Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Dirty Boots and Mildred Pierce are great songs 3/5
Good
I like this album more than I expected. I've heard some of their music before, and it's been hit and miss for me, some songs catching my ear, others a bit too chaotic and grating (totally get that's what they were going for, and no judgment of it as anything other than that's how they were creating their art; just personal preference). This album sounds and feels more skilled to me than some of the other music I've heard from them. They still can make tons of distorted and dissonant noise, but to my ear there's an organization and structure to it that works so well. I still can't really listen to it all at once all the way through, but I hear some impressive skills in the composition and performance of this music.
This was fine. I liked it at first but didn’t hold my interest
I have a feeling that this record is a grower, so I have put it on my "will-listen-again-list". There are some seriously cool guitar riffs here, Kool Thing and Disappearer springs first to mind, but most of the songs are dense and not super accessible. Three stars for now, but with expectations to become a four-star record somewhere later in 2024.
This shit RIPS!
Some songs were really good, others not so much. Not a Sonic Youth fan. 5/10 Top 3: 1. Tunic (Song For Karen) 2. Kool Thing 3. Dirty Boots
I can hear that this is an important album, but it’s not really my thing. Really enjoyed Disappearer, though.
Interesting sounds, but a bit heavy rock for my taste
I have mixed feelings about Sonic Youth. I know they're hugely influential and innovative, but I don't often enjoy listening to them. This album seems to be more accessible than most of their material - some actual song structures here. Overall this is pretty good. 3 stars.
BL: The third Sonic Youth album I’ve got on this generator now. I didn’t think much of “E.V.O.L” and I thought “Daydream Nation” was a bit better but still nothing exceptional. Let’s see if they can prove me wrong with this third one. DN was better I believed cos it was later on and gave them time to develop their sound, and this released after that. So in theory I should love this AL: funnily enough this went against my hypothesis. While I went into this not knowing it was their first major label record, the tightening and polishing of the sound that comes with a new calibre of record actually ends up selling this band short. Some of my favourite parts of Daydream Nation were the insane walls of sound, and while they are still present here occasionally, it is stripped back in favour of slightly more vocal present tracks, which exposes a bigger problem with the sonic youth - their lyrics aren’t very good. They’re amazing musicians just not very good writers. Still enjoyed listening to, but I’d rank it better than E.V.O.L, and worse than Daydream Nation FT: “Dirty Boots”, “Kool Thing”, “Dissapearer”, “Titanium Expose” 3/5
I’m surprised to see that Sonic Youth are revered enough to have so many albums be considered essential. This is the third album I’ve been generated, and there has been quite the variance in quality in my dinky little opinion. Let’s listen to today’s instance! Songs I already knew: Kool Thing Favourites: Kool Thing I did quite enjoy this album. I like the apathy in the vocals and the crunchy guitars. I recognised Kool Thing from Guitar Hero, and wasn’t really fond of it at the time, but I like it much more with today’s ears. Outside of this track, the album remains gleefully lazy, but other songs don’t particularly stand out for me amongst the others. Overall, a pretty decent album.
Had some good songs, reminded me of a lot of the alternative albums of late 80’s/early 90’s
Would do 2.5 if I could. Opening song was great, but others went a little too far for me.
Expected pretentious arty noise. I wasn't completely wrong, but I liked it better than I thought I would. Side 1 is much better.
Meh, the riffs were good but the vocals weren't great.
I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately, I found it to be a bit underwhelming. Solid alt rock, but nothing really blew me away.
a bit weird, gives me wednesday addams vibes for some reason
Did not know it before but nothing special 2.5/5
I do prefer daydream nation, but I think with sonic youth you have to listen to each track a good few times to appreciate it. For my first listen, I enjoyed the album a lot, but it will take a while for me to ‘get into’ the songs
dirty boots lagged then suddenly got interesting in the middle tunic wayyyy better, proana anthem mary-christ is mid, pacing and vocals are weird idk kool thing and mote are the best so far tf is my friend goo disappearer is good again what is going on mildred pierce is another strange change of pace, why is this album so inconsistent everything after was meh overall inconsistent, wish i gave the doors a 2 bc now ik what a 3 sounds like
mary-christ is the first song that i'm not into at all this shit is not good really liked mote, i'm noticing when they stfu its pretty good, like now on my friend goo this shit sounds like a parody of what i imagine this was to people in 1990 ^same reason i like disappearer, vocals are really low in the mix and not annoying and the noise is good bro going crazy on that mildred pierce jfc uncalled for had some good moments, but kind of corny i think, heavily a product of its time and some stuff has not aged well probably a 2.5/5 but rounds up to 3
… Can you separate artist from art? Well, yes, you can. But is the art any good? I want to love this. I do. But I think there’s no there there. Simon had a t shirt with that cover, but with Taylor swifts rap from "shake it off'. Which was much funnier. Atonal music? I’m there. Ornette Coleman, Stravinsky, Boulez, slonimsky, Zappa, chick corea, Jaco pastorius. Tin machine. Me, on occasion, and even deliberately sometimes. But this? I don’t know. An important album. Yes. But a good one? I’m divided. 2.5 reluctantly rounded up.
Kool Thing, written by Kim Gordon, has always been my favourite SY track. Kim Gordon & Chuck D nail it. Kim Gordon is terrific on Goo. Her spoken vocal on Tunic is so reminiscent of The Shangri-La’s. I love Titanium Expose’, which she co-wrote with Moore. It was on the soundtrack to the 1990 film jPump Up The Volume & MCA released it as the flip-side of Concrete Blonde’s 7” single, Everybody Knows (Cohen) from the same film. It was a regular on my jukebox. I love the lyrics to Mary-Christ & really like Disappearer. Suitably noisy album. Three stars.
Psychedelic and experimental while containing old school punk distortion yet somehow that doesn't make it that interesting. I can hear how they influenced some of the more modern and mainstream pop punk bands though. Nothing here really grabbed my attention too hard though. Seems like they got a pretty loud cult following despite not really aging all that well.
