 Genius Meanings
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Sonic Youth – Silver Rocket
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This is the second track off Sonic Youth’s critically-acclaimed fifth studio album Daydream Nation. It was ranked No. 79 in the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest
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Sonic Youth – You Pose You Lose
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Super rare track released with the “Silver Rocket” single from the Canadian label Forced Exposure. It basically features some Beatles‘ songs samples against the sound of amp noise
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Sonic Youth – Non-Metal Dude Wearing Metal Tee
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This is a live instrumental version of Sonic Youth’s “Eliminator Jr.”, the third part in the trilogy which closes Daydream Nation. Recorded live at CBGB’s and released as a B-Side
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Sonic Youth – Teen Age Riot
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The opening track of Sonic Youth’s 1988 opus Daydream Nation, “Teen Age Riot” is a sort of call for the underground audiences of New York to unite, according to Pitchfork.
The
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Sonic Youth – Eric's Trip
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The lyrics to this song are based on the monologue Eric Emerson gives while on LSD in the Andy Warhol’s film Chelsea Girls.
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Sonic Youth – Hyperstation (Live)
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[Verse 1] / Falling out of sleep, I hit the floor / I put on some rock tee and I'm out with the door / From Bowery to Broome to Greene, I'm a walking lizard / Last night's dream
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Sonic Youth – 'Cross the Breeze (Live)
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[Verse 1] / Let's go walkin' on the water / Come all the way, please / I wanna know / I think I oughta go / [Verse 2] / No need to be scared / Let's jump into the day / I wanna
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Sonic Youth – Electricity
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[Intro] / Singin' through you to me / Thunderbolts caught easily / Shouts the truth peacefully / Electricity / Turn it up / [Verse 1] / High voltage man kisses night to bring the
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Sonic Youth – A) the Wonder
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[Verse 1] / I see your flashing eyes / And they're flashing 'cross to me / They're burning up the sky / And sun-shining into me / And your locus crown / A cop-killing heartbeat
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Sonic Youth – B) Hyperstation
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[Verse 1] / Falling out of sleep, I hit the floor / I put on some rock tee and I'm out with the door / From Bowery to Broome to Greene, I'm a walking lizard / Last night's dream
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Sonic Youth – Eric's Trip (Live)
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[Verse 1] / I can't see anything at all / All I see is me / That's what's important and that's what's clear enough / To see me / My eyes can focus, my brain is talking / Looks
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Sonic Youth – Computer Age
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[Intro] / Cars and trucks / [Verse 1] / Cars and trucks / Fly by me on the corner / But I'm all right / Standing proud before the signal / When I see the light / I feel like more
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Sonic Youth – Providence
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“Providence” consisted of a piano solo by Moore recorded at his mother’s house using a Walkman, the sound of an amp overheating and a pair of telephone messages left by Mike Watt
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Sonic Youth – Hey Joni
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The title is said to be a reference to both the song “Hey Joe” and the artist Joni Mitchell.
This song also alludes to the works of William Gibson’s Neuromancer with the line “In
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Sonic Youth – The Sprawl
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At the time of release, this was the longest song to have appeared on a full-length Sonic Youth record (not counting “The Good and the Bad” on the band’s eponymous debut EP).
Kim
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Sonic Youth – Eric's Trip (Home Demo)
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[Verse 1] / Can't see anything as far as I'm concerned / All I see is me / That's all that's important as far as I'm concerned / All I see is me / My eyes can focus, brain is
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Sonic Youth – Within You Without You
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[Verse 1] / We were talking / About the space between us all / And the people / Who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion / Never glimpse the truth / Then it's far too late
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Sonic Youth – Total Trash
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In this song Thurston Moore sings about the famous “crack epidemic” on New York City. This “epidemic” caused the now infamous ‘80s/'90s “War On Drugs”, which that took the lives of
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Sonic Youth – Candle
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[Verse 1] / I see a dog star jiving like he's magic snatching / It keeps me up awake, a crystal cracking / I can't wait, I can't stay a candle / Gotta change my mind before it
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Sonic Youth – Z) Eliminator Jr.
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[Intro] / Yeah, uh / Uh, uh / Uh, huh / Yeah, uh-huh / Yeah / Oh, shit / Uh-huh / Huh, uh-uh / [Verse] / Tears cruise away, packed and took a shit / The sky in his eyes, dark
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Sonic Youth – Touch Me I'm Sick
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[Intro] / Uh / Uh! / Wow / [Verse 1] / Well, I've been bad / And I've been worse / And I'm a creep, yeah / And I'm a jerk / [Refrain] / Come on / Touch me, I'm sick / [Verse 2
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Sonic Youth – Eliminator Jr. (Live)
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[Intro] / Uh-huh, come on / I'm ready for you / Oh shit, uh-uh / Oh, yeah / Oh, yeah / [Chorus] / Rich boy, poor boy / Poor rich boy coming right through me / Rich boy, poor boy
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Sonic Youth – Trilogy
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The closing song to the classic Daydream Nation is a three-part piece. Some CD versions slice it into different tracks, but the liner notes separate it as:
a) “The Wonder”
b) “
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Sonic Youth – Rain King
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It’s not confirmed, but it’s possible that “Rain King” is based off of the 1959 novel, Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow. It’s a story about a rich man who goes to Africa, and
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Sonic Youth – Kissability
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This song is about young pop stars, and how cold the music industry is with these prospective talents.
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Sonic Youth – Teen Age Riot (Live)
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[Intro] / This song is called "Teen Age Riot" / [Verse 1] / Well, everybody's talkin' 'bout the stormy weather / What's a man to do but work out whether it's true? / Lookin' for a
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Classic Album of the Week, Vol. 3
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⮞ Listen now: “The Sprawl”
Pictured: Sonic Youth standing amongst several garages in Manhattan for a photoshoot promoting Daydream Nation, 1988
Happy Labor Day, all! Each Monday, either me or a special guest presents a critically acclaimed album that’s considered important or influential because of their impact on music history and explain the history behind it and its legacy. Today we look at a sprawling double album that came from the gritty underground No Wave and Alternative Scene that became a building block for grunge: Daydream Nation
It doesn’t take great playing or even great sound to make a great album
— Kim Gordon, via the Pitchfork “Liner Notes” series
History
By early 1988, Sonic Youth were still continuing to perfect their craft even after the release of several successful and influential records: 1987’s Sister and 1986’s EVOL—both of which serve as a perfect insight as to what the No Wave and Alternative scene looked like in Manhattan in the mid to lat
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Sonic Youth – 'Cross the Breeze
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The fourth track on Daydream Nation is one the longest, featuring an extended intro and outro of aggressive guitar dissonance.
There are a lot of theories about the meaning of the
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Matty Lewis & Ali Tabatabaee – His World
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[Verse 1: Ali Tabatabaee] / Come on and light the fuse; he's a rocket, and he's ready to go / 'Cause now the countdown has started, and he's ready to blow / He's got the dope
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