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Rating: Fond memories. In the summer of 1998, Sonic Youth had been in Collegno, during the same tour as Bob Dylan's concert, which I also attended, but that time it went wrong: after four songs, they ran away terrified by an impending semi-hurricane, with Thurston Moore shouting: «I don’t wanna die, guys». Even on the afternoon of July 6, 2002, it was raining, but in the evening the park of Pellerina in Turin finally welcomed them under a calm and starry sky. They had come from some French and also Italian dates (such as Cagliari and Arezzo). The latest record, “Murray Street”, marked a return to certain melodic overtones less present in their recent productions “A Thousand Leaves” (1998) and “NYC Ghosts & Flowers” (2000: here began a trilogy about Lower Manhattan, of which the second step was indeed Murray Street). It was the album of “Karen revisited” - and not just.
First of all, it must be said that in the Pellerina concert, the skillful hand of Jim O’Rourke, a brilliant bassist from Chicago (already a producer for Wilco and Red Crayola), who only from NYC played with Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve Shelley, offered a marvelous support (he would then leave them in 2005, after “Sonic Nurse”). The opening was entrusted to “Candle”, tense and electric, the ninth track of the legendary double album “Daydream Nation”. Meanwhile, Leonard thanked profusely for the applause; «oblong» Thurston commented on the starry vault, making jokes, winking, and «free» Kim, during her delighted improvisation, playfully kicked him - other times (and probably other kicks).
The approach of Sonic Youth was located at the confluence between the Dionysian and the playful, that is, between the escape in itself, uncontrolled, with dark traits, a plunge into the abyss, and the rule capable of dominating or reabsorbing it through the pleasure of jest and surprise. Not infrequently, the first sequence builds a melodic cue (a few notes embroidered on the guitar), but what is its function? That of a springboard for the rest of the song. It is nothing but a glimpse of an entire vision. In proceeding, this initial image is overshadowed and overturned. This was also evident that evening, in the climaxes that incinerated every melody, or in the cathartic guitar riffs. Take “Rain On Tin”, among the happiest pieces of “Murray Street”: the three leaders, assisted by O’Rourke and Shelley, a formidable drummer, dove into a suite that soon made the first idyll seem distant, ended somewhere, step by step, an innocent arpeggio after another - less and less innocent. And the sonic path slowed down, sped up, soared, returned to itself and moved away again, in waves. At the end of a fiery farandole, it returned to the skeletal initial motif. So it was there. Indeed, it had always been there, lurking beneath that carpet of distortions. That the «noise» of Sonic was most often intrinsically geometric, or that the two outcomes were not really so different in reality, was more than ever demonstrated - significant for a live performance - by at least two pieces from the Turin date, “Eric’s Trip” and the recent “Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style”. In both, the sonic vortex avoided the pitfalls of cacophony.
In Sonic Youth, breaking through the noise threshold led to a new expressive level, not the exhibition of a confused iconoclastic rage. Their noise, especially live, could also be pure abstractionism, as in the second part of “Karen revisited”: after some seemingly harmless verses, exploiting its self-destructive potential, the melodic line crumbled under the crossfire of distortions. There remained a crater made of scattered sounds, echoes, and rustles. Meanwhile, Ranaldo, like a shaman, dragged the guitar across the stage, turning it every possible way to extract the most varied effects, while, against an obsessive yet muffled background of cymbals, Kim, Thurston, and Lee raised theirs above their heads, also bringing them close to the amps so that every vibration, every quiver was captured: that same instrument that until a bit before painted singable melodies was now a vehicle of sonic dowsing. Result: the initial melody was dismembered, torn apart, made into pieces in a swirl of convulsions, as happens in “The Diamond Sea”, where at the eighth minute it begins to be softly suffocated, then is roughly handled, and finally, after a brutal titanic struggle, at the nineteenth, is sunk.
Moreover, Sonic, in their simplicity - no visual effects - knew how to guarantee a stage presence of impact. I still remember that, during the acrobatic “Kool Thing”, Kim was rolling on the ground, but it was especially her performance in “Kissability” and “Bull in the Heather” that was spectacular, its hypnotic progression quickly transformed into a rush of harsh and contrasting sounds even more threatening than in the track on the record.
Finally came the moment for encores, always bitter: “Disconnection Notice” and “Silver Rocket”, a great final burst of adrenaline. Applause, thanks for the lesson, and goodbye.
Certainly, the absence of memorable tracks like “Sugar Kane”, “100%”, “Washing Machine”, or “Song For Karen” was felt. Not to mention many other songs, from “Evol” as well as the boundless “Daydream Nation”. But how to reproduce such a repertoire in half an evening?
