vivsavage Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 This is pretty funny, from Westword.com: Snob Talk: Nobody Really Likes Sonic Youth Tue Feb 12, 2008 at 01:20:06 PM Every hipster—who’s as mysterious and obscure as the band buttons(1) on his vintage leather coat—owns a copy of every Sonic Youth record ever released(2) This cultural phenomenon occurs organically, despite the trivial handful of good songs the group wrote over the course of its painfully over-appreciated career. Sure the band was innovative(3) and unique(4) but that doesn’t always equate with “good” or even “listenable.” That’s why it’s always been much cooler to claim you listen to Sonic Youth than to actually listen to the band—the former activity will earn you the respect of cute, bespectacled hipster chicks; the later, a sneaking urge to listen to something better. Even at Sonic Youth shows, the mood is morose. If look at expressions plastered on the respective faces of the crowd, you will osmotically gain a profound understanding of the difference between “enjoying” music and “enduring” it. Sonic Youth performances are like funerals(5)—you only go for two reasons: A) to make an appearance. And so you can tell people you were there. Of course, I could be wrong(6) Maybe Son-You is one of those bands you have to hear a hundred times before you can even begin to like it. But if that’s the case, then how could so many fickle hipsters with their flavor-of-the-month get-ups invest sufficient time and effort to justify placing a Sonic Youth pin on their fancy attire? It seems they’d too busy finding a place to park at Urban Outfitters. -- Brian Polk Footnotes: 1) Hipsters always prefer buttons to sew-on patches. They claim the latter are too immature and punkish for someone with tastes as refined as theirs. But mainly it’s because sewing a piece of cloth on a vintage leather coat is too much of a commitment, and of would lessen its resell value. 2) If the vinyl is from the SST days, add at least another ¾ an inch of hipster boner. 3) If you consider a gratuitous amount of distortion and noise “innovative.” 4) Mainly because no other band possessed the gall or fortitude to disguise bland melodies underneath walls of clamor. 5) Very loud funerals where the subject of attention is not a dead person. Still, everyone dresses up and no one can figure out why they paid good money for it. 6) Admittedly, everyone who likes this band likes tons of good bands. Strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgoodcore Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 While not quite the same level as described I would say Radiohead is in the same boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivsavage Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 I like Sunn O))), but I think they could also be one of those bands that people "laud more than listen to" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante3000 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 God yes. Sonic Youth is cool in like 10 minutes batches. Past that I can't take it and don't understand why everyone and their mom blows this band. It's strange but I would put Tera Melos in a similar category except I genuinely do enjoy their music. Listening to their split right now actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I actually like Sonic Youth a lot and have been a fan for a long time. People should listen to music and bands they enjoy and end it there. Not fuckin' sit there and wear it like a badge (or button ) of approval for others. Fuck that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monk0nuggets Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Same deal, I love Isis, but I think its another one of those bands like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadetapplesauce Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 yeah i get bored after the second song i hear whenever listening to sonic youth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monk0nuggets Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I'm not gonna lie, I don't even think I've ever heard a Sonic Youth song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 It's the eternal scenester bullshit that you're not cool enough unless you're into Band X. I have said it before, and will say it again: "I don't need a music scene to tell me who I am." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadetapplesauce Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 other bands.... the white stripes, maybe? some of their songs are just boring. urban kids who wear ramones t shirts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante3000 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 other bands.... the white stripes, maybe? some of their songs are just boring. urban kids who wear ramones t shirts... I think the White Stripes are a good band. They have mostly good songs and a good live show. That's it, good. Not orgasmic. Not groundbreaking. How Jackoff White got dubbed the "Savior of Garage Rock" is beyond me. Bands I think more people say they like than actually like (not to say the bands are bad but it's just super hip to say you like them): Dillinger Escape Plan Mr. Bungle (c'mon, I love some of their stuff but some is fucking crap) The Melvins Locust Again, these aren't "bad" bands, just bands that probably have more admirers than fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadetapplesauce Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 other bands.... the white stripes, maybe? some of their songs are just boring. urban kids who wear ramones t shirts... I think the White Stripes are a good band. They have mostly good songs and a good live show. That's it, good. Not orgasmic. Not groundbreaking. How Jackoff White got dubbed the "Savior of Garage Rock" is beyond me. yeah. i dont think they're a bad band, but not every song they make is pure gold. some of it's a snooze fest. i actually like a good amount of white stripes songs. i just think they're trendy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniethebear Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I do not think that The White Stripes are a good band. This is my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivsavage Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 I don't have any White Stripes stuff, but I do think Jack White is a really good guitar player. I saw them perform on some award show a few years back and he was ripping it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniethebear Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 A good guitarist does not a great band make. There are plenty of examples of great musicians in shitty bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivsavage Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 I didn't comment on the band, just his playing. His skills are negated by that horrific drumming, anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boizee Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I agree...I don't know anyone that likes Sonic Youth, yet it seems like everyone does. What did Juno say? "It's just noise." I also have to wonder if Converge is in this vein. No doubt on Radiohead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monk0nuggets Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 This is just people I know, but the people that I know that say they like Converge and Radiohead, actually do religiously listen to said bands. Myself included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante3000 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I love love love love love SOME Radiohead songs. I think "Fake Plastic Trees" may be one of my favorite songs ever. That said, some of their more recent stuff is absolutely awful and unbearable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I used to be one of those people that thought that being a Converge fan or listening to them was required to have street cred in the hardcore/metal scene or whatever...which is why for a long time I never bothered to check them out...until recently I had the opportunity to get "Jane Doe" (as I have previously said) and now I "get it"... I'm not into now thinking that I am all cool and shit b/c I dig the album...but I can now appreciate why so many people are vocal about and into them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monk0nuggets Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I used to be one of those people that thought that being a Converge fan or listening to them was required to have street cred in the hardcore/metal scene or whatever...which is why for a long time I never bothered to check them out...until recently I had the opportunity to get "Jane Doe" (as I have previously said) and now I "get it"...I'm not into now thinking that I am all cool and shit b/c I dig the album...but I can now appreciate why so many people are vocal about and into them... Same thing happened to me, except the record that I "got" was You Fail Me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadetapplesauce Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I love love love love love SOME Radiohead songs. I think "Fake Plastic Trees" may be one of my favorite songs ever. That said, some of their more recent stuff is absolutely awful and unbearable. the bends was definitely my favorite radiohead album Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtz Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Lightning Bolt and Black Dice are two more bands that I think people like to say they listen to more than listen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddle350 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I like converge and radiohead but I really can't stand Sonic youth. The Locust is another band that this seems to happen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyljunkie Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 none of those bands reach the popularity of the misfits, or dead kennedys. how many mall kids, who arent even into music have shirts by the bands? scene kids, nu metal kids, hot topic kids, goth kids.....even gangsters now are into it. the vast vast vast majority dont listen to them and cant even name one or two albums by the bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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