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Rating: The most instinctive thing I thought after listening to this album is that sometimes noise is the best music a man can listen to. Hypnotic from the start, it represents the embryo of everything that came after (grunge, post-punk, emo just to name a few). Born from punk, Sonic Youth created something that wasn't there, something that could already be vaguely imagined in some Beatles songs (Helter Skelter comes to mind) or in the wonderful disorder of '77 punk but still something new. It's impressive to think that a guitar at maximum distortion, 100% noise, can communicate in such a direct yet impressive way.
The album starts with Teenage Riot, a catchy track that nods more to punk, where Ranaldo's Reed-like voice narrates the fantastic story of a new revolution, of a new world created by young people, made of new ideals. Silver Rocket is almost hard-core, lasting nearly 4 minutes but flowing very fast, it is pure release, wild madness. The Sprawl seems more garage-rock, but Kim Gordon's chilly voice, deliberately twisted in the opening verses, reigns supreme over the sober yet almost elegant, light arrangement. Across the Breeze is still sung by Gordon, but it's hardcore again, you can feel the drama, the pain in her voice which screams pleadingly "I wanna know, I wanna know", the most beautiful lyrics, pure poetry. Eric's Trip is catchy again, song-like again; Ranaldo returns and the Velvet Underground's intrinsic sadness resurfaces, but the track is almost grunge. Total Trash is more cheerful than the previous series of tracks, perhaps resembling Teenage Riot a bit too much and isn't very original; the change of tempo that comes at the end of the track doesn't enliven the monotonous idea much, rather the noise-session that precedes it is appreciable, with drums sculpting almost jungle-like rhythms. In Hey Joni, despair returns, a very touching post-punk track with beautiful lyrics. Providence is an experimental insert but honestly, I didn't understand much of its meaning, almost 3 minutes with a piano playing a sad motif with persistent rain noise, probably created with guitars, and a voice that seems drawn from a film, appreciable but a little boring. Candle is beautiful with its initial arpeggio that always preludes a dark track, but then a more carefree leitmotif arrives. The next Rain King is perhaps the "noisiest" of all, Ranaldo with his dark but incisive voice instills unease and Gordon's perverse bass follows him in an interesting interplay. Kissability is beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful, Gordon's icy voice sings a somewhat childish but very cold melody, wonderful, almost like Nico, a bit sweet and a bit Teutonic. Trilogy is also wonderful, although it's the last track (actually three tracks enclosed in the same). In The Wonder, Ranaldo cries out with his guitar, Hypersation is truly frightening, terrifying, a horrible nightmare. The album concludes with Eliminator Jr., a high-speed hardcore punk where Kim assaults, moans, and screams with delight, the hardest track on the album that concludes it, perhaps a bit unexpectedly.
It was extremely difficult for me to review this album because it's unlike all others, it's something different. Daydream Nation is a crazy and terrifying scream, something that makes you uneasy but at the same time is wonderful, it's like a drug. A true milestone, I've listened to it countless times and yet every time feels like the first.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Teen Age Riot (06:56)
You're it.
No, you're it.
Yeah, you're really it.
You're it.
No, I mean it, you're it.
Say it, don't spray it.
Spirit desire, face me.
Spirit desire, don't displace me.
Spirit desire, we will fall.
Miss me, don't dismiss me.
Spirit desire, spirit desire.
Spirit desire, we will fall.
Spirit desire, we will fall.
Spirit desire, spirit desire.
Spirit desire, we will fall.
Spirit desire, we will fall.
Everybody's talking 'bout the stormy weather,
And what's a man to do but work out whether it's true?
Looking for a man with a focus and a temper,
Who can open up a map and see between one and two.
Time to get it before you let it get to you.
Here he comes now -- stick to your guns and let him through.
Everybody's coming from the winter vacation,
Taking in the sun in a exaltation to you.
You come running in on platform shoes,
With Marshall stacks to at least just give us a clue.
Ah, here it comes, I know it's someone I knew.
Teenage riot in a public station,
Gonna fight and tear it up in a hypernation for you.
Now I see it,
I think I'll leave it out of the way.
Now I come near you,
And it's not clear why you fade away.
