Kevchino.com reviews Rather Ripped!
 

Check out Kevchino.com for a review of Rather Ripped!

http://www.kevchino.com/index.aspx?review=939

What was and, really, still is, the band’s trademarks are valleys and peaks, tension and release, and quiet-and-loud dynamics; and that usually took SY a long time to do in one song. But the trick of Rather Ripped is that the band has learned how to condense those experiments into four minute indie rock songs.


Very well put.

Yeah, I am the author. I write for the site, so I hope me posting the link doesn't come across as disingenuous. Afterglow? Well at times I feel SY has mellowed out. I mean, Thurston, Kim, Steve and Lee just can't make the same noise as they did with Goo or Dirty. They are more mature now, and their music kind of reflects that. My own opinion, of course. Thanks for reading!

I like the review.

very good review! And I agree although its certainly not Daydream Nation! (but what ever could)

yea, i have heard very little from the album since i'm waiting for the release of the physical cd, but from what i've heard floating around the board, this seems like the most articulate, insightful perspective yet. of course, you're getting paid for it, so that would make sense.

Very good review, good job.

Pink Steam.

I don't like the review at all. Honestly, I hate the new cover and one thing SY have done almost their entire career was to not make things so predictable from a visual standpoint, whether it was from cover art or their own identities. So for SY to have this very urban cut/paste primitive looking cover does not peak my interest, it also doesn't lead me to believe that SY are going back to the more "experimental days"(which really ended in 85 anyways).

The review of Rather Ripped leads you to believe that SY are "progressing" in a more simplistic, but effective way of writing the same songs that they've recently been writing over the last several years.

I totally disagree.

I think SY have always been about simplistic yet more effective approach and it wasn't until A THOUSAND LEAVES where they abandoned that approach. They haven't used this approach since WASHING MACHINE, so it's no coincidence that RATHER RIPPED sounds much more like GOO/DIRTY/WASHING MACHINE-era SY than it does SONIC NURSE.

I don't look at RATHER RIPPED as a "progression of Sonic Nurse into a more simple, short but effective approach".

I look at RATHER RIPPED as a way of saying, "hey, let's get back to what we enjoyed doing most and what we are better at".

The review says that INCINERATE is "nothing like the band's older work" and that couldn't be further from the truth. When you listen to the beginning of INCINERATE, it has very huge similarities to DIRTY(especially midway through CHAPEL HILL where clean guitar takes prominence until the distorted guitar comes in).

The review sounds as if it was done by someone that's not too familiar with SY's entire body of work or even early 90s work, which was midway through their career. SY have not done anything resembling NO WAVE since the first EP. I wouldn't even call CONFUSION IS SEX "no wave" either. But I think most fans would agree that SY have ditched their "no wave" approach to music after BAD MOON RISING(which came out in 85...20 years after RATHER RIPPED is coming out). There really isn't alot of fans of SY from that NO WAVE era and most SY fans do not prefer the NO WAVE approach of their albums over classics like SISTER or DAYDREAM NATION. The review makes it out to look like most fans may not like it because it's not "no wave", but that just isn't true. SY really didn't expand themselves until AFTER their No Wave days.

I don't see SY as an "experimental" band...they abandoned that title in 85. Sure they have done SYR, TV SHIT, and other more aggressive things, but that doesn't mean that SY are an "EXPERIMENTAL" band.

That's like saying "BLUR IS A PUNK BAND" because they do a punk song on almost every album.

And the reference to TERROR TWILIGHT...please. That's a sure sign the writer doesn't really know SY well enough to accurately compare what SY's previous work has been.

I'm sure the guy is nice and he does give SY a compliment, but as a review, I think it's very very misrepresentational of what SY really are.

I think khchris(original) has made a very valid observation there; and I especially agree with the experimental part. I think SY have morphed into the greatest rock band alive. The greatest. Not an experimental band. A ROCK band. And I believe they've been moving in this direction consciously for some time now, ever since DDN probably... But; right up until Sonic Nurse; they've somewhat abandoned this approach and explored a softer, mellow sound that's somewhat ambient and textural in approach; less of their rock-star-meets-trasher-noisemaker music than in their pre-DGC days. I tend to agree with khchris(original)'s stance that it started with A Thousand Leaves. Rather Ripped is more of a return to their rock band approach that has been somewhat absent right up until Sonic Nurse, though that album had a somewhat rock groove feel to it. Well, just my two cents, thanks for reading. And I love A Thousand Leaves by the way... :)

Rarely have I read a more crap, insight-less, under-educated wank of a review.

