"Sonic Youth"
 

Is it common knowledge that Sonic Youth's first album is, like, the best thing EVER when you're getting high? Cause I just spend the last 2 nights having my brain handed to me on a platter (in the *best* possible way).

right on brother.

I'm so happy for you.

I get the feeling I'm the only person who does not use here.

c'mon, everybodies doing it, one little hit won't kill you. nah, i'm not currently using... but only because i'm on probation.

And I'll have to stop eventually--once I start rotations in pharmacy school, I'll get tested every few months. Still, after seeing friends go through the agony of pill addiction, it's hard for me to consider weed a *real* drug. The only "withdrawl" I ever experience is boredom, from being stuck in my "sobriety box" and not being able to let my mind wander around without its leash on.

i don't do drugs either. sometimes i will drink though.

i drink but don't do drugs.

I smoke pot, and that's about the most of it these days.

I mean, besides drinking and cigarettes.

So last night I once again listened to "SY," and once again it blew me away. At the risk of people thinking I'm a raving lunatic, here's the transcript of what happened [I always take pen & paper in the bathroom with me, in case I make any "discoveries" (and I use that term loosely)]:

(It was inspired by having gleefully watched Keith Olberman rip Bill O'Reilly a new one on MSNBC, then quickly devolved into god-knows-what)

* Evolution of a b.s. argument (re: [how (in retro)] my unstated argument from last night and my "pair a negative thing with a positive thing/ ["I know a slash went here..."] Krebs Cycle! Yes!" thing [<---giving that mess a dirty look] apparently mated and had a child who
* Ok, you know what? I'm done.
* OMG, I solved something! [crude diagram re: "projecting"] ...Uh, that's all I got. I thought it was gonna be a lot bigger and more explanatory. (I think I skipped a few steps in simplifying it. ("Thanks, brain!"))
* I don't know how to phrase this (to properly emphasize the 'wow'-factor), but the way I feel about SY's first album is kind of like my first sentence. It [eek! It just keeps evolving. I'm on my third evolution of my evolution explanation (in my head).] ANYWAY! It could have been intended to be a more singular statement, with an easy explanation, and then "moving on!" But it just kept blossoming, and they followed it where it went, not knowing themselves. But when you look back at the thing/body of work as a whole, the initial statement was the most perfectly logical start.

To try to explain: Most of us did not start out with this album, but rather "discovered" them some time later, expanding our collection by working our way backwards (as I did). So when we get to this album, we tend to appreciate it in the context of everything else they've done. But at the time it was made, there WAS no context; the future of their sound and longevity was just a giant question mark. But when you look back at the "answer" to that question, the initial statement couldn't have been any more appropriate. Granted, Byron Coley made the same point in his liner notes essay much more eloquently, but there's a difference between reading about someone else wrapping their head around such thoughts, and doing that head-wrapping yourself.

Also, I love how in "I Dreamed I Dream" if you listen to it in your headphones, there is the faint sound of someone opening their mouth as if about to speak, first from the direction Lee's voice had been coming from, then from Kim's. This happens around 3:13 and 3:17, and is just one of the many awesome reasons I started this thread.

I think I know about that part in I Dreamed a Dream...It was initially my favourite track off of Screaming Fields...

The albums sticks out because it is so clearly recorded and there are no extra crap overdubs or the like...

Destroyer on the re-issue is incredible....

Keep your writings coming. I enjoyed that....