REVIEW: Sonic Youth, SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century (SYR)
- Andrew Duncan
It's the end of the 20th century kiddies, and Sonic Youth is going out with a bang with the fourth installment in the SYR (Sonic Youth Records) series, appropriately titled Goodbye 20th Century.
They end the 20th century not with their music (they will welcome the year 2000 with an album filled with original Sonic Youth compositions), but with a two-CD collection of covers from some of the most influential minimalist composers of the 20th century. Remember, Sonic Youth started their career in the New York minimalist/no wave scene of the early '80s.
The SYR series, from their homemade label to further experiment with sound, is known to bring in various guest musicians, but SYR 4 is the cream of the crop. This time around, Sonic Youth explores music with the help of William Winant, Jim O'Rourke, Coco Hayley, Gordon Moore, Christian Marclay and Wharton Tiers, as well as the modern composers Takehisa Kosugi and Christian Wolff.
Maybe some names ring a bell, maybe some don't. Nevertheless, this is a historical moment for fans of the band to rejoice as they add the Sonic Youth touch to songs from John Cage to Yoko Ono.
Note: Place headphones over ears and turn volume up before embarking on this nearly two-hour estranged journey. Without a good ear, some sounds may be lost in the shuffle as the band makes good use of layering and volume.
Christian Wolff's "Edges" begins the first CD as a hauntingly schizophrenic trip that sexually explores the dark side to mentality through the use of tones and frequencies. Bassist Kim Gordon adds a nonsensical word or two.
The band continues with an interesting version of John Cage's "Six - third take," only to try again with a "fourth take" later on the second disc.
Yoko Ono's "Voice Piece For Soprano" is a lightweight statement giving Coco Hayley Gordon Moore (Kim and Thurston's son) 12 seconds of fame. Finally, Steve Reich's "Pendulum Music" gives proper ado to the first disc as the sound of a penny whistle and guitars mimmick the swoop of a pendulum.
For the second CD, John Cage and Christian Wolff returns. The band explores new territory in songs by James Tenney, Nicolas Slonimsky and George Maciunas, among others. Cornelius Cardew's "Treatise" ends the 20th century with freeform expressionism that explores modernism and vastness through sound (or the lack of).
Casual listening this is not, but Sonic Youth continues to defy gravity with educational and captivating music, properly reciting some of the greatest modern composers of the 20th century.