That is not to say that I either agree or disagree with its general sentiment. It's just that I think it manages to say nothing but uses an awful lot of words to say it.


cbeattei

[quote=amh]Yeah, I am the author. [quote]

Sir, this is the biggest pile of ass-sucking, ephemeral dung I have read in years.

Go home.

Read a book.

Listen to SY.

Read another book

Listen to more SY.

Then listen to Rather Ripped.

Then read another book.

Eat some food.

Meet a nice girl.

Have sex.

Read a book.

Failing the sex part, have a wank.

Listen again to Rather Ripped.

Somewhere along the way you should have developed a personality, and possibly some knoweldge or interest in music, or at least an interest in books, music, food, sex and SY in general.

Now, try to write a review of Rather Ripped.


cbeattie

PS Did you get paid for this?

PPS Please note, I have neither agreed with this author's feelings about RR, nor disagreed. I just despair at the crapness of this review!

Bollox.

Go home and play with yourself, you fool.

Or buy a fucking English dictionary.

Or the SY back catalogue.

Fuck.

If they were giving away personalities on this board...



cbeattei

cbeattie is right. One of the worst piles of lies and slander ever.

where do you get this info? i'm flat as a board.

no never

amh never wrote that the record sounded no wave, they wrote that the cover leads one to believe that it may "hearken" back to their early days.

that's the part of khchris(original)'s post that piqued my interest in posting in this thread. Some people will do anything to try to run off those that write well on this board due to their own inadequacies.

The review wasn't bad. It was pretty colorful & original I thought. Thanks for linking to it, amh, & I hope you will post here more.

As for AssBlaster, he, much like a no-name politician, has to resort to initiating conflict with people who do get attention in a lame effort to get attention himself; use that in your signature. I dare you.

Some people will do anything to fight me regardless if they agree or not because of personal harbored ill feelings they won't let go(right atari 2600?).

Nobody ever said the new record sounded like "no wave". And no, the cover does not look anything like what a "no wave" band would do for cover art.

I think you've missed the boat: the point made was that the reviewer emphasized that those who see the cover may think they're getting a SY "no wave" album and I disagreed simply because SY have always been unpredictable from a visual standpoint, whether it was from cover art or their visual identity.

Get on with your life atari 2600 and do yourself a favor: just don't read my posts. It's just going to frustrate and upset you. How do you ever get any sleep???

Atari 2600, so how is that complaint you were going to file on me to the FBI?(giggles)

amh wrote an upbeat, postive review of Rather Ripped, an album that khchris only just last night professed to prefer since any album since Washing Machine, & then khchris wrote that he "hated" the review.

You are entitled to dislike amh's review, but you also demonstrated that you didn't even really read the review; you couldn't resist playing devil's advocate out of what certainly comes off as a desperate need for attention.

There was no need to attack a new forum poster like that. It is true for anyone with a brain to see that amh is, in fact, a better writer than you; deal with it.

Deep down I still think you're an alright guy, but you have some issues that need to be dealt with & that much is obvious to anyone reading.
Your hateful misanthropy is a serious obstacle to any development you might naturally accomplish.

I (like most) have issues as well, so don't feel too bad; life is a process.

& yeah, the word is "piqued"...you need to stop assuming you are intelligent enough to offer extended criticisms of anything.

Do you really think by saying I "need a girlfriend and get laid" that it's really going to change the fact that you refuse to let things go and harbor ill feelings towards me?

Atari 2600, you are the person who(again) is instigating shit on this thread, and that's obvious with everyone here, so don't try to hide and deny it.

If anyone has issues, it would be the same guy who lied about "filing a complaint to the FBI on someone for saying that you 'lived at home'".

If anyone has issues, it would be the same guy who cannot help himself from instigating fights on an internet message board with a stranger who got the best of him like a year ago.

I don't really have any issues with anyone except for those who choose to come at me, like yourself atari 2600.

oh, and I do have a girlfriend and got laid twice last night-this morning.

I'm still the same dude. Get over it atari 2600. Seriously, have you noticed that your main intention of coming on this thread was solely to provoke a fight with me? Get a life and stop worrying what I say or do. You are no "law enforcer" or martyr, so stop trying to act like one.

There's no need to lie, kenji.

