SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century [Enhanced]

Sonic Youth (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: SYR
• ASIN: B00002R0NC
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,238 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars sy's exclamation point for the millenium, November 16, 1999

By 

David, Brighton UK - See all my reviews

This review is from: SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century (Audio CD)

fascinating... it's a look forward and backward. it reminds me a lot of the spaciousness of sound that the band achieved with bad moon rising, although a lot less disciplined.

i remember seeing a clip on vh1 once with lee ranaldo talking about city sounds and how he loved to open his window and listen to the rhythms of everyday street noises. this album captures it beautifully, with its random occurences of guitar squawks, cymbal crashes, and syllables.

although i have already dismissed some of the songs (the nascent "edges" among them), i have a feeling that this one pays off on each successive listen. "pendulum music" and "six for new time" are damn near highpoints of sy's career- it's the kind of pretention that they have always reached for. this time it works better in execution than theory.

if this is their millenial exit, i can't wait to see what they're going to come up with for an entrance.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hello 21st Century., February 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century (Audio CD)

To the fellow who's review contained this statement: "In any event, it would seem laughable that anyone could draw any connection between Sonic Youth's interpretations and original works (in any category of music)." I would have to totally disagree with you here. Having heard the works of John Cage, Christian Wolf, James Tenney, Cornelius Cardew and Steve Reich there is a connection by SY's interpretations. Connecting these intrepretations to the original (if there is such) is not the intention here, yet you cannot disregard the ideas of the composers. Eventhough these pieces incorporate improvising, most of the works are composed and are documented as such and SY used the 'scores' as they were intended...as guidelines (i.e. Cornelius Cardew's 'Treatise' is a 193 page graphic score). There are obvious references to the composer's intentions in these interpretations, that is if you listen closely and if you've heard their works before. Yet it isn't necessary to be aquainted with them. Laughable? i think not...The original composer's intentions of these works are not entirely "serious" or "high-brow avant-gardisms", for instance John Cage did many things to break that down (i.e. his silent piece 4'33") and i think Sonic Youth here have continued in that idea.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathing room., December 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century (Audio CD)

I have collected most of Sonic Youth's albums over the years, and this is presently my favorite. Featuring music composed by the likes of John Cage and Takehisa Kosugi as well as Yoko Ono and Steve Reich, the long tracks massage and spark. Unlike the usually in-your-face brashness that makes sonic youth sonic youth, this album features wide spaces of repetitive sounds that layer, merge and then gradually taper away. This is truly an innovative album, unlike any other from Sonic Youth. Few vocals except for Kim Gordon's occasional spoken (shouted?) word. I love it and haven't taken it off the turntable since I got it.