Mostly good vibes but weird at parts. Very instrumental
liked this sonic youth more than the others for its dark moody sound. But I’m so jaded on this band. Juno and Jason Bateman love it tho
Da e kje verdens verste album, men ikkje verdens beste heller
Slaps, 7/10
Some good crunchy vibes, a very specific mood this one
Eh, it was fine but unremarkable
There was a time when I would have considered this hopelessly obnoxious NYC status smarm. “Can you handle the noise? Can you handle the art?Can you handle the cool?” (Yeah, dudes, I can handle it; now shut up.) But I’m more mature now and I can hear that within the bounds of the underground hipster ego fantasy, they mean what they’re saying and they’re interested in what they’re doing. They’re actually pretty good at it. And who am I to begrudge anyone their stupid ego fantasies. We’ve all got them. So here’s your three stars. It goes without saying that I will never ever put this on.
Relatief sterk begin voor een rock album, vaak precies de goede hoeveelheid noisy gitaar en drum, maar soms te veel. Tweede helft van album te vaak te veel lawaai, met Mildred Pierce als dieptepunt.
Behalve Dirty en wat verloren nummers hier en daar heb ik Sonic Youth nooit echt heel boeiend gevonden. Wel heel sympathiek natuurlijk, dus vandaar 3 sterren, maar eigenlijk vond ik het gewoon maar een kut plaatje.
Dirty Boots is denk ik wel mijn favoriete Sonic Youth nummer. En er staan nog meerdere fijne tracks op deze plaat. En dit vroege werk is toch wel een stukje toegankelijker dan het latere werk.
Not the album for me…I can understand why this was an important album at the time but a bit too abrasive for me. That said, the guitar layering is superb throughout and Disappearer is phenomenal and the standout track for me
Liked the first half, went a bit manic after that
Cool
Maybe not my taste, maybe not in the right mood
Meh
This was alright, nothing special imo. I think there was probably some stuff I missed here, so another listen may change my opinion.
Still just haven’t got into Sonic Youth / 90s alternative of this type
Sonic Youth continues to coast off of the radical concept of "what if rock music sounded a little fuzzy like maybe your speaker isn't very good but we're doing it on purpose". This is the 5th album by them on the list that I have come across (SO FAR) and they're all totally fine. I never wanted to turn it off or jump out a window, but I cannot imagine someone spending their hard earned money on purchasing an album from these people at an FYE at the mall in 1990
I wish I had a friend as cool as Goo. But all I have is the chance to live through Kim. For 1990, this record had a sound all on its own. I certainly would've eaten it up. Like many SY albums and songs though, I never really feel that SPARK of energy I can get on the same level with. Everything just kind of feels, there. Like a group of friends just playing middle of the road garage tracks for the fun of it. I just never felt those creative juices working with this band. I'm definitely not Thurston for Moore here. That's a good fucking joke, I don't even care. All that said, this is certainly not a disappointing record, and for any create diggers, it's an important one.
There's too much Sonic Youth on this list; I liked some more than the others but really they just find a middling 3/5 ground where there's a fuckton of fuzz and a wall of noise that initially captures the attention but doesn't really build on it or give you much variety to keep you engaged. A low 3 in this case, it was alright.
Hmmm.. very noisy.. but ok.
After the success of Daydream Nation, it seemed as though Sonic Youth was content to streamline their sound a bit more. Gone were the bold, experimental styles on their earlier records.that's not necessarily a bad thing, as their songwriting capabilities had developed to a point where they had clearly slotted comfortably into the alternative rock of the day. Kool Thing and Dirty Boots are standouts, being sleek and energetic while still maintaining a signature amount of edge and grime to them. A true Sonic Youth album that signals a new sound for the new decade. With Goo, you get a really good first half and a kinda good second half.
uma viagem o som, mas não muito cativante
Parempaa kuin viimeksi.. noise menee kalloon.. jumalauta.. niin paskan paskan paska genre että paska noise aivan paska noisekin kuullostaa incredibly art.. tässä vittu rummut mukana lmao rummut saatana bändi soitto.. saanko soittaa rumpu noise osio HUORA!! ÄLÄ VITTU SOITA ENÄÄ IKINÄ NOISE OSIO RUMPU
Average
Never heard this album before, but knew the cover. Pretty good! Reminded me a lot like the pixies.
I shat on the last Sonic Youth album we looked at but I preferred this one. There was a song or two with incoherent screaming that sucked but this was a lot better IMO.
Some good songs in here but also some trash sprinkled throughout.
Good old fashioned guitar rock
Off the top of my head I can think of 5 Sonic Youth albums that are better than this one. 3/5
Never understood SY. This was...ok. LOW three. Kool thing an ok track, the rest sounded too cool and hipster for me. I guess this is one of those "you should have heard it at the time" albums.
3.5
Sonic youth has a really cool cover of the song Superstar by The Carpenters. This album has a creepy song about Karen Carpenter. I find that intriguing. The rest of the album is kind of hit or miss for me.
Well, I have changed my opinion of Sonic Youth as part of this experiment. I had always chalked them up to "noise over substance" but now appreciate there's a lot more to the music than that. Noisy, yes. But there's a lot of great elements to the music. Similar to last time, I didn't love Kim Gordon's tunes as much as Thurston Moore's, and "Goo" in particular was low on my list of songs here. So, while this is a solid 3.5, I'm swinging this to a 3 to even out the two (I was at a 4 for "Dirty"). But yeah, ok, can I be a Sonic GenX?
This was the first new SY album that came out after I became obsessed with them, and I remember feeling disappointed. This was the first time their new album wasn't as good or better than the one before (the previous one being Daydream Nation). But honestly, on today's listen, I was fairly impressed. It was better than I remembered. Still not great, but I dug it. Kim is the star on this one, and her song for Karen Carpenter, Tunic, is still a fave. It's a weird blend of touching and haunting. Feels very cinematic. Lee's tunes are good on this one, too. It's Thurston's songs that are a little lackluster this time around, which is unusual. Anyway, good stuff. I'd give it a 3.5 but I'm rounding down to 3 because Dirty's better and that got a 4.
I enjoyed this - probably more than it deserved.
Sonic Youth always frustrate me... they always have the potential to throw out a banging album, but there's always lot of filler shite. Almost a 4 here but missing out because of this
they're huge on reverb and rough garage sounds kool thing is the standout song
that tipycal joie de vivre
This sounds exactly like I thought it would. Enjoyed the multiple vocalists.
Another band I've heard of but never listened to - and was interested to hear. And this is OK, pretty decent much of the time. At one point I was considering 4 stars. And then Scooter + Jinx came on. Really? I mean, whose idea was that and what did they think they were doing. That alone drops this to a 3, and it was close to a 2 in the end.
