Line #29 Music/DaydreamNation


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sonicyouthdaydreamnation.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''Hey Joni, put it all behind you.'']]
3
4	''Daydream Nation'' is the fifth album by AlternativeRock band Music/SonicYouth, released in 1988. Made with almost twice the usual budget of their previous albums, it was their most expensively produced album up to that point. With frontman Thurston Moore on a writing spree, it ended up as a double album.
5
6	Upon its release, the album received almost unanimous critical acclaim for its use of noise, jam-influenced song structures, and surrealist lyrics. It is often considered one of the greatest alt-rock albums of TheEighties, if not of all time, and was chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Recording Registry in 2005.
7
8	!!Lineup:
9	* Thurston Moore – guitar, vocals, piano, production
10	* Kim Gordon – bass, guitar, vocals, production
11	* Lee Ranaldo – guitar, vocals, production
12	* Steve Shelley – drums, production
13	!!!Production:
14	* Nick Sansano – production, engineering
15	* Howie Weinberg – mastering
16	* Dave Swanson – engineering assistance
17	* Michael Lavine – photography
18	* Matt Tritto – engineering assistance
19
20	!!Tracklist: [[note]]exact track lengths may vary depending upon release[[/note]]
21	# Teen Age Riot (6:58)
22	# Silver Rocket (3:47)
23	# The Sprawl (7:43)
24	# 'Cross the Breeze (7:01)
25	# Eric's Trip (3:48)
26	# Total Trash (7:33)
27	# Hey Joni (4:23)
28	# Providence (2:41)
29	# Candle (4:58)
30	# Rain King (4:41)
31	# Kissability (3:09)
32	# Trilogy (14:08)
33	** a) The Wonder (4:16)
34	** b) Hyperstation (7:15)
35	** z) Eliminator Jr. (2:38)
36	----
37	!!These are Eric's Tropes...
38	* AlbumTitleDrop: The album's title comes from the line "Daydreaming days in a daydream nation", from the "Hyperstation" section of the suite which closes the recording, "Trilogy".
39	** The song "Candle" is something of an album ''cover'' drop.
40	* AlliterativeTitle: "Total Trash"
41	* {{Bookends}}: The first song on the album, "Teen Age Riot", is meant to be a presidential campaign song for J Mascis of Music/DinosaurJr. The final movement of its final song, "Eliminator Jr.", is named in part for his band and is in part a pastiche of their style (with ''Eliminator''-era Music/ZZTop being the other referent).
42	* BreatherEpisode: "Providence" and "Kissability" are significantly lighter in mood and less heavy than the surrounding material. "Teen Age Riot" doesn't entirely qualify, since it's the first song, but it's also LighterAndSofter than most of the album. "Total Trash" and "The Sprawl" might also be considered {{downplayed}}s example: they're both still pretty heavy, but more laid-back in mood and tempo than most of the album.
43	* CaptainObvious: During the chorus of "Total Trash", Thurston finds it necessary to point out that "it's a natural fact that I'm not no cow".
44	* ConceptAlbum: Not entirely, but several songs are inspired by Creator/WilliamGibson's works; "The Sprawl" even takes its title from his ''Literature/SprawlTrilogy'' (which is also the name of its principal setting).
45	* EpicRocking: Almost half the album. "Teen Age Riot", "The Sprawl", "'Cross the Breeze" and "Total Trash" are all around seven to eight minutes, but the crowning example is the "Trilogy" that closes the album, which lasts for over 14 minutes. Some releases of the album divide it into three tracks, though the "Hyperstation" section is still over seven minutes long.
46	* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "The Wonder" and "Hyperstation".
47	* GratuitousSpanish: On "Providence", [[Music/{{Minutemen}} Mike Watt]] says, "You've gotta watch the mota, Thurston - your [[PrecisionFStrike fuckin']] memory just goes out the window". Mota is Mexican slang for cannabis.
48	* LastNoteNightmare: While "Providence" is overall quite serene, it does end with a DroneOfDread. "Eliminator Jr." also serves as something of one for the entire album, as it's one of the heaviest tracks and follows a fairly dreamlike coda to the preceding "Hyperstation" movement.
