Who else would put Rather Ripped in their top 5?
 

Honestly, this is for some reason the album I reach for the most aside from A Thousand Leaves and Goo. It's really great, I don't understand how it's panned so heavily. I know it has some lovers too, though, right?

No lover of that album in this forum. It has a few good songs, but compared to other stuff it seems lacking substance.

There are a few weak songs on it, but there are some really strong ones as well.

Jams Run Free is a fucking beautiful song.


Generally it's a fun listen through.

I don't know, I understand that's it's suppose to be a more subdued, meditative album but there are a bunch of other bands that I would go to before I looked to Sonic Youth to provide that.

And it is pretty hard to bare when you realize that REM's last album was more aggressive than the Yoof's last.

I love the album.

I love it, and it would probably be in my top 5.

I might catch heat for saying this, but I hate EJSTANS and REALLY hate NYC Ghosts and Flowers, two records which often get massive love around here.

~Jeremy~

Yeah I do not understand the NYCG&F love at all. Just sort of boring to me, even the much-loved title track. Not really one of Lee's better songs. I'd say "Hoarfrost" is my favorite of his.

No.

No, but I like it a lot.

My top 5 goes: A Thousand Leaves, Daydream Nation, Sister, Goo,
Confusion is Sex. NYCG & F is far and away my least favorite.

If we count in ep's and such, I probably wouldn't even put it in my top 50.

Sorry, but I just thought RR was a pretty poor record. It's probably my least favorite SY album. Here's hoping The Eternal is much much better.

One thing I love about RR is that every song doesn't go 6 or 7 minutes like many other SY records and doesn't just have a mid-song noise outburst. For Daydream Nation, it was cool and inventive. When they did it on practically every record since, it got to be boring and predictable and almost ruined songs. And RR has no filler... I'd even go as far to say it might be their most consistent record since Daydream Nation.

It also was my first SY record I ever bought and was the first tour I saw them on, so it holds a special place in my heart.

~Jeremy~

I don't think RR is THAT bad, but not top 5. never took to washing machine myself, aside from the diamond sea, and that seems to be a favourite...

my top 5 probably: sister, DN, bad moon rising, sonic nurse and murray street sneaking in at the back.

Some songs on it are amazing, Reena, Incinerate, Jams Run Free, and Pink Steam, but It's probably one of my least favourite SY albums. Some is good, some is bad, it doesn't copmare to the others for me, but overall it's an okay album.

You average almost 1 new thread for every 3 posts.

In that case it makes sense that RR holds such a place in your heart. Personally i don't like it but then I haven't been particularly excited by any of their albums probably since Daydream Nation, and the last album of theirs that I liked completely was probably Sister. Saying that, I've been listening back to Goo recently and have developed a new-found love for that album that I definitely didn't have at the time. Maybe in twent years time the same thing will happen with RR.

I would put it in my top five... if I had a CD rack that dispensed CD's from the bottom.

A few great songs, but not one of my SY faves.

I've thought about this, and taking into account all the albums, I'd put this and 1000 Leaves at the bottom of the list. Sonic Nurse would be right above.

I still haven't heard it in its entirety. What I have heard hasn't been very inspiring, so I don't think I'll ever listen to it.

Love this record and would put in my top 5.

It had it's moments (Incinerate, Jams Run Free, Lights Out) but there's also a few duds (Reena, What a Waste, Turquoise Boy & probably the worst Ranaldo-song ever: Rats). Overall I guess it's pretty inconsistent.
Still ranking a thousand leaves as their all time low though, followed by Jet Set & Dirty. Personal favs are DDN, Sonic Nurse & EVOL.

This wouldn't make my top 5 if I'd only heard 5 Sonic Youth albums, period.

I don't know if it would make my top five, but I still really like it and always have.

I like it a lot, and stood up for it a lot when it came out; but top 5? No way.
My top 5 goes something like Daydream Nation, Confusion, Bad Moon, Sister and Evol. RR isn't going to break into that company any time soon.

I love it. Or at least, I love a lot of it. A few songs really fall flat (Rats), but the ones that work are in the majority and they’re fantastic. It features a lot of my favourite Kim tracks too. More love needs to go to Turquoise Boy. Jams Run Free is amazing.

I'd probably say I like it more than Nurse or NYCG&F among their post-2000 output, but then again those are the two albums of theirs that I haven't listened to all the way through very often, so I should probably re-evaluate them. Maybe my opinion will change.

I honestly don’t think that Sonic Youth have released a remotely bad “proper” album. Everything up until and including Dirty is some of my favourite music ever (although I could never really love BMR like most of the board seems to), EJSTNS and Washing Machine are both great, but I never really clicked with the latter to the degree that a lot of people have. In fact, laying it out like this, I’d say that ATL, Murray Street and RR are all pretty much competing for my favourite post-Dirty studio album. This is not including side projects and SYRs. I fucking love me some of those.

Still wouldn’t touch the top 5 though. You know what, fuck it, thinking about things like this has inspired me to go listen to all 30 or so Sonic Youth related releases that I own in succession over the next couple of weeks, really get to grips with the whole discography. I probably won’t end up getting through them all, but hey, it’ll be fun.

Damn, this is one hell of a rambling incoherent post. Sorry.

Am I the only person alive who thinks Pink Steam kinda sucks and would rather listen to anything else from the album?

Yes.

What's appealing about Pink Steam? It's repetitive as hell =/

It's a nice jam, though nowhere as good as e.g. Rain on Tin.

So true, Theremin.

I love Rather Ripped, but it wouldn't be in my top 5. Jams Run Free and Rats are my favorite songs on there

My top 5 album would probably something like

1) Bad Moon Rising
2) NYC Ghosts & Flowers
3) Confusion Is Sex
4) EVOL | Daydream Nation (can't choose)
5) A Thousand Leaves

haha



i find reading about people's love for this album totally alienating, infact, in regards to RR reading any response other than ones of searing pain and unremmiting grief fills me with despair and forces me to call into question all my conceptions and thoughts on reality & the very fabric of life and the universe and leads me to one conclusion, and that is that vast swathes of humanity are utterly insane and are going to drag the rest of us to the very depths of hell.

i've had my heart broken 6 times in my life, four times by girls, by the death of my cat, and upon hearing Rather Ripped.

RR is good stuff and all, but when facing facts, it's probably the worst thing they've put out. But it's not a completely abysmal record. Jams Run Free and Turquoise Boy were my favorites from it. But compared to the rest of their catalog it isn't incredible.

As for favorite SY records, mine would be EVOL, DDN, Sister. After that I dunno, Murray Street probably, Goo maybe, CIS too.

From reading the posts I've noticed that a lot of the ones defending Rather Ripped and saying they really like it seem to have bought that album and worked thier way backwards. While fans who have been listening to Sonic Youth for years (at least within the past 10 years or more) diss the album and rank it really low. I actually haven't heard Rather Ripped in awhile myself.

Not at all. I like RR a lot and I've been listening to SY since Sister came out.

They've been sounding tired of being Sonic Youth since 'Sympathy For The Strawberry', their last truly great song. They are The Rolling Stones now.

Not really. At least the best tickets for their concerts aren't reserved to American Express Gold owners (which was the case for a Rolling Stones' gig in France a few years ago)

Seriously, about everything on Nurse eats strawberry for breakfast. :(

Dood gtfo.

Hmm...My order was messed up. Kill Yr Idols. DDN, Sister, EJTsotaljdkgflkdsjfg and then RR....then some more....then some more more and then yeah.