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Dirty Boots (05:28)
Here we go to another candle I know,
All the girls there playin' on a jelly roll.
Time to take a ride,
Time to take it in a midnight eye.
And if you wanna go, get on below.
Pinkin' out the day, dreamin' out the crazy way.
Finger on the love, it's all above.
Everywhere it's six-sex-six by luck,
A satellite wish will make it just enough.
You be makin' out with a witch in a coffee truck.
Time to rock the road, and tell the story of the jelly rollin'.
Dirty boots are on, hi-de-ho.
Pinkin' out the black, dreamin' in a crack.
Satan got her tongue, now it's undone.
I got some dirty boots,
Yeah, dirty boots.
I got some dirty boots, baby, dirty boots.
Ha!
02 Tunic (Song for Karen) (06:22)
Dreamin', dreamin' of a girl like me.
Hey, what are you waiting for?
Feedin, feedin' me.
And I feel like I'm disappearing, getting smaller everyday,
But I look in the mirror, and I'm bigger in every way.
She said, "You aren't never going anywhere."
She said, "You aren't never going anywhere."
"I ain't never going anywhere."
"I ain't never going anywhere."
I'm in Heaven now.
I can see you, Richard.
Goodbye, Hollywood.
Goodbye, Downey.
Hello, Janis.
Hello, Dennis, Elvis, and all my brand new friends.
I'm so glad you're all here with me until the very end.
Dreamin', dreamin' of how it's supposed to be,
But now this tunic's spinning around my arms and knees.
I feel like I'm disappearing, getting smaller everyday.
But when I open my mouth to sing, I'm bigger in every way.
She said, "You aren't never going anywhere."
She said, "You aren't never going anywhere."
"I ain't never going anywhere."
"I ain't never going anywhere."
Hey Mom, look! I'm over here!
I finally made it.
I'm playing the drums again, too.
Don't be sad - the band doesn't sound that bad.
And I remember, Mom, what you said.
You said, "Honey, you look so underfed."
(Kim and J Mascis sing Carpenters songs in background)
Another green salad, another iced tea.
I feel like I'm disappearing, getting smaller everyday.
But I look in your eyes, and I'm bigger in every way.
She said, "You aren't never going anywhere."
She said, "You aren't never going anywhere."
"I ain't never going anywhere."
"I ain't never going anywhere."
Goodbye, Richard, gotta go now.
I'm finally on my own, but Dan's got a gig.
Keep the love lights glowing.
Little girl's got the blues.
I can still hear Mama say, "Honey, don't let it go to your head."
03 Mary-Christ (03:11)
Talkin' to a punker priest,
Just doggin' the breeze bout bein' in a tree.
(He says they're free now.)
Along comes Mary-Christ, skatin' light on ice,
Says "Let's go on high."
(Later, priestoid.)
Gotta go, I got a date now.
Yeah, I know, shall not be late now.
Possessed by X-ray eyes, her spirit spies into my lie.
(Let's burn 'em out now.)
Wraps my head in skin, says now I'm in, dig the candy sin.
(Yeh, spit it out now.)
Every time she sings that low song,
Every time I know she's right/wrong.
Angel in a devil skirt buys me a shirt,
Says "I hope you like."
(Like what now?)
Hope, I hope you like,
Like you like your hope,
Walk the tightest rope.
(I see, I know now.)
Here we go, been waiting so long.
Yeah, I know, for Mary to come along.
Talkin' to a punker priest,
Just doggin' the breeze bout bein' in a tree.
(He says they're free now.)
Along comes Mary-Christ, skatin' light on ice,
Says "Let's go on high."
(Later, priestoid.)
Gotta go, I got a date now.
Yeah, I know, shall not be late now.
Possessed by X-ray eyes, her spirit spies into my lie.
(Let's burn 'em out now.)
Angel in a devil skirt buys me a shirt,
Says "I hope you like."
(Yeh, spit it out now.)
Here we go, been waitin' so long.
Yeah, I know, for Mary to come along.
04 Kool Thing (04:06)
Kool thing, sittin' with a kitty.
Now you know you're sure lookin' pretty.
Like a lover, not a dancer,
Superboy, take a little chance here.
I don't wanna, I don't think so.
I don't wanna, I don't think so.
Kool thing, let me play with your radio,
Move me, turn me on, baby-o.
I'll be your slave, give you a shave.
I don't wanna, I don't think so.
I don't wanna, I don't think so.
