bruise_pristine
07-02-2004, 08:09 PM
Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000003TAF.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
1985
This is Sonic Youth's third album, preceded by the "Death Valley '69" 7" single in 1984 which featured demo versions of both "Death Valley" and "Brave Men Run" from Bad Moon Rising. It wasn't until 1986 when BMR was released on CD with 4 bonus tracks, that were not included on the original 1985 vinyl release.
Band Members:
Kim Gordon - Vocals/Bass
Thurston Moore - Vocals/Guitar
Lee Ranaldo - Guitar
Bob Bert - Drums
Lydia Lunch - Guest vocals on Death Valley 69
Track Listing:
01. Intro - 1:11
02. Brave Men Run (In My Family) - 3:56
03. Society Is a Hole - 4:51
04. I Love Her All the Time - 8:21
05. Ghost Bitch - 4:25
06. I'm Insane - 6:55
07. Justice Is Might - 2:56
08. Death Valley '69 - 5:22
09. Satan Is Boring - 5:13
10. Flower - 3:35
11. Halloween - 5:11
12. Echo Canyon - 1:09
The track listing on the back of my album is wrong. The correct listing would switch 'Flower' to track ll & 'Halloween to track 10.
Intro:
A calm guitar intro, that is quite relaxing with some effects in the background. This intro only features Lee & Thurston on guitar, the song doesn't feature any vocals & goes on for a little bit over a minute which leads into "Brave Men Run". 5/5
Brave Men Run (In My Family):
Brave Men Run features a 1:45 intro that is has a certain appeal to it. The musical part of the song starts to turn to a noise rock sound with the instruments pretty much going in all different direction that slowly fades out with Kim starting to say "Seven days and seven nights, I dreamt a sailor's dream at sea". Ambiance is the only word I can find to really describe the song, I don't know I just gives a certain feeling that I can't really pinpoint. Brave Men Runs ends with a looped sample of Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" that segues into "Society is a Hole" 5/5
Society Is A Hole:
The track segues in from Brave Men Run via a looped sample from Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" album. The sample actually plays through a significant amount of the song. Also Thurston got the title for this song through a Blackflag lyric he misheard the lyric from "Rise Above" contains the line "Society's arms of control", which Thurston misinterpreted as "Society is a ****ing hole". He later discovered that the lyric was wrong & impressed with it, he took it for his own. This song is rather slow with Thurston moaning the lyrics rather than singing it. Society Is A Hole ends with a tape of the Stooges' "Not Right" being played through an amplifier. 4/5
I Love Her All The Time:
A very eerie sounding song, which in the beginning sounds like a punk song that is distorted & being played at very low volume which you barely here. It slowly fades out into a creepy/dark sound effect, soon some slow guitar picking comes in with a subtle drum beat followed by Thurston sings in a very low tune. I love the latter part of the song, the guitar has more of a metal sound to it, while the drums have a tribal beat to it. The lyrics "She comes into my mind, Twisting through my nerves, I don't understand, A word she says", echoes through out the whole song. 4/5
Ghost Bitch:
A wonderful song where Lee & Thurston are at their best. In the beginning Lee used a acoustic guitar with a pick up that provided him with the unique foghorn sound heard on the song (in a call-and-response session with Thurston's explosive drumstick noise). This noise continues through the song while Kim is heard speaking over the wicked noise, when all the sudden a wild sadistic drum beat comes in. Kim voice gets higher, her voice is filled with anger. My favorite line in this song is "I had no belief before, Till I had this dream last night, I still remember their savage cries, So serious in their right, Faces painted in joyous fright, In the dawn's early light". 5/5
Im Insane:
I heard that Lee used pots to get the drum sound that you hear at the beginning of this song w/ some sorta loops. The drums on this song sound like something you would hear out of a bad 80's hit, but soon form into a strange & mysterious beat. Thurston is singing the song very clearly & well projected. The lyrics paint a very dark picture, Like some sorta of sadistic murder, the best lines featured in this song is "So help us God, I'll swing at your funeral, The stubborn air, the killer mob, A red bone woman, a double cross, Big fake bitter love". 5/5
Justice Is Might:
There are alot of spoken words in this song that are really low & distorted under Thurton's voice. The line "Justice Is Might" is repeated many times throughout the song, but my favorite line would be the last few words that end the song "Smash up what's left of the aches up, Arms up, Up overhead, You can kill it." The song is rather short & there isn't much for music, the interesting thing about the song is Thurston is playing Lee's amplifier at the end of this song, tweaking the knobs to alter the tone of his guitar. 4/5
Death Valley '69:
Death Valley '69 starts out with an unexpected scream, but Thurston. Which breaks into the musical part of the song immediately, the bass line featured in this song is pure genius I am addicted to this bass line since the first time I heard it. Want I can get from the lyrics & the music video for this song, is that it is about Charles Manson, the song also features Lydia Lunch on the chorus & does an exceptional job! 5/5
Satan Is Boring:
Thurston had an obvious hand in the creation of this song, it's a studio creation with lots of modulated drums, pitched-warped vocals and some echoed guitar. The de-tuned bass has a really nice effect on the song, while Lee is doing some noisy guitar work. The song was inspired by a 1984 case of Ricky Kasso, Jr. Apparently Ricky, while high on PCP, gouged out the eyes of a teenage boy after torturing him for hours, and later committed suicide. His father claimed all he talked about was "drugs and rock music". While this is a rather odd sounded Sonic Youth song, with strange lyrics it shows the more experimental side of Sonic Youth. 5/5
Halloween:
Musically this song isn't much just really unbalanced guitar, drums and some off beat effects, but lyrically it's genius. There's something shifting in the distance, Don't know what it is, Days as dead as night, Except for the feeling, That's crawling up inside of me the opening lyrics Kim whispers. During the middle of the song, a tribal sounding drum beat picks up with what sounds like a tambourine being slightly hit. 5/5
Flower:
A heavy drum beat, with Kim basically just speaking the thought provoking/feminist lyrics. Kim took the lyrics from a poem Thurston had written based on a calendar he found in a New York grocery (which featured the naked woman depicted on the sleeve). 5/5
Echo Canyon:
This is a strange track that some have said It seems to be taken directly from the intro to a Pink Floyd song called "Keep Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert" w/ some extra manipulation. The track comes to a sudden end with a sound of a 'run-out grove'. Oddly enough some 'Bad Moon Rising' CDs are missing this track.