The guitar work is pretty cool.
I completely missed out on Sonic Youth as a kid. I wish I hadnt.
Starts off well. Some proper tunes, but still lots of squall. Marginally more accessible, but still not worth the critical acclaim. Like the follow up, Dirty, I'll give this 3.
Cool, not fully my jam, esp the grungey songs
Standard Alternative, nothing outstanding tbh...
It’s pretty tough to access, not an easy listen
Love the long winded dreamy noisey sounds, but don't really like the more messy sounds.
Sonic youth are pretty cool. This isn’t their best, but I still enjoyed it. Very raw.
quite nice
Ehhh it's alright
Hey pretty good for a band made out of fuzz pedals.
Ik heb niet heel aandachtig geluisterd maar over het algemeen klonk het best prima. Ik heb gelezen dat Sonic Youth soms ook gewoon random geluid is, maar dat idee had ik hier niet. Het klonk best prima, als een soort voorloper van waar Radiohead naartoe zou gaan rond OK Computer. Ik denk dat we deze nog wel eens een keertje beter mogen gaan beluisteren, voor nu drie sterren, met potentie voor een vierde.
Estuvo bueno, tampoco me volvio loco
Tunic (Song For Karen) </3
pretty low-mid meh
Tracks: 2 killer, 9 filler (18%) Highlights: Dirty Boots, Kool Thing
Some bangers but didn't love. Too noisy
I've never connected with the band or the sound but I recognise that this had a massive influence and even now you see kids with the Tshirts on. It does sound a lot like a few other East coast bands and even has a Velvet Underground vibe. That's like 20 years before this was made. I do like the attitude they have to making this- it really doesn't go out to impress the mainstream.
Driving American indie rock. Another album plastered all over tshirts. Understandably so? Sot Dirty boots Tunic Kool Thing Disappear 3/5
3/5 I listened to this.
Like yesterday, not quite a 4 star album but seemed too good for a 3. This was more my style of music but as always there was irritating stuff. Also as usual, I tended to enjoy the songs with the female vocalist.
This was pretty good. Is only listened to a little of this band. I feel like i liked the songs as they were playing, but at the same time was ready for it to end.
This album is alright. I like but don't love Sonic Youth. They're a super cool band and I really love certain songs but I also feel like their catalog is full of throwaway tracks. I don't love the talk-singing choice when they do that. When it comes to 80s-90s college rock, I lean way more towards Pavement (one of my favorite bands). I definitely respect Sonic Youth but, aside from Daydream Nation, I don't find myself ever getting the urge to put on one of their albums and listen to it all the way through. Standout Tracks: Dirty Boots, Kool Thing, Disappearer
Man I would have been obsessed with this album when I was in middle and high school. I loved it this time around but this is what I spent hours on MySpace music trying to find.
Sonic Youth will never be my thing, but this album is certainly better than their next album, “Dirty.”
I really liked a few of these tracks, but really hated a few others.
Not a bad listen at all, but nothing memorable.
Fun zone out music, but I don't think I'd return to ot frequently.
Decent, liked how they switched who sang a lot
Finally somehow a different rock sound. 4 3 "Mildred Pierce" is really surprisingly good
I think we've had at least one other album from Sonic Youth. I like these guys, and this album started out very strong. Some great melodies amid the distorted style. And "Kool Thing" is a Guitar Hero III song that I'll always know. But after that one, not much caught my ear. Gets a little too same-y for me. But overall, a decent album, just wish there was more like the first few tracks. Favorite tracks: Kool Thing, Dirty Boots, Tunic. Album art: Really like this style, a sort of minimal silhouette cartoon. Black and white done right. The caption is very Badlands/Natural Born Killers. Very strong. 3/5
Kinda cool but not very exciting to me.
Classic.
I liked some of the songs from it and overall I like their sound. But this is not going to be for everyone
I’m expecting this to be extremely inaccessible. I do like 2 Sonic Youth songs (“Bull In The Heather” and “Sunday”, also their cover of “Superstar” if that counts), but neither are on this album and most of their songs just sound like droning to me. This is a low 3 for me. It was fine. Not much to say about it. Pretty typical Sonic Youth. I don’t really have any strong complaints, it’s just not for me. Favorite song: “Tunic (Song For Karen)”.
Dirty and groovy alternative rock from 1990. Very enjoyable for the main, but slightly outstayed it's welcome by the end. It's easy to see this record's influence in what came after. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Date listened: 02/12/22
Very rocking and straightforward
Felt like a lot of duds and a couple hits. Overall liked the vibe but wasn't into the melodies.
Goo is the sixth album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It is the band's highest charting album - peaking at 96 on the Billboard 200. The album was a critical & commercial success, but lacked significant radio play to reach a majority of the public. In retrospect this album is considered to be an important piece of alternative rock music history. Goo is claimed to have started the alternative rock movement of the 90's - which was superseded by bands such as Nirvana. This was a lovely album and I thoroughly enjoyed the alt rock music on it.
A good album. Would have enjoyed in my younger days
I can see how this would've been really influential Crunchy guitars. Cool angsty sinister vibes
did not like
By being a lil but before my time I just didn't quite get them. Diving into them now, I still don't. Not unpleasant but doesn't stand out. Guess you need to be there.
Interesting to have two lead vocalists, alternating who sings on each song. It was loud, chaotic, vocals were bored and apathetic sounding. It was ok
The pop Sonic Youth album. Some interesting songs on here, but they seem to keep the tunes and the noise very separate, unlike other albums. SY were never great ones for lyrics, so take away the experimentation and you’re left with some hummable rock tunes about stuff that people cared about at the dawn of the nineties. Kool Thing is just that, but the Chuck D cameo, which should be fun, sounds like it was recorded BEFORE they wrote the song and then dropped in afterwards. Not bad, but not great either.
This was a ramble of a record. It's also VERY LOUD - even with my own volume output set to manageable levels. What a bloody great racket. I quite liked the Thurston / Kim interchange on vocals. Who needs a sole lead singer anyway? Some tracks dragged. Just end it, Dude. Sonic Youth are at their best when they at least attempt some melodies. Disappear is the standout track here. I like the F-IT attitude of just doing what they want, and not what other people want them to do.
Overshadowed by the first two tracks but still great.
Blasé punk, shoe-gazing rock.