Chuck D: ''Yeah, tell 'em 'bout it. Hit 'em where it hurts.''
Kim: ''Hey, kool thing, come here. Sit down beside me. There's something I gotta ask 'ya. I just wanna know, what are you gonna do for me? I mean, are you gonna liberate us girls... from male white corporate opression?''
CD: ''Tell it like it is.''
K: ''Hmm?''
CD: ''Yeah.''
K: ''Don't be shy.''
CD: ''Word up.''
K: ''Fear of a female planet.''
CD: ''Fear of a female planet. Fear it, baby.''
K: ''I just want you to know that we can still be friends.''
CD: ''Let everybody know.''
K: ''Come on, come on, come on, come on...''
Kool, kool thing.
Kool, kool thing.
When you're a star, I know that you'll fix everything.
Kool thing, sittin' with a kitty.
Now you know you're sure lookin' pretty.
Rock the beat just a little faster,
Now I know you are the master.
I don't wanna, I don't think so.
I don't wanna, I don't think so.
Kool thing walkin' like a panther,
Come on and give me an answer.
Kool thing walkin' like a panther,
What'd he say?
I don't wanna, I don't think so.
I don't wanna, I don't think so.
05 Mote (07:37)
When you feel the spiral turning through alone,
And you feel so heavy that you just can't stop it...
When this sea of madness turns you into stone,
A picture of your life shoots like a rocket all the time...
Put me in the equation, it's all right.
I've seen you moving in and out of sight.
My friends tell me it'll all cut through you,
From nowhere to nowhere.
Cut together, cutting through.
I'm island-bound, a mote inside my eye,
And I can't see you breathing as before.
I am airless -- a vacuum child.
I can't stand to reason at your door in this time.
Put me in the equation, it's all right.
I've seen you moving in and out of sight.
My friends tell me it'll all cut through you,
From nowhere to nowhere.
Cut together.
I'm down in the daytime out of sight,
Comin' in from dreamland, I'm on fire.
I can see it's all been here before.
Dream a dream that lies right at your door.
When the seasons circle sideways out of turn,
And words don't speak, just fall across the carpet,
You're just in time to watch the fires burn.
It seems a crime but your face is bright, you love it all the time...
07 Disappearer (05:08)
Here it comes again, out of the rain.
Seems to have a new kind of same.
Been playin' on a simple ride,
The sign comes alive and speaks the mind.
It turns to me and it turns to gold.
It turns to see the fast lane slow.
It's been away too long,
It's been away, I'm gone.
East coast and on, to the west star.
Lookin' out, I thought I saw you blink.
Coming on to me like a silver eye.
Pick it up and tune it on in,
Head on out to western starland.
It's been mad and gone, now it's singing a song.
Like a western star, it's going my way.
Looking out, I'm back in time to stay.
Into the eastern, sign away.
It comes alive through the clearer,
The ghost arrives into your mirror.
You've been away too long,
It's been way too long.
Eastern star is on, a disappearer.
09 Cinderella's Big Score (05:54)
[Kim]
if I could give you anything
I would give you a kick
you'd rather have a dollar
than a hug from your sis
you really fucked up this time
your old lady's really pissed
she's not just laughing
she's polishing her fist
if you could give me anything
would you consider a fist?
don't give me yr soul
it's caught is an abyss
here's a pack of ciggies
fresh from the wonder lips
a dream, a wish, a heart's desires
cinderella is a kiss
a cold is gonna take you
and freeze away your tears
ome a little closer honey
you can be so near
mind your heart aside you (?)
really got no sense of time (?)
ninety-nine inside you (?)
that I'm scared if you were cryin'
if I could give you anything
I would give you a kick
you'd rather have a dollar
than a hug from your sis
a cold is gonna take you
and freeze away your tears
come a little closer honey
we can be so near
11 Titanium Exposé (06:24)
Waking up, I see you dreaming of a drive-in.
Open your eyes to see the TV set in mute.
I been waiting for you to smile, all the pretty freezing.
Wintertime comes summer, you are why it's happening.
Sugar babe, sugar babe, turn the TV.
Turn it babe, turn it babe, can't you see me?
Sugar now, sugar now, turn the TV.
Turn it babe, turn it babe, can't you see me?
I feel the morning slip its sights into your mirror.
Now I see what you might see, it's pretty clear.
I been looking just to feel that funny feeling,
I don't know, but it's a mystery to reckon.
Sugar babe, sugar babe, turn the TV.
Turn it babe, turn it babe, can't you see me?
Sugar now, sugar now, turn the TV.
Turn it babe, turn it babe, can't you see me?
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