got into the noise rock vibe. There's good energy throughout. This does have a good amount of Gen X, 90s pretentiousness, but I liked the music for the most part. ****

Love their vibe. Great stuff.

An album for Gen X

Really enjoyed this album. Had not listened to its entirety in some time. Such a cool transition between grunge and alt-rock.

Sonic Youth alltaf góð. Fullt af góðum lögum. Mote finnst mér frábært lag. Samt ekki alveg jafn góð plata og Daydream Nation.

Only the second Sonic Youth album that I've listened to from this list and not quite as good as Dirty but still a great album that deserves some more time. Faves: Tunic, Kool Thing

My third Sonic Youth album from the list, and the third I'm gonna score 4, but could foresee bumping it up to 5 with more familiarity! I should really spend some time working through their discography! 🤘 Iconic album cover on this one, that I've seen riffed on a lot. Didn't realize the connection to the Myra Hindley moors murders - grisly! Fave tracks - "Tunic (Song for Karen)" and "Mildred Pierce"

Will be re-listening to a lot of Sonic Youth's back catalogue I expect.

4.5

They could have gotten away with adding a 'D' to the album title.

This is a great album - it was actually the first Sonic Youth album I bought. That may influence my opinion, but it is an album full of solid songs.

The most iconic and accessible Sonic Youth album. I love this one, full of amazing deep cuts, but I still don't think that it is a perfect album. Again, a four-and-a-half stars record.

Cool Thing and Mote are classics

Первая, песенная, половина, конечно чувствуется гораздо более живой. У них достаточно интересные голоса, что бы их не использовать по полной, мне кажется. Я всегда любил песни Ким Гордон больше, чем прочие, а здесь есть два ее мега-хита. Иконик обложка. Лучшая песня - Kool Thing.

I like to think that if I was like a college student in the late '80s or early '90s I would've been cool enough to be really into Sonic Youth. I probably wouldn't have been, but I like to think otherwise. This is my second Sonic Youth album, following EVOL on Thanksgiving Day last year, so it's been about 5 months since then. Something about the chaotic noisiness of EVOL just worked for me. This one is similarly noisy and chaotic. It might be slightly more approachable (this is their major label debut), but largely continues with the Sonic Youth sound. On EVOL I like Kim Gordon's songs a bit more, but here I actually think I'm generally more into Thurston Moore's vocals (though they're both great). Chuck D shows up out of nowhere on "Kool Thing" too which was a little weird but fun enough. "Tunic (Song For Karen)" is awesome too, and "Mildred Pierce" rocks hard. I think Sonic Youth is awesome, and it's clear that they're a "whole is better than the sum of the parts" band for me. Very few of the songs here or on EVOL work super well as singles, but the album as a whole just has such a distinct mood that works so well as a full piece of art. I think I like this a little less than EVOL (very possibly because I kind of knew what I was getting this time, you can only hear a band for the first time once), but it's generally great. Favorite song: Kool Thing Other: Dirty Boots, Tunic (Song For Karen), Mary-Christ, Kool Thing, Mote, My Friend Goo, Disappear, Mildred Pierce, Titanium Expose 4/27/24

First of many sonic youth haha here we go.

this shit feels crazy modern for the genre. never listened to sonic youth before and now i get at least part of the noise music legacy.

Never heard them before. Nice album

4 stars. Haven't listened to this one much before.

Great punk album.

This is some SOLID indie rock

Damn this one starts so good... I honestly really like it, it's almost there for me, but I'm just not quite cool enough for it to be a 5 yet.

good contrast of driving guitars and subdued vocals. good album.

I never actually listened to this one, I'm familiar with half their records, though this has surely got to be the most iconic cover. It's really good. I love Daydream Nation but it is a bit over long. I get tired in the middle. Evol is for me. Ha, I just checked and I gave those two 4 and Dirty, an album I don't really know, a 5. So yeah I don't really know any of the songs here. Tunic is banging. Kool Thing, yes I know this. Of course I do, fantastic. Love the end of Mote. The reviews slamming detuned guitars etc presumably want all rock music to sound the same, when in fact there's plenty of that around.

Raw, carnal and fun. You can hear the energy and the anger in every song. I always heard Kurt Cobain loved these guys and now I know why.

This is the type of moody, overindulgent alt rock I can get behind. RIP Mildred Pierce

Incredible hooks, punk meets grunge Swear every American woman in a late 80s / early 90s rock band is called Kim, great vocalist gives some of the tracks an edge

I liked it! Something different and interesting

Сперва мне было в принципе безразницы, но когда вступил меланхоличный женский голос мне как-то понравилось. А в целом -- альтрок, без жестких перегрузов, ударные где-то там позади. Музыка чтоб hit the road покуривая сигаретку в крутых солнечных очках. But you are never going anywhere

I enjoyed the mostly instrumental tracks. These guys really can play. The talking over the music instead of singing isn't it, though. And the random short tracks don't contribute anything; it's like they are just there to make the album more artsy.

Remember the other day when I was surprised that the Black Crowes didn’t sound grungy and cynical? Well, I think that Sonic Youth must have got an extra helping to make up for it. They’ve got fuzzed out guitars, laconic vocals, thumping bass and lots of swirling feedback. I don’t think I listened to this at the time, but I liked it a lot. The highlight was Tunic (Song for Karen) which sounds like it was a direct influence on Dry Cleaning’s Magic of Meghan.

Cool

Took a couple listens to get it, but I did.

Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought, 1st half is great

Sonic Youths koolest record.

I've always heard good things about Sonic Youth but never dove in. Instrumentals seem solid. Good cohesion in this band. This is a strong album. I'll listen again and I look forward to it.