Overall:
I could see this album turning away SY listeners if they are used to their other albums such as 'Dirty' or 'Goo'. 'Bad Moon Rising' is a morbid album & there is never a moment where it isn't. Intense lyrics & eerie music & off beat effects is what fills 'Bad Moon Rising'. There isn't much for lyrics or vocals on the album and what vocals there are they are usually loud & obnoxious or like a whisper.
I personally love this album & is the first SY album I ever owned. Upon my first listening years ago, I was intrigued by the album, but really only listened to such songs as 'Death Valley 69', 'Intro' & 'Brave Men Run'. The one-day I decided to listen to the album from start to finish as a whole. I was truly blown away, this album flows together like not many albums do & has since then become my favorite SY album. This is a true piece of art!
I am torn on how to rate this album, because it is one of my favorite albums, but I know that not everyone will enjoy this album. Most wont even understand BMR, that is why I am going to give this album two different ratings.
5/5 Musical listeners who have an ear for experimental music & who are extremely open minded about music, I think will enjoy this album.
2/5 I seriously doubt mainstream musical listeners will like this album, except for the occasionally few who may like 'Death Valley 69' or 'Brave Men Run'.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000003TAF.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
1985
This is Sonic Youth's third album, preceded by the "Death Valley '69" 7" single in 1984 which featured demo versions of both "Death Valley" and "Brave Men Run" from Bad Moon Rising. It wasn't until 1986 when BMR was released on CD with 4 bonus tracks, that were not included on the original 1985 vinyl release.
Band Members:
Kim Gordon - Vocals/Bass
Thurston Moore - Vocals/Guitar
Lee Ranaldo - Guitar
Bob Bert - Drums
Lydia Lunch - Guest vocals on Death Valley 69
Track Listing:
01. Intro - 1:11
02. Brave Men Run (In My Family) - 3:56
03. Society Is a Hole - 4:51
04. I Love Her All the Time - 8:21
05. Ghost Bitch - 4:25
06. I'm Insane - 6:55
07. Justice Is Might - 2:56
08. Death Valley '69 - 5:22
09. Satan Is Boring - 5:13
10. Flower - 3:35
11. Halloween - 5:11
12. Echo Canyon - 1:09
The track listing on the back of my album is wrong. The correct listing would switch 'Flower' to track ll & 'Halloween to track 10.