I think Sonic Youth does a good job of establishing their sound on this album. They’re really feeling themselves on this one. Not their biggest fan personally, and the later songs sort of fell off in my opinion, but definitely see what they were going for. 3/5
Like all other Sonic Youth albums, the individual tracks are great but don’t coalesce into something greater than their parts. Things also tend to get monotonous near the end - save for occasional bursts of personality like “Kool Thing,” there’s not enough narrative or melodic power hear to keep the same guitar tone from wearing thin over the course of 40 minutes.
Estilo rock guitarrero sucio. Buena voz femenina. Para un poco incondicionales de la banda
un peu moins nul que ce à quoi je m'attendais
This was okay
meh
kinda weird but okay, into it!
This album makes me want to smoke cigarettes in a dark club with sunglasses on.
First couple of tracks were OK, but then it all started sounding a bit repetitive. I'm giving it a 3 because Thurston Moore gets name-checked in a song by Half Man Half Biscuit (who ought to have at least one album on this list)
Good
There is no tone fuzzier than this. I was introduced to Sonic Youth in the Prepared Instrument, more avant-garde days. While it's great that they got into making songs like those on here, which were excellent, it just felt a bit like they were doing what everyone else did.
This is another I thought I had probably heard before and even the bigger tracks like Kool were seemingly new to my dumb brain...I liked Kool, Tunic and My Friend Goo...but it is definitely a sound of that time...
Not really my thing, but it was okay
MIXED. didn't love.
Yra geru gabaliuku, bet ne visi ofc
A good SY record and I think Kim Gordon’s vocals are the highlight. The Chuck D collaboration feels a bit odd, but was cool at the time. And I’ll buy anything with a Ray Pettibon cover.
29th August 2022 Listened in the day on a lazy back holiday. Went and watched nope with Barnett. A lot of sonic youth recently. This felt very 90s garage rock.
Soort van georganiseerde chaos. Het is wel een stevige, harde plaat. Niet mis
Sonic Youth is not really my cup of tea, but this album is easier to listen than others.
Very experimental
Decent album, I enjoyed it
This one was shitty but in a intriguing way. Outsider music indeed
This is my album 175 out of 1001. Back in the salad days of album 18, I revisited Sonic Youth's "Sister". I finally developed some respect for this band, writing "I'd already listened to a lot of post-hardcore and noise rock, and I failed to appreciate how innovate Sonic Youth were in carving out space for those genres. [...] It's a great record, even if it'll never mean as much to me as it does to other listeners." Sadly, "Goo" means even less to me. The first 5 tracks have a great energy that has some of the noisy chaos of their early work, but also a nimble muscularity. From "My Friend Goo" onwards, the album loses steam for me. Even aside from this unevenness, I think Sonic Youth have an original talent which I can admire, but which I doesn't necessarily make me FEEL much or make me want to come back for me. 3.5*
I like and admire this more than I actually want to listen to it
Some of it was good and some of it was shit and annoying. So medium 3
I ve always felt i should love SY but I find them unlovable and smug. Bit vacant. I feel this with this. Slurry vocal, noisy guitars. 3
Flips between a 4 and a 2. At least it's more interesting than most albums on here, but some songs are simply awful and the good ones are merely good.
not bad
Ok not their best
These guys really must have liked 'The Velvet Underground' because that's all I thought about while listening to this
I’ve never quite been on board with all the Sonic Youth hype. The first time I heard “Daydream Nation”, I couldn’t really stick with it and ended up half dozing off. I was only half-listening and it may well have caught me on an off-day: Sonic Youth are a band who might reward repeated listens. In “Goo”, they supposedly levered their sound towards a broader audience, alienating their devoted fans as they screamed towards the mainstream. It’s not as if they were lip-syncing on Top of the Pops every week, more just trying a bit harder to get to a melody. As enjoyably uptempo as “Goo” may be, it’s still just a bit too sour without enough sweetness for my taste. It feels a bit like The Velvet Underground’s early period reimagined for a late 80s audience, foreshadowing shoegaze and grunge without possessing enough nuance to really tick. When the band really commit to aggression, it can be astounding. The explosion of noise three minutes into “Dirty Boots” is the runaway success of “Goo”: passionate fury, howling feedback, with a meaty riff and juicy hook over the top. If the rest of the album can never quite match it, it’s because it encapsulates all the best qualities from the outset: they don’t leave much room to go. The other highlights are the similarly uptempo, fiery tracks: “Mary-Christ”, “Mote” and “Cinderella’s Big Score” are all enjoyable, if sometimes overlong. On the other side, the songs with Kim Gordon deadpanning her way through the vocals might have great lyrical depth, but if I’m being honest they feel a bit hit and miss. “Kool Thing”, despite being the lead single, doesn’t do much for me and is one of the most bizarre ways to include a rapper I could think of. As much as I’d like to be cool enough to have Sonic Youth as one of my favourite bands, I think they’re still howling way over my head.
Mixed on this one. There are some tracks and parts of tracks I really liked, but others were horrible. For example My Friend Goo was absolutely atrocious, as were the endings of Mildred Pierce and Cinderella's Big Score.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and that surprised me. 3*
Rock alternativo. Buenos temas pero también mucho ruido.
Guitars! Lots of guitars! I’m happy to get some classic alt-rock on this list because there are a lot of classic bands like Sonic Youth I’ve never listened to before. Cool to listen to this right after the Velvet Underground albums. You can draw a pretty straight line from them to Sonic Youth, especially the noisy back half of “Mote.” I dig the energy more than the songwriting. Not a lot of songs stood out to me, at least on a first listen. I bet they were great to see live though.
제목 그대로의 질풍노도
This is one of those bands I really loved as a kid but now that I'm older my tastes have drifted a bit. So I feel a little guilty giving it an average rating but... it just doesn't do it for me like it used to.
Cool rock sounds to it although it does get a little all over the place at times and a bit incoherent. I'm not a fan of either vocalist tbh. T'was a decent listen but not sure about going back to the album soon. Cool art work on the cover.
A building block to modern alternative rock. Noisy. I feel like this, and Sonic Youth in general, are more of a "vibe" band, to use a more modern description. It's great in the background, and Kim Gordon's voice is the definition of "cool", but I can only really appreciate what it helped to inspire. Favorite tracks: "Kool Thing", "Titanium Exposure"
I don't really love it. Dirty Boots is great but I get bored of them just reprntlessly making feedbavk
Hresst og létt-pönkað. Næs.
