NR Essentials #20: Sonic Youth - Murray Street
 

 

Sonic Youth
Murray Street
2002, DGC

Preachin' to the choir and I don't care...

MURRAY STREET was the first "leak" I ever heard. It was weird. Having and loving and knowing an album months before it was released. It felt like the future. And it was in a way. It was a whole new weird post-9/11 America. Not long after the record's release I faced an anxiety issue and made a trek with some friends to drive the 5 1/2 hrs to NYC to run wild in the streets. We browsed recordstores in the early morning hours, but first made the pilgrimage to Ground Zero and the hop-skip-and-jump to knock on the door on Murray Street. Nobody answered. This same Summer I would see the band twice. And hug Thurston.

Not only for the sounds contained within (which is more than enough) but also for the complex lineage of associated memories and feelings triggered -- MURRAY STREET is my favorite album of the 2000's.

neat.

I know it's more of what's behind the album....but....isn't like every other SY album an essential? serisouly.

well to us, yeah. But I'm not talking "these are essential albums for everybody's collections" I'm talking "these are essential albums that have caused my ears and brain to make me think about music and sometimes life the way that I do." Now, obviously every note of this record means a lot to me musically, but you all already know that and get that so I didn't feel the need to explain that half of the equation.

If I could only find a copy of the Kali Yug Express vinyl......

I remember the first time I heard this album was when I first discovered limewire....I still really have not taken to the album. It is good it just has not made it on my favs list yet. I really like disconnection notice and RALGS. THose 2 stuck with me pretty good.

I know! I remember entering multiple contests to try to win Kali Yug. I still have the mp3's from the secret website though. Sigh.

Rob, I didnt think you liked MURRAY. I din't think it rocked enough for you.

"Karenology" & "Strawberry" are the shiz.

Yeah I like karen... Strawberry however..sure it will sneek in there one day they always do

"Strawberry" is brilliant. I wish it opened the album. I wish they opened their shows with it. It's incredible.

When I listened to this for the first time, it felt as an instant classic as well as the future (courtesy of Jim O's very clear production). Amazing LP.

when it came out it was very nice, but struck me as a departure, then when I read that thurston wrote most of it on an acoustic guitar it made sense to me.
it is a nice record, but I prefer sonic nurse. murray street is tepid Youth. lots of mid-tempo snoozers.

decent stuff but not what I listen to sonic youth for.

Indeed. I remember after first spin ended, I just hit play again. And again. And again. Didn't leave my CD player for mooooonths.

Nurse Rocks!

hell yeah NURSE rocks. But I still like MS better.

Best SY album of the last 20 years, without a doubt.

I think I'm gonna give this a nice spin right abuot now.

PS

this record has my all time favorite 8 seconds of drumming ever. Rain on Tin. Steve is beautiful from 5:03-5:11

Steve is King of the amazing drum moments. F'sho.

You know, this record took me a while to buy. I had heard it a couple times, but never paid too much attention. Finally a while back I saw it in a record store new for $6. Bargain! Coincidentally I bought a few other misc. SY things there over time.

That said, it's a good record but I don't remember too much off of it. Maybe I should give it a listen to later or tomorrow.

~Jeremy~

No question for me that this is the best SY of the decade. Destroys Nurse for my money. Sympathy For The Strawberry deserves to be remembered as one of the great epic SY closing tracks, up there with Expressway, Trilogy and Diamond Sea (and possibly Titanium Expose).

I think the sequencing is also total genius. The first 5 tracks are all really lush and dreamy, and Kim doesn't sing at all, which really surprised on the first listen, as I'm fairly certain it's longest period of non-Kim on an SY album? But then, after the total beauty of RALGS with that Borbetomagus ending, when you're really just totally buried in the hazy jammy awesomeness, Kim just explodes into the album at her skronkiest with Plastic Sun, totally shaking you out of that dream state. Then the real genius comes, because just as you're slightly disgruntled at having been thrown out of that expansive loveliness, Kim forges on for the next 10 minutes with easily one of the most flat out beautiful moments they ever recorded, completely bring everything to this breathtaking conclusion (as in I literally subconsciously held my breath for the last bit when I first heard it).

That perfectly conceived 2 track knockout punch is absolutely up there with Kim's finest and most album defining moments, and, coming at the beginning of the "album killing" digital age, made as good as argument as any for why the idea of releasing music in the 40 minute album format can still be so valid an important. Love love love love love it.

The sequencing is indeed excellent. (I'm referring to the CD edition). It works as 2 sonicly thematic suites seperated by the almight "Karen".

Loved this album, remember downloading it on KAZAA (!) and listening to "Rain on Tin" constantly. Ended up buying it at Wal-Mart (!!) with my lunch money haha. Great fucking album. I was able to somehow play this in art class (!!!) in my high school once. It's really a masterwork, I actually think it is one of their most accomplished and perfect albums. I think it's really easy to overlook it, because the whole thing is so subdued and quiet. But it's really pretty much a perfect album, and it's such a strange followup to NY Ghosts and Flowers. You know, this album reminds me of what Television had sounded like in my head, before I actually heard Television. All kinds of (mostly) clean guitars playing off of each other.

"SYMPATHY FOR THE STRAWBERRY" is another one of my all time fav SY tracks, the way it builds tension constantly; also, is it the only SY song with an organ in it? It just rules.

I dunno, I just love this album, it's amazing. I think it has some of my favorite SY production, everything is so clear. I think Steve's the real star of the album, as he often is.

I just like how subdued the whole thing is, but it's actually really intricate and epic at the same time. Or, as someone said to me once, "It sounds like they're proving they actually know how to play their guitars again." Haha. While I don't agree with that, I do think it is one of the best examples in their whole catalogue that they're just straight-up gifted, brilliant songwriters, unlike anyone else around. The way their songs flow is wholly unique to them. It's weird.

Adam, totally agree.

"Sympathy" is in my opinion one of their most perfect tracks. And as it's often compared to "The Diamond Sea," I almost think it's an even more perfect epic closer. It feels like tiny waves crashing and building into a beautiful monsoon. And the organ! And the drums! And the OMG Kim can still sound sooo seductive with her vox when she wants to! And the words!

It's funny, I love every song on MS. Like I said it's my favorite album of the 00's. But once "Sympathy" ends it's like... it's like every other song is SIDE 1 and side 1 is perfect, but "Sympathy" is SIDE 2 all its own. It's an amazing entity by itself that weighs just as much sonically as everything that preceeds it on the record.