Hey everyone! Welcome to album club week 4!
This week I chose Sonic Youth’s 5th album Daydream Nation released in 1988. We haven’t done one from the 80s yet so I decided to pick one of my favorites from that decade. Whether this is your 1st or 100th time listening to this album we want to hear your thoughts.
Tell us what you like about this album. Tell us what you dont like about it. Tell us a story you have about it or a memory it triggers!
And then please tell us what albums you want to discuss next! There were ZERO suggestions last week so I picked again for next week. Let’s hear some suggestions for the 31st! Maybe something spooky!?
Upcoming
10/24 - Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (2015)
10/31 - TBD
Like I said in the post this is one of my favorite albums of the 80s. However I was born in the 90s so I’d really like hear some perspective from anyone that lived through this period.
I probably first heard this album around 4 or 5 years ago when I first started diving into “older” music. For me this is one of those albums that feels like 20 minutes despite it’s runtime being around 70 minutes. It just sucks me into this atmosphere and before I know it it’s over and I’m hitting play again.
The highlight of this album is the guitars. Just unique and incredible tone, sound, and style from these guys. For me it’s one of the best guitar albums out there. I don’t pay much attention to the lyrics on this one but, when present, the vocals add a nice texture on top of the guitars.
I can’t really say I have a favorite song on here. The album is very consistent and doesn’t really have a high point or a low point. Maybe that’s another reason it feels so short to listen to.
I bought this album in the summer of 1989 when I discovered sonic youth and listened to it non-stop. I had listened to a lot of indie music coming out of the UK and a lot of older punk from NY and Cali.
Daydream Nation remains my favourite Sonic Youth album, but possibly because it was my first. I think it has stood the test of time. My kids listen to it now and love it.
I saw them live in 91 (supported by Nirvana) and I still have shivers when I think about it. I was 18 that summer and it was my first out-of-town gig and it just blew me away. I’ve seen them live maybe 20 times since and though they never disappoint, it’s hard to match that small gig with 300 people. My ears rang for days afterwards.
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That is really awesome. I love that you got your kids into it too. Thanks for sharing!
I first listened to this album real late at night while finishing uni assignments. (I was going thru a list of highly recommended albums at the time.) Well, essentially as soon as Teenage Riot started and the guitar tones filled my ears I stopped working and just sat there. Listened to the whole album and didn’t do any further work that night - I definitely succumbed to the Daydream Nation. Still an all time top 3 for me and Eric’s Trip is a personal favourite track.
Very cool! Hopefully you were able to get your assignments done another day lol. Music like this often has the opposite effect on me. It really puts me in a zone and helps me to focus on whatever I’m doing.
While I still have to say that I prefer the roughness of Goo, there’s no denying that Daydream Nation is the group’s masterpiece. An absolute joy to listen to from start to finish, even after more than 3 decades