The screamo elements I heard every once in a while pissed me off but overall it was actually a pretty decent album.
Was heading for a 4 with some great songs, but some tracks were absolute stinkers that raise their heads and cough too noisy. Liked the mixing up of vocalists
Sonic Youth is the first repeat artist I have received on this list so far, and they were not a band I necessarily wanted to come back to after visiting the overly abstract 'EVOL'. I looked back at my review for that album before giving 'Goo' a listen, and I said that I could see them possibly progressing/diving more into a traditional pop structure through future releases. After giving this album from four years later a listen, I definitely found it more accessible and entertaining overall while not straying too far away from the avantgarde style the band had in their earlier work. They arguably took the safe route by cleaning things up a bit (not that it's pop in the slightest), but I feel it worked for the best. 'Dirty Boots' and 'Kool Thing' were really solid alternative rock songs (I recognized KT from Guitar Hero III, but I feel like the game might have used a rerecorded version as this sounded different from what I am used to hearing). The overt weirdness was still present in tracks like 'Tunic', 'Mote', and 'Mildred Pierce', but most of the time, the strange moments were pushed towards the end of the song instead of extended across a whole track which was an improvement. The cleaner production and flow of the album also help make these abstract moments less polarizing. There was nothing on here that I absolutely loved, but I enjoyed it overall and can respect their progression. 3/5. NOTE: Sonic Youth somehow has five (!) albums on the 1001 Albums list. I'm not saying they are a bad group, but that high amount puts them in the "best band ever" category which I would definitely disagree with. Maybe my opinion will change as I listen to more of their work.
There are cool individual moments, but overall feels too same-y throughout. Not for me
Really weird, noisy guitars!
A few really great tracks, especially on the first half. Tunic and Kool Thing are keepers. Vibes of Velvet Underground in a 90s setting. It’s very distracting, however, that they seem to be fascinated and self-impressed by the noise and sound they can make with abused electronics without having any intentions of meaning in it. And “it’s just ennui and nihilism man,” wouldn’t convince me at all. What they’re singing, particularly the lady vocalist, is very important and deeply felt.
Cool music
Eh. Not for me but I see how it could be for some. I would really need to be in the mood to listen to it. Requires a revisit.
Listening to Sonic Youth sounds to me like listening to music while mowing a lawn - good music, but surrounded by an incessant droning.
Bueno a ver, Sonic Youth es una banda que siempre he querido escuchar, ya que según tengo entendido The Velvet Underground es una de sus grandes influencias, y definitivamente se puede apreciar bastante bien con este disco, pese a que creo que las expectativas me han jugado una mala pasada. La primera mitad del álbum es genial. El opener Dirty Boots y su infeccioso riff son un highlight del disco. Me encanta la letra temática de Tunic y los backing vocals en Mary-Christ son tremendos. Kool Thing, la canción mas icónica del disco, es otro punto altísimo en la tracklist, y es una gran sorpresa la aparicion de Chuck D (Public Enemy). A partir de aquí, al menos en la primera escucha, se empieza a desinflar un poco. Se siguen apreciando los rasgos por los que tengo entendido se caracterizaban Sonic Youth, su uso de la disonancia y de los efectos en las guitarras. Aun así, creo que el album es difícil de descifrar del todo en la primera escucha, y preveo que voy a estar reescuchando este disco bastante. Quizás encuentre algo más de lo que he encontrado ahora, o quizás no.
Food for you bought
Too much talky
I absolutely love Sonic Youth, and that's not changing here. This is probably their most accessible album, very noisy but came before the grunge movement, so you don't have the inspirations that made their next album Dirty so amazing. It's fantastic for its era, but honestly doesn't have as many great songs as other albums. There were some odd experimental choices that are cool and impressive but not too great. To appeal to a mass audience, you have some lighter hits too, but besides "Kool Thing", they lack the Sonic Youth charm and so they feel like a marketable compromise. Still, I enjoyed the album and there were plenty of standout moments. Favorites: Kool Thing, Moot
6/10
7/10
Härligt album med skön punkkänsla men låter ändå jävligt bra rakt igenom. Kanske lite mycket noise? Återkommer rätt ofta till Kool Thing. Extremt tongivande i genren. Lyckades få känslan till 100% dock något som saknas?
Car noise drowned it out. Will re listen
I don't think I needed to hear another album by this band. Some of these had a cool punk feel, but others sounded vaguely like a toothache feels.
Sólo conocía Kool Thing y está bien, creo que ellos no son para mi. Sí tienen cosas muy interesantes, el sonido crudo pero los guitarrazos sin sentido de repente, ser discordante y experimentar está bien aunque después de oír el disco tampoco se me hizo que pensaran tan afuera de la caja. 2.5 que sube a 3 porque no son horribles, están bien a secas. Songs: Kook Thing, Tunic (Song for Karen)
Siempre me cuesta trabajo Sonic Youth. No es que no les reconozca su creatividad, energía o innovación, pero soy de cosas más armónicas o melódicas, más estructura o ya de menos un poco más predecible.
Riffs and stuff we're great, but couldn't get into the singing or vocal inflections.
7/10
Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Good background music for putting together a lamp/setting up Wi-Fi/setting up new tv!
Too close to noise to make this a truly wonderful album, but it has its moments.
Want of mix of a migraine, snarky pop culture commentary and intertwined guitars? Then this is the album for you. You can see the behemoth of 90's alt-rock coming over the hill with this one. Best Tracks: Dirty Boots; Mary-Christ; Titanium Expose
Sounded influential, but not my cup of tea.
Listening to Goo pretty much summed up my feelings for Sonic Youth. It's respectable, has some great songs and interesting subject matter, but don't love it. Great singles here though, and album cuts like Tunic and Mote were enjoyable, but the excessive feedback did get a bit grating near the end. I wouldn't buy or download it all but will definitely revisit some tracks I liked.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Dirty boots
Never a band that i clicked with but it is a good album not great in my opinion
reminds me of Violent Femmes, but I guess I didn't hear it at that time of my life so dont have the connection. Wouldn't search it out but can see how it resonates with people
Time to take a ride, time to take in some alt guitar rock And if you want tonal interest, get on to Goo Punking out the day, dreaming out the crazy way
The album is missing more from the vocals, but the guitar work is great and offers more than typical punk. Overall not a bad album, but nothing to really amaze considering their fame and position in the hearts of true punk fans and those informed on the history of the genre.
