Sonic Youth "Daydream Nation Deluxe Edition" (Geffen)
By Lucas Salg
Friday. Jun 22, 2:25 PM
It has to be heard to be believed. Words just don’t do it justice.

The first time I heard this record, it scared me. I had just begun to venture into the world of so-called “alternative music” and frankly, I wasn’t ready for this. I think what it was, was that there was some kind of DGC sampler that had “Teen Age Riot” tucked away in a corner, probably between a Skiploader b-side and a That Dog! outtake. I heard it, loved it, borrowed the whole album from a friend, got as far as the searing, scraping bridge of “Silver Rocket,” and gave up. Too weird, too scary. I probably sought solace in a Counting Crows album or something.

But there was something irresistible and fascinating about the way they broke all the rules, and I came back to it, forcing myself to endure the whole thing even as it repulsed me, and eventually, it wound up being probably one of my favorite records of all time. It still weirds me out when I listen to it, in a really good way. There are parts of it that make me a little uncomfortable and tense, still pushing my inner straight-laced 13 year-old’s buttons, the part of me that couldn’t imagine anyone writing songs that played with discordance and feedback and collapsing song structures in such a rebellious and menacing and cavalier way. And I love it. And when they burst out of those unsettling, dissonant passages into majestic major-chord rushes, it’s as thrilling as anything I’ve ever listened to. It’s 19 years old now, but it never feels dated. It’s still as strange and eye-opening and head-spinning as ever. It takes everything that’s great about underground music, chops it up, fucks with it, and spits it out defiantly in a messy, exhilarating 70-minute burst. No joke, this is a life-changer record.

I don’t wanna pick this album apart too much and talk about specific songs and what they mean and how each passage works or anything. I can’t really get too cerebral about Daydream Nation. Other people can, and will. There’s a whole book that dissects and deconstructs this fucker, and god bless Matthew Stearns for writing it, but for me, it’s best not to write about it, to even read about it… just listen to it. Seriously. Yes, there’s a wealth of material in this baby, musically and lyrically, that intellectuals can mull over while fondling their berets or doing whatever intellectuals do, but I think the best way to experience it is just to let it hit you. For me, this will always be a visceral, emotional, frightening, and ultimately unexplainable gut-punch of a record.

It still fries my brain a little that Sonic Youth have survived as long as they have on a major label like Geffen, but it seems to be a solid partnership, a terrific little lifeboat that that just won’t sink in a sea of bands who got sucked in, chewed up, spit out, and left to die by the corporate machine. For whatever reason, Geffen gets Sonic Youth, and understands that even though they don’t sell a ton of records, they’re absolutely worth every cent. Daydream Nation is the latest, and most deserved, reissue of their early catalog, and while it isn’t stuffed to the gills with amazing supplementary material, it’s certainly worth the price of admission. Remastered, it sounds pretty good, though admittedly it doesn’t hold a candle to hearing the original version on vinyl. There’s killer live versions of every song, a few interesting covers (all previously released), and a demo of “Eric’s Trip.” For those who already have plenty of time logged listening to this record, it’s definitely rewarding to comb through the second disc.

But as with all the Sonic Youth reissues, what you’re really here for is the main attraction. And it’s still as vital as ever. We (thankfully) don’t assign ratings at Transform Online, but if I did, this would be one of the very few records I’d give a perfect rating to. It sums up the entirety of rock’s myriad subgenres, and above that, pop culture’s myriad subgenres in one fearless and boundlessly creative atom-bomb explosion of an album. It has to be heard to be believed. Words just don’t do it justice.
www.sonicyouth.com
www.geffen.com

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Lucas Salg

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