kim gordon Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Kim Gordon “No Home Record”

sfilzen — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 18:26:42 +0000

Kim Gordon “No Home Record” 2019. Matador Records. Today, April 28th, is Kim Gordon’s 68th birthday (b. 1953) so I’m spinning her first solo album (after the demise of Sonic Youth 2011 she recorded a record with Body/Head, comprised Gordon and Bill Nace, and Glitterbust – Gordon and Alex Knost). No Home Record is industrial-tinged experimental noise rock: lots of distortion, pounding in-your-face beats, discord and challenge. It charted in the UK, reaching #79 (and went to #29 on the Scottish charts – I didn’t realize Scotland had their own ratings) and though a few singles were released, I don’t think any of those charted. One of those singles is my top track: “Murdered Out” which is probably the most accessible song on the LP – it’s industrial and full of fuzzed distortion but also fairly danceable, as is “Hungry Baby” (another single). “Air BnB,” another single, amuses me as the Air BnB concept was the initial inspiration for the album (that’s where she met the album’s producer, Justin Raisen) (also the video is hilarious). “Don’t Play It” is alt-psychedelic hypnotic and “Cookie Butter,” besides having just the best name ever, is waaaayyy out there, epic in length with a teletype beat and Gordon kinda whisper-shouting punctuated stacato’d lyrics finished with grinding geared guitar.

Gordon continues to be just. so. cool. (inner sleeve photo from No Home Record)

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Sonic Youth “Dirty”

sfilzen — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 21:16:00 +0000

Sonic Youth “Dirty” released on this date, July 21st, 1992. Unfortunately not on vinyl, but I did buy this CD in the fall of ‘92 when CD’s were pretty much all that was available and played it nonstop during my senior year at college. I was super into them at the time, having seen Sonic Youth in ‘91 when they toured with Social Distortion and Neil Young. Produced by Butch Vig, Dirty was Sonic Youth’s 7th studio album and their first kinda breakthrough: it charted at #83 in the US and hit #6 in the UK. Sonic Youth released four singles: “100%” (#4 US Modern Rock chart, #28 UK), “Youth Against Fascism” (#52 UK), “Sugar Kane” (#25 UK) and “Drunken Butterfly.” “Drunken Butterfly” is one of my favorite songs on the album and apparently the lyrics are lifted from a bunch of Heart songs; the original title was supposed to be “Barracuda” but SY changed it to “Drunken Butterfly” because it kinda sounded like the Heart track “Dog & Butterfly.” I also really like “Swimsuit Issue” (about sexual harassment), “Shoot” and the punk-crazed “Nic Fit.”

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Sonic Youth “Hits Are For Squares”

sfilzen — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 21:12:48 +0000

Sonic Youth “Hits Are For Squares” 2008 double-LP comp. Today, April 28th, is Kim Gordon’s birthday (b. 1953) so I’m spinning this retrospective of Sonic Youth tracks chosen by a bunch of celebs (i.e. Mike D, Beck, Mike Watt, Flea – pretty cool) and published by Starbucks (not that cool), released on vinyl for Record Store Day 2010 (a bit more cool). There’s obviously some great songs on here from Dirty like “100%” (chosen by Mike D) “Sugar Kane” (chosen by Beck); I had Dirty on heavy rotation in ‘92 during college and I’m pretty sure that’s the album Sonic Youth was touring for when I saw them perform with Social Distortion and Neil Young. From Goo Radiohead chose “Kool Thing” (because “it has the best guitar riff, best drumming and best lyric. Because it is sexy, lazy and doesn’t give a f***. And because you just got Chuck D to fill up a DAT with cliches and play it in the background.”), Portia de Rossi chose “Disappearer” (she says listened to it and “awoke to find [her]self wearing a Little Mermaid costume”), and “Mary-Christ” selected by David Cross. Going back to Evol, there’s “Tom Violence” (selected by Gun Van Sant because it reminds him of his little sister), “Shadow of a Doubt” (chosen by Michele Williams because “Kim’s voice was a ghostly friend whispering in my ear”) and “Expressway to Yr Skull” (selected by The Flaming Lips). One track from Sister, “Tuff Gnarl,” was chosen by two people: Dan Eggers and Mike Watt (and Watt was pissed! “God damn it! Does this mean I throw chingasos with Eggers over first dibs?” Watts covered “Tuff Gnarl” on his ‘94 solo album Ball-Hog or Tugboat?”). “Slow Revolution,” written in 2007 and which concludes the double-LP comp, is the only new song on Hits Are For Squares; it’s almost an instrumental (there’s some kinda mumbly lyrics sprinkled here and there) that is super-ambient, dense, a bit psychedelic and a lot chaotic. Kinda summing up Sonic Youth.