A bit uneven but a slicker production than their previous album. Kool Thing still the stand out track, but the whole album is a fun noise adventure.
Interesting vibe, very punk. I’ve always struggled to appreciate the music because I am not a fan of the singing.
The older I get, the more I like noise in music, but my relationship with it is complex and ever-evolving. In general, I enjoy noise as a way to deepen the emotional content of music or to provide complex sonorities that are unachievable any other way, rather than noise for its own sake. Sonic Youth challenges this idea, making noise the central component of their music, overshadowing composition, or even being an element in composition. That's a bit much for me, which is why an album like Goo (or Dirty) is an ideal entry point. On these albums, Sonic Youth retreats a bit from their initial focus and subordinates the noise elements in favor of pop songwriting, at least to some degree. But there are some problems here. Not every song is as assured and magnetic as Kool Thing, Tunic or Goo, and it's no coincidence that those songs are fronted by Kim Gordon, an infinitely more charismatic vocalist than Thurston Moore. But for me, the more conventional songwriting provides much-needed ballast for the varied guitar squalls of Moore, Lee Reynaldo, and guest guitar terrorist J Mascis. The tug of war between traditional rock conventions and sonic terrorism makes for an invigorating listen.
3.5
Interesting. I liked some of the tracks, especially 'Dirty boots'. Other stuff, bordering on death metal, not so keen.
This was another surprise because I always have some previous bad impression of Sonic Youth, but this album was pretty good. The first songs are great songs and if the album ended there, it deserved 4 or 5 stars. The last songs were a little bit strange, too experimental for an album that does not start with an experimental approach. I don't dislike these experimental songs, but also don't love them.
Enjoyed a few songs from this, I had never really listened to Sonic Youth before. Will listen to some of their other albums.
Meh, støjrock / garage. Et par enkelte ok numre, men ikke noget vildt lækkert.
Weird but fun
Never previously gave this band much of a listen, despite being a fan of a lot of the bands that they influenced and inspired, but I really liked this record. There are good songs, but with the addition of lots of layered noise and feedbacking guitars, which is definitely my kind of thing when done well (which it is here). Not sure how often I would listen to it, but good background music for when working.
Sonic Youth on ollut itselleni aina hieman liian taiteellista rokkiräminää, vaikka olen sille mahdollisuuksia antanut. Thurston Mooren soololevyt ovat olleet paljon enemmän omaan makuuni. Tämänkin levyn kohokohdat ovat Mooren laulamat "normaalit" indierock biisit, kuten Dirty Boots ja Disappearer. Kokonaisuuden pilaa kuitenkin ihme instrumentaali- ja mölinäsekoilut kuten Mote ja Mildred Pierce. Epätasainen levy, mutta parhaat hetket nostavat kokonaisuuden kuitenkin lievästi plussan puolelle. Ylöspäin pyöristyvä 2,5.
Not mad about it. Atleast it isn't in french.
A little too much punk.
Washed out indie rock. Didn't get hooked.
Leuk leuk 9/10 wel maar eenmalig
This album makes me want to stare off into space and smoke a half of pack a smokes. It's not a bad album, the singer switch throughout is a neat mix up. I like the album artwork, It helps with that vibe for sure. Overall I think the album is fun. It isn't a must listen or anything. But it wasn't a waste of time. Not mad at it, it gets a real decent score from me.
I like the discordant stuff esp on Mildred Pierce and towards the end of Cinderella's Big Score
I dont think I have listened to that much Sonic Youth previously. Some of the songs were enjoyable. Others were not memorable.
Ehh a little mixed weird for my taste but whatever
First listen and I was ready to give it a 1 and move on, just noise. However, after listening a couple more time and looking at the lyrics, I like it and look forward to more Sonic Youth albums. Maybe 3.5?
really cool sound. A bit punk. Could get tiring after a while
favorite songs: Mary-Christ, Kool Thing, Disappearer, Titanium Expose. felt like some songs ran on too long
The working title of this albums was "blowjob?" Which makes me a bit sad about what could've been
false
Et j'sais pas si vous avez remarqué mais y a des fois, on lance un album, et 2 minutes après l'avoir fini on s'en souvient déjà plus. C'est tout pour moi j'm'appelle llabraise
Ziemlich gut aber seeehhhr Independent
Decent, with some (but rare) noisy sections I wasn't feeling. probably a 3.5
Good rock a bit directionless at times.
false
Sounds a bit grungey, a bit drengey, a bit Brody Dalle almost. Cool, 3/5
Early alt rock
Die rockigen Elemente heben das Album aus dem Sumpf der Bedeutungslosigkeit und halten den grungigen Krach auch aus.
high concept initial impression. reminds me a little of something youd hear on buffy opening theme song. 3 stars so far.
Good instrument work not fan of vocals
Fine. Not a huge "punk" fan. Well done for what it is.
I want Sonic Youth to be a jam band. The world needs a noise rock jam band. I like Murray Street. They jam on Murray Street. An album called Goo could definitely jam. There's some jam, some noise, lots of indifference, some cool as hell Kim Gordon. I really liked it, and it brought me zero joy. It took two days to get through it. Maybe it's been too packed of a work week and work weekend. The end of Disappearer really does it for me. I love how they use suspended chords. Imagining a Sonic Youth live show in 1990 NYC. Is it a shared experience? People are not outwardly expressing emotion. Is there a hidden, individual trancendance that each person is experiencing in stoic isolation, shoulder to shoulder? Are people just thinking way too hard?
Very good album. "Tunic (Song For Karen)", "Kool Thing".
.
Pas bon, pas mauvais, trop générique, correct sans plus.
This was kind of a mixed bag for me
Overall fine, instruments (4 star) were much better than the vocals (2 star for the most part) so averages to a 3
The “Pump Up the Volume” movie soundtrack introduced me to Sonic Youth - great soundtrack! and pretty good film too - “Titanium Expose” was the cut from Goo that made the cut. Overalll, pretty good Goo. I like the hit, “Kool Thing”, and I really like the first half of “Mote”, but the second delves into experimental art/noise/rock that turned me off. A solid 3.5, but I’m rounding down; the good sections just can’t pull the messy parts up to a 4.