As you' ll notice, I edited before you posted your reply because I felt I was going too far. You might want to think about doing the same. You are so obsessed that you were copying & pasting my last post before I even had time to edit out the things that were inappropriate. You've done this countless times in the past as well.

The word is "piqued", wannabe. I've seen you make similar errors time & time again.

Stop sabotaging yourself. That's the first step.

If you're gonna make a criticism, then by all means take care to actually read & comprehend the information, that's all.

You are the shit-master & everyone knows it, but that doesn't mean you can't try to change & improve yourself & capitalize on many of your sensibilities that sadly, seem to be evaporating all the time. I hope you're okay & wish you the best.

I only joined the old board last October.

What the fuck happened between you guys that causes all this shit?

Jealousy. The guy thinks he's an alpha male & has an attitude of entitlement.

He spews bullshit when he should be absorbing information & learning & sometimes I (too my detriment) ridiculously think that I can shame him into being a better person.

I would never purposely fuck with him or anyone else based on some petty feud. That's his game. I did technically "start it" by criticizing his criticism because he clearly demonstrated that he did not really read the review & instead chose to attack amh when he didn't even have his facts straight. That still gives him no excuse for going psycho & blowing the whole thing out of proportion to the extent that it will now hijack this thread due to his deperate need for attention. these stupid rep points things only cause problems. khchris wants to create an atmosphere of fear, so that no one will criticize him. he wants to make me pay now by engaging in extended rounds of bullshit because I uttered the slightest peep about his plain-as-day bullshit. khchris needs to let it go & realize my original post for what it is: a legitimate criticism of his negative-for-no-reason-whatsoever criticism. I saw a legitimate place for legitimate criticism, so I wrote what I wrote. I tried to edit my subsequent post because I realized I was only being dragged down to his level because he made me angry (which he probably loves) & he had already posted his little quote.

I swear, if one does a wordcount of what he actually writes & what he quotes, the wordcount of the quotes is more. If that is not a clear-cut sign that he gets off on being a troublemaker, then I don't know what is.

& Alex's Trip, the thing is that even though some of my buds here disliked khchris intensely, I always stuck up for him until only recently. That is, until he took personal information about me & my strained relationship with my estranged mother & started intentionally writing imflammatory evil shit about my mother.

& yeah, the word is "piqued", wannabe.

khchris is alpha next to you. For heaven's sake, what is your deal?

You can't even write anything original & instead ape other posts from earlier today about HaydenAsche, who, after all, seems to be your only buddy.

You started your membership at the old board as a hateful troll & then you made an effort to be genuine. Lately, you've done a 180. Stop persisting in being an asshole. You have more to offer than that ultimately.

I do appreciate the "nothing to see here" attempt at diffusement, however. And you wrote some cool stuff in that one biblical exchange we had too.

I had ignore listed both of you & made a stupid big deal out of it. I have since removed both of you from the list. We're all Sonic Youth fans. I'm not trying to be a cop, I just want the board to be cool because I love Sonic Youth & you guys make it so negative.

Do you think Laila is having a good time reading your sexual harrassment posts day after day?

I thought Jesus was just alright with you. Go smoke a doobie, brother.

I'm not trying to buddy up to anyone. I just know what is decent & right. Excuse my humanity & hatred of hatred.

I also know the difference between what is genuinely funny & what is gleefully evil lameness springing from a stagnant mind.

She gave you rep points for one isolated post...big fucking deal. Because of that you assume you have the right to sexually harrass her. Besides, she finally indicated clearly tonight that she doesn't like it. You need psychiatric help.

I'll repeat it again: this whole rep point thing is a disaster that only causes problems. It's a cool feature, but unfortunately, too many members are not mature enough to handle it.

Too much fucking drama. I like Khchris and Atari 2600 equally, just like everyone else on the board.

Yeah, I think I may start a "atari 2600 maxi-pad" fundraiser!!!(hehehe)

And what have I lied about?

I wish you'd get some help, you psychotic little boy. Let it go...get over it. Why are you so concerned with what I say around here anyways?

Should I do a "who thinks atari 2600 is a pscho-nutcase" poll? Or would you be afraid to see what people really think of you?

Well, atleast you've admitted that you've started this argument.

This is why atari 2600 has a vendetta against me:

About a year ago, there was a music thread and the sea and cake came up in the conversation. *NOTE: nobody was talking to atari 2600, nor did he even post a comment on the thread at this point.*

So, I referred to the sea and cake as "The 'C' in Cake", something I was doing years before, also something that both me and Emma Blowgun do as a tribute to one of our favorite bands, Gastr Del Sol.

