SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-NYC Ghosts & Flowers (2000).
In the midst of all of the experimentation with the SYR discs. Sonic Youth released this “proper” release.
At the time, it was actually the impetus for me to stop buying Sonic Youth records. Between the experimental discs and the expanding palate of 1,000 Leaves, it felt like Sonic Youth were sort of drifting away from rock altogether. It was certainly a way to alienate fans of Goo and Dirty.
You get two two songs over seven minutes and three over five (there are two short blasts in the middle which add some heaviness to the proceedings). But for the most part, this is a very spare, almost atmospheric affair.
Prior to recording the disc, the bands custom gear was stolen. So they started from scratch for this recording. And that may have something to do with the ambient, almost spatial sound. It is quite mellow, (although still angular and dissonant) with a number of spoken word/beat poetry vocals.
Whether it’s pretentious or artsy depends on your take for recited lyrics (and SY’s lyrics are inscrutable anyhow). Although Lee’s piece “NYC Ghosts and Flowers” seems to fit the style best (he has done a number of spoken vocal pieces in the past). And “Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)” has a sort of commercial appeal. The closing tack “Lightnin'” even features a trumpet, which I assume is played by Kim. It’s the most noisy piece on the disc, with all kinds of fun sound effects showing up.
I’ve been listening to this disc a lot lately. I think because I’ve revisited the experimental discs, this one makes more sense. It’s not what I’d call a typical Sonic Youth album, or even the best Sonic Youth album. It is certainly their most jazzy/mellow experiment (especially compared to the noise of says the SYR discs) and is about as far from their commercial peak as they could get.
The strangest thing to me though is that, despite all of the experimentation and slow-building songs, the whole disc is under 45 minutes. So, they aren’t just making noise to fill space.
[READ: Week of August 31] Infinite Jest (to page 808)
In all of the talk about DFW’s “psychic” abilities with regard to technologies, one thing no one has mentioned–that I’ve seen–is his love of Venus Williams. Her name keeps popping up (I’d say at least a half dozen references so far). And in many ways one doesn’t think too much of it (she is the #3 player right now, bested by her sister Serena who is #2). But the amazing thing about his embrace of Venus is that as 
of 1996, when the book was published, she had barely played any pro tournaments.
Look a these tidbits from Sports Illustrated:
October 31, 1994: Venus wins her first pro match, defeating Shaun Stafford at the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland. … Venus faces Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the No. 2 player in the world, in her next match. Venus races out to a 6-3, 3-1 lead but then folds as Sanchez Vicario wins 11 consecutive games. In an interview after the match, Venus is asked how the loss compares with previous defeats. She answers bemusedly that she has never before lost a match.
May 22, 1995: Reebok announces it has signed Venus to a five-year, $12 million deal. Thus far, Venus has played in one pro tournament.
Although much has been speculated (by me and others) about when he was actually writing this book (and when he was able to send in last minute changes), she would not break into the Top 20 until 1998. He clearly saw something in her.
I write these posts as I go along. So, I read the day’s pages take notes and then type them up. This is why I get moments of speculation in the posts. But mostly it means that when I start writing I don’t know how much there will be in total. This is now the second week in a row where the early reading started off, if not slowly, then certainly without all too much happening. The notes I took were very simple, along the lines of: Marathe in Ennet House or Kate & Marathe talk. I knew I could remember what they were talking about, but there wasn’t a lot of notable moments.
And then, we get the trifecta of Endnotes and Tine’s interview. Holy cow, a torrent of information flooding out at once. It doubled my word count almost immediately. Phew.
As this week’s reading starts out we see Marathe trying to check into Ennet House. Okay, actually he’s there as the final part of his recon looking for the veiled girl who was in the Entertainment and is now in rehab.
His new-eyes-looking-at-the-place is rather enlightening as I hadn’t realized just how dreary and drab the House is (nor just how weird most of the residents would be). The supporting cast is in good form: some of them sleeping, some of them talking loudly, others just staring. And Marathe takes it all in. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: GARBAGE-Garbage (1995).
I was thinking about how IJ reminds me so specifically of a place and time (I instantly think of the apartment I was in when I started reading it). And there are also some discs that I was crazy about at the time too.
It is incredible serendipity that I did the JOI filmography during this week as this week’s readings actually count on knowing a bit about it. And since I had just reevaluated it, I was aware of a thing or two during Hal’s viewing scene.
Week 10 starts off seeming like a lot of nothing is happening. There’s a few post-Event scenarios. Until we get to November 14th, and a whole lot goes on. A whole lot! 
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century (1999). 
This SYR recording consists of Sonic Youth’s interpretations of 20th century composers’ works. Some of the composers are obscure, but a few are more or less household names: John Cage, Yoko Ono, maybe Steve Reich. I knew a few of these composers from Kronos Quartet, but for the most part the pieces are all new to me. Since I don’t know the original pieces I have no idea how faithful they are.
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Washing Machine (1995).
After the short blasts and diverse collection fo songs on Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, Washing Machine sounds like almost a different band. For although there are a few shorter pieces here, they also give us the 9 minute title track and the, brace yourself, almost 20 minute “The Diamond Sea.”
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star (1994).
“Bull in the Heather” is one of my favorite Sonic Youth songs. I love everything about it (even if I haven’t got a clue what it’s about): the simple opening, the switch to harmonics, and, my favorite part, the drum break that leads to the chorus (who ever heard of getting a drum break stuck in your head?).
every IJ book jacket/promotional material designed in a sort of cloud motif. Well, in the section we lean that Uncle Charles’ office is decked out in an unsettling cloud wallpaper (which is coincidentally the same wallpaper as Hal’s dentist). It has only appeared briefly so far, so it seems odd that it would take on such an iconic feel. But we’ll see if it comes back.
SOUNDTRACK: VOIVOD-Nothingface (1989).
In light of Marathe and the Antitois, and Quebec separatists everywhere, I figured I’d mention my favorite CD by a rocking Quebecker band. When Voivod started they were a rumbling thrash band. They put out an album with the wonderful title of RRRÖÖÖAAARRR. They were very fast, very loud, and their singer had a really peculiar delivery style. I later learned that this was because he’s a Quebecker and French is his first language. Since he sings in English, his stresses and emphases are off-kilter, (and the guitarist seems to play to this particular feature, so the music is off-kilter as well) making for a very surreal experience.
Radar Magazine
SOUNDTRACK: The Best Albums of the Year
Andrew Womack, fellow 
It was a fun place to pick up reading. At the small paragraph where I left off, we learn that the Statue of Liberty’s book now advertises that year’s Subsidizer.
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-EVOL (1986).
Ah, EVOL. Here’s where Sonic Youth became Sonic Youth. Who knows how much Steve Shelley had to do with it, but he shows up and the band becomes amazing. The cover art is pretty darn scary and yet the music inside is amazingly beautiful. While by no means a commercial album, the album is chock full of melody.
SOUNDTRACK: THE TRAGICALLY HIP-We Are the Same (2009).
first heard of The Hip when I saw their video for “
I Just Read About That... 