Their most commercial album, and also still inaccessible at times. Lots of feedback. Need more time with it.
Por su fama lo he intentado muchas veces con el y nunca he visto su grandeza
6/10. Sounded good in it's own way, but not really something I would listen to on purpose
"Kool Thing" is obviously a killer track that really steps up when the rest of this album does not. Their album "Daydream Nation" seemed a lot more earnest of an effort to me. Like it was just naturally an interesting and cool take on indie guitar rock, while this one felt like Sonic Youth knew they were seen as a "cool" band and really tried to sound like it. I mean why name your album after a goofy ass, childish track like "Goo," if you didn't want everyone to think "Oh whoa they just really don't give a fuck, sick. Yeah the song sucks but they're sticking it to pop music." Idk, I just have a hangup with Sonic Youth's pretension because I don't think they are making the artistic statements to back it up.
its aight
musicalement tres solide bon muiciens mais le rage punk j'aime moins
Starts good but after the feel of the album becomes boring and even plain.
I find Sonic Youth a bit impenetrable. I love a lot of the riffs and the energy, but it's almost like free jazz in the construction. Definitely something I'll listen to again at some point.
1990, Alternative Rock, manches klingt sick aber das meiste klingt für mich einfach wie Krach, seichte 3
Quand meme bon, je comprend le sonic car c’est eclate parfois. J’ai l’impression quil y a une influence punk/grunge? Pas un grand facteur de reecoute. 3.25*
Now I need to watch Scott Pilgrim vs the World. rock out of 5
I enjoyed this, good noisy stuff. A few tracks definitely were fun.
Is good
instrumentation and female lead vocalist
nice n easy n fun but also n boring
A bit of a mixed bag, although I like it on whole. Has its highlights: Each of the vocalists has a great song, including "Dirty Boots, "Kool Thing" and "Mote", but some songs like "Mary-Christ" and "Cinderella's Big Score" are just a waste of time. The musicianship is stellar, some amazing drumming and the weaving wall of guitar noise is hypnotizing at times.
Find I'm very tired of the vocal delivery of this era and strata of alternative pop. A bare three points for the instrumentation which I liked better, but didn't really care for this.
Some interesting sounds I had never listened before
Unfortunately the more I listen to Sonic Youth the less I am impressed. I like everything they do on paper, but I just can't get behind the execution in general. I knew of Tunic, but it goes on twice as long as it should, otherwise I'd like it.
Pretty heavy. It’s interesting. I’m no music critic
Very good album for a one time listen. While I liked it, I don't foresee myself coming back to it. The album tells a coherent story, it's alternative rock which I like but it didn't grab me like it could have.
Cool guitar timbre. Can't sing along, but still catchy. A bit like Metric x La Femme, with more disorder and noise.
Classic
Reminds me a little of sleigh bells or white stripes. An old school kind of sound that could easily pass for music of today. Most songs are too long, and I can't hear 90% of what they're saying. The guitars and shit are cool, but this isn't music that speaks to me. Song titles make no sense, and as far as I can tell the songs are about nothing at all. Favorite song is scooter and jinx
I’ve never been a huge sonic youth fan. The guitars and drums are all pretty awesome, but the vocals and lack of hooks really make this kind of a wash for me. So many talked vocals and they feel like they kind of ruin things for me. Big noise rock and no wave feel. Once again, great guitars. But idk how often I'll come back to it
Ihan ok. Ei ehkä parasta musaa työpäivään.
Occasional good bits, too much screaming though
Enjoyed it although it’s not my usual genre. Had to listen in short bursts.
Cool
This was Sonic Youth's jump to a major label, and the contemporary reviews I read praised the album for its authenticity, which I take to mean that they didn't sell out by getting rid of the bullshit. I can confirm that there is still plenty of bullshit to wade through. Best track: Kool Thing
Interesting album, really in your face
Certainly accessible, with the experimental bits spread unevenly across the runtime. The first few tracks are certainly the strongest, though the fact that Chuck D is so easy to miss is disappointing. It would be a stronger record if it was more firmly in the pop-structure or noisy-sound camp. Or more Kim: Her appearances were the strongest songs and sections of songs.
Rock crado
Mit Goo wagte die US-amerikanische Noise-Rock-Band Sonic Youth 1990 den Sprung zu einem Majorlabel: DGC Records, ein Ableger von Geffen, brachte das sechste Studioalbum der Band heraus, aufgenommen in den New Yorker Studios Sorcerer Sound und Greene St. Recording unter der Regie von Nick Sansano und Ron Saint Germain. Der Wechsel vom Indie-Umfeld in den Major-Betrieb hätte leicht zur Verwässerung des eigenwilligen Sounds führen können, doch die Band hielt an ihren verstimmten Gitarren und ihrer strukturellen Sperrigkeit fest, verpackte sie diesmal jedoch in griffigere Songformen. Stücke wie "Dirty Boots", "Tunic (Song for Karen)" und vor allem die Single "Kool Thing" – mit einem Gastauftritt von Chuck D – zeigen, wie geschickt Sonic Youth Zugänglichkeit und Widerständigkeit austarieren. Kim Gordons distanzierter, oft sprechgesangartiger Vortrag trifft auf Thurston Moores und Lee Ranaldos verschachtelte Gitarrenlinien, während Steve Shelleys Schlagzeugspiel dem Chaos einen erstaunlich tanzbaren Puls gibt. Das Artwork von Raymond Pettibon, inspiriert von den Moors-Morden, unterstreicht die kühle, leicht morbide Distanziertheit, die das Album trotz seiner relativen Eingängigkeit durchzieht. Kulturell markiert Goo einen Wendepunkt: Es öffnete Sonic Youth einem größeren Publikum und ebnete – gemeinsam mit ihrer Tourbegleitung Nirvana – den Weg für die Alternative-Rock-Welle der frühen Neunziger, ohne dabei die Ecken und Kanten der Band zu glätten. Goo bleibt ein seltener Fall, in dem sich künstlerische Eigenwilligkeit und Massentauglichkeit nicht ausschließen, sondern gegenseitig befeuern.
For Goo, I think it earned more points than a normal punk album. There was some cool experiments with sounds in the album which, while I did not enjoy, I at least appreciated. But not enough to get it more than a 4.5/10.