I listened to bands influenced by Sonic Youth in my teens but never really listened to Sonic Youth. Just a little of the album Washing Machine. Doing this experiment exposed me to The Velvet Underground also, so this is filling in the gaps. I don't know what it is about noise rock that engages my synapses. I struggle to not get lost in it when listening and trying to get stuff done at the same time. Favorite Tracks: Tunic (Song for Karen), Mote and Mildred Pierce

3.7 listened 2x

I have always liked Sonic Youth but I also think if you listen to the entire album at once, it can get a little repetitive. Still , they have their own sound and you have to respect that. Kool Thing is probably the best track, although I like Dirty Boots and can hear where they must have been influenced by Violent Femmes

I listen to Dirty Boots and Kool Thing and I’m magically a teenager again.

i think a lot of SY albums will be rated high. Based on what I have listened to so far, this is a 4. Other SY albums have me coming back more often but this is pretty vint.

an epitome of teenage angst, which is good. should’ve discovered them when i was 16, i would probably be way more enthusiastic about this. on a serious note, sonic youth’s sound is undoubtedly influential, i’ve hear so many of their imitators before i actually heard a full album of theirs, it’s crazy.

Over 3.5 near 4

Not my style

The stereotypical sonic youth album. Following up their best album (and one of the best albums ever) and getting signed to a major there are tracks that show why they got there intermingling with art noise. A complicated messy and utterly compelling work.

It rocks but gets a bit longwinded at times.

Raw. Unrefined. Classic.

Enjoyed this one.

Early grunge before Nevermind dropped. Pretty good stuff!

The 2 or 3 good songs are worth the trashy rest of the album

I think I missed my window on Sonic Youth, it’s good and it’s interesting but the pose, man, the pose! Too cool for school. Kim Gordon in drag. But I like it, I just out grew the irony.

not my style but not bad fuck songs that have a person randomly talking in the middle this shit isn't a podcast yap elsewhere -1

Dirty Boots Kool Thing Mildred Pierce

I love, love, love, love this album. Possibly the pinnacle of "Noise Rock"

Surprisingly, I'm actually not a huge fan of extended distortion. Otherwise, this album is fucking amazing.

Rock, indie. Pezzi ribelli e indomati, da ascoltare scappando di casa. Le strimpellate continue articolano voci a poco dolci a poco amare, piene di emozione. Talvolta però paiono un'esagerazione. Tutto sommato un album accattivante, dalla cover molto bella.

First full listen through to a Sonic Youth album, quite enjoyed it actually

This band is perhaps the best example of being before their time. Matching the energies of 90s rock in the 80s leaves the listener somewhat puzzled. Growing up in the late 80s, early 90s, having friends who are fans of Sonic Youth as sixth and seventh graders, who were also fans of up and coming Smashing Pumpkins, the thought never crosses the mind at that age that Sonic Youth is in fact, an 80s rock band. Fast forward to present, it becomes clear that Sonic Youth with already a decade of music at the helm, transcended the musical shift of the decade where we gave up the over-processed synths and stadium glam, but somehow everything the early 90s came to love, had been there the whole time already in Sonic Youth.

Really nice album

C'est exactement ce à quoi je m'attendais pour du Sonic Youth, avec plein de guitare saturée. Would be 18 years old again.

Ahhhh... C'est un album de Sonic Youth que j'avais jamais écouté (contrairement à Daydream Nation, qui sera sans doute un peu plus tard sur la liste) mais c'est vachement cool. Peut-être un peu trop auto-semblable à la première écoute pour mériter un 5, mais en tout cas c'est un groupe / un genre de musique qui me parle beaucoup. On réécoutera.

Lekker album, blijf een zwak houden voor deze band.

Great album. Not quite Daydream Nation, but close

The punk? rock of Sonic Youth was just what I needed during a cold, rainy slow day. Nothing fancy but conveying a lot of energy and feeling through the songs. I enjoyed it, I felt like I was kept company by the band.

Weird and good. The fact that there are two vocalists really sets this apart.

Another good album that I looked forward to listening to again. Favourite songs are "Dirty boots", "My friend Goo" and "Mildred Pierce"

This is a strange one for me as I’ve always struggled to get into Sonic Youth despite loving many SY adjacent bands. I do love their album covers by Raymond Pettibon and Mike Kelley though. I’ve also loved the song Dirty Boots for a while but I wasn’t into this album at all. I could see how it could be great but it was a solid 3 for me until probably half way through when something clicked. Do I love this album? I think I may be a convert!

sonzera

Pioneers of punk, right on the cusp of the creation of pop-punk in the 90's

Yessssss es ist innovativ, catchy und spannend 4

Dirty Boots - 9/10 Tunic - 7/10 Mary-Christ - 6.5/10 Kool Thing - 9/10 Mote - 6.5/10 My Friend Goo - 6.5/10 Disappearer - 8.5/10 Mildred Pierce - 9/10 Cinderella's Big Score - 7/10 Scooter and Jinx - 8/10 Titanium Expose - 8/10 TOTAL - 85/110

Pretty enjoyable listen. I'm torn on how many stars to give due to the amount of discordance. It is a lot. I get that it is part of their genre, and I appreciate and enjoy discordance, but at times it felt trite.

Pretty good

"Goo" by Sonic Youth is a groundbreaking album that marries noise rock with pop sensibilities. Released in 1990, it's a compelling exploration of sonic experimentation and catchy melodies. Tracks like "Kool Thing" and "Dirty Boots" showcase the band's ability to blend dissonance with accessibility. The album's production is polished, creating a balance between their avant-garde tendencies and more conventional rock elements. While it might not be as sonically challenging as some of their earlier work, "Goo" remains a pivotal release in Sonic Youth's discography, representing their transition into a more mainstream sound without sacrificing their artistic edge. It's a testament to their unique blend of noise and melody.