49	* LiteraryAllusionTitle:
50	** "The Sprawl" references Creator/WilliamGibson.
51	** "The Wonder" is taken from Creator/JamesEllroy's description of UsefulNotes/LosAngeles.
52	* LongestSongGoesLast: The album closes with "Trilogy" (14:02).
53	* MinimalisticCoverArt: The cover painting by German artist Gerhard Richter, ''Kurze'' (''Candle'').
54	* MundaneMadeAwesome:
55	** "Teen Age Riot" is a presidential campaign song for J Mascis of Music/DinosaurJr.
56	** "Take a walk in the park? SHIT YEAH!" from "Eliminator, Jr." (However, in the context of what the song is actually about, it's pretty disturbing.)
57	* MusicalPastiche: The style of "Eliminator Jr.", as suggested by its title, is meant to be a cross between those of ''Eliminator''-era Music/ZZTop and Music/DinosaurJr
58	* PerishingAltRockVoice: Most of Thurston's songs, excluding "Silver Rocket" and "The Wonder". Averted by both Kim and Lee, with the former's passionately grunted delivery, and the latter's shouted deadpan delivery.
59	* RecurringRiff: "'Cross the Breeze" opens with a variant on one of the main riffs from "Teen Age Riot".
60	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: "Eliminator, Jr." is evidently about the "Preppie Killer", Robert Chambers, who was convicted of manslaughter for killing Jennifer Levin in [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity Central Park]] in the early morning and sentenced to fifteen years.
61	* ShoutOut:
62	** The aforementioned "Teen Age Riot" is about Music/DinosaurJr. The song also references Music/TheStooges' "We Will Fall", with archival footage of the band in the song's music video.
63	** "The Sprawl" is a reference to several works by Creator/WilliamGibson (most famously, ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'', the first novel of his ''Literature/SprawlTrilogy''). Its first verse is taken from the novel ''The Stars at Noon'' by Denis Johnson.
64	** "Eric's Trip" refers to Eric Emerson's LSD-fuelled monologue in the Creator/AndyWarhol film ''Chelsea Girls''.
65	** "Hey Joni" references "Hey Joe" (a GarageRock standard popularized by Music/JimiHendrix) and singer Music/JoniMitchell. It also contains another reference to ''Neuromancer'' ("in this broken town, can you still jack in and know what to do?").
66	** "Candle" contains the phrase "Tonight's the day", a take-off on Music/NeilYoung's album Tonight's the Night. The band briefly considered using this as the title of the album, but obviously went with ''Daydream Nation'' instead.
67	** "Rain King" is meant as an homage to avant-garde rock act Pere Ubu and probably to Creator/SaulBellow's novel ''Literature/HendersonTheRainKing''.
68	** "The Wonder", as mentioned above, is taken from Creator/JamesEllroy's description of UsefulNotes/LosAngeles.
69	** The album's closer "Eliminator Jr." is named as such because the band thought it sounded like a combination of ''Eliminator''-era Music/ZZTop and Music/DinosaurJr. The fact that it's part z in "Trilogy" also reinforces the Music/ZZTop reference.
70	** The album features four symbols for each of the band members, as an homage to (and/or AffectionateParody of) Music/LedZeppelin's similar symbols on their [[Music/LedZeppelinIV untitled fourth album]].
71	* VideoFullOfFilmClips: The video for "Teen Age Riot" mixes up footage of everyone from Music/ElvisPresley to Music/HenryRollins to Creator/NastassjaKinski in ''Film/ParisTexas''. Go to [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5731622/reference the video's]] Website/IMDb page for the full list.
72	* WordSaladLyrics: Lee Ranaldo's songs "Hey Joni", "Eric's Trip", and "Rain King" all feature this. For example:
73	-->''Shots ring out from the center of an empty field\
74	Joni's in the tall grass\
75	She's a beautiful mental jukebox, a sailboat explosion\
76	A snap of electric whipcrack''

Context Music / DaydreamNation