Line #24 YMMV/SonicYouth


1	%%* ArchivePanic:
2	* EpicRiff: Plenty - "Death Valley '69", "Expressway to Yr. Skull", "Teen Age Riot", "Silver Rocket", "Kool Thing", "Titanium Exposé", "100%", "Youth Against Fascism"... ah, hell, let's just say "all of their songs" and leave it at that.
3	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Sonic Youth can be pretty good comedians when they feel like it, but the ''Are you gonna liberate us girls from white male corporate oppression?'' line from "Kool Thing" is a pretty strong contender.
4	** The [[Music/TheBeatles "Ticket]] [[Music/{{Help}} to Ride"]]/"Master-Dik" medley that they played live on air at a radio station and included on the ''Master-Dik'' EP: It was apparently an impromptu way to fill up air-time while Thurston was having technical difficulties with his guitar, and the "Ticket to Ride" portion has him [[{{Scatting}} scat-screaming]] his way through the lyrics to an accompaniment of bass, piano and drums.
5	** When the screaming randomly kicks in on "Mildred Pierce". It's either a Crowning Moment of Funny for some or NightmareFuel for others.
6	** "Providence", a moody, ominous piano piece about... Thurston getting high and accidentally throwing out some recording equipment with the trash.
7	--->'''[[Music/{{Minutemen}} Mike Watt]]:''' Ya gotta watch the mota, Thurston, your fuckin' memory just goes out the window!
8	*** Mike Watt apparently has a very terse, idiosyncratic way of starting an answering machine message: where most people would say something like "Hi Thurston, this is Mike...", he instead simply shouts "Thurston, Watt, Thurston!".
9	* GeniusBonus: Most of their lyrics make subtle literary allusions that one is prone to miss if one hasn't read the books in question. ''Sister'', in particular, is loaded with references to Creator/PhilipKDick (including its title, as explained on the main page under LiteraryAllusionTitle), to the point of being a loose ConceptAlbum about his life and works. Similarly, "The Sprawl" is inspired by Creator/WilliamGibson's ''Literature/SprawlTrilogy'' (including [[LiteraryAllusionTitle its title]]), and several other songs on ''Music/DaydreamNation'' also refer to Gibson's works. These may actually border on ViewersAreGeniuses in many cases, as the songs may read like WordSaladLyrics to listeners lacking familiarity with the works/authors in question.
10	* GrowingTheBeard: Although their early work is liked well enough, ''EVOL'' is usually considered the point where they truly established their SignatureStyle. It doesn't hurt that it was their first album with drummer Steve Shelley, who would perform on all subsequent albums of theirs. Its sequels ''Sister'' and ''Daydream Nation'' would each improve upon their predecessors.
11	* HarsherInHindsight: "Sleepin' Around", a song seemingly against infidelity that was written and sung by Thurston Moore, can now be seen as ironic in light of Thurston's own infidelity leading to his divorce with Kim Gordon.
12	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: "Tunic (Song for Karen)".
13	* NightmareFuel: Some of their early material, especially "Shaking Hell" and "Death Valley '69".
14	** "I Love Her All the Time" has MindRape subtext and sudden freak-outs.
15	** The video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reSOp1domrU "Tunic (Song for Karen)"]] is unsettling, especially when you know exactly what happened to [[Music/{{Carpenters}} Karen Carpenter]].
16	---> [[MadnessMantra You aren't never going anywhere, you aren't never going anywhere,]] [[BreakTheCutie I ain't never going anywhere, I ain't never going anywhere...]]
17	** "Eric's Trip", one of the shorter songs from ''Daydream Nation'', because of its general speed, intensity, masses of swirling, disorienting guitar and ominous lyrics.
18	--->''There's something moving over there to the right / Like nothing I've ever seen...''
19	* SignatureSong: "Kool Thing" is probably the only song the average music listener knows from Sonic Youth.
20	** "Teenage Riot", which they have played on nearly every tour since 1988.
21	*** To a lesser extent, "The Burning Spear", a guitar-assault anthem which has been part of their set on-and-off since before their first EP was released.
22	*** Possibly "Bull in the Heather," due to its inclusion in a ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' episode.
23	* SongAssociation: Their cover of the Delaney & Bonnie song "Superstar" [[OnceOriginalNowCommon became unintentionally funny]] [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff in Brazil]] due to its strong usage in Portuguese-language {{YouTube Poop}}s, usually in "sad" moments.
24	* TearJerker: "Tunic (Song for Karen)", "J.C.", "NYC Ghosts & Flowers".
25	** Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon have divorced. The longest running relationship in Punk Rock is over. Sonic Youth is over.
26	* ValuesResonance: Songs like "Swimsuit Issue" and "Kissability" have seen a renewed topicality after the explosion in reports of sexual harassment by famous media figures in 2017 (and, to a lesser extent, 2016) and beyond. Also another case of HarsherInHindsight, as it has become clear that the behaviour the songs describe is far more widespread than most people probably wanted to believe.
27	* VindicatedByHistory: Though ''NYC Ghosts & Flowers'' is still [[BrokenBase the most divisive of their albums]], it's been much more warmly received in retrospect than when it was first released. The Pitchfork reviewer who gave it a 0/10 later completely flipped his opinion, stating that he loves the album.

Context YMMV / SonicYouth