Intro:
A calm guitar intro, that is quite relaxing with some effects in the background. This intro only features Lee & Thurston on guitar, the song doesn't feature any vocals & goes on for a little bit over a minute which leads into "Brave Men Run". 5/5
Brave Men Run (In My Family):
Brave Men Run features a 1:45 intro that is has a certain appeal to it. The musical part of the song starts to turn to a noise rock sound with the instruments pretty much going in all different direction that slowly fades out with Kim starting to say "Seven days and seven nights, I dreamt a sailor's dream at sea". Ambiance is the only word I can find to really describe the song, I don't know I just gives a certain feeling that I can't really pinpoint. Brave Men Runs ends with a looped sample of Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" that segues into "Society is a Hole" 5/5
Society Is A Hole:
The track segues in from Brave Men Run via a looped sample from Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" album. The sample actually plays through a significant amount of the song. Also Thurston got the title for this song through a Blackflag lyric he misheard the lyric from "Rise Above" contains the line "Society's arms of control", which Thurston misinterpreted as "Society is a ****ing hole". He later discovered that the lyric was wrong & impressed with it, he took it for his own. This song is rather slow with Thurston moaning the lyrics rather than singing it. Society Is A Hole ends with a tape of the Stooges' "Not Right" being played through an amplifier. 4/5
I Love Her All The Time:
A very eerie sounding song, which in the beginning sounds like a punk song that is distorted & being played at very low volume which you barely here. It slowly fades out into a creepy/dark sound effect, soon some slow guitar picking comes in with a subtle drum beat followed by Thurston sings in a very low tune. I love the latter part of the song, the guitar has more of a metal sound to it, while the drums have a tribal beat to it. The lyrics "She comes into my mind, Twisting through my nerves, I don't understand, A word she says", echoes through out the whole song. 4/5
Ghost Bitch:
A wonderful song where Lee & Thurston are at their best. In the beginning Lee used a acoustic guitar with a pick up that provided him with the unique foghorn sound heard on the song (in a call-and-response session with Thurston's explosive drumstick noise). This noise continues through the song while Kim is heard speaking over the wicked noise, when all the sudden a wild sadistic drum beat comes in. Kim voice gets higher, her voice is filled with anger. My favorite line in this song is "I had no belief before, Till I had this dream last night, I still remember their savage cries, So serious in their right, Faces painted in joyous fright, In the dawn's early light". 5/5
Im Insane:
I heard that Lee used pots to get the drum sound that you hear at the beginning of this song w/ some sorta loops. The drums on this song sound like something you would hear out of a bad 80's hit, but soon form into a strange & mysterious beat. Thurston is singing the song very clearly & well projected. The lyrics paint a very dark picture, Like some sorta of sadistic murder, the best lines featured in this song is "So help us God, I'll swing at your funeral, The stubborn air, the killer mob, A red bone woman, a double cross, Big fake bitter love". 5/5
Justice Is Might:
There are alot of spoken words in this song that are really low & distorted under Thurton's voice. The line "Justice Is Might" is repeated many times throughout the song, but my favorite line would be the last few words that end the song "Smash up what's left of the aches up, Arms up, Up overhead, You can kill it." The song is rather short & there isn't much for music, the interesting thing about the song is Thurston is playing Lee's amplifier at the end of this song, tweaking the knobs to alter the tone of his guitar. 4/5
Death Valley '69:
Death Valley '69 starts out with an unexpected scream, but Thurston. Which breaks into the musical part of the song immediately, the bass line featured in this song is pure genius I am addicted to this bass line since the first time I heard it. Want I can get from the lyrics & the music video for this song, is that it is about Charles Manson, the song also features Lydia Lunch on the chorus & does an exceptional job! 5/5
Satan Is Boring:
Thurston had an obvious hand in the creation of this song, it's a studio creation with lots of modulated drums, pitched-warped vocals and some echoed guitar. The de-tuned bass has a really nice effect on the song, while Lee is doing some noisy guitar work. The song was inspired by a 1984 case of Ricky Kasso, Jr. Apparently Ricky, while high on PCP, gouged out the eyes of a teenage boy after torturing him for hours, and later committed suicide. His father claimed all he talked about was "drugs and rock music". While this is a rather odd sounded Sonic Youth song, with strange lyrics it shows the more experimental side of Sonic Youth. 5/5
Halloween:
Musically this song isn't much just really unbalanced guitar, drums and some off beat effects, but lyrically it's genius. There's something shifting in the distance, Don't know what it is, Days as dead as night, Except for the feeling, That's crawling up inside of me the opening lyrics Kim whispers. During the middle of the song, a tribal sounding drum beat picks up with what sounds like a tambourine being slightly hit. 5/5
Flower:
A heavy drum beat, with Kim basically just speaking the thought provoking/feminist lyrics. Kim took the lyrics from a poem Thurston had written based on a calendar he found in a New York grocery (which featured the naked woman depicted on the sleeve). 5/5
Echo Canyon:
This is a strange track that some have said It seems to be taken directly from the intro to a Pink Floyd song called "Keep Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert" w/ some extra manipulation. The track comes to a sudden end with a sound of a 'run-out grove'. Oddly enough some 'Bad Moon Rising' CDs are missing this track.
Overall:
I could see this album turning away SY listeners if they are used to their other albums such as 'Dirty' or 'Goo'. 'Bad Moon Rising' is a morbid album & there is never a moment where it isn't. Intense lyrics & eerie music & off beat effects is what fills 'Bad Moon Rising'. There isn't much for lyrics or vocals on the album and what vocals there are they are usually loud & obnoxious or like a whisper.
I personally love this album & is the first SY album I ever owned. Upon my first listening years ago, I was intrigued by the album, but really only listened to such songs as 'Death Valley 69', 'Intro' & 'Brave Men Run'. The one-day I decided to listen to the album from start to finish as a whole. I was truly blown away, this album flows together like not many albums do & has since then become my favorite SY album. This is a true piece of art!
I am torn on how to rate this album, because it is one of my favorite albums, but I know that not everyone will enjoy this album. Most wont even understand BMR, that is why I am going to give this album two different ratings.
5/5 Musical listeners who have an ear for experimental music & who are extremely open minded about music, I think will enjoy this album.
2/5 I seriously doubt mainstream musical listeners will like this album, except for the occasionally few who may like 'Death Valley 69' or 'Brave Men Run'.