Better than I expected
Focking 'ell. Another Sonic Youth, innit? I consider myself an enthusiast of alternative music, which is why it's incredibly disappointing to me that the figureheads of this genre are so SHIT. Pixies and Sonic Youth instill a sense of frustration and disappointment in me that I rarely feel from anything else. I can hear this album already. The lazy, shitty, blown out guitars and vocals which are comparable to an enthusiastic handjob are already coming through loud and clear. The only positive comment I can see myself making about this album is that the album cover is both great and deservedly iconic. Guess I'll just rip off the Band-Aid and get into this one. Here goes. Yep. These guitars sure are lazy, shitty and blown out. I haven't splooged once throughout this album either, though "Disappearer" did give me a half-chub. That song's alright. I still can't get over the female vocalist of this band. The dudebro intonation in her singing voice is just so fake, lifeless, flimsy and lame. The male vocalist isn't much of an improvement, though I can barely make him out most of the time which easily puts him as my preferred vocalist. The instrumentals are somewhat competent. The blown-out, ghastly sound still doesn't move me, though the guitars feature some solid chord progressions and a general sense of direction. The songs aren't focused enough to hold my attention for the full runtime, though I was at the very least engaged while listening to this album. The stoned, frumpy losers murmuring over said instrumentals does undercut the appeal, however. Overall, I found this album to be dull, though it did hold my attention, which can't be said about the other Sonic Youth albums. Book time. The band's first release on a major label. The frontmen of Dinosaur Jr. and Public Enemy provided vocals for this album. "Goo was accessible in terms of song and structure, yet still experimental in tone and texture." The book entry closes out with "While many tip the critical nod to Daydream Nation, Goo remains a masterclass in how an underground rock band can make the jump to a major label and not only survive with its soul and balls intact, but flourish and reach a wider, appreciative audience." I think the Sonic Youth inclusions should be cut down from five albums to three. The band have been loved by critics for most of their career and were massively influential in the founding and early trajectory of alternative music, but five albums is just way too many for what this band represents. Five inclusions puts them up there with Led Zeppelin and ahead of Pink Floyd, which doesn't at all sit right with me. That being said, EVOL, Daydream Nation and this album appear to be their most noteworthy releases, so I'm content with letting this one through. I cosign this inclusion.
4/10 Fun but not for me
It wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t my thing.
Not to judge an album by its cover but again I have low expectations for this one based on the cover and name. dirty boots is pretty cool I guess. Definitely a good guitar. Terrible vocals/lyrics on tunic. Just talking. Good guitar tho. Is this song what South Park is referencing in the shop class episode?? Why did they not fade Mary Christ right into kool thing. Waste of a bridge song. Great guitar on kool thing. Bullshit lyrics. Note is better. Really really good guitar on this one and better vocals. I like the outro on this one too. Or what o though was the outro. Didn’t think there’d be 3 more mins after. Still a cool song. My friend hop is generic indie rock. Trash. Bad lyrics, singers voice isn’t even good. 5 yos must go crazy for this song. Best part about it is that it’s quick. Back to basics with disappear. This song is much better. Good guitar riff, catchy lyrics. Mildred is good. Good production with no bs vocals to ruin it(for the most part). Last 30 seconds suck. Cinderella’s score is fine. Better writing on this one. Cool production again. Ready for this album to be done which is a bad sign considering it’s not that long. Makes me actually appreciate scooter and jinx even tho it’s nothing except for short. But again, a missed opportunity for a cool fade into titanium exposure. Cool intro on this one, and really good main production. Much better vocals/lyrics. If only every sign was just like this one. But as always when I say that, they aren’t. This is a true JAA. Some pretty good songs and some straight ass songs. 2.3/5 stars.
..
too weird
Scuzzy and distorted. A bit too DIY-sounding for my taste
2.5
Some ok songs. Lots of unnecessary nonsense noise as well
not my thing, and i normally like punky records
Frenetic and fun. Liked it more than I thought I would - without being blown away - at the beginning. Then then last four songs hit... Chaotically disappointing end.
It's alright but two sonic youth albums in two days is a bit much for anyone.
Man, if I’d found this in like 10th grade? Buuuut… I didnt
I like the use of noise up to an extent, like in 'Tunic' where I think it contributes to the vibe, but at certain points j think it just gets obnoxious, like the end of ‘Mote’. All the songs sort of blended together after a while for me. I respect the significance of the album and its influence, but it just feels sort of same-y - reeks of Gen X ‘acting detached to look cool’-ness.
**An ok album
“Kool Thing” is another one of those great Sonic Youth tracks you’ve heard on college radio that makes you think you’re gonna like them. Then you listen to the album…It’s not a good sign when you’re checking to see how much longer a 2 minute 20 second song is going to last. Whole lotta noise here posing, self-importantly, as art. 1.5 stars
They should have stayed underground.
One song was especially screamy, yuck. Most of the songs were ok punk rock.
Just not really a fan
Overall Rating - 2.05/5 (4.10/10). Early 90s alt-noise rock. Not my jam.
Another one that perhaps needs the right mood. I loved Dirty Boots as the beginning track, but the grunge that follows is something fifteen year old me might have appreciated more. I hold Mildred Pierce responsible for ruining my morning. You know what’s crazy? On one of the songs I thought wow I do really like this, only to realise the album had ended and Spotify had started playing Incinerate from another album. Has my music taste mellowed out into preferring more melodicness? Perhaps. Sorry if I’ve lost my edge.
There’s… something here. But I don’t know why someone would want to listen to this.
Couldn't make it through. Cool sound, but pretty harsh. Maybe if I was in a different mood, I would like it, but it was stressing me out lol
I didn't find this interesting in the slightest but on the whole I wasn't deeply offended by it The main thing that got my attention was how shite the Goo song was. Oof
Not my jam
uninspiring & not highly listenable... I wanted better from sonic youth
"I stole my sister's boyfriend..." is much funnier if you were unaware that the singer was a woman
Not very catchy for a one-time listen and even for me a tad too much distortion...
I dont know what to think. They constantly sound to bored to sing but have this aggressive music under it. Not my style
Not good.
i didnt really like it that much but it was cool for the most part
Highlights: Dirty Boots, Kool Thing 2.4
After 5 albums, I finally got the one that has their only good song.
As a proud member of Gen X, there is simply too much Sonic Youth on this list. Fight me bro… (Could have stopped at Daydream Nation) 2⭐️
too much Sonic Youth on this list