Daydream Nation is, quite simply a classic. Up there with The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, and so on. Sonic Youth re-invented guitars, and on Daydream Nation, re-invented themselves to become rocknroll. It's noisy, and sprawling, and experimental, and pretty, and strange and unique and has a really nice personality. It might not be for all, but it is for some. I love this album more with each passing year.
Scanners on the other hand are a flash-in-the-pan. I honestly don't expect so much as a follow up record. They traffic in pseudo New Wave, and some horror/shock imagery. Oh-so-very Hip this year. But, they have a couple of really nice, tuneful songs. One is called "Bombs" and it's about being paranoid about whether your next door neighbor is a terrorist, or not. But, it's got a nice T Rexish backbeat that sounds like a snake, with a simple guitar riff that reminds me of the Stones. The other is a bit of self-congratulatory snark called "Raw (to the bone)". It's very, very catchy. The video for it is reprehensible, as it glorifies domestic violence (I think they meant it just as shock value, the lyrics have nothing to do with it) but the song is at a mid-point between "Blue Monday" by New Order and "Shut up and Drive" by Rihanna. Meaning it's a spritely New Wave dance song written in a minor key. I have to admit, i like those two songs, a lot.
But, I don't do the Mp3 thing, and I don't think they make singles anymore (at least, if they do, they're impossible to find) so I just skip a lot of tracks on that record.
Oh, and speaking of the Mp3 thing: Look, I love the EFF, and I think the RIAA are going to ruin the recording industry, but color me scared after reading this. There's just no way I'm going to download anything! About 9000 bucks a song?!? No, thank you.
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