Looking for a ride to your secret location,
Where the kids are setting up a free-speed nation for you.
Got a foghorn and a drum and a hammer that's rocking,
And a cord and a pedal and a lock, that'll do me for now.
It better work out,
I hope it works out my way.
'Cause it's getting kind of quiet in my city's head,
Takes a teen age riot to get me out of bed right now.
You better look it, we're gonna shake it up to him.
He acts the hero, we paint a zero on his hand
We know it's down,
We know it's bound too loose.
Everybody's sound is round it,
Everybody wants to be proud to choose.
So who's to take the blame for the stormy weather,
You're never gonna stop all the teenage leather and booze.
It's time to go round, a one man showdown -- teach us how to fail.
We're off the streets now, and back on the road on the riot trail.
02 Silver Rocket (03:46)
Snake in it
jack into the wall
TV amp on fire
blowin' in the hall
gun yr. sled
close yr. peeping toms
turbo organizer
crankin' on the knob
You got it
yeh ride the silver rocket
can't stop it
burnin hole in yr pocket
hit the power
psycho helmets on
you got to splice yr. halo
take it to a moon
nymphoid clamor
fuelling up the hammer
you got to fake out the robot
and pulse up the zoom
You got it
yeh ride the silver rocket
can't stop it
burnin hole in yr pocket
can't forget the flashing
can't forget the smashing
the sending and the bending
the ampisphere re-entry
You gotta have the time
Got a letter in your mind
Gotta heart injection
That you got yourself a line
You got it
yeh ride the silver rocket
can't stop it
burnin hole in yr pocket
03 The Sprawl (07:39)
To the extent that I wear skirts
and cheap nylon slips
I've gone native
I wanted to know the exact dimension of hell
does this sound simple?
Fuck you! Are you for sale?
Does 'Fuck you' sound simple enough?
This was the only part that turned me on
but he was candy all over
come on down to the store
you can buy some more, and more, and more, and more
you can buy some more, and more, and more, and more
you can buy some more, and more, and more, and more
you can buy some more, and more, and more, and more
I grew up in a shotgun row
sliding down the hill
out front were the big machines
steel and rusty now I guess
outback was the river
and that big sign down the road
that's where it all started
come on down to the store
you can buy some more, and more, and more, and more
come on down to the store
you can buy some more, and more, and more, and more
come on down to the store
you can buy some more, and more, and more, and more
you can buy some more, more, more, more
06 Total Trash (07:30)
It start at the top
Now it's spiralling down
Works best when it's lost
Diggin' under the ground
Never mind it now
We can bring it back
It's total trash
And it's a natural fact
That I'm not no cow
It's never the same
It's more than a game
Can't take it away
Can't kill all the shame
It's a guilty man
That increased the crack
It's total trash
Sack 'em on the back
With a heavy rock
There he goes again
Magic monkey friend
Can I love the time
That he seems to spend
With all the kids in town
It start at the top
Now it's spiralling down
Works best when it's lost
Diggin' under the ground
Never mind it now
We can bring it back
It's total trash
And it's a natural fact
That I'm not no cow
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Other reviews
By rob
Sonic Youth are an unusual exception. They give rise to the flames.
That candle indeed sets the listener’s mind aflame. And it never disappoints, not even for a moment.
By ZiOn
"Daydream Nation is a masterpiece. Without a doubt."
"A timeless jewel that everyone should own or at least know, given that, if noise and indie rock can be discussed today, it is undoubtedly thanks to these gentlemen from New York."
By maryg
Every word spoken about "Daydream Nation" is certainly not wasted, as this album will never cease to amaze the audience, not even after a billion listens.
The historical significance of "Daydream Nation" is immeasurable: just considering the substantial number of bands that have drawn inspiration from it for their own sound.
By gianmarcolodi
"'Teenage Riot' for me was a way of being, a warning, I wasn’t and wouldn’t accept staying quiet or having a normal relationship."
"'Trilogy' which for me was honey, ambrosia that someone poured directly into my ears because then the next morning someone would come to talk to me about the storm."
By Dan Erre
Thurston Moore shouting: 'I don’t wanna die, guys.'
Their noise, especially live, could also be pure abstractionism.
