Haha, so true.
A buddy of mine has a signed cd insert (cover) of “Pablo Honey” and Thom added a “P” in front of the word Honey. I guess he wasn’t too fond of that one either…
Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
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This is a quintessential “Alternative” band, imo.
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Im logged in to Tidal but that insert still comes up “Try Tidal”. What was it a link to?
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Sonic Youth, The Diamond Sea.
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So this popped up on my Tidal, and I’d normally skim over. But the image sparked my memory of glancing at this post.
Pretty cool!
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Been listening via the 6XX resetting my ears after lots of closed back listening from my review, I always come back to these headphones and just love them, Powered via the iFi IDSD Micro Black Label on Turbo Gain with Bass Boost and the 6XX have a nice punch! I flip the 3D switch up on some tracks everything just sounds more open as if I am at a live venue. The 650/6XX really has to go down as one of the more versatile wonderful headphones in history…
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Keb’Mo is great! I agree with the HD650 love. Good stuff!
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Was much more difficult to fit into a short write up than I thought… with their discography and that most people are not into prog it was a challenge. hopefully someone finds it useful!
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Keb’mo is always on my playlist
Great stuff
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The Pretenders always gets my head bobbing to the beat. Good stuff…
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Patty Larkin, Regooving the Dream, “Only One”…really nice!!! Open, depth…reverberations etc…
BH Mainline and Clears…AWESOME!
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Two things:
- Schuberts Death and the Maiden - Takacs Quartet.
This is one of my favourite classical albums by one of the best string quartets Ive ever come across.
The best description of them I have read and agree with is, to paraphrase: any piece of music they tackle, they make it their own. Essentially if they produce something it is very likely going to be one of the best performances/interpretations of that piece you will find. Every other artists attempt will seem somehow lacking.
Having listened to a fair number of various groups play these pieces, to my ear, this is the best performance of these Schuberts string quartets out there.
- Ive also been listening to the new Eminem album - the last verse of Godzilla is a technical hip hop masterpiece.
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A little bit my Latino flavor.
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Well now that most of the unpacking is done and I’m starting to settle down at the new place, it’s time to start spinnin’ some…
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Great space. Love the light.
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Nice setup. You got a sub with those platters?
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Random thoughts on Sonic Youth and “Alternative” branding.
Back in the day I bought several albums during Sonic Youth’s prime (i.e., Daydream Nation (1988) and some albums before or after). But, I didn’t consider them prime examples of the alternative genre then or now. Their Goo (1990) album was the closest thing to alternative (I like it) but was always an outlier.
In the early 1980s nothing remotely odd got played on mainstream radio. At that point zero airplay bands included U2, REM, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smiths, and The Replacements. These bands played generally conventional pop/rock songs with a different tone, accent, or vibe. Many of them were mainstream hits outside the US (i.e., U2, The Smiths) or had industry followings (e.g., REM, Replacements) as undiscovered pop bands.
During this period there were Experimental (e.g., Captain Beefheart), Progressive Rock (1970s classical/technical influence), and College Rock genre brandings. Alternative became a label sometime in the mid 1980s to distinguish itself from old-school Prog Rock and expand beyond college radio. Sonic Youth was basically ‘experimental’ or ‘college’.
Sonic Youth was much more hardcore experimental than most bands, given very unusual instrument tunings and their focus on outright noise. In due course they led to noise pop such as The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. But, outside Goo they never really had any hope of pop success.
Alternative became a mainstream thing (and no longer an alternative) with the sequential successes of: U2’s Joshua Tree (1987), REM’s Green (1988), Jane’s Addiction’s Ritual de lo Habitual (1990), and the ultimate breakthrough of Nirvana’s Nevermind (1991). After that, alternative/grunge was mainly about new generation hard-rock and the genre froze in the 1990s. Following the 1991 Nirvana breakthrough, there were a zillion classic alt-rock albums released in 1993!
A lot of alt-pop energy arose in the UK following the hugely influential release of The Stone Roses (1989); leading to both Shoegaze and Brit Pop in one fell swoop.
Sonic Youth continued on with their experimental noisy noodling after the Alternative label moved far away from them…and The Pixies are not anywhere as well known as they should be. Nirvana copied their first three releases (Surfer Rosa, Come On Pilgrim, and Doolittle).
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I agree with a good deal of what you wrote.
I also feel that Sonic Youth epitomizes Alternative in its purest definition (harkening back to what was stated of college rock, non-radio play).
I was going to post a Stone Roses song last night, but I was too tired to and decided on heading to bed. 
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I wish…I’m considering getting one, however I’m not sure my neighbors would understand 
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