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Sonic Youth “Evol”

sfilzen — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 18:02:10 +0000

Sonic Youth “Evol” 1986. SST Records. Noisy no-wave, Evol is Sonic Youth’s third LP, their first with drummer Steve Shelley (replacing Bob Bert); it’s also notable for including bassist Mike Watt on the track “In the Kingdom #19,” his first recording after fellow Minutemen D. Boon’s death. (Watt also played on the Kim Fowley cover “Bubblegum” which is not on the vinyl version of Evol but is included on the CD). Sonic Youth also continued their collaboration with Lydia Lunch (who sang on their 1984/85 single “Death Valley ‘69″) – she co-wrote “Marilyn Moore.” (The cover of Evol is a still of actress Lung Leg from Submit to Me, Lung Leg also was in the video for “Death Valley ‘69″ – great song, great video). My favorite tracks on Evol are two tracks sung by Kim Gordon: “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Starpower,” which was the only single from Evol. I also appreciate the arty chaos sensibilities that carry over from the music to creating confusion for the listener: the tracks aren’t listed in order on either the back cover nor the lyric sheet, plus the last track “Expressway to Yr. Skull” is listed as “Madonna, Sean and Me” on the cover and as “The Crucifixion of Sean Penn” on the lyric sheet (and regardless of the title, has an infinity loop of chords in the runout groove). I’m not entirely sure what the obsession with Madonna and Penn was all about – the two married in ‘85 and divorced in ‘89 (with a lot of acrimony in between), but clearly there was some fascination. Around the same time as the recording of Evol, Sonic Youth and Mike Watt formed the side project Ciccone Youth, releasing the single “Into the Groove(y)” in ’86 and issuing the album The Whitey Album (1988, J. Mascis also contributed to that record).

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Sonic Youth “Death Valley 69″

sfilzen — Wed, 29 May 2019 15:45:08 +0000

Sonic Youth “Death Valley 69″ 1985 EP, Homestead Records/Blast First Records. First released as a 7″ single in 1984 and then included on Sonic Youth’s second LP Bad Moon Rising (1985), “Death Valley 69″ features no-wave artist Lydia Lunch on vocals along with Thurston Moore on vocals and guitar, Kim Gordon on bass, Bob Bert – who is currently touring as part of Jon Spencer’s Hitmakers band – on drums, and Lee Ranaldo on guitar. It is a dark, loud, powerful post-punk noise rock masterpiece. This was the first song I ever heard by Sonic Youth; a friend of mine had this EP in ‘85 and I listened to her copy obsessively after making a tape (our vinyl copy is a relatively new acquisition). “Death Valley 69″ is about the Charles Manson murders of 1969 which puts its sinister vibe into serious context. The B-side of the EP has the tracks “I Dream I Dreamed” (a no-wave shoegazer), “Inhuman” (industrial-tinged noise rock), “Brother James” (driving dissonance in minor, creepy as hell yet weirdly catchy) and “Satan is Boring” (all no-wave, really really creepy chanting, no discernible melody or beat).

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Sonic Youth “Flower/Halloween”

sfilzen — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 14:21:48 +0000

Sonic Youth “Flower/Halloween” 12 inch single, 1985. Homestead Records. Today April 28th is alt/art rock queen Kim Gordon’s birthday (1953). We don’t have much in the way of Sonic Youth on vinyl but this 12″ single is pretty amazing, experimental, all New York art-rocky with breathy deep lyrics and a vague Velvet Underground vibe.

The 12″ single/EP I wish I had is Sonic Youth’s collaboration with Lydia Lunch on “Death Valley 69,” which a friend of mine had back in ‘86 or so (the 12″ was released in ‘84, the EP in ‘85), and I remember just being blown away by its screaming power.

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