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Sunday, July 26, 2009

Block Party F-ck You, Cool Dad!

Posted by Brandon Ivers on Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 12:26 PM

The most irritating thing about Sonic Youth is not that they're boring or "too old"—it's that they're so goddamn cool. They throw into flux all the rules about middle-aged people lapsing into corny taste, and they make it seem like rock'n'roll's preoccupation with youth is more than a little silly. Plus, even if you think the new album is kind of lame, "Reena" on Rather Ripped is pretty hard to argue with, and that was from only a few years ago, right? It's almost as if being a cool dad with skate jeans might not be such a bad thing...

Cool Dad, I hate you for understanding me

The thing is, compared to My Bloody Valentine's brutal 'deaf in 20 minutes' approach from a few months ago, Sonic Youth came off like they had absolutely nothing to prove. In fact, as Mr. Segal already pointed out, the setlist was mostly culled from The Eternal—a move you could definitely argue was a cool one to pull, although not necessarily the right one. At least, not on a Saturday night when most people were screaming for 'Catholic Block' instead of another weird filter pedal workout.

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who thinks the new album is lame, you? i think it's pretty fucking great, and on par with "rather ripped" and "sonic nurse". antennae and anti-orgasm are instant classics. if you check their setlists online you'll see that this is what they've been doing the whole tour. new music keeps old bands alive. if you want to hear 100% for the 1000th fucking time i suggest you pop in "dirty".

Posted by taint on July 26, 2009 at 8:53 PM

SY is doing what I wish the Pixies were doing. Nothing wrong with taking a trip down memory lane with an all Trompe Le Monde set ( oh yes, I'll be there when that happens), but I'd much rather see these bands play current music from relevant releases. Sorry they rained on your nostalgia trip, CHBPers.

Posted by Latfchbp hipster on July 26, 2009 at 10:29 PM

At least, not on a Saturday night when most people were screaming for 'Catholic Block' instead of another weird filter pedal workout.

Wait, so this wasn't the RIGHT choice, even though you compared this negatively to MBV's noise thing, which involves about a gazillion "weird filter pedal" workouts? Did you re-read what you were about to post?

Posted by mackro