A thousand leaves, again
 

Ive just realised what a great record this is. Ive had it for years, one of the first SY records i got, but i hardly every listened to it and thought it sucked ass. But recently, due to the fact that ive overplayed every other SY record ive started 2 groov to this one. An my gawd its really somehing else. Really fucking genious. Contre Le Sexisme "Hes soo...quiet....Alice, Alice come back....hes just a kitten.....HES JUST A KITTTEN" Also the guitar riff acompaning it is just sweeet. My favorite on the album is wildflower soul. This was one of my most despised songs when i first heard it. But now i love it 2 bits. The bridge part is definately one of my fav sy moments. French Tickler and hoarfrost are very cool indeed. And i love the looong jam section in Hits of sunshine. Really good for a blazing session, as is Snare girl. I could trip for hours with these. I lov singin along "im here for youuu...cant u seeeeee....wht im doing......i bring...." I really love this album...loadss:D

i think it will go down as their last amazing record. sad.

no, NYCGF seems to be last one.
sad.

I could see how one might think that, but I disagree. Murray Street was just as amazing....

i think by murray street, sonic youth had lost their unique sound of the previous records...but evolved further into a different style of music. Its like that with every sonic decade. the 80s were very dreary and atonal...the ninetys were more sparkley beautiful...and now, its more arty than ever.

Thats just my opinion.

Quite a legit opinion.....

A Thousand Leaves is my absolute favorite album.
Wildflower Soul is my favorite song too.

probably my least played sy album. no scratch that, EJSTNS is my last played sy album. i really like it tho (ATL) i just never get around to hearing it that much...i really should listen to it more
i think that nurse was an amazingalbum.one of their best IMO.

I can't see how someone could dislike this album. Every track is an absolute journey. & what a great way to start an album then w/ "Contre Le Sexisme".

Here's an IMO rating of the album:

Contre Le Sexisme ** (out of 3)
Sunday ***
Female Mechanic Now On Duty **
Wildflower Soul ***
Hoarfrost **
French Tickler ***
Hits Of Sunshine (For Allen Ginsberg) **
Karen Koltrane ***
The Ineffable Me ***
Snare Girl ***
Heather Angel ***

& not to mention, this record has some of the greatest lyrics of all-time.

Hoarfrost is a beauty. The video fits it as well.

I don't think the 80's were atonal, SY always played tonal music, i mean everysong on Sister and DDN has a key of its own.

Yup, it's one hell of a good record. I really like Sunday. Thats a great song. Lee's solo is womderful, goin all crazy with the slide. Hits of Sunshine for Allen Ginsburg was a little bit tediously long, but I absolutely love the LSD reference in the title.

what's really sad is that I still haven't bought this record. I'm really looking forward to the day I buy it.

That being said I still really like hoarfrost's video. Any video full of wintry images will instantly win me over.

^: Hey, I just recently got this record myself, so I'm no huge expert on the subject, not yet that is.

both 1,000 leaves and washing machine have songs that begin with kinda throwaway punk riffs that give way - with varying degrees of subtlety - to beautiful, can-like vamps that are major-key, but not quite so clean and melodic as the present-day vamps.

Don’t fuck with me
Don’t you break her
And don’t deflate her
Don’t outdate her
Or you’ll fuck with me

"Hey castrator
Hey castrator, It's only me!"

I've had this cd for a few years now, actually bought it on the street in Bangkok. Yeah it's a shame but I combined two passions, travelling and sy.

Anyway it's really good but it's loooooooong. I find it too much to listen to the whole thing in one session, but then you get to rediscover some songs that are amazing but forgot about. Karen Koltrane comes to mind.

yes it is a great record, hits of sunshine is one of my fav sy tracks ever, and also some of lees best work on this album too

one of the first ones i bought. I recently just got back into it as well. It truly is an amazing album. The bridge in wildflower soul is my favorite sy moment too. Every song is amazing. I think my least favorite is hits of sunshine. I really started to like heather angel a few weeks ago.

I liked "Heatehr Angel" from the moment I heard it. It's one of the greatest closing tracks ever.

I like it alot. I'm surprised it doesn't get that much love.
Hits of Sunshine is a masterpiece.

This album is very important to me. One of my all-time favorites.

hits of sunshine gets boring in the middle. otherwise i love a thousand leaves. sunday is kinda meh. i like the suburbia version more

I still haven't gotten this album. I need A Thousand Leaves and Experimental to have all the major albums.

perhaps i should purchase this album. is it at all similar to NYCG&F? i got that a few weeks ago (great music but the lyrics kinda suck).

"Suburbia" is a great movie, w/ a decent soundtrack as well. Wasn't a track from "Psychic Hearts" in that movie?

kim's vocals are amazing... i love ineffable me and female mechanic now on duty... oh, and contre le sexisme of course....

yeah there are also a couple sy instrumentals, along with a longer, jammed-out version of sunday

I'll have to get the soundtrack for this movie. BTW, "A Thousand Leaves" is an excellent record, w/ amazing lyrics. Some of Thurston's best work. (IMO)

Sing yr love child
Love is on
Sing yr child lights
Lights are gold
Sing yr child life
Wildflower soul

This was actually one of the last SY records I got, tho sunday was my frist favorite sy song. I don't listen to it all too much because it's sooooo long. But When I do it's great. I remember once I was listening to it really baked and this one kim song was far too intense, I had to throw off my headphones and skip the song. Same deal with wildflower soul's loud intro/outro.

What's the kim song that goes "free time free time' I really like that one

this was my first sonic youth album along with dirty. it was the first sonic youth album i ever loved. strangely, i don't listen to it all that often either. don't even know why. it's still one of my favorites.

A thousand leaves is one of my two favorite records. The other one is SYR1

i heard it back in the day when it came out. like this album very much. grew on me slowly tho. some very good memories connected with this album. best summer ever - hot summer days and nights, girl of my dreams and listening to thousand leaves for like whole summer.

I met someone today who only owns one Sonic Youth album.
That album is (of course, per the thread) A Thousand Leaves.

He told me that he bought it because he liked the Rolling Stone review. (My theory is he bought it on the heels of the initial SYR excitement).
And he told me that he burned a cd-r from it purposely excluding the tracks that the Rolling Stone review described as filler.

Sonic brethren, I implore you to be as appalled as I am.
Now I realize that this sort of thinking is unfortunately all too commonplace, but yet I still find it disturbing nonetheless.

Furthermore, I looked up the RS ATL review and it makes no mention of which songs the reviewer considers filler material. There is a shot taken at a lyric in "Contre Le Sexisme," however.
The album is given three-and-a-half stars which is a fairly good rating, but the write-up itself is hardly glowing either.

Spin magazine doesn't have an online review for the album, so I can't check that one in case the guy is just mixed-up.

Anyway, just thought this little slice of SY-themed demographic research might be interesting to someone out there reading.

always been in my top 5 favorites.

Here's an idea:
Avoid water for three days.
Go out in the Texas heat in the afternoon and do jumping jacks
or some other aerobic exercise for several hours.
Listen to the album and write a review.

You have given out too much Reputation in the last 2600 hours, try again later.