Goodbye 20th Century

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Goodbye 20th Century album cover
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Total Tracks: 13   Total Length: 103:46

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Mark Paytress

eMusic Contributor

06.18.02
The Youth interpret work by their avant-classical influences.
2002 | Label: Sonic Youth Recordings - Smells Like Records / Revolver

A strong subtext of the idea of progress in pop has been its relationship with two models of the classical form — orchestral music, rooted in 19th century Romanticism, and developments post-Schoenberg, where 12-tone, minimalism and electronics conspired to take modernist music into some pretty challenging spaces. It's the latter that Sonic Youth, the so-called Velvet Underground of the post-punk scene, pay homage to on this two-CD set from 1999. Interpreting work by chance man John Cage, AMM founder Cornelius Cardew and Fluxus luminary Yoko Ono, among others, Sonic Youth spotlight the maverick architects of High Modernism while also revealing the roots of their experimental rock & roll. It's no po-faced exercise, either: a youth Sonic offspring contributes the three screams that make up Ono's "Voice Piece for Soprano," while "Piano Piece 13" involves the destruction of the instrument by hammering nails into the keys.

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its what they've stood for all along

starbearer

This album is awesome. If you say "not music..." well... you really don't know or remember just where it was that SY came from in the first place. They came out of the no wave scene. they BECAME this alt rock thing, but this album is what would have happened had they not gone the alt rock direction and just became even more what the no wave scene was aiming for in the first place. This is SY at their darkest and most brilliant. And um... "no rock here"? who are you to say what rock is or isn't. I am so g@d d@mn sick of two guitars, bass, and drums... its time to move on.

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great concepts

noisician

unfortunately, it looses a little without the explanations / scores for these experimental compositions. for example: my favorite piece, disc 1 #6, was made by swinging microphones above loudspeakers and recording the feedback. disc 2 # 5 instructs the players permanently depress all the keys on a piano using hammers & nails.

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Good Work by Sonic Youth

frankiepop

This is good interpretations by Sonic Youth. I don't know for sure if that should be expected or I should be surprised. But they breathed some fresh air into these tired old compositions. Burdocks does rock. I have a special fondness for the Kosugi piece as well.

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not music...

majcherr

This album blows, however if you like "music" by John Cage then this is your album. This album is the equivelant of someone putting a toilet in the middle of an empty room and calling it art. and a degree in music theory is not pixie dust. It will not grant you magical songwriting abilities. Fluxus movement...give me a break.

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Too bad

jdevans

This is a great idea, and a pretty great performance. It's not Goo, but then, that gets kind of boring after a while. The problem here is this: Wolff's Burdocks is by far the best of the tracks here, and it's not available! Too bad.

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Boo to you negative nellies

rubyred777

This is Sonic Youth conveying their serious appreciation of contemporary classical music. Boo to you for saying it's not as arty as their other albums. It's a paradox to say it's MORE arty, but it's true. These are compositions which were written by artists with music theory and/or performance art backgrounds, artists either directly involved with or influenced in some way by the Fluxus Movement. Goodbye 20th Century is a very appropriate title for this album. These sounds and the processes used to put those sounds together have a real context. They reflect the effects of political, philosophical, technological and cultural occurrences of this century. No, it's certainly not full-on rock music. But it's more punk rock than you give it credit for in its anti-commercial and anti-art sensibilities.

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noise

defjux

noise not music

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Unlistenable

Gonsiska

I love Sonic Youth, I hate this CD.

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just a thought

Camarata

does the first reviewer of this album think a band should never, ever, ever under any circumstances make a record that doesn't sound anything like their other records? i mean, honestly. if anything, one has to credit sonic youth for NOT staying with a formula.

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fluxus music and commie classical

tania

After getting this, you should look for more Cornelius Cardew and find Kurt Schwitters records, then there's an S.E.M. Ensemble album (available on Emusic) of recordings of Duchamp music. Now, we may wonder if Maciunas gets too much credit as the representative of fluxus. But maybe not. John Cage was a smart dude, but "bubblegum"? certainly not. The Yoko Ono piece here just seems to be Thurston and Kim's daughter shrieking for a few seconds. this is a good record. a true look back on the avant-garde of the 20th Century.

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As a farewell to a century of musical innovation, Sonic Youth devote a double album to covering legendary avant-garde recordings such as John Cage’s “Six,” James Tenney’s “Having Never Written a Note for Percussion,” and Christian Wolff’s “Edges.” As a further token of gratitude, Sonic Youth had other avant-garde musicians such as William Winant collaborate with them on these covers. The result is a minimal album of silence occasionally interrupted by strange dissonance that quietly reaps noisy havoc on your mind. The many collaborators make Goodbye 20th Century a curious listen — certainly not your standard Sonic Youth album. Actually, it’s not too far removed from the other SYR EPs, especially in terms of production sound. But anyone looking for standard fare here is going to be greatly disappointed. These aren’t songs — they’re compositions and they’re performed as such. Alt-rock this is not. – Jason Birchmeier

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