It's probably only my third favorite but it's definitely the most important song on the album. I liken it to a status report...it's where they are as a band right now.

(mundane comparison but that's all I've got right now)

Sound like they got their balls back? serously i've kinda liked the past few albums of laid back phishyness but it's nice to hear them rock again.

I no longer have to go and put in KYI or old live boots to hear the SY i grew up with. Old fart SY was cool in it's own way butthis new burst of energy is great.

Malibu gas station fuckin blows my mind

how is the quality of the leak?

Very good.

It has depth and atmosphere. Pink Steam and Jams are the only ones from RR that come to mind at the moment that had those traits.

RR to me, while not their worst album by any stretch, sounded like they had abandoned their sound. It was more of a step back...I think that's my point. The Eternal is where Nurse should have gone. RR was a detour (tho an entertaining one).

I'm not trying to start a war...music is and always will be subjective. However, I hope I've answered your question. My opinion is by no means fact.

A favorable review from T&B, that should tell you something.

Rocking
Noise
Songs are better from a composition POV- chord progressions, melodies, structure, and rhythms just seem better

The stream was 160kbps, but the web rip is @ 128kbps.

I don't find much of a problem with some of the cheese. In Sonic past a song with cheesy lyrics was usually a throwaway song, but on The Eternal it seems to work. Thurston gets away with "mission control to brain police" because the song is so good. If it was on another SY album it would be on the worst song on the album. Not the case here.

Ugh I swear you all confuse me. They make one poppier album with Rather Ripped, and it's awful. And then they make one album in The Eternal which is "rockier" which.. might I add sounds like RR 2.0 except with their "balls" back.
I mean don't get me wrong The Eternal is not a bad record. But it isn't doing anything different from the two records before, really, so why is everyone so excited for it?
RR wasn't a step backward, it was a step forward. There's only so much you can do as a band. That noise in "What We Know"? I don't think I have ever heard anything so formulaic from them. It's like they're saying "Alright, we're Sonic Youth, we're supposed to be noisy, let's get out our book of how to make typical noise". I don't know it just bugs me how un-genuine it sounds.

I think another contributing factor is that they can identify the "cheese" now and they keep it to a minimum. I don't feel any of the songs overstay their welcome.

Yr completely ignoring my arguments. I know you can go ooh, ahhh SY type noise to this album, but if you actually listen to the MUSIC under it all, it is very new.

What it does that is better: Everything.

What it does that is different:
-With the exception of 'Pink Steam' and 'Jams Run Free,' 'Rather Ripped' offered few well-written songs. Everything is well-written on 'The Eternal.' All of the songs know how to start with awesome effect, just how long an idea should last before moving on, and even when using the Sonic Youth formula, know how to do it and create a fresh product versus a nostalgic one.
-The only song on 'Rather Ripped' that introduced any new musical ideas was 'Do You Believe in Rapture?' Plenty of songs do this on 'The Eternal.'
-Rather Ripped was stripped of noise. There were very few interesting sonic textures. 'The Eternal' is ripe with them.
-'Rather Ripped' tried to be fun, with occassional success. 'The Eternal is effortlessly successful.
-'Rather Ripped' (and 'Sonic Nurse' before it) offered plenty of boring moments. 'The Eternal' doesn't have a single moment that bores me upon the first few listens.

You also noted that it takes time to create the classics. This is hardly true. 'Sister' was written quickly, and in my opinion it's the best Sonic Youth has to offer.

rather ripped vs. the eternal - surely to be an epic feud

Someone else said this, not me. I don't believe that's true, doesn't matter how quickly music is written as long as it's good, Sister is an obvious example. Maybe The Eternal won't be boring after a while. 'Massage the History' was better on second listen.

I am intrigued guys

PRETTY INTRIGUED

the trouble with RR wasn't that it was poppy, EJST&NS was poppy and great, the problem with RR was that it sounded like duran duran or the killers, boring and normal sounding, none of the peculiarities, reflectiveness or dark tranquility one would hope for with an SY record. those qualities are apparent on this record, particularly in the last track. maybe if RR was the first SY record you heard then your expectations and emotional ties to their music are different but for those of us who have been listening to SY for 15, 20 or 25 years then there are certain reasons we have grown to love them, and it seemed with RR they abandoned all those qualities in a single album, only to replace them with things most of us dislike.

Yeah, not the whole song, but the "when she's faaar away" etc. parts of the song.

yes, its obviously somehow cleverly devised. "what we know" sounds like the basic design of any rock song. but dont forget - they werent able to write a well thought-out song back in the 80's - and that was a good thing then. now they are professionals, and thats how they sound - can be boring, can be impressing. "do you belive in rapture" is stroke of genius concerning the structure - and so is "what we know"

and: there are also few more songs on the album.