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Nov 11, 2021 · Sonic Youth’s greatest songs – ranked! Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Steve Shelley, Lee Ranaldo, 1988. Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy. As they release two live albums to benefit abortion...
- 7 min
- Alexis Petridis
Mar 11, 2022 · So ahead of the band’s rarities compilation, In/Out/In, out now on Three Lobed Recordings, we’re looking back at the 10 best Sonic Youth songs, from their frantic ‘80s outings with Lydia Lunch to...
- "The Diamond Sea (Alternate Ending)" Single (1995) Sonic Youth always pushed the boundaries and limits of every one of their songs, altering and shifting them, both live and on tape, until the track reached its full potential.
- "Disconnection Notice" Murray Street (2002) Listen to enough Sonic Youth and you'll quickly start to recognize that their subtle and potentially more muted tracks from their late career carry some of their best musicianship.
- "100%" Dirty (1992) Does it really need to be said again? Sonic Youth are masters of combining pandemonium and simplicity. These are each pushed to the extreme on "100%."
- "Teen Age Riot" Daydream Nation (1988) In all honesty, the largest reason this track ranks so high is not because of how it compares to other Sonic Youth songs, but rather how deeply it affected and shaped the history of alternative and indie music.
- Teenage Riot. Another song from Daydream Nation, “Teenage Riot,” is likely the greatest Sonic Youth song of all time. It begins with a gentle melody over which Kim Gordon speaks rhyming, nonsensical lyrics, such as “kiss me, don’t dismiss me” and “we will fall” after which the song picks up pace, kicking off with a searing guitar riff and drum beat with Moore singing the catchy, yet surreal vocals for the rest of the song.
- Death Valley ’69. The only single to come from the group’s first full-length album, 1985’s Bad Moon Rising, this song was a collaboration between Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch, formerly of the bands Teenage Jesus and The Jerks and Eight Eyed Spy and one of the biggest influences on the band in their early No Wave years.
- Hits of Sunshine (For Allen Ginsberg) Another Sonic Youth song that stretches close to the ten-minute mark, Hits of Sunshine (For Allen Ginsberg) is on their 1998 album, A Thousand Leaves.
- Schizophrenia. Instantly recognizable by Steve Shelley’s simple, thudding backbeat, Schizophrenia was released on their 1987 album, Sister. It begins with a soft-spoken word part about a ghost twin by Kim Gordon before Moore comes in with his own vocal melody.
- Superstar. Superstar is a cover of Carpenters’ classic tune, originally a cover of Delaney and Bonnie’s song in 1969. Sonic Youth recreated this song in 1994 for the tribute album If I Were a Carpenter.
- Kool Thing. Kool Thing was the first single from the album Goo, and Sonic Youth released this after they kissed the indie world goodbye and signed with major label DGC.
- Teen Age Riot. The Daydream Nation, the 1988 double LP of Sonic Youth, is termed by fans and critics as the masterpiece of the band. This first song in this album is the Teen Age Riot, one of the greatest opening tracks in rock history.
- Incinerate. Incinerate was part of the band’s 2006 LP Rather Ripped, and it is considered the track that best encapsulates the essence of the album. This song was done with reduced wilder impulses, thus resulting in a great indie-pop anthem.
Aug 24, 2022 · Sonic Youth were greatly inspired by the likes of The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, and The Stooges, as well as hardcore punk acts such as Minor Threat. These wide-ranging influences can be heard in both their lyrics and unique instrumentation.
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Apr 29, 2024 · The champions of experimental rock music, here are the best Sonic Youth songs that birthed a thousand wannabees