After I made a comment about the band that was not directed to anybody, atari 2600 makes a smart-ass remark, then says, "it's not 'C' in Cake, it's The Sea and Cake".

Like the ass atari 2600 is, he chose himself to try to not only correct me, but to make a smart-ass remark to me for absolutely no reason whatsoever except for that he is a psychotic little boy who still lives at a broken home.

When I told him that The sea and Cake was actually taken from the Gastr Del Sol, atari 2600 flipped!!! He went psycho, then started calling me names, went as far as to say I 'baited' him into "correcting me", even though nobody was talking to him and the fact that me and Emma have ALWAYS used that term for years.

After I made him look stupid, the guy just won't let it go. That is why he continuously comes onto threads I'm in just to start shit, just as he did on this thread. And he admits that he started the shit again, just like he starts shit with people all the time.

I simply made a comment on a ridiculous review that had nothing to do with Atari 2600, yet he's instigating shit with me??? Um...okay.

So, Atari 2600, did you ever file a complaint to the FBI on me because I said you "live at home"???(giggles)

You're a sick, psychotic little kid with no life.

which is why you come onto threads to instigate fights with people instead of discussion.

You're a fucked up little psycho boy.

Now, go file your FBI INTERNET COMPLAINT on me like you swore you were going to do.(hehehe)

c in cake bs yet again. I knew that was coming.

You're psycho.

Yes, please do a poll & find out how really unpopular you are. you're so delusional.

Isn't that the only reason why you come here? Nobody really talks to you, so maybe that's why you instigate fights with people?

I dunno, just trying to figure out why you're so weird and mentally disturbed.

Maybe your parents should've had another child so you wouldn't be this "starved" for attention.

Did you file your FBI INTERNET COMPLAINT against me yet???(giggles!)

Hahaha, I never knew atari acted like this.

lol
 

This is hilarious!

I came back to this thread cos I posted some rather uncalled-for remarks last night having returned home from the pub, rather ripped, and was curious to see if I was getting slammed for those comments today. (I even relished the idea, and began to toy with the idea of simply being an agitator on this board just to get some goat going).

However, I was surprised to find a full-scale war going on, between khchris and atari, completely taking away from my inappropriate review of kevchino's review.

Such fun!

Keep it up lads!! Whatever it's about, it's highly entertaining! And before one or both of you jump in to point out that it is in some ways rather unseemly to take pleasure in observing two others inflict insult and pain upon each other, let me remind you that you are doing it in a very public forum.


cbeattie

It's not all that insightful or political. At least not effectively so. The bands lyrics seem the weakest I've heard in a while.

Question for Atari 2600: why did you even bring my name up on the rather ripped review thread?

Just answer that one;)

um, because you are a prick maybe?;)

The review ruined it for me when he begins by talking about the cover. It looks like an old band trying to look rugid and cool. It reminds me of Abercrombie clothing which is ripped and shredded to look real but is really manufactored that way...

SY's cover are never intricate and important either. There very plain and pretentious. Take for instance, Confusion is Sex, its so plain and almost arbituary that it makes SY look modest and sloppy, and its brilliant It reminds of Warhol...
Actually Warhol originally had the idea of artist expressing their abilities through a wide variety of fields and this is a perfect example, the band (actually just Kim) made their own cover for their album. Its art you have to "get" and has no higher meaning than what it is on paper. Its like Warhol's film "Liberty" which is an 8 hour shot of the Liberty building in NY. Its "unwatchableness" makes it a piece of art. The cover of CIS is practically like this making it a piece of art as well.

Sorry for getting so off subject....

I do however like the Vinyl cover but the fact that is it is from a plain old rock band ruins it. It would be cooler as a Wolf Eyes cover and not Sonic Youth's.

I really have to disagree with Kevchino. I don't think the album sounds fresh or inventive. And even though the songs are half as short as the songs that SY usually write, they feel twice as long. Long boring attempts at the current indie pop fad. That's not Sonic Youth. I want the noisy guitars, the manic energy and the driving rythms. This album has practically none of that. I'm all for bands trying new things. But if the new directions don't sound good, then you have to abandon them. Sonic Youth should have abandoned this album.

You are such a fucking idiot. I can't believe that they let you on the computers at assisted living. FUCKING TWAT.