Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
underrated, often forgotten classic, December 11, 2001
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
uneven but worthwile, June 17, 2004
By A Customer
this is definitely one of the essential SY albums. there are a handful of incredible songs, but the album really falls apart a few songs in. The Diamond Sea combines one of the most beautiful and timeless melodies the band has ever penned with a long, mesmerizing foray into pure noise bilss. other highlights: Becuz (a great song and one of my all-time favorite Kim Gordon vocal performances) Unwind, Saucer-Like, and Junkie's Promise (which rocks harder and more unconventionally than any song from Dirty). Skip Tracer isn't bad, but in general i don't like music behind poetry/spoken word performances. it's decent (but not great) as poetry, but i'd rather hear it spoken solo. No Queen Blues is ok but not bnecessary. The title track has some excellent guitar work but i hate the lyrics and Kim's delivery is a dissappointment after the beguiling Becuz. this album is a great addition to any SY collection.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorites., April 18, 2004
I'd say this is one of their better albums, and it includes everything a "Sonic Youth" album should. Anyone who owns or likes their early/mid 90's stuff should easily like this. "Becuz" is a good opener, and the following songs are similar. "Unwind" is a slower one, and just kinda floats along. "Little Trouble Girl" has "Kim Deal" on it, and "Panty Lies" is very punk. Of course it ends with the great 19 minute+ "Diamond Sea", which starts out very melodic, then eventually becomes a huge noisefest. Hopefully they play some of this on "Lollapalooza 2004".
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