I love the album and glad he didn't make a sy sounding album or a singer-songwriter one.

It's a folly to think of "Thurston/Kim/Lee songs" in the context of the band. The lyrics are theirs but the music is truly collaborative. It's not a situation comparable to that of the Beatles, where you can say comfortably, "That's a John/Paul, John, Paul or George song." With SY, it's "that's a song where Lee's on lead vocals" and etc.

Take "Karenology." Lee wrote the lyrics, sings on the track, but the musical track wasn't even his to sing over originally--it had been given to Kim, and Lee had what would become "Sympathy for the Strawberry." Thankfully
they switched.

There are undeniable SY-ish elements because, well, he was (is?) a member of the band. But none of Thurston's 3 "song-based" solos sound like Sonic Youth ("Psychic Hearts" sounds frequently like great Thurston songs that the band could have worked with and made even greater, though). Free Kitten is its own special beast as well. So why would Lee's solo be full of "Eric's Trip"s and "Mote"s?

And I like your new avatar!

"This is the best SY-related project since at least Murray Street, and I don't really expect to hear a better rock album this year."

+1

http://bourgeoiseaux.blogspot.com/20...times-and.html

To me it's even more than that for me. IMO, it's allready my favourite album since 10 years (sonic youth related and other band).

I was skeptical after hearing off the wall, but so far I can't find a lot to complain about here. It's an extremely solid bunch if songs. Shouts appears to be the standout for me so far.

Exactly.

I'm waiting til the album comes out next week.

this album is pretty awesome.

I really like this. picked it up on LP yesterday.

lol

does anyone know where the album cover was taken?

grazie bella

your not alone, i am not a fan of this direction either. its kind of a let down in some ways that both lee and thurston have gone in such tried and tested musical directions. even steve in dissapears is just more of the same.

dont worry what the old men of the board think.

I think it´s quite common when musician get older he makes more traditional style music. And I think that´s ok as long as there is creativity in it and at least freshness. I can understand the young people whom the music is not the most important. It´s more that musician can be sort of the object of identification. And then you don´t want to listen anything that reminds your dad. But to me music has always been the most important. When I was young, I listened for example Pink Floyd, Genesis and Yes (I was young in the eighties) and altough I liked the most of their seveties material, I also listened a lot their eighties material. And they were then at the age of my dad. There were only few years after that when I found punk and speed metal, but I still continued to listen prog along those new styles. So to me "dad rock" has never been problem.

I think it is very natural Thurston and Lee sound at the age of their own. I think it would be very unnatural if they will sound like they were still twenty years old. But in the other hand it don´t always mean you become serene when you get old. I was really suprised last year when I heard Nomeansno last album. I really wondered, how the men at the age of fifty could make so aggressive and rage music. But on the other hand if you compare their second album Sex Mad and that newest one, there is such maturity in the "All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt" that is not in the sex mad.

I am really irritated about the many people here seem to think getting old is the same getting boring.

Totally agree! And I think in many bands collaborations create a lots of greater stuff than situations where one makes almost all. That´s why SY-records has been better than solos.

http://www.normanrecords.com/cd/1322...imes-and-tides

With the current turbulent and possibly terminal times in the SY camp, it seems like a welcome respite in fortunes that their resident axe-mangler Lee Ranaldo already had this solo record in the bag before their majestic liner ran aground. As was the case with the recent Thurston Moore solo offering, Ranaldo has again opted for an accessible song-based approach to this record, ably helped by some of his talented friends including Steve Shelley on drums, Nels Cline on guitar, John Medeski on keys, and Jim O’Rourke makes an appearance too. The lyrical themes are largely based around nostalgia for adolescence and there’s a bit of a west coast ‘60s pop feel in some of the songs that’s nicely tempered by his alternate tuning guitar textures, which are still prominent. A lot of the time you basically feel like you’re listening to a collection of Ranaldo-fronted SY jams, and his voice is comfortingly familiar immediately. First time I listened to it, though, the vocal style did start to grate on me by the end...I’m on about my third go through it now, though, and I think I was on my man period or something because on their own merits every one of these songs is good, and there’s a continuity of churning momentum through the record that’s actually pretty delicious, even through the more downbeat numbers (which have a touch of Led Zeppelin influence to them in places if I’m not mistaken). There’s quite a nostalgic mid-’90s sound there that I like...it’s even reminding me a little of the Smashing Pumpkins in places, weirdly enough. I’m finding this to be a thoroughly enjoyable chunk of slightly psychedelic, slightly country, very Sonic Youthy power-pop with enough detailed and experimental textures running through its indie rock veins to make sure your attention never wavers. It’s precise and accomplished stuff, but with this type of music I can’t help but feel that Ranaldo’s melodic taste and dynamic restraint kind of work against him to some extent and it’d be nice to see a couple more massive choruses or infectious melodic hooks making an appearance. That’s subjective though, especially since he gives us exactly that in the likes of the staggeringly wonderful ‘Lost’, where the ‘60s pop influence jumps right to the front in an infectiously bouncy bit of pop music which then descends into this chorus of Chatham-esque chiming guitars that gradually get overtaken by squealing lead guitar and then we’re dropped right back into that summery chorus...it’s perfection, and a couple more brazenly, indulgently enjoyable jams like this would’ve been totally welcome, but still what Ranaldo has done here is to create a swirling, melodic, accessible collection of tracks, polished to post-grunge perfection by knob twiddler to the stars John Agnello and yet with an experimental streak running throughout them, which are all unmistakeably the work of Lee Ranaldo and couldn’t possibly have been made by anybody else. Isn’t that the essence of what all artists are trying to do?

Super jealous! Can't wait for mine!

picked up my LP this morning....just got done spinning it...i like it more and more with every listen..only one thing i really don''t like about it...but i'm gonna wait and see if someone else mentions it before i complain.....though tuesday at work....me and a co-worker were listening to the last track streaming...a 60 yr old guy walked by and started singing " a hard days night" and it perfectly fit

had serious surgery wed and i'm kinda screwed up on painkillers...which is probably the only reason i'm even posting....before i listened to the LP i took a fan boy picture that i'm gonna try to throw here but as i said....i'm messed up...japanese version shipped already so i'm psyched

how can you not love Lee

dig it

dang