Washing Machine

Sonic Youth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 1995)
• Original Release Date: September 26, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B000003TBS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,467 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #75 in Music > Alternative Rock > American Alternative > General
  • #92 in Music > Miscellaneous > Experimental Music

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars underrated, often forgotten classic, December 11, 2001

By 

S. R Robertson "crap basket" (Oh Henry?) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Washing Machine (Audio CD)

Having bought several Sonic Youth (based on constant advice to get into their stuff) at the same time, I was blown away at just how good and amazing their materail is, as well as different each time around. While WM may not be the most innovative or lyrically powerful as other SY albums, it sets a mood which seems to give a modern touch to 60s suburbia or something, with a good mixture of the beautiful and the deranged...it's almost like it's through the eyes of a lost teenager running through a neighborhood at night, half hopped on LCD.

The most transcendant tracks are "Unwind" (very emotional even naysay blissful poetry about kites caught in the stars becoming morning), "Little Trouble Girl" (60s soul inspired flow through the eyes of a coming-of-age girl, features great back vocals from Breeders frontwoman Kim Deal and a few others), "Skip Tracer" (definitely owes some inspiration to Jack Kerouac's On The Road, Renaldo poetry at its finest), "Saucer-Like"(easy going tune about extraterrestrials flying through the cities in "a wonderful vision"), and ofcourse the brilliamt 20 minute epic "The Diamond Sea", pshychadelic lyrics and music that is the transcender of all transcenders. The rest are just as awesome, the title track has Kim Gordon talking about taking her baby down the pop machine and "spinning round like a washing machine, never saw the devil look so **** clean", it also has spacy freak-out guitars (but since that seems to be an SY trademark, I won't even mention it anymore). "Panty Lies" is an intense tale of alienation which resembles unusually that old Jetsons pop song in chorus, "No Queen Blues" and "Becuz" are just plain rocking, and "Junkie's Promise" will send a chill of truth down any (...) addict's spine without being too judgemental. There's also the unnamed track 9 which is filler but it's nice to get something a little softer after such good rock. Washing Machine is a lost classic which every fan should have, a suburbian adventure I must say.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guess Which Song I'm Going To Praise The Hell Out Of?, December 8, 2001

By 

Paul H. "rmj84" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Washing Machine (Audio CD)

Washing Machine is great Sonic Youth. Although I'd personally go with Daydream Nation or Sister first, Washing Machine might be a good way for those new to the group to become introduced. The production is raw, but the sound is more clear which adds to the music. "Becuz" is a great opener with its incredibly catchy chords while "Junkie's Promise," the title track, and "Skip Tracer" are all great songs. But of course, "The Diamond Sea" is worth the price of the album. See all these reviews hyping it up? Well, believe the hype. It's amazing. Definitely one of my fav. Sonic Youth tracks. Twenty minutes of melody that spirals into chaotic noise. Brilliant. Every fan of Sonic Youth must own this song. Even without it, Washing Machine is a great album so definitely give this a spin.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An underrated masterpiece, February 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Washing Machine (Audio CD)

I don't mean to start a debate among Sonic Youth fans, but this might be their best album aside from "Daydream Nation." Most of the songs on the album are played with three guitars and no bass. This frees up more space for Sonic Youth's dissonant guitar stylings. The swirling guitars sounds on "Becuz" and "Junkie's Promise" only foreshadow the large walls of noise in "No Queen Blues," "Washing Machine" and "The Diamond Sea." SY even tries new genres, showing their own take on Motown with the blissful "Little Trouble Girl," their take on ambient music with the untitled track (the instrumental sequel to "Becuz," which is just as soothing and simultaneously eerie as one of Brian Eno's early ambient records such as "Ambient 1" and "Discreet Music"), and Japanese hardcore with "Panty Lies," which seems inspired by Yoshimi from the Boredoms and Kim Gordon's sidegroup Free Kitten. Even "Unwind," with its subdued crescendo, rises above most of the material on all of their previous DGC albums. This album does two things for them: it frees them from attempting "mainstream" songs and secondly, it places them back in the underground. This album sold considerably fewer copies than any of their previous DGC albums. This album divides many SY fans, but I think it is the best thing they have